frankfreezy

Interview With The Vampire 2x8 | Full Length Reaction

Added 2024-10-01 02:01:53 +0000 UTC

Thank you all🖤

Comments

haven’t started watching yet, but omg !! The painting of louis in the back is looking gorgeous

Ollie Berger

2024-11-23 04:52:05 +0000 UTC

Lestat has had the fire gift for a very long time. Not just when Louis came to New Orleans.

xris037

2024-11-20 09:35:12 +0000 UTC

I feel like it was obvious that Lestat didn't have the strength to save two people. Saving Louis, controlling 30+ people, made him bleed from his ear, and become weak and pale. If you look at everyone standing to watch Claudia and Madeleine burn, Lestat is swaying on his feet, in circles, like he has vertigo. There wasn't any way he could save Claudia AND Madeleine - and then still have the strength to save Louis. That coven was going to keep coming after Claudia and Madeleine - Armand was going to keep coming after Claudia. She wasn't ever gonna be safe and she was probably going to go insane over the years. So yeah, it "WOULD HAVE FUCKING HURT TO DO IT MORE THAN ONCE". They don't have endless, easy power. It still takes effort. So, again, it seems obvious that there is more story there to be told.

xris037

2024-11-20 09:16:46 +0000 UTC

frank: “how is malloy talking telepathically?” looks at camera me: grinning “dont look at me, keep watching.”

Nawal

2024-11-13 16:47:58 +0000 UTC

How is it bullshit? Like genuinely he was utterly exhausted, he’d been in a coffin living off rats for god knows how long. And if it’s between Louis and Claudia of course he’s going to choose Louis. That doesn’t mean we have to like his choice. Also I think there have been pretty good tid bits of information in season 2 as to why Louis wouldn’t have saved Claudia but I think it’s best to wait to season 3 to see if it’s throughly explained. I haven’t read the books but I think I can see where this is potentially going.

Pumpernickel

2024-11-13 13:14:43 +0000 UTC

oh, this comment is fantastic in every way. I love your analysis of Louis's turning and the way sexuality plays into it. I was screaming YES at all the points you made about the contrast to Lestat & Armand's turnings and how Louis carries that sense of possibility & love forward into Madeleine's turning in a way Armand cannot fathom at the time. Actually, I've seen analysis which argues that Louis rejects this nihilistic characterization of his turning in the museum, when dreamstat shouts "HA" at Armand's choice to liken Louis's turning to Lestat's by saying "Magnus who begat Lestat, Lestat who begat Louis - on & on, etc". That is Armand's characterization, but it's one that Louis chafes & rebels against profoundly. I think with subjects like Louis's initial characterization of his turning & their early relationship it's very important to sit with what we learned in S2 Ep 7. We learned that Louis had been living for 80+ years with the belief that Lestat did not value his or Claudia's life and plotted with the coven to create a trial to humiliate, denigrate, and ultimately destroy them. In that light, Louis is examining his memories to demonstrate to HIMSELF that Lestat's love was in-genuine, conditional, & narcissistic. .He is trying to make sense of everything through the LENS of the horrific outcome - the trial. When he realizes that Armand actively designed and choreographed the trial, all the dominos fall and Louis innately understands that Lestat wasn't just acting erratic but was genuinely there to apologize and to either save them or go down with them if he could. We don't explore every detail in S2, because this season is Louis's journey and Lestat's experience can be elaborated on later - but we can feel Louis's absolute relief that he isn't alone in his grief or his love of their family. For so long he thought he was the only one who loved & grieved Claudia and that Lestat just discarded their family as an era in his life. But for all his considerable faults, Lestat is not dispassionate or unfeeling - Louis & Claudia are his world to the point that without them he refuses to engage with society at all - denying himself blood, music, companionship because he hates himself so completely and believes he can only offer destruction after the way he destroyed their family. It's not dissimilar to Louis's decision to lock himself away in Dubai, working on his memoir & art collecting the way Lestat works on his music, as one meaningful project they can offer to humanity while not having any other real hope or passion for their personal future. Their reconciliation and the extent to which they discover a mirror of their feelings in other another is so profoundly moving to me. And as everyone said, is also based off Anne Rice & her husband's experience losing their young daughter Michelle to cancer and gradually finding the means to go on and try at life, marriage, & family again. Another aspect I'm surprised not to see much commentary on is the cruelty of Armand's script notations. There is a LOT happening very quickly in that scene so I get it. But the note in which he instructs the coven to emphasize Louis's hoarding in the animations to further mock & degrade Louis's history with depression is so vicious. It reveals enormous subsumed bitterness and resentment towards Louis, Claudia, & Lestat on Armand's end, and that will be fascinating to explore in S3 now that Armand's behind the scenes participation is unveiled. Also to FrankFreezy, we might only agree on 40% -60% of our reactions on the show if we hashed it out scene by scene, but I LOVE how hard you love on IWTV and how much thought & open-heartedness you pour into every reaction. Thank you for creating these videos and this space!

Kai

2024-11-13 08:40:31 +0000 UTC

Hello Maria, I hadn't noticed the similarities in Armand's and Louis' statements at first. However, knowing that the story is told from Louis' perspective and that he was very much manipulated by Armand, I wonder whether these are really Lestat's words or Armand's, put into Lestat's mouth by him or by Louis. But I ask myself this question about many points from the first season. The basic theme seems to me to be different for Armand and Lestat. Armand defines himself through others. Or rather, he tries to find out who he is through others. Lestat is so distinctive in his nature that he doesn't need this mirror through others, he actually rejects it. Lestat's theme is the fear of loneliness. He doesn't need others to feel who he is, but to feel safe. Your description of Armand's feelings for Lestat and Lestat's feelings for Claudia are very much in line with how I felt. Armand seems to see Louis as a part of Lestat on the one hand, but also as a way of taking revenge on Lestat for his rejection. I couldn't understand why Lestat had held on to the affair with Antoinette. After watching the first season for the second time, I got the impression that he initially wanted to provoke Louis. Then it seemed to be some kind of revenge because he felt excluded from Claudia and Louis' relationship. When Louis and Claudia communicate telepathically, he says no more secrets. Louis agrees, but has never actually kept to this, but has continued to communicate with Claudia in this way. So Lestat didn't see the point of sticking to the agreement either. The tragedy is that, in my opinion, Louis would never have agreed to the plan to kill Lestat if he hadn't maintained the affair with Antoinette. He wouldn't have had to kill her, but he would have had to break off contact with her. They were both unsure about each other's love and then did exactly that, which caused further uncertainty in the other person. Things could have turned out differently with Claudia. If Lestat had given her more freedom after she had given up her reckless behavior and if a suitable companion had been found for her, like Madeleine later, everyone could have been happy. It was a similar story with Armand. He had no trust in Louis' love and Louis couldn't show it to him properly either. When Madeleine finally told him how much she could feel Louis' love for him, just after the betrayal had entered its final phase, it was like a slap in the face. Armand's face when he was standing outside and Santiago arrived showed clearly how his world collapsed when he realized that he had made the wrong decision.

Myra

2024-10-22 16:55:09 +0000 UTC

Your Louis painting already looks beautiful! 🤩 (And heartbreaking 😭)

Rixxey G.

2024-10-21 07:48:03 +0000 UTC

Joining the comments pretty late but I just wanted to yap and respond to some of your commentary :) For starters I've never watched the movie nor read the books - from the first season I adored the fact that there wasn't 1 singular bad guy. They all sucked. Vampirism made them suck too in their own ways. It's beautiful in a way that you can't FULLY excuse any of them, yknow? Besides Claudia of course. She didn't choose vampirism, she would've rather died like she said in season 1 and she was quite literally doomed from the start of vampirism. I agree it wasn’t a gift for her at all. However for Louis, it was. He lived such a dishonest life as a human. To me that was Lestat’s point in episode one, he was always playing a role. Lestat thought Louis would just shake humanity off, be free of those roles and live honestly and he couldn't. Hence why it took Daniel giving him a reality check to realize “damn, I’m not 100% the person in the story I've been telling myself and others”. I think he never would've realized this as a human, with such little time. But as a vampire, he does. This is why it's a gift to him, this is why he thanks Lestat in the end. On Lestat saving Louis and not Claudia or both - I think it's quite clear he didn't have the strength for both. The first time we saw him do it in season 1 it WINDED him even then, at the trial it seemed to tire him even more. So it really was one or the other. I assume he preferred saving Louis not only for obvious reasons but because as everyone had been saying, Claudia would've gone mad eventually. Maybe he was sparing her from that madness as they should've done from the start by not turning her. And for his involvement in the production of the Trial… I feel like he absolutely did not want to be there. He didn't seem willing during the rehearsal and him going off script during the actual play saying he's guilty too…there’s gotta be more to that, I hope they tell us in Season 3!! And I ADORE that they didn't end off with Louis and Lestat getting back together. They're vampires!! No need to rush their relationship and I think it would've totally ruined it for me too if they got back together immediately after Louis' whole self discovery. And some last few random thoughts - the soundtrack is so insanely beautiful. The song that plays when Louis is giving his Me and You speech and I Own the Night speech, “The whole world was ready to return” by Daniel Hart… words cannot describe!!! And the song that plays during Louis and Lestat’s reunion “I didn't know it was a gift” by Daniel Hart. Both are just sooo beautiful. So much emotion in them. I love them falls to my knees (actually listening to it as I type this very long comment, so sorry). I've watched Vampire Diaries and Twilight a million times, but I can wholeheartedly say this is the best vampire film. I hope I can meet the actors one day. They are so lovely! anyways I think I'm done now! :) much love!

Ky Patch

2024-10-20 07:26:27 +0000 UTC

Just curious - have you read the books?

Kim D

2024-10-18 23:51:09 +0000 UTC

I had wondered why Santiago put Madeleine, of all people, into a trance. She's the weakest. At first I thought it was out of mercy, because she hadn't actually done anything. But why would the coven show mercy? Lestat can't communicate telepathically with Louis and Claudia, but he can with Madeleine. I think Santiago wanted to prevent that. If you pay attention to the expressions on his and Madeleine's faces at 21:10 of Franklin's reaction to episode 7, it looks like Lestat is taking Santiago's brief irritation after the "frags" scene to contact her. She seems to wake up. At 21:27 she says something quietly. It cannot be understood and is not shown in the English subtitles. I had watched the series with German subtitles and there it was in the subtitels and what she said was: "Where am I . Speak louder". Also pay attention to their faces at 1:21:12 / 1:21:21 / 1:21:31 / 1:21:35 and 1:22:02 / 1:22:23. However, I wonder what the point is. Madeleine can't do anything even with contact to Lestat. Perhaps he wanted her to tell Claudia something, but in the end it remains the case that he chooses to save Louis and not her.

Myra

2024-10-16 19:22:28 +0000 UTC

I agree with you! Yes, that wide shot of the whole coven standing around before opening the observatory window in episode 7 shows Lestat swaying really oddly and we’ve learned this show is planned to perfection. Nothing is done by accident.

Amanda Hill

2024-10-16 17:10:04 +0000 UTC

I think Lestat would have saved Claudia and Louis too, If he had enough strength to do so. Maybe Armand did something to weaken him, because He really didn't look good. But it is also hard to see that Claudia was right and it was never about her. What I absolutely can't unterstand is why Lestat didn't free Louis from the coffin. He seemed to know that Louis was locked up there and also that Louis was free again and had taken revenge in the coven. I can't Imagine that he just would have left Louis there to starve to death. We don't see who frees Louis, but it was clearly Armand's blood that was dripped into the coffin. But why didn't Armand take him out straight away, let him drink on him and continue to Look after him. It makes No sense to me to let the blood drip onto the stones and just disappear. If Louis hadn't realized it was Armand's blood, I would have thought Lestat had freed him. I rate the fact Louis invited Armand in after the situation in the tunnel a little differendly. Louis certainly had feelings for Armand, but he wasn't really ready to get involved with him yet. That Armand told him it was possible to overcome His Feelings for Lestat may habe played a role, but it seemed to me that he was mainly acting Out of fear and was now getting involved with Armand in order to protect Claudia and himself. This also explains why He then tried to take on a dominant role in the realtionship. It was pointed out to him in the photo of Armand that he was vulnerable in reality. Louis tried to gain Control of the coven through Armand in order to avert the danger.

