Coming off a strong season opener, the second episode of its sophomore run, Interview With the Vampire offers up another solid look into Louis and Claudia’s past. Now joined by Armand on the interview couch, Daniel is told the story of how the pair met in Paris. A city that Daniel would like to forget himself as it holds its own painful memories for him.
Daniel, Louis and Armand are in a back and forth game of wits. Everytime Daniel strikes a nerve with either of them, they remind him of what they are and they should not be messed with. Daniel quickly learns to just ask his questions.
Louis and Claudia have been in Paris for months, taking in the sites, leaving amongst humans. While Louis is enjoying his time as “the American tourist”, taking up photography as a hobby (which Armand finds ridiculous), Claudia is unhappy as she has yet to find what she is looking for. One cannot blame her as she is an adult woman trapped in the body of a little girl. She even tries to buy a dress and is not taken seriously.
One of the difficulties with shows about vampires is that the actors will age and features change but they are meant to be stuck in time. Delainey Hayles is playing a young girl but acts and looks more mature which makes sense as Claudia is in her 40s now. Delainey is doing a wonderful job as Claudia and brings her own take on the role. She does not try to mimic Bailey Bass who’s Claudia was a younger girl still playing with dolls when she was introduced.
This makes her comments to Louis more stark as their relationship has evolved. She becomes more annoyed with him because of their differences. When she poses the question to him about who would he be without her and without Lestat he could not give a real answer. The writing here is great, which is of no surprise.
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| "Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved By Death” – INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, Pictured: Jacob Anderson as Louis De Point Du Luc and Delainey Hayles as Claudia. Photo: Larry Horricks/AMC ©2024 All Rights Reserved |
The pair make a mistake however when they do not introduce themselves to the local vampire coven. The coven is made up of a group of actors - a theater company that puts on a play about vampires called Theatre des Vampires; basically hiding in plain sight. It is a brilliant way to move about in the open and remain in the shadows at the same time. When Armand finally approaches Louis, their first meeting falls a little flat. Louis is scared and Armand is immediately smitten but there's no chemistry between them.
After accepting Armand’s invitation to a show we finally get to witness the arrival of Ben Daniels as Santiago. He is mesmerizing and haunting. His performance draws humans and vampires to the show and Claudia is enthralled by it all while Louis finds it hard to watch a human get drained on the stage and no one does anything to stop it. His line: "Do you know what it means to be loved by death: no pain" send shivers as he seduces his victim into submission allowing her to be devoured by the coven.
Introductions are made and Claudia notices a painting of Lestat hanging on the wall just as Santiago asks who their maker is. She quickly lies and says Bruce made them and threw himself on the fire so they do not speak about him. Louis is obviously shaken seeing Lestat’s portrait and goes to his accountant to verify if he has been wiring money. The accountant is aware of Louis and who and what Lestat was. He gives him a box as instructed should Lestat be dead. In the box was a letter from Lestat that was so haunting. Louis reads the letter but we are treated to a vision of Lestat reading the letter while staring intensely at Louis. It was beautifully acted by Sam Reid.
Claudia and Louis argue over how to handle the coven with Lestat but in the end as always, Claudia gets her way. The pair become closer with the coven and join them on a hunt which Armand leads them to a mansion full of people to enjoy. As Claudia hunts, Louis and Armand flirt. Armand informs Louis that he knows that they have lied to them about Lestat and to be careful because the coven will not be forgiving about lies. Claudia has learned to block him out of her thoughts and that Louis needs to work on it.
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| "Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved By Death” – INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, Pictured: Jacob Anderson as Louis De Point Du Luc, Delainey Hayles as Claudia and Assad Zaman as Armand. Photo: Larry Horricks/AMC ©2024 All Rights Reserved |
When the coven has had their fill and rejoin Armand and Louis, Claudia gleefully shouts how she never wants to hunt alone again and that she never wants to leave the coven and the episode ends with Louis looking distressed.
This episode hit all the right beats with great acting and direction. The standout scene had to be the conversation between Armand and Louis in front of the mansion while mayhem was taking place around them. Claudia’s desperation for community may be her undoing if the coven finds out her lies. Next week we finally get to see Armand and Lestat interact and the extent of their romantic relationship. Let’s hope they actually have some form of chemistry as again Armand and Louis fall flat.
What did you think of the episode? Leave a comment and remember to connect with me on X @jereereviews so we can discuss more.