Myra

2024-10-16 16:04:57 +0000 UTC

That is so nice of you to say! And I would love to! Talking about this series never gets tiring to me 😊

Maria

2024-10-16 04:43:17 +0000 UTC

I am totally impressed by your comment and will have to think about it some more. I just watched the reaction and am glad to see a detailed actual post. I would love it if we could have discussions about the series even after the second season has finished, because it moves me a lot.

Myra

2024-10-16 00:44:36 +0000 UTC

Soo after first not being ready to post a comment because I didn’t want it to be over yet to then not having time to finish writing the comment because life was fun but busy to then being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of comments already left by other people to now finally posting this comment, it has been quite a journey. But I do have to say not nearly as fun a journey as it was to watch you discover and fall in love with the Interview with the Vampire. Through it all - even when I was not your opinion, or maybe especially then - it was such a joy to witness the emotions you went through and I was thankful to be around each week and talk to you about your thoughts and ideas about the characters, the situations they found themselves in and the show as a whole. I hope that you had just as much fun with my comments as I did with your reactions. Since some weeks have passed now since your initial reaction and feelings have probably settled down a little and are not quite as raw as they initially were when you filmed this I don’t really know how to start with my own comment. But I remember when I watched you watch episode 8 so close to episode 7 and saw how numb you still were from the shock and impact of Claudia’s death, I felt a little sad for you and for this episode because I knew it wouldn’t take the pain away. I wasn’t even sure if it wouldn’t hurt worse (which it clearly did, if “they all fucked her” is any indication). But at the same time, I was so excited because I love the accumulation of things and themes that come to a close in this episode. I never went into IWTV like you did, completely blind. I had read the books and even if I hadn’t, the one thing I knew even before I read the books was that Claudia would die. It was one of the first things I learned about this series. I knew it because a friend excitedly told me, trying to convince me to read the books more than 10 years ago now. So to me, Claudia dying seemed like such a well-known fact in the community that when I watched the show I sometimes forgot that some people didn’t know that she would. Didn’t know a lot of things about the series. The books seem like such a cult thing and like such a niche thing at the same time that it was really funny to me to see you discover and enjoy the series so completely without any knowledge about what was to come. I really want to thank you and also Taco for that because it made me pay attention to things I probably would have pushed to the side or let me reconsider things in a way I haven’t done in quite some time. Through you I got to Taco and through the two of you I got a place to gush about this amazing series which I love so dearly and with my whole heart and it feels so good to talk to people who not just love it because I love it but love it for its own sake and not just enjoy my enthusiasm about something I love but share that enthusiasm. I‘m really very grateful for that. And I hope for all the messiness the comment section sometimes brings with it, that you found and continue to find the same joy in it. I really do. Now that I have vomited out my feelings for three paragraphs let’s finally (after weeks) get to the episode, shall we? I think because both seasons are told mainly from Louis’ point of view it is no wonder that the theme of identity is the overarching one because he seems to struggle with this aspect the most throughout his human as well as vampire life. His struggle is to the viewer the most obvious one. But all of the characters actually do struggle with it and it’s also one of the most pivotal themes of the (book) series as a whole. Who are we? What defines us? How do things we do and say, shape us and the world around us? I see it in Claudia’s relentless strive for self-expression, the way she tries to find a balance between the life within and the shape on the outside. I see it in Louis’ attempts to be good and trying to define what that means, to him and in general. And I think Louis and Claudia’s struggle with identity and self-expression have been very front and center. But I think one can also see it in Daniel, Armand, and Lestat, even though it might be less obvious. Daniel, who at the beginning of season one, has come to a point in his life where it seems like everything he liked about himself (and it is questionable if there was ever much of that to begin with - it is really no wonder he and Louis get along so well) has been stripped away and he just survived one day at a time without really enjoying or living it. And then suddenly this letter from Louis appears and it becomes a rollercoaster of addiction - because let’s be honest, the story is also only a high that Daniel is chasing -, and remembrance. A way to redefine things. The boy who wanted to be a vampire to the man who says he doesn’t need it anymore to an oddly adapted vampire who seems to revel in it. Identity for Armand and Lestat is more tricky I think. They both seem to define themselves through other people and their self-worth seems to be heavily tangled up in their relationships with these other people. Louis has the same problem and I think that problem is more obvious in Louis and Armand than it is in Lestat at times but all three of them have a tendency to do it. Armand in season two actually mirrors Lestat in season one in a lot of ways, and people have probably pointed that out already, especially in regard to their dynamics with Claudia and Louis. But I want to draw your attention to three different instances where the writers made them literal echos of each other: 1.) Armand: “My prevailing thought was, ‘if I’m not with him, I’m nothing’” (S2E8), Lestat: “I’m nothing without you. I’m nothing without both of you.” (S1E6) Both of these lines are about how they feel about Louis. It is vulnerability and it is manipulation and they both probably believe it’s the truth. To me, both Lestat and Armand have always been characters who define themselves in what they can provide for others. They think the only way to be loved, is to be needed. Armand plays with that like a director, he puts himself in positions and scenes. He has his lines, of which he thinks that they are the things the people want to hear. He provides illusions and escapes and as he phrased it himself, “a prison of empathy”. Lestat is a little different in the sense that I think, he is not actually always aware when he is being manipulative. Most of the time, I think he is ignorant of it, partially willfully. He clambers like a hurt child which thinks if he makes himself into the most shining, glittering thing in the room people will look, and attention is at the core of what Lestat perceives as love. I think both Lestat and Armand have lived lives where they have been made to feel invisible or replaceable in one way or another and because of that, they cling very hard to people (Louis), and things (the Great Laws, the music box), and places (New Orleans, the Théâtre des Vampires). 2.) Armand: “And I locked those words away for another 150 years” (S2E3), Lestat: “Took me over a century to try again.” (S1E6) Lestat is talking about his love affair with Nicki, Armand is talking about his love affair with Lestat, and both of them are talking about how Louis was the one who made them want to try love again after more than a hundred years of not engaging in a romantic relationship. It makes one wonder, what is it about Louis that made both of them go, “huh, that one.” And I know the fandom has a lot of different opinions on the matter depending on how one perceives each of those pairings but I think what is most important about these two lines is not the fact that they love Louis or that they loved someone else before but how much time passed in between. I think it is supposed to show how deep, fragile, and maybe volatile vampiric emotions are. That a broken heart can hurt so much that you wouldn’t want to try again. That loneliness or ennui can become your whole world. And that sometimes these things end in fire because they don’t know how to bear them otherwise. 3.) Armand: “He loved you. I can say that now” (S2E8), Lestat: “She is an artful predator, I can say that now.” (S2E7) This is my favorite echoing and it’s interesting that even though it is not about Louis (at least directly), it is about love. Because Lestat loved Claudia, and Armand loved Lestat. In which way? Does not matter. They loved them and they felt betrayed by them, and they wanted to hurt them. It goes full circle. Even if Armand loved Louis, I think a part of him also wanted a relationship with Louis because he used to love Lestat and Lestat had hurt him, so he wanted to hurt him back by being loved by the one he loved. Lestat is the same with Claudia. He loves and loved Claudia but he also always felt in competition with her. Like Louis couldn’t love the both of them at the same time. And he probably also felt isolated because Louis and Claudia could communicate with each other in a way that always made him the odd one out. So Lestat resented Claudia just as much as he loved her. I actually think the fact that he loved her made him resent her even more because - like with Louis - he did not feel like his love was returned. And we all know Lestat does not deal with that kind of rejection gracefully. So the theme of these last two seasons was identity. And I think we can also see that in Louis’ revenge plan and how he talks about creating it. As Daniel describes it, Louis distances himself from the act by using the third person or an impersonal pronoun. During his revenge plan, Louis distances himself and claims the act in the same breath, “My rage, my madness.” Claiming it with the “my” but at the same, it is not him, he doesn’t say “me” or “I”. No, it is “my madness did this”, “my rage did that”. A strange dichotomy of owning one’s deeds and not being able to fully commit to them. Which makes one wonder how Armand would talk about Daniel’s turning, doesn’t it? After all in S2E6 he tells us how repulsed he is by the act of creating a fledgling. Repulsed enough to disagree with Louis, to not turn Madeleine (even though it probably would have put him in Claudia and Louis’ good graces). But then he goes and turns Daniel. The fascinating boy. Out of spite, if Louis is to be believed. But haven’t we learnt in the last two seasons that Louis is not as good of a judge in character as he sometimes seems to think he is? So we will see, maybe Armand did turn Daniel out of spite, or maybe he didn’t. Either way though, I think the act haunts him. “My shame” “my one act of cowardice”, that’s how Armand described the trial in S2E6 and I think Daniel’s turning might be another shame for Armand which is why he is nowhere to be found at the end of season two ("Have you heard from my maker?") But maybe we will get answers to that in season 3. I haven’t talked a lot about what Armand did (the play), Louis’ revenge (numbness, pain) and what Santiago said about Claudia or Claudia in general, and I haven’t read any of the other comments but I’m guessing that people have talked at length about these aspects of the episode, especially because they affected you so greatly and they probably said all I wanted to say much more eloquently than I would, so I’m gonna skip these parts and maybe we will get back to them at some point in the future. Because I’m sure, all of these actions and the consequences will pop up again eventually. I want to end the season and this comment with another full-circle moment. In episode one of season two, the vampire lady (Daciana) tells Louis and Claudia at the beginning of their conversation that they (vampires) “own the night” just to end the conversation with “we own nothing” and throwing herself in the fire. These two lines not only symbolise the whole of the series so far but what it means to be a vampire. In the beginning one gains strength and abilities that one can only dream of, it can and for some must feel exhilarating but the longer it goes on the more one loses. Friends, family, love, a way of life, a sense of self; all the things Armand said in S2E6 to talk Madeleine out of becoming a vampire. All the things we see Louis lose along the way. So to end season two with Louis saying, “I owe the night” was a brilliant experience to me. It was like saying that times of darkness and heartache and pain, can still have joy and pleasure and self-discovery. That you can always start anew if you hold on long enough to weather the worst of the storm. And maybe I have never experienced true darkness, never been in a situation so overwhelmingly bad that I just wanted everything to stop; maybe I’m toxic in my positivity and optimism but to me at least that was a good message to end on. I also think that’s what the moment in the shack between Louis and Lestat was about. Acknowledgement from both sides on how they have failed each other and how they failed Claudia, how bad it had gotten and how deeply the wounds still run and will always run, will never fully heal. How there are constant little reminders like the stones in Louis' feet or his Zen garden, or Paul’s portrait, or Claudia’s dress and diaries that will always hurt a little (”We leave the damage, so we don’t forget the damage” S1E6) but that one day they might be able to look at these things and remember the good as well as the bad. It is about acknowledging that there was also good, there was also love. To me “to learn to live honestly” and “I own the night” mean the same thing and I really hope for Louis’ sake that he’ll finally manage to do that, whatever that means to him. Thank you. And see you soon.

Maria

2024-10-15 18:54:55 +0000 UTC

Thank you so much for doing such a impressive job reacting to the first 2 seasons of IWTV. You're definitely one of the most insightful reactors out there! I only recently started to watch you on YouTube became hooked, then discovered your friend FoxTaco, whom I also love. I now am a Patreon supporter especially because you are now posting about NBC Hannibal, my very favorite show with a VERY strong connection to IWTV. Bryan Fuller, Hannibal showrunner, has revealed that Anne Rice and her Vampire books had a major influence on him and his screenwriting career. There are definite echos of Louis/Lestat to be found between Will and Hannibal. I hope that viewers who are waiting for Season 3 and the Vampire Lestat, will (thanks to you) discover the similar vibes in Hannibal

CatsEyeWatching

2024-10-15 08:07:50 +0000 UTC

I'm hella late, but I wanted to point out some things I haven't seen anyone else comment on. I feel like people miss a lot when they watch this show and it confuses me, but Lestat was prepared to die with them during this trial. I don't think he ever wanted them dead to begin with because he talks about reflecting on what he did to Louis. He even tells them he broke the second law and when you condemn them, you condemn him, meaning he was prepared to die. Also, people have forgotten that Armand is a gazillion years older than Lestat, we saw the episode he turned Lestat into a ragdoll. There is no way he could have gone up against Armand and refused to perform in this trial now that they knew where he was. My guess is this is why Lestat left Armand, because he was extremely controlling and we all know Lestat is not for that, which is why he leaves abruptly without a word. Armand is also lying about Lestat loving him. Lestat was too weak and still recovering from his injuries to save both Louis and Claudia. I've seen a lot of people saying that they think he would have saved Claudia if he could have, but I don't think he would have. He loves Claudia but I think he would have let her die because Claudia would have gone mad eventually anyway. I know people keep saying you don't know that she would have gone mad, but they do...they have seen many vampires go through this which is why it's forbidden. I'm sure everytime someone made a young vampire they thought the same thing until it happened. Claudia's death is no doubt horrible, but her dying this way might have been less traumatic than seeing her lose her mind, which might have been more tramatic for Louis given the fact that his brother was considered mad and unalived himself. As for Armand, he can kick rocks because he could have saved them all, but at the end of the day he's a coward. He's displayed how powerful he is so many times, so it was weird to me that people really believed he was held hostage and made to watch them all on trial. Poor Armand 😒 I know people like to say that Lestat and Louis failed Claudia, but as much as I love Claudia, she was also the reason for her own demise. Lestat warned her of the vampires and she ignored it due to her arrogance, even in the end she doesn’t believe anything he says. Lestat is not a saint, but we can't take Louis or Claudia's view of him to heart. Claudia needed to hate someone for her creation and Lestat was the easiest to blame for it. Louis was the "fun" parent and Lestat was the serious one. She needed Louis, but had she found out about him lying about how she was made, she probably would have never have spoken to him ever again. Had Claudia taken Lestat's warning seriously they would have never found themselves in this position. Everyone is to blame in some way. anyways, there is so much more I'd like to say, but I'd be here for forever. 😂

Bythebook

2024-10-12 17:57:14 +0000 UTC

Also the Louis painting in the back is incredible omg ! I just painted him as well 🖌 would love to send you a print if I’m able to as a thank you for all the work you put in for your videos and commentaries

Hugo

2024-10-08 20:29:59 +0000 UTC

Thank you Franklin! For taking us along this show with you. The last two episodes are so emotional and upsetting (Claudia 💔) but this show has been so amazing to watch. You’ve cultivated such a loving and supportive area on the internet and I’ve been really enjoying your channel. As always I look forward to both your videos and your art too but also hope you’ve been well and taking care of yourself. You have such a wonderful way of seeing things and have such nuanced discussions. These reactions will always be special. Hope you’re having a great week mate, stay blessed ❤️

Hugo

2024-10-08 18:46:27 +0000 UTC

Sadly Lestat could only save one. He isnt as powerful And he choose to save Louie. I know it hurts but lets not forget Claudia plan to kill him. Im not sure if im willing to save someone who tried to kill me.

jestina Thomas

2024-10-07 19:24:46 +0000 UTC

That is a lovely idea. The family Vibe is a good touch

Franklin

2024-10-06 21:50:03 +0000 UTC

Can I request that you do a painting of Louis, Lestat, Claudia and Madeline? But make it in a form of a family portrait??? My heart would love that…

Rem Holloway

2024-10-05 23:35:13 +0000 UTC

That's a bit of a book spoiler that might pop up in series 3 and I know Frank hates any kind of spoilers so maybe edit it or delete it

Kim D

2024-10-04 20:27:14 +0000 UTC

Lestate was definitely not at his most strongest. He was only there for Armand's blood to heal him hence he is kind of an unwilling participant in the trial. Nonetheless he could have saved Claudia instead of Louis but we all know Louis is his priority. None of these men ever put Claudia first.

Princess Zuma

2024-10-04 13:07:37 +0000 UTC

This series is the antidote for the bizarrely miscast Tom Cruise / Brad Pitt movie.

Susan B

2024-10-03 01:11:51 +0000 UTC

Maybe the one advantage of immortality is that there’s time to forgive.

Susan B

2024-10-03 00:38:13 +0000 UTC

Can’t wait to watch Hamilton with you!

Susan B

2024-10-02 23:09:08 +0000 UTC

I know you're thinking Lestat should've done more, but I do implore you when you're ready, to take a look back at episode 7 and notice Lestat especially when the camera has him in the background or not always in focus, and even look at him in episode 8 when he saves Louis versus in episode 7 when he "doesn't." He looks noticeably more tired, his ear is bleeding. I understand with Claudia suffering how she did, and then how she died, it's easy to not really focus on all that, I didn't either. But when you take a step back and look...well, I think you'll find it's not really as cut and dry as you initially thought.

connie

2024-10-02 08:12:12 +0000 UTC

That's so interesting! I haven't seen that interview from Sam. I was just extrapolating based on the 'interview' being technically over at that point -- so I assumed we were seeing a Lestat/Louis reunion in real time. Was that scene not meant to be real time? Did I misunderstand?

ArcAngel

2024-10-02 06:32:48 +0000 UTC

I’m glad that Louis finished his S2 arc “a companion enough for himself” and free from a toxic relationship. That he has a new acceptance about being a vampire, that he has his own place now. Hopefully, in S3 he will continue his journey.

Mary

2024-10-02 00:38:59 +0000 UTC

I think we are supposed to wonder why Lestat participated in the trial in the first place and why he didn’t save Claudia. Sam Reid said in a interview that he himself doesn’t have an answer as to why Lestat is there. He knows why Lestat is Paris in the books (and he has his reasons), but not in the show. All of this, I think, is left for S3 when Daniel is going to grill Lestat about everything that had happened. All we know is that 1) he may have been motivated by a desire for revenge (Sam said that he doesn’t know the reasoning behind his decision in the show), 2) that he didn’t particularly enjoy rehearsing the trial with Armand (why did he agree? in the books we know why, in the show it’s unclear), 3) that he indeed wanted to save Louis and compelled a lot more people than 30 soldiers to say “banishment”, and 4) that he was not moving but was just looking at Claudia. Sam says that they placed clues “that may be picked in the third season”. Jacob is convinced that Lestat was too tired to save Claudia. Jacob’s reaction is in an official material after the episode so I think showrunners want us to think in that direction. But we’ll see. Again, I think a lot of these questions are meant to be answered in S3. Can’t wait for Daniel to make Lestat uncomfortable and miserable for 8 episodes straight, especially when they inevitably address the topic of Claudia and of all the ways he wronged her.

Mary

2024-10-02 00:14:00 +0000 UTC

Yes! I've had to be very conscious of it and may have hinted early on without even realizing or intending it. I was thinking about the name drop in the tower scene and I don't want anyone to spoil that for FF.

Melissa

2024-10-01 22:21:32 +0000 UTC

I don’t think Lestat chose not to save Claudia, I think he couldn’t. In season 1 after manipulating those soldiers he is shown bleeding from his ear and being exhausted, I assume he knows he can’t manipulate the whole theatre twice so he chooses to save his strength for Louis, which is really sad for Claudia because it shows that she is NEVER the priority for these men, but it also explains why Lestat suffers to see her die

elena

2024-10-01 22:11:27 +0000 UTC

I love your take on Louis' turning too and his arc. I couldn't agree more. He wasn't forced into it. As you said it wasn't perfect but Lestat felt if he didn't do it then, Louis would probably either take his own life or lose his mind that night. He could hear his thoughts and he knew what state Louis was in. He loved Louis and he offered him the only thing he could. And I think Louis accepted as he finally felt seen and accepted and loved for who he was. And Louis always struggled with accepting and loving himself. What Lestat said in the trial about Louis' desires screaming in the darkness, I always thought that is 100% true. Louis clearly wanted Lestat and was thinking about him all the time, so of course Lestat would interpret it as "calling to him". He may not have literally been calling "come to me" out loud, but his thoughts were clearly calling to Lestat. Louis was always trying to repress his sexuality and his true self. I think that's why I love Lestat's character so much - he's so truly unapologetically himself and isn't afraid to show who he really is. I'm more like Louis, reserved and quiet and unsure of revealing certain aspects of myself with new people. I wish I could be more like Lestat in some ways. But yeah, Louis is definitely transformed by the end of season 2. He's finally embracing himself fully and able to be happy by himself.

Kim D

2024-10-01 21:41:26 +0000 UTC

I’d definitely buy that portrait if it was in a smaller version!!🥰

Destini

2024-10-01 21:13:35 +0000 UTC

I think if they thought that (Armand certainly did), it was a mistake on their part, because Claudia was as fierce a vampire as any of them, more than some. She was turned as a child so she didn't struggle with human morality the way Louis did, and part of her tragedy is that she was going to do just as well as any of them, but because Armand "knew" her "fate," he created that fate for her, which is one of his biggest sins and why he's such a hateful character - he "knows" what will happen, and is so powerful he makes it happen, but then doesn't accept his responsibility in making it happen, because it was "inevitable," and maybe doesn't totally believe himself that he's responsible. An all-powerful tantruming toddler. I love to hate him.

Kelsi Villarreal

2024-10-01 21:06:28 +0000 UTC

Oh and also, that Louis painting looks amazing! ❤️ Can't wait to see it finished. Any plans to do other characters too or to make that one available on your website?

Kim D

2024-10-01 20:51:19 +0000 UTC

It's already been said a lot, but yeah, Lestat didn't have the strength to save both of them - he wasn't at his strongest still after the attempted murder. When you rewatch it you'll notice him swaying in the background as he's so weak after saving Louis. There were probably 100 people in the theatre that he had to control. We all know Lestat would always choose Louis over Claudia. But if he could have, I think he would have saved her too. Jacob has said he firmly believes that Lestat would have saved her too if he could. Also, Lestat isn't exactly a willing participant in the play. He's called there by the coven and then has to play along to try and have any chance of saving either of them. But he clearly isn't happy about it and tries to throw it off multiple times. If you remember in season 1 , Louis suggests they go to Paris at one point and Lestat shuts it down immediately by just saying no. Then when Claudia talks about going to Europe he tells her "the vampires out there are vicious". He also says that Armand had a hand in Nicky's death during the trial. So Lestat knows all along what they're like - that's why he never wanted them to go there, and also why he had to go there straight away when he knew they had Claudia and Louis! He knew they were planning horrible things for them. We also see how incredibly haunted he is by what happens to Claudia. Sam said in an interview that he doesn't believe Lestat will ever forgive himself for what happened to her. And I know you might hate me saying this, but when it comes to Louis and Lestat and how much to blame they are for her death, I think it's pretty equal. As Louis said, if he hadn't made Lestat turn her then she wouldn't have been brought into all their crap in the first place and wouldn't have ended up in the theatre. The real ones to blame for her death are Armand and the coven. Another thing that's worth mentioning is that Lestat could easily have told Louis it was him who saved him and begged Louis to come back to him when they came to him in Magnus's lair, but he knew he needed to let Louis go. He knew he wasn't good for Louis. And in a way he punished himself for the next 77 years - living in squalor, feeding off rats, a shell of the person he was. And all along he knew Louis was with the guy who was responsible for the whole trial - Armand, the master manipulator and gaslighter. In that reunion scene you can see real fear on Lestat's face after he says "siri pause" and then Louis steps towards him. His breathing, his eyes, the protective movement with the piece of wood, he looks so broken and scared. God they're all such brilliant actors. Jacob and Sam killed that scene. Oh and you asked if Lestat fans loved him from the start - when I first saw the movie as a teen I was scared of him. When I read the first book I hated him and didn't want to read The Vampire Lestat at all - I thought "why the hell would I want to read a whole book about that twat?!". But after the first few pages of TVL I was captivated by him and it didn't take long for me to fall completely in love with him! And watching the show only made me love him more as Sam did such an incredible job bringing his complicated, passionate, emotional, erratic, vain, stubborn, tortured character to life. I'm glad you enjoyed the show so much, and I'm also sorry for all the stress and headaches it caused you! 😄 It's probably been mentioned before but you should definitely check out the interviews with Sam, Jacob, Delainey, and Assad by Autumn Brown on YouTube. They're all about an hour or more but so worth it 🌸

Kim D

2024-10-01 20:49:04 +0000 UTC

Thank you🙏

ArcAngel

2024-10-01 19:25:08 +0000 UTC

Yeah exactly... because some reactors (without the benefit of book knowledge) hardlined themselves into a bad spot, it makes me worry for their enjoyment for future seasons, too (obviously, not concerned about Frank in this regard -- Frank definitely doesn't need my help 😂). But it's strange, isn't it, the population of people who want to spoil reactors (any show) for all sorts of reasons? This is the only show I've ever found myself struggling not to say some little thing like "memory is a flawed thing" or some such because the writing and acting was so good I was thinking to myself "wow...if I didn't know this part was a significant exaggeration" or "if I didn't know what was coming" etc., "I might not be able to get past this! " Never even been vaguely tempted to spoil in my life until watching reactions to this show. Which, really, in a weird way is a huge credit to the show! They are pulling everyone's strings...even 2nd hand! 😂

ArcAngel

2024-10-01 19:22:08 +0000 UTC

Yes, all the actors are amazing in their roles! I haven’t read the books so I only have the series to go off of and I tried to like his character. I wanted to believe when he said, “I could not prevent it” only to learn that he was gaslighting the situation the entire time.

Shyranhi Law

2024-10-01 18:25:14 +0000 UTC

i loved every sentence of this! 💜

alee

2024-10-01 18:04:58 +0000 UTC

Yes, and I think they only recently started writing S3.

Melissa

2024-10-01 17:43:17 +0000 UTC

Sam Reid in interviews has said we've not yet seen the "real" Lestat in his approach to the role and various perspectives. I do think, though, that the reunion scene is the closest we get to it. I think the scene on the couch in S1 where he answers their questions also feels close to me. He's such a complex, chaotic character so I'm excited for more!!

Melissa

2024-10-01 17:42:06 +0000 UTC

I agree. I do think most of us can (and should) be able to do both: stay loyal to our love for characters from our book experience and also stay open to seeing new perspectives with AMC's take on the saga. Moreover, it's important for all of us to remember and respect that FF is only reacting to this version without the deeper lore and benefit of the entire arc of the characters. (I hope this comes across right. I'm basically trying to agree with you and add on some food for thought.)

Melissa

2024-10-01 17:39:12 +0000 UTC

Beautifully written! 💞

Melissa

2024-10-01 17:33:14 +0000 UTC

My condolences

Martin Gage

2024-10-01 15:22:59 +0000 UTC

Amen. Assad is amazing but Armand I cannot like. Even after reading the books and knowing his full story, he's still one of my least favourites

Kim D

2024-10-01 15:18:45 +0000 UTC

A bit off topic but whenever you finish that louie painting in the background and ever decide to sell it just know a fierce bidding war will be taking place for it.

Johnathan Bush

2024-10-01 15:08:58 +0000 UTC

wow, I 100% agree with your take on Louis' turning and his arc! I'm glad you managed to put it into words way better than I could've! I usually get pretty defensive over this because as a queer person, this reading of the story means so much to me so when I see others don't see it the same way (which ofc is their right) or completely remove Louis' agency I get easily frustrated which I know is a fault on my part, and I never want to come off as aggressive when talking about it. so that's why I wanna say thank you for putting my thoughts into words more eloquently!!

kai

2024-10-01 14:54:04 +0000 UTC

I’m a Lestat apologist so I will point something out that you may have missed. When Lestat saves Louis you can see his ear is bleeding. To me this was an indication that he was at his limit. He couldn’t have done the feat twice. He couldn’t have controlled more people. He had to make a choice who to save and he chose his love, Louis. I don’t fault him for that. If he would have saved Claudia I’m sure she would have reeled into him about why he didn’t save Louis so there really wasn’t any winning. I think the better question is why Armand did nothing in the moment and took credit. And for that I can never truly like his character.

Shyranhi Law

2024-10-01 13:23:21 +0000 UTC

I’m still so torn about whether I think Lestat wanted to save Claudia or not. Like by the end as he watched her dying he absolutely realized he didn’t want to lose his daughter, but going into the trial I just don’t know and I could see it go both ways. But either way I actually don’t think he could have saved her. He’s not as strong as Armand. Like I don’t think he could have frozen Armand in time for example. And Armand could stop time and control an entire room like it’s absolutely nothing to him, but for Lestat it takes a lot out of him (see the bleeding ears). I don’t think he physically could have pulled the controlling the audience move twice in a row, but also, he needed the element of surprise for it to work. Armand could have just stopped him once he knew what Lestat was doing. So I think Lestat’s choice was between saving Claudia and saving Louis and if that his choice then Louis is just always gonna win out over Claudia. And you’re so right about Louis needing to be single. Like if he was one of my girls I’d be begging on my hands and knees for them to just not date for a while 😭 Anyway, I loved your reaction to his show! I found your channel when you reacted to the first episode and I’m so happy I did because I really enjoy your thoughtful and nuanced discussion on the show. Love that you’re starting Fleabag soon because that is another one of my favorite shows.

rese

2024-10-01 12:42:10 +0000 UTC

bullshit

2024-10-01 11:45:51 +0000 UTC

i dont think for one second that Armand turning Daniel into a vampire was out of spite. Daniel being Armand’s only fledgling is going to be so interesting

2024-10-01 11:41:34 +0000 UTC

i didn't read the books so this is just my personal opinion based on what was said in the show, and not really an excuse, just an analysis of it, but through the entire show neither armand nor lestat believed that claudia, should or could live for long as an vampire. the show aged her up alot so her ethernal suffering was less obvious, and less cruel, especially visuallty, but she still was only 14 so it doesn't change the facts of the story that turning a child was forbidden for "good" reasons, and both of them knew it better than louis ever wanted to admit. and both of them told him that times and times again. it certainly was unfair that the moment she had a "chance" to be happy in her life, it was taken, but i believe for 200~500 year old vampires, knowing the biology of vampires, and the rules & powers of the big covens, it's just a blink not even worth mentioning. simply because of how certain they were that either the unchangable, eternal physical & hormonal suffering she was stucked in would kill her soon or the covens that doomed her as forbidden would hunt her to erasure. it was doomed to end badly in any way. (one could even argue that lestat, in his fucked ways, didn't want her to go to europe at that time TO protect her from the covens, and that fate. he certainly warned her. but in paris, it simply was too late to save her existence from the powers of all covens, which louis or claudia wouldn't know within their POV) i think armands and lestats motives to let her die were different, and regret certainly set in after , but beside could or could not, i don't think either of them "wanted" to save her at the theatre at that moment because, for both, her fate/death as a forbidden-child-vampire was sealed from the day she got turned against the "great laws" anyway, i love this show and it's million shades of complexity. thank you for all the reactions 💜

Kimia

2024-10-01 10:59:49 +0000 UTC

I do think you’re totally right in your take - everything Lestat did, he still did. Louis apologising is more about him taking accountability for his part in making the situation in NOLA toxic. He’s spent 77 years and two interviews exclusively blaming Lestat, and this was a real turning point of Louis reclaiming agency that he lost (both with Lestat and especially with Armand), in both his past and his future. So I think it’s more about that than forgiving or absolving Lestat for everything (although it is certainly helping to heal some wounds). You’re SO RIGHT that they all fucked Claudia. They all have a part to play in what happened to her - I’m with Jacob - and others - that said they believe Lestat would have saved her if he could. But the point is Lestat could only save one of them and it was always going to be Louis. That’s the shame he must live with, and this episode showed he was living with it and suffering (as he ‘should’). But again, Louis is now stepping up and saying he was part of the problem (no need to list what - but everything from ignoring Armand pinning/threatening her, to not killing by Lestat to caring more about his own pain than hers). She was a pawn in their relationship as she said. That’s the tragedy of her story. I hope she haunts them forever (and suspect she will).

Beth

2024-10-01 10:48:48 +0000 UTC

i think whether or not lestat wanted to save claudia depends on perspective. jacob anderson said that he fully believes he did but it just took too much out of lestat. personally, i think it did too. i think he only had enough strength to save one person, and unfortunately this was another case of lestat picking Louis over anyone else. however, i don’t doubt that if he could physically save both of them, he would have. i think he just couldn’t. i imagine we’ll find out more about the trial itself, and what really occurred and how, since how lestat got there is still so muddy. if we remember, armand has wayyy more power than lestat and lestat was drained completely out of blood. that would make lestat weaker than usual and easier to mentally manipulate, which we now know armand would be adept at doing. there were so many parts of the play where lestat went off script, where he tried to place blame on himself, said that if Louis & Claudia were being sentenced that he should be sentenced too. moments where he seemed physically drained and feeble. we know lestat is impulsive, but if he had come there for revenge and for them to die… why would he do all that, just to ruin and sabotage certain aspects of the trial itself? i guess we’ll see, i don’t know. however, i do agree with you on the fact that they all still played a hand in her demise, no matter what. that sorrow, as you said, and the grief of claudia will never evaporate completely. in a way, she is the figure that haunts the narrative of the show and i imagine she will continue to do so in later seasons. i find it really interesting how Louis says that to the present day, he has not removed the rocks from the theater, reminding him day in and day out of the trial. those rocks also resemble the ones in his rock garden. it reminds me of Claudia’s saying in s1, “we keep the damage so we don’t forget the damage.” but to what extent is that mostly meant to keep him locked in this deep spiral of loss and grief, not allowing him to heal? that piece of sunlight separating Louis and armand in the room… a constant reminder of claudia, a way of expressing how this will never be forgiven or forgotten. their relationship will never really come back from this. to me, louis swearing to stay by armand in front of lestat wasn’t a declaration of love, and i doubt armand took it that way. this was a way to hurt lestat. but it’s so clear to all of them really (lestat does seem hurt by what Louis does but not as jealous as we know he can be) that this relationship between Louis and armand is one being kept out of spite. that’s all their relationship is after the trial. louis stays with armand out of spite, and armand knows that. which then makes episode five of season two completely change for me. this man was out here cheating on armand with addicts and then draining them bc he was still, understandably, not processing Claudia’s death in a way that is healthy for him. armand had accepted this cheating until he exploded in that scene. they both knew what the relationship was, even if they hated what it entailed and kept their own resentments about it. their relationship never recovered or healed after claudia’s death, and why would it? as far as Louis knew, armand had sold them out, but of course there was always an inkling that there was something more to it. to be honest, in watching the show back, it’s so crazy to see moments where something feels a little off between armand & Louis, or louis looks weirded out, but as a first time viewer it was impossible to catch. that sweet gulp Daniel takes of this martini is HILARIOUS lol 😭😭 like he knows he’s about to drop some life changing bombs — i love it! honestly, i think that somehow, Louis got exactly what he had hoped for. there’s no way that after 77 years with armand and all that mind wiping going on that Louis didn’t feel an inkling of something . he wanted the truth from this interview, the real story, and he got exactly that. idk if you noticed but louis’ new orleans accent coming back after leaving Dubai 🙏🏼 and how he starts wearing hints of color again — that was jacob anderson’s idea, which really shows his deep understanding and dedication of the character. i also want to mention that final look claudia gives lestat. it is haunting. in her final moments, she turns to him, her maker and her father. there is so much history with them — so much resentment, anger, hurt, and pain. but there was once also love. and i think you can sense that in that scene. it’s one last cry for help, she’s turning to him bc she needs him and there’s no one else, but also a “look what you’ve let them do to me.” and by the look on lestat’s face, he wholly understands. he felt that. and i don’t think he’ll easily forget it. and from what we’ve seen, he hasn’t. that moment has probably been stuck on his mind in replay. he’s still stuck in Paris. he’s wearing old clothes, living in new orleans, he has not moved on. to me, lestat represents the hurricane in a way (you can’t script a hurricane)— his state of mind. he is so clearly not well and is in a visible state of suffering. it’s interesting that as the hurricane starts hitting his little shack, the window on lestat’s side breaks first. he is not only physically weak, because of the rats he’s eating, but is emotionally weak and unstable, while louis’s mind is much more of a steady fortress now, willing to withstand the storm. i understand your take on louis’ turning and on the “i didn’t understand it was a gift. i wore it like a curse” line, but it’s hard for me to see it in the same light as the turnings of lestat and armand. those turnings were made through abuse and an absolute lack of agency. i think that’s why lestat made such a huge deal of louis saying yes to being made a vampire. there were certainly a set of circumstances that influenced louis’ decision, and it wasn’t perfect by any means, but lestat offered vampirism as a way for louis to live for himself for once, as a way for louis to be “all the beautiful things” he is. louis, in the theater while he’s in the coffin, contemplates this himself. — wonders if anything he could have done before could have changed the story, made him reject lestat, and his answer is: no, nothing could have changed that. no change or difference in his past would have made him reject lestat, because in a way, being turned was the first time he felt seen by another individual, and it was the first time he felt truly loved for who he truly was, which was, in that aspect and in that one moment, freeing. i think that’s why louis is so willing to turn madeleine and armand isn’t. Armand doesn’t know what it’s like to be turned out of love, or for it to happem with good intentions. louis does, and not only does he make sure that madeleine’s turning is even better than his own (more peaceful) but he also wants armand, someone who compared louis’ turning to his own because he’s never been given the chance to know anything else, to witness it. it probably still bothered louis that armand compared his turning to the way armand and lestat were turned. several people have also given the opinion that lestat would have killed louis if he said no, but that contradicts lestat’s intentions entirely. lestat wanted to save louis from killing himself. that’s what Louis would have done after paul’s funeral — especially after confessing all of the things that haunted him in the church. in that moment, lestat was offering louis a second chance at life. through hindsight, we all know that it took him a while to get there, that it wasn’t an easy or happy path, and that lestat nonetheless caused him and claudia a lot of pain. that part is undeniable. lestat did horrible things to them, and that is not being absolved and nor should it ever. yet in the sense of louis’ turning, louis’ agency in this moment is so important, especially because lestat did not have it himself when he was turned. lestat makes sure to let louis know that he is loved and cherished in a moment where louis needs to hear it, especially after being made to feel the opposite by his mother. another point i want to make is that sexuality plays a huge role in louis’ turning, among other important roles. for his entire life, louis had been living hollowly. he didn’t feel truly accepted by his family, he always felt judged, he was carrying these burdens with no way out, and was playing a role that wasn’t true to him. and tragically, he would have died that way. in the moment of his turning, he accepts himself as a gay man, accepts lestat as his partner, and chooses hope, chooses life. but, unfortunately, yes. after that, it is hard to truly reconcile with the life he’s chosen. he was turned in a moment of grief, and that plays a major factor into how he deals with vampirism. he can’t fully accept himself, and i think so much of it does have to do with his sexuality and the trouble he has in accepting that within himself. there are so many examples that show how vampirism is an allegory for louis’ sexuality. when lestat calls him a “vampire” and acknowledges that he’s ashamed of “what they are,” louis looks around in shame and tells him to not “say that word in his place of business.” louis being ostracized by his family is mostly exacerbated by louis being more open with his sexuality — his mother ostracizing him, grace’s coded words that insinuate her homophobia. as far as they know, the only thing that explains louis’ “odd behavior” is that he has now chosen to live with a man and adopt an orphan with that man, giving into sinful behavior, making him a devil in his mother’s eyes, and someone grace can’t recognize in her own eyes. even after becoming a vampire, he feels shame caused not only by society but by his family who don’t understand this new version of him, which isn’t helped by louis’ isolation, yet they only ever understood an inauthentic version of louis. his human life was built upon lies, and in becoming a vampire, he made his truth and differences take a central role, and he wasn’t ready for what that meant. to me, that’s totally understandable. there are moments in life when we think we are ready for something and we take that jump, but then the path we take may frighten us, especially if there are obstacles in the way, made by others , ourselves, or both. but if we keep walking down that path, we eventually get to a place of understanding, reckoning, grace, forgiveness, and, eventually, growth. at the end of season two, louis reaches this place. for so long, he loathed what he was, he hated himself, and especially as a vampire. because as a vampire, he could no longer pretend to be something he wasn’t, even though he tried and failed time and time again. a lot of his struggles were due to the fact that he refused to give himself any grace or any self-love. personally, that’s why louis’ arc at the end of season 2 really impacts me and is so, so touching. louis is finally giving himself that grace, while also taking accountability, and finally taking vampirism for what it was always meant to be for him — a gift. he has fully transformed as a character and it’s so awesome and inspiring to watch. nevertheless, you’ve got your own take on it, and that’s totally cool. i respect that. i thought i’d just share my own perspective on it. them holding each other through the storm really is a way of demonstrating that they are the other’s refuge and anchor in this moment and in their shared grief. i love that you mentioned that. they are the only two people who can understand that loss and hold each other through it. AHHHHH the ending :(( don’t let the sad face fool you, i’m just emotional. what an ending to this arc we’ve been following louis on. what an ending. the last shot of his eyes contradicts the opening shot of louis in season one, where his eyes are so emotionless and numb. now, his eyes reflect a fight in them, a determination to live, grit and resilience. if we compare s1 to s2, he’s a changed man, and i couldn’t be prouder. i love how they included the song from the first episode of s2 to the last one for this ending. it’s favorite too by the way! i feel like it sort of highlights louis’ change over s2. he used to live for other people, his own life wasn’t enough. there wasn’t a desire for him to really live. but at the end, he has fully embraced what it means to be a vampire, and most importantly, what it means to be louis de pointe du lac. he is now living for himself, or at least trying to, and that’s a big ass step in the right direction. i just want to say thank you for these reactions! they’ve been so enlightening and entertaining to watch. i truly, truly enjoy your commentary, i never skip over it because that’s what i’m personally here for. you’re willing to really dig in deep and feel for every single one of these characters, whether it be against them or for them, or both of those at once. i wish i could say that there are many iwtv reactions that do that, but you’re one of the rare bunch, and we appreciate you and the time you’ve put into these videos! this story hasn’t been easy, but somehow it’s worth it. through watching these, you’ve honestly become one of my favorite reaction channels, if not my actual favorite. again, thank you and i’ll definitely be tuning in for fleabag 🙏🏼 also, i think so many of us would enjoy you reacting to cast interviews or conversations! that’d be so awesome. if you ever decide to go through with it and need some recommendations, a community post would be the way to go 🤍 (btw that painting of louis in the back, i literally had to do a double take. it looks so amazing. you’re immensely talented)

caroline

2024-10-01 09:09:15 +0000 UTC

And let me just say Hats off to your reactions! Very insightful and honest. I appreciate all the thought you put in these characters.

Partrice

2024-10-01 09:02:26 +0000 UTC

EVERY WORD OF THIS. 🙌

Melissa

2024-10-01 09:00:08 +0000 UTC

Heavy, heavy, heavy.. that’s how I was when I watched this for the first time. I loved the reunion piece of the story. It was such an emotional scene and Jacob and Sam gave an Emmy award winning performance as usual. I was glad that they did not kiss or do anything like that as well. This reunion for me were 2 parents grieving the loss of their child and how it looked on each of them. But make no mistake for me Louie and Lestat is my endgame couple sorry. I have not read the books so I don’t know the outcome. In a human relationship this would be a hell no but vampiric I look at it a little different 🤦🏾‍♀️. Oh yeah also I was happy to see real Lestat. I think the way he’s portrayed had me thinking a certain way about him and he was not that so I’m ready to see his POV in season 3. And Daniel has a vampire let’s goooooooo!!!!

Partrice

2024-10-01 08:39:13 +0000 UTC

Lestat most likely couldn't save both of them because when he controlled the 30 soldiers back in New Orleans he looked exhausted (also bled like crazy) and that was when he was at his full strength and well fed. The theater in Paris had at least twice the amount of people and Lestat was absolutely drained after he compelled the audience, so I think he knew he only had one shot with this particular power and chose Louis.

Roxana G.

2024-10-01 07:51:30 +0000 UTC

A thought on certain IWTV spoiler people....re: Intentions. I empathize with people who sometimes want to over share for this reason: this show takes some massive emotional twists and turns...and there are always more things to come which will make us question past assumptions. We were given evidence in the show that the story, filtered through Louis, is not always reliable and exaggerated in parts. But it's hard to keep that in mind when the actors are making it so convincing! Sadly, I've seen some reactors make hard judgements on characters to the point that even when they learn that certain things weren't true, they can't let go. They've decided they hate a character for doing X and Y...and even when it turns out things happened very differently than they thought, they still can't shake their original feelings. Thus, they can't enjoy the story to it's's fullest. So, I think sometimes when people couldn't help but counsel an open mind or some such, it was partly out of a protective instinct. Not that such a sensible person as you needed our protection, Frank. But the instinct to protect is hard to shake. I hope that makes sense. 😇

ArcAngel

2024-10-01 07:23:14 +0000 UTC

Thank you for another heart felt, genuine reaction. So sorry for the toll the show has taken on you...sometimes good art is meant to do that, so they say. We appreciate your sacrifice. ❤ One thing I wanted to add, the end of this episode is unique because we finally see Lestat when he isn't filtered through Louis or Armands storytelling. We get to see a real unfiltered interaction between Louis and Lestat. (after Louis finds Lestat in New Orleans, looking like he's been sitting there crying, playing sad music, and eating rats for nearly 80 years). We don't get much of this unfiltered view of them together -- I'm glad we got to see one completely real interaction between them.

ArcAngel

2024-10-01 06:51:05 +0000 UTC

i think a point is meant to be that lestat couldn't save claudia, we see in the clip of lestat saving louis that he doesn't look as well as he did in the rest of the trial scene, it was just what louis thought he looked like, he wasn't at full strength. he only had enough power to save louis. i guess, he could have tried to save claudia too but she was first, what if he had saved her and then not had enough power to save louis, he'd never forgive himself for letting the love of his life die. i def think more of this will be cleared up in s3 because in the books it is, i don't wanna get fully into that incase it is in s3, but yeah, as far as i see it, lestat didn't want anyone to die but he couldn't prevent it (unlike armand). i'm not defending him btw, it's just my view on things. i do think he could have tried to do more! (ALSO THAT LOUIS PAINTING IS INCREDIBLE)

elise i

2024-10-01 06:48:29 +0000 UTC

I'm so glad Daniel doesn't have to die of Parkinson's now (bright-siding, right now) ...cuz on the real life side, just lost my dad to Parkinson's and I sure wish someone could have turned him into a vampire. Vampirism has it's down side but spending 18 months starving to death from Parkinson's is a rough exit. Glad Daniel is now healthy and strong.

ArcAngel

2024-10-01 06:40:58 +0000 UTC

Dearest Franklin, I am reserving my observations of this journey we have taken. I have lived a very long life, and when I decide to speak upon this, it will be from the perspective of the gift of a long lived life that only time, introspection and world events from birth to present will in someway, hold space for all the innocence lost, and a safe harbor for those yet to come. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your journey. It is your unspoken words that say so much. May I compliment you upon your newest creation of Louis on canvas. It is men and women like you who will be tasked and tested in the times now and going forward that this world needs the most. As always many blessings to you.

Laura Thate

2024-10-01 06:30:30 +0000 UTC

Frank, thanks so much for your reaction videos! This one is great, I was so excited to watch it. You should watch the season 2 bloopers on Youtube. And any cast interviews with Delainey. The light-heartedness really helps with the heaviness of the season. It seems like it was a lovely, friendly work environment. Also, yes, it's the same song as plays in s2e5. It's called "Which Ever Way Your Nose Bends" by Simon Rackham.

Kelsi Villarreal

2024-10-01 05:57:30 +0000 UTC

Also I forgot to add this to my main comment, but If you have the time, you should react to the teaser they dropped for season 3! They haven't started filming the actual season yet, but they took the time to film a special little video to tease the concept of season 3. If you want to watch/react to it, the title of the video is "Meet the Vampire Lestat ft. Sam Reid | Interview with the Vampire | New Season | AMC+" and it's uploaded to the official amc+ youtube channel. There's another teaser video you should watch after that, but I won't say what it is until you watch the first teaser because it would spoil it.

Abby

2024-10-01 05:13:44 +0000 UTC

I can’t believe we’re finally at the end…season 3 can’t come soon enough I’m gonna miss the discussions here! That Louis portrait is STUNNING you are an amazing artist! I’d love it if you check out behind the scenes, or cast interviews! And maybe even watch the 1994 movie and the teaser for Season 3 that’s already out. That scene where Louis confront Armand about his betrayal always blows my mind because it is a perfect display of their dynamic. They’re sitting across from each other with a stream of sunlight between them. But we know that Armand is old enough for the sun to mo longer affect him. So it’s like the sun is acting as a protective barrier allowing Louis to feel secure enough to confront Armand. But it’s all an illusion. An illusion of control that Armand has allowed Louis to feel. Armand has the advantage because he could cross the sun if he wanted and Louis can’t. Just…wonderful writing and creative choices. You are definitely not alone in your conflicted feelings towards the reunion! Louis saying “Thank you for the gift” NEVER felt like him absolving Lestat to me. It was purely him finally taking accountability for how he acted in his relationship with Lestat. We’ve said it time and time again, Lestat was and will always be wrong for what he did to Louis, but Louis definitely had things he did that deserved addressing and that’s what was. The interview has allowed him to do a lot of inner reflection and he’s finally reached a place where he can see what he’s done and acknowledge his own wrongdoings. It will NEVER sit right with me that Lestat saved Louis but let Claudia die! There are theories that maybe something more was going on that could be explored in Season 3 that will explain why he didn’t or couldn’t save her, but idk if anything will suffice for me because just like Armand, Lestat has stated many times that he’s got the blood of Magnus and Akasha etc, implying he is POWERFUL. WHAT could explain why didn’t save her…and his grief at the end says TO ME that he just DIDN’T choose her. And that’s so fucked up. Claudia was the most mistreated character in this show 😭 she deserved so much better. But like you said about second chances…how long can we go in circles with the blame? I truly do believe Lestat is sorry and I think (hope) him and Louis will be better in Season 3 and on. But despite the residual anger I have at Lestat and Louis for the roles they played in Claudia’s death, that reunion scene was BEAUTIFUL 😭 I tear up everytime I watch it because at the end of the day they are two fathers who fucked up and are grieving the daughter they lost. And they’ve endured 80 years of pain that could’ve been avoided by healthy communication. When Lestat asks “Did you hurt yourself?” I fucking LOSE IT…because you can tell that’s something that’s been plaguing him since 1973. The love is palpable but everything HURTS. Armand’s victim complex is INSANE. Even down to the last moments he tried his best to pretend like he had NO role to play in what happened. And rewatching this show is fascinating to see his constant ACT. Even his turning of Daniel was an act of spite against Louis warning him to not hurt Daniel. Armand is the one character who I don’t believe learned anything! Since he met Lestat his life has been a cycle of finding himself in these covens that he’s drawn to for the sense of control and power, but that he’s also miserable in. But he can’t fathom being the one to fix his own life. Speaking of…Daniel is a vampire now! Isn’t that crazy! The reveal still shocks me. And I love it because Daniel has proven through this whole show that he’s already had the kind of cut throat mentality that would suit vampirism well and clearly he’s adjusted well because he was ready to kill that guy. Louis “I Own the Night” De Pointe du Lac! This is why he’s my absolute favorite. From a man who didn’t even want to SAY the word vampire to someone so secure in himself and his power that he’s challenged an entire community of vampires to stand on business…iconic. Louis’ struggle with depression and his sense of self finally pays off and he shows WHY he is “The Vampire” in the title of the show. Thank YOU so much for allowing us to re-experience this show with you and have some WONDERFUL discussions! This was a beautiful journey and I can’t wait for what’s to come.

sierra's reaction corner

2024-10-01 05:13:35 +0000 UTC

Well. We're finally here. We finally reached the end. And what a ride it was. I'm so grateful we got to go on this journey with you. I originally wanted to write a nice, coherent, streamlined comment touching on all the important things I wasn't able to comment yet, but now that I'm here, my brain is once again overwhelmed by this story and these characters, and I'm left with my incoherent rambling about whatever comes to mind. I hope you'll indulge me all the same because this comment got LONG long hahahaha Louis, Louis, Louis. I want to talk about Louis first before anything. What an arc this character has been through. What a journey. And what a perfect time to talk about him now with that lovely painting of him in the background for me to look at while I write. Louis, for the first time in his life, has finally come to terms with himself, and is able to find peace in it. After all the turbulence, the heartbreak, the sorrow, he's found a sort of peace. It's not that the grief is gone, it will never be gone, but he's finally found some truth in his memories and past. Something that was stolen from him for so long. He's found his sense of self, not tied to any companion, but in himself. By himself. For himself. And finally, over a century later, he's finally accepted his vampiric nature. That line you were talking about, where Louis says "I didn't know it was a gift" is less about thanking Lestat, and more about Louis accepting who he is, as well as where he's going from here. He no longer sees his vampiric existence as a curse, but can finally see the beauty in his immortality. He's finally accepting his nature, and his line of "I own the night" at the end is the perfect way to end the season, as well as this arc. I think Louis in season 3 is going to be in a much better headspace, and the interviews with the writers and actors I've read seem to confirm this notion. Lestat on the other hand... I can sense a hurricane coming, and it's going to be a very self-destructive one. Seeing him rotting away for decades in a disheveled shack, eating nothing but rats and "playing" a plank of wood like it's a piano certainly seems to be supporting that idea. He clearly has a few screws loose, to say the least. You can tell he's been replaying that night in 1973 in his head over and over again, as well as Claudia's final look to him at the trial. I don't think he's been able to think of much else in the past 77 years. Now to change gears a bit, I want to move onto Armand for a second. What a fascinating, but incredibly messed up character. I think you can see now why I was so frustrated with him throughout the season. All those scenes in Dubai of him pulling that sad face, all his times saying "I could not prevent it", taking pages out of Claudia's diaries... all of that while knowing that HE was the one that orchestrated Claudia's death. He was the mastermind behind it all. He directed and organized the entire play, and then lied to Louis about it for 77 years (as well as brainwashing him and manipulating his memories). And he even took credit for saving Louis' life when in reality he intended for him to die too! Crazy, crazy shit. I love his character, and I can't wait to see more from him-- especially regarding him turning Daniel. What an insane twist! I desperately need to know what happened between those two. But yes, Armand's betrayal of Louis was genuinely insane, as was his orchestration of the trial. And then for him to try to lie to Louis AGAIN after he found out, trying to say the script was a forgery. Insane stuff. What goes on in that man's brain... I guess we'll have to wait until season 3 to find out. If nothing else, I really hope they revisit the trial from another perspective, particularly the lead-up to the trial since we know very little about that. And yeah, speaking of the trial... I can finally get into some spoiler stuff about it since the season is over. Particularly regarding Lestat's involvement in the trial. First of all I want to say that nothing I'm about to say is to absolve Lestat of any of the harm he's caused, I'm more just trying to theorize about what the hell was actually going on with his involvement in the trial, cause right now we still have no idea why he was actually there, and what was actually going on. Especially knowing more about Armand's involvement in everything now (although I have questions about that as well). Having re-watched the show a million times by now, and having read every interview under the sun from the writers and actors, I feel pretty confident in theorizing that Lestat wasn't participating in the trial (or the rehearsals for the trial) fully under his own free will. On top of this, I genuinely believe he would've saved Claudia if he was able to. I know you probably won't agree with me there, especially since he saved Louis, but I trust me I have legitimate reasons to believe this. I also don't think he returned to Magnus' lair of his own free will. I can detail why I feel this way about everything, but I'm worried theorizing on that level might lean too much into spoiler territory for what you're comfortable with. But please let me know if you want to know why I think this! I'd love to share. There's also elements from the books that make me believe this, but the show doesn't always follow the books 100%, so I'm mostly just trying to speculate based on the show and the interviews from the writers and actors. So yes, obviously none of this is confirmed yet, but I've hyper analyzed the SHIT out of this show and those interviews (thanks to my autism causing me to hyper fixate), and I'm pretty confident in this assessment. Only time will tell though! We'll just have to wait for season 3. Finally, to end this all, I want to talk about Claudia, because no matter where this story goes, it will always return to Claudia. Claudia's death is the heart of this story, and as you noted, it isn't there to simply serve Louis and Lestat's character development. In fact, Claudia's death was written into the books because Anne Rice lost her daughter at the age of 5-- the same age that Claudia was turned in the books. Writing Claudia's death, and the tragic inevitability of it all, was Anne's way of grieving her daughter. There is no version of this story where Claudia doesn't die, because doing so would be a disservice to Anne's grief, and to the tragic reality of her daughter's death. Claudia's death will always haunt the narrative, as you can see it haunting Louis and Lestat in their reunion scene. More than anything, that scene is about two parents grieving the loss of their daughter, as they are the only two people on this earth who can understand what the other is feeling. It will always be about Claudia. Their grief. Their regret. No matter where they go from here, it will always go back to Claudia. She is this story, and though she may be dead, she will never be gone. To end this comment, and to pay respect to both Claudia and Anne's daughter, I want to share a (spoiler free) quote from one of the books. It's a quote from Lestat in the second book as he's thinking about Claudia, because as she will never stop haunting Lestat, she will also never stop haunting us: "And I cannot say even now that I regret Claudia, that I wish I had never seen her, nor held her, nor whispered secrets to her, nor heard her laughter echoing through the shadowy gaslighted rooms of that all too human town house in which we moved amid the lacquered furniture and the darkening oil paintings and the brass flowerpots as living beings should. Claudia was my dark child, my love, evil of my evil. Claudia broke my heart." - The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice

Abby

2024-10-01 05:08:54 +0000 UTC

Thanks for letting us into your mind as you experienced this tale. It has been delightful to hear your commentary and see how you cemented Claudia as your person. Yes, we all like all the vamps, but still there is usually one that stands out as the can do no wrong, ride or die, love forever. Or it might not be or a tie with Louis, but regardless, your love for and defense of Claudia was everything!

Gaux

2024-10-01 05:06:55 +0000 UTC

I was so thrilled to see this drop tonight!! It’s surreal that you’ve gotten to the end but as you said, there is much more content out there, especially the cast interviews with autumn brown on YouTube and OF COURSE the teaser for season 3. Also, if you’re into books, the beautiful vampire chronicles books written by the great Anne Rice are why we even have this show today. I’ve read the first few books and you’re correct in saying this felt like a finale because it is, it’s the end of book one, Interview with the Vampire. The next book is what we have to look forward to with season 3 and it’ll contain plenty of Lestat which is exciting. More screen time for the phenomenal talent that is Sam Reid is literal music to my ears. More could have been done for Claudia for sure, from everyone involved. We’ll likely get more POVs and details of the trial next season but in terms of what we’ve seen so far regarding what Lestat could have done in the moment on that stage, he could only save one. The coven were in no way going to let both of them be ‘banished’, especially Santiago and as someone in another comment pointed out, in the townhouse Lestat couldn’t stand and was white in the face with blood flowing from his ears after ‘mind-fucking’ 30 soldiers much less an entire auditorium twice in a row. He’s strong, the strongest one there I’d say, but he’s got limits. If it’s a choice between Louis and Claudia, between Louis and anyone for that matter, Lestat will always choose Louis. He’s made that known from the jump. Armand is… well, Armand is in his own category lol. Having the knowledge that Armand was one of the masterminds behind Claudia’s death puts the scene with Louis, Lestat and he in Magnus’ tower in a whole new light. Armand’s reactions and the way he looks at Lestat like he knows he can completely ruin this relationship with Louis is such an interesting dynamic to watch. And the choice Lestat makes in keeping quiet and letting them go off into the sunset is baffling once you get that context. So much pain and misunderstandings could be avoided if these beautiful monsters knew how to communicate, manage their emotions and approach each other with grace. Here’s to hoping that through all this tragedy and heartache, they will learn. Here’s also to hoping that Claudia haunts the hell out of them next season haha. Cheers to season 2 of the best show on TV! 🥂

Jonelle Stewart

2024-10-01 04:57:28 +0000 UTC

If he wants that then I think that’s great. I just wanted to say it, so he wouldn't accidentally stumble upon them and then be sad that he now knew something he rather wouldn't.

Maria

2024-10-01 04:56:53 +0000 UTC

I just want to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed your journey these last 2 months or so, it’s been an honor and, that’s my Louis, awesome ending and song and this is how I want to see Louis, he’s stronger and someone to be reckoned with now. After all the bs in both seasons he, because of Jacob Anderson, is and continues to be my favorite character

Martin Gage

2024-10-01 04:54:41 +0000 UTC

Some of them do, I think we could make some suggestions on which interviews are safe to watch? Autumn Brown’s interviews are great but it does get a bit hint-y at times even if there’s never really a verbal comment.

RÆY

2024-10-01 04:53:40 +0000 UTC

Especially considering the involvement of (BOOK SPOILERS) sexual abuse in both Armand and Lestat's turnings. For that reason in particular I feel very icky comparing Louis' turning to Armand and Lestat's turnings. I feel like it's diminishing that particular form of abuse they endured at the hands of their makers. But I'm not too worried about that because I know we'll be getting into that more in season 3, so he'll understand that more eventually.

Abby

2024-10-01 04:51:25 +0000 UTC

I don't have time to write a comment right now, but I want to share a poem by Emily Dickinson that I think is very fitting for the finale. Remorse is a memory awake, Her companies astir,— A presence of departed acts At window and at door. It‘s past set down before the soul, And lighted with a match, Perusal to facilitate Of its condensed despatch. Remorse is cureless, — the disease Not even God can heal; For ‘tis institution,— The complement of hell. I will return with my essay later and wish you all the energy and healing you need after season 2. Also just upfront, be careful if you want to go in blind for season 3. A lot of interviews have hints or book spoilers in them. So if you want to go in knowing nothing, I'd stay away.

Maria

2024-10-01 04:34:12 +0000 UTC

I really felt for you when you were getting emotional about the reveal and Claudia! ❤️‍🩹 It will just never stop being painful

Lorena Oliveira

2024-10-01 04:29:27 +0000 UTC

I keep forgetting I would love it if you react to the episode insiders, behind the scenes, and bloopers for both seasons as well. Additionally, I almost forgot but I love your portrait of Louis in the back! you are very talented.

RÆY

2024-10-01 04:27:34 +0000 UTC

Lestat could have absolutely saved Claudia—at least he could have tried. Instead of sailing an ocean to rehearse a play to kill his daughter, he could have warned Louis (who would 100% believe him cos love makes him stupid remember) and made a plan. At the very least, he did not have to be complicit in her murder. I don’t even hate Armand too much for Claudia because he lowkey never liked her/wanted her around. But Lestat was her parent! Her maker! And for someone who shares a bond w Louis, he knows how much she means to him. He is also lowkey the reason they’re in the position in the first place—he made Louis and Claudia, never told them anything about the great laws, abused them time and time again, and made it so they basically had to try to kill him to escape bondage. Unfortunately, as of now, I also am not hopeful for change in Lestat from his history; and if you notice, in the scene with Louis and Lestat at the end , he actually didn’t take any accountability!! Only Louis did. I’m glad they’re starting to heal/mourn and move on but they really did Claudia dirty and I genuinely hope they’re not back together. This has been an amazing journey to take with you. I’ve def been made a loyal follower now!

uvytracks

2024-10-01 04:24:20 +0000 UTC

I understand your point but I genuinely don’t believe Louis turning can ever be put in the same category as Lestat’s or Armand’s. Was it morally wrong and not really consent because of the whole situation surrounding the event? Yeah. Was it a “feel good” moment like Madeleine’s turning? No. But I do think it was meant as a gift and it had way better intensions than those two situations could ever have so they’re not comparable situations at all. There’s a lot of nuance there.

Lorena Oliveira

2024-10-01 04:21:06 +0000 UTC

I loved the reaction! Uff so much happened and Claudia my girl you deserved much better! I loved the reunion scene because the writers managed to show the feeling of two parents grieving over the death of their daughter, which perfectly captures what Anne Rice and her husband had to endure when they lost their daughter Michelle. I think people have already told you but Claudia was based on Michelle and Anne at first wanted to give Claudia a happy ending, something her daughter couldn’t have, but it never felt right so she ended up killing her off and from what I’ve read Anne was able to properly grieve through these books. I agree with you when you said you were hoping that Louis and Lestat didn’t kiss, as much as I love Louis and Lestat together, Louis needs to find and work on himself now. He doesn’t need a relationship anytime soon. For me Louis thanking Lestat for the gift was the first step into accepting himself and vampirism, trying to at least. As for the trial, that was brutal but there’s still some things that are a bit confusing and need more info to fill in the gaps so hopefully in season 3 through Lestat’s point of view he is able to give more information that Louis wasn’t able to see or hear because he was buried alive. To your comment about people’s love for Lestat, it is the second reason that you described. Most viewers and people in the fandom are familiar with the book material, after Interview with the vampire book, Lestat became Anne Rice’s boy and the character of Lestat has had major influence on pop culture specifically Vampire media. One of the most influential vampires next to Dracula and people read all these books following Lestat’s journey for nearly 50 years. So yeah, I think it is a mixture of the books, people enjoying/liking complicated characters, and other possible reasons. Now that you have reached the end of your IWTV season 2 journey, I am hoping you react to interviews, I would suggest some comic con interviews and the Autumn Brown interviews with the cast on YouTube (each episode of season 2, a different actor or staff member). Also, do not forget to react to IWTV’s season 3 teaser! OH, I almost forgot! Claudia’s death is the reason why I wasn’t mad at Louis for reacting the way he did with Armand in episode 5, sure, he did say something fucked up to him but also I understand why he reacted the way he did and why he felt that way. Even if he didn’t know Armand’s role in the trial 100%. I think Armand selling him out was enough to set him off and hurt Armand verbally. My final thoughts on Louis being an unreliable narrator is that the only reason why he was one were 1. Armand messing with his memories/gaslighting him, 2. Trauma

RÆY

2024-10-01 04:20:56 +0000 UTC

If it helps, remember the last words Claudia wrote in her diary: "Fuck these vampires."

Melissa

2024-10-01 04:12:00 +0000 UTC

What can I say but this series is delightful and it has been a pleasure watcing your reactions and thoughts. To me the most important scene in the series is the reunion (at the moment) because it shows the thesis of Interview With The Vampire that is the grief of parents. The relationship between Louis and Lestat is an important pillar but the tragedy that marks them and make them change is the death of Claudia. What was the damage that we did to our child? And I believe that Lestat has reflected on that for 77 years, he can't atone but he can reflect on the damage that he did. He thought he was only Uncle Les to Claudia but he wasn't, he was his father always and he needed to understand that. To me the other important thing with this reunion is the line that Louis says about the Dark Gift: "where I might to learn to live honestly". To me as a gay man one of the interpretations of the Dark Gift is queerness, trauma is a part of the Dark Gift yes, but the queerness that Lestat help to make Louis come out it was his Gift to him, to learn to live honestly and enjoy the beautiful parts that are in Louis soul. "And I kissed Lestat on the altar" to me there's a sense of consent in that that needs to be examined but I know that if it was me and Lestat offered me the Dark Gift, I will take it. And after many years, Louis started to see it too in my opinion. Thank you so much for the shout-out when talking about tragedy for the undeserving last week, that was me and it made me happy that my words resonated with you. It was an absolute pleasure watching your perspective in things and it make me think a lot about this beautiful series. I will be here when season 3 is out. 🌻:) P.D: Sorry for asking (if you don't want is fine) but a reaction of what did you think of this season with Taco and watching what it's coming with season 3 it would be very nice.

Zorsk

2024-10-01 03:56:33 +0000 UTC

"Why? Why her?" Anne wrote this first as a short story after her daughter Michelle died of cancer. She has said that Louis represents her and Lestat her husband. It's a story of grief and loss and love. You asking those questions ripped my guts out because I feel like that's exactly how Anne and Stan Rice felt losing their young daughter. 😔

Melissa

2024-10-01 03:54:27 +0000 UTC

Oh boy, it took everything out of Lestat to do what he did in the townhouse and at the trial, he bled from his ears so he couldn’t do that again. Sorry I just had to get this off my chest as you’re talking there about that.

Martin Gage

2024-10-01 03:53:41 +0000 UTC

for now i’m excited to keep watching your hannibal reactions, and i can’t wait for s3 with you!!

des williams

2024-10-01 03:48:52 +0000 UTC

this was such a great reaction. god i am so glad i found your channel on youtube. i only started commenting a couple of videos ago (im usually a lurker) but i just want to make sure you understand how much these videos are enjoyed.

des williams

2024-10-01 03:48:07 +0000 UTC

WE NEED A SEASON 3 TRAILER REACTION PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

Miki

2024-10-01 03:39:32 +0000 UTC

your whole conversation about choosing to believe louis and lestat are genuine in their remorse/grief was so good. whether they are or aren’t (i choose to believe they are), everything you said made so much sense. i don’t really know how to talk about it more eloquently, but it was so good.

des williams

2024-10-01 03:37:49 +0000 UTC

i get what you are saying and yes lestat's treatment of louis is terrible but I think there is more to be explored when lestat is called by armand to be told that louis has hurt himself it wasn't a hurt lestat dealt but one that louis did unto himself. an then for armand to not update and literally hang up on him not telling him about louis status if he's okay nothing. you can tell It haunted him bc he remember the date and time in both timezones. for 70yr lestat had time to reflect and remorse his actions and be haunted by his guilt I'm not saying he deserves complete forgiveness but a deep look into the context of time that's passed in events. while louis went on with his life for 70 yrs lestat is still stuck mentally and emotionally at the trial with the death of claudia

Miki

2024-10-01 03:29:01 +0000 UTC

No spoilers from the books There's reason why Lestat didn't save Claudia. One of them is that yes, Louis will always be his priority, also saving him already takes a toll on his strenght. Some other reasons are spoilers from the book and should come up in season 3, but the seeds are already planted in season 2, so be carefull with discussion online because they could potentially spoil you the next season plotline

doodleydoo

2024-10-01 03:24:51 +0000 UTC

omg THE PAINTING!! i was hoping you would do that one. stunning and powerful already wow. i am also so pissed about Claudia and Madelaine. they were amazing and a bright light and they were only there for a visit.

sparkle

2024-10-01 03:14:23 +0000 UTC

For me the most ambiguious thing in this episode is not the morality or the Louis/Lestat who-is-more-accountabl stuff but how much Armand messed with Louis mind. What has been true and what has been a mind whammy? I guess we won't find out until next season, or maybe it will remain ambiguous forever.

Three Dalmations

2024-10-01 03:12:15 +0000 UTC

Did you notice how relieved Lestat looked to be holding Louis again. (Tears and sobs).

Collete L

2024-10-01 03:07:42 +0000 UTC

re: your questioning why lestat didn’t save claudia too, you can see in this episode and in the episode in s1 where he mind controlled the soldiers that it took a lot out of him to do so. i don’t think he would have had the power to do it twice in such short succession. does that make it right? no, of course not. but i think lestat knew he could only save one, and he chose to save louis. that still plays into no one but madeline ever choosing claudia, but i genuinely don’t believe he could have saved them both and chose not to. i could be wrong, i haven’t read the books, but that’s just how i interpreted it!

des williams

2024-10-01 03:04:08 +0000 UTC

I think you missed that Lestat exhausted himself saving Louis. He didn't have the strength to save Claudia as well.

Three Dalmations

2024-10-01 02:59:34 +0000 UTC

I'm just starting this reaction but 1. i'm so glad i've got to be on this journey with you and see your takes on things that happen in this show & be able to explain it way better then I could even think of! and 2. it actually got my emotional seeing your artwork of Louis in the background of this. all of your paintings are beautiful and to see your love for this show/characters translate into your craft just hit my heart🥹. this little vampire show that we all love has made people feel such strong emotions that they just cant contain it regardless of if thats in videos, text, art, etc it's just so beautiful and its really the things like this that make me love humanity ❤️. i'm so excited to watch this and eventually continue this ride for season 3!!

Courtney

2024-10-01 02:53:59 +0000 UTC

Ahhhh here we are. What a journey! Your reactions have been sooo amazing, astute and a needed voice in this community. Also your portrait of Louis in the background, holy WOW. It’s beeeaaautiful! To the cave scene specifically — 1) Louis = Professor Petty, staying in a 77 year relationship to spite your ex and 2) you may have already come to this observation having finished it, but Armand’s reaction is purely “is Lestat going to let me get away with this?” Lestat is legitimately confused af when Louis confronts him because he thinks he knows the truth. Armand assumes Lestat is going to blow up his spot, but instead Lestat says “let’s see how long it holds”. I love how the showrunners made it so apparent which vamps had which distinctive powers — we knew Armand could freeze a whole town’s worth of people, a whole restaurant easily, Lestat had mind control, but when they showed him using it even in season 1, you could see (by his ears bleeding) how much it drains him. While I agree that Armand/the Paris coven most of all were responsible for the deaths of Claudia and Madeleine, Louis is massively culpable (as much as I hurt for him, and as much as he’s beginning to take accountability). The story makes it a point for us to see how Louis chooses men over her time and time again. Hell, he invited Armand in the night Armand threatened him in the tunnels and said Claudia wouldn’t last long. Louis’ gut was absolutely correct when he said they were in danger returning to the coven when they knew about Lestat, but then it’s like he forgot all that. This is the central frustration of Louis as a character. He’s just as messy as the rest of em. to be clear I haven’t read the books, so anything I am saying is genuinely just my own reflection/discussion I fully believe Lestat would’ve saved Claudia if he’d had the energy. To me, if he had saved Madeleine who went first, or Claudia who went next…whoever came after was at much more risk of dying. It was a losing game. Trust me, I HATE that the two loving and lovable characters were the victims to their mess. I cannot wait to (hopefully) see Claudia and Lestat’s relationship through Lestat’s POV next season. I also want to know under what conditions Lestat was made to be at the trial. I don’t think there was any situation where Lestat wouldn’t have been at the trial — forced or not. He was made aware the Paris coven was going to do this with or without him. If he hadn’t been there, they all would have died. It’s also Lestat’s theater, a concept he founded. It doesn’t absolve him of some amount of culpability but it will haunt him forever, much like Louis. That was their daughter. I love that we get to see them grieve together. I love that the last scene of Lestat and Louis is our first real introduction to Lestat — not told through anyone’s POV. Sam has played the nuances of his different versions to perfection. Daniel Molloy had one goal before leaving that penthouse: break up Armand and Louis by any means necessary. I’m not sure if you’ve peeped yet that the rocks Louis puts his feet in to ground himself are (akin to) the rocks he was buried in. Seeing Paul’s portrait and Claudia’s dress gives me goosebumps every time. Daniel being Armand’s only fledgling drives me wiiiiild in the best way. I cannot wait for season 3. Edit: OH also you said you’d be watching some interviews with the cast afterward! I’d loooove to see you react to some of those. It’s healing and amazing to see their chemistry off-screen as well.

Amanda Hill

2024-10-01 02:46:57 +0000 UTC

I think you should still post the convo with Taco. You can have another later and it’ll be cool to see how y’all’s views changed.

uvytracks

2024-10-01 02:45:45 +0000 UTC

oh we’re in the endgame now

caroline

2024-10-01 02:32:39 +0000 UTC

Whaaaaaat???? Lookit dat painting of LOUIS!!!!

ArcAngel

2024-10-01 02:12:46 +0000 UTC

THE LOUIS PAINTING OMG BEAUTIFUL

doodleydoo

2024-10-01 02:09:20 +0000 UTC

Omg not the Louie painting!!! I really wanted to ask you to do something like that. Just looking at the progress and that eye, I can tell it’s the “you and me, me and you” scene! Love it

Tarabee

2024-10-01 02:07:52 +0000 UTC

🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀 I genuinely need to get ready Thanx frank!!!!!

Tarabee

2024-10-01 02:06:15 +0000 UTC

the louis painting in the back!! that’s so sick

des williams

2024-10-01 02:05:21 +0000 UTC

Oh my God! Your Louis painting is incredible!!!!!!!

Melissa

2024-10-01 02:03:05 +0000 UTC

oh i’m sat

des williams

2024-10-01 02:02:21 +0000 UTC

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Interview With The Vampire 2x8 | Full Length Reaction

Comments

haven’t started watching yet, but omg !! The painting of louis in the back is looking gorgeous

Lestat has had the fire gift for a very long time. Not just when Louis came to New Orleans.

frank: “how is malloy talking telepathically?” *looks at camera* me: *grinning* “dont look at me, keep watching.”

Your Louis painting already looks beautiful! 🤩 (And heartbreaking 😭)

Just curious - have you read the books?

I agree with you! Yes, that wide shot of the whole coven standing around before opening the observatory window in episode 7 shows Lestat swaying really oddly and we’ve learned this show is planned to perfection. Nothing is done by accident.

That is so nice of you to say! And I would love to! Talking about this series never gets tiring to me 😊

I am totally impressed by your comment and will have to think about it some more. I just watched the reaction and am glad to see a detailed actual post. I would love it if we could have discussions about the series even after the second season has finished, because it moves me a lot.

Also the Louis painting in the back is incredible omg ! I just painted him as well 🖌 would love to send you a print if I’m able to as a thank you for all the work you put in for your videos and commentaries

Sadly Lestat could only save one. He isnt as powerful And he choose to save Louie. I know it hurts but lets not forget Claudia plan to kill him. Im not sure if im willing to save someone who tried to kill me.

That is a lovely idea. The family Vibe is a good touch

Can I request that you do a painting of Louis, Lestat, Claudia and Madeline? But make it in a form of a family portrait??? My heart would love that…

That's a bit of a book spoiler that might pop up in series 3 and I know Frank hates any kind of spoilers so maybe edit it or delete it

Lestate was definitely not at his most strongest. He was only there for Armand's blood to heal him hence he is kind of an unwilling participant in the trial. Nonetheless he could have saved Claudia instead of Louis but we all know Louis is his priority. None of these men ever put Claudia first.

This series is the antidote for the bizarrely miscast Tom Cruise / Brad Pitt movie.

Maybe the one advantage of immortality is that there’s time to forgive.

Can’t wait to watch Hamilton with you!

That's so interesting! I haven't seen that interview from Sam. I was just extrapolating based on the 'interview' being technically over at that point -- so I assumed we were seeing a Lestat/Louis reunion in real time. Was that scene not meant to be real time? Did I misunderstand?

I’m glad that Louis finished his S2 arc “a companion enough for himself” and free from a toxic relationship. That he has a new acceptance about being a vampire, that he has his own place now. Hopefully, in S3 he will continue his journey.

Yes! I've had to be very conscious of it and may have hinted early on without even realizing or intending it. I was thinking about the name drop in the tower scene and I don't want anyone to spoil that for FF.

I’d definitely buy that portrait if it was in a smaller version!!🥰

Oh and also, that Louis painting looks amazing! ❤️ Can't wait to see it finished. Any plans to do other characters too or to make that one available on your website?

Thank you🙏

Yes, all the actors are amazing in their roles! I haven’t read the books so I only have the series to go off of and I tried to like his character. I wanted to believe when he said, “I could not prevent it” only to learn that he was gaslighting the situation the entire time.

i loved every sentence of this! 💜

Yes, and I think they only recently started writing S3.

Beautifully written! 💞

My condolences

Amen. Assad is amazing but Armand I cannot like. Even after reading the books and knowing his full story, he's still one of my least favourites

A bit off topic but whenever you finish that louie painting in the background and ever decide to sell it just know a fierce bidding war will be taking place for it.

bullshit

i dont think for one second that Armand turning Daniel into a vampire was out of spite. Daniel being Armand’s only fledgling is going to be so interesting

And let me just say Hats off to your reactions! Very insightful and honest. I appreciate all the thought you put in these characters.

EVERY WORD OF THIS. 🙌

If he wants that then I think that’s great. I just wanted to say it, so he wouldn't accidentally stumble upon them and then be sad that he now knew something he rather wouldn't.

Some of them do, I think we could make some suggestions on which interviews are safe to watch? Autumn Brown’s interviews are great but it does get a bit hint-y at times even if there’s never really a verbal comment.

I really felt for you when you were getting emotional about the reveal and Claudia! ❤️‍🩹 It will just never stop being painful

I keep forgetting I would love it if you react to the episode insiders, behind the scenes, and bloopers for both seasons as well. Additionally, I almost forgot but I love your portrait of Louis in the back! you are very talented.

If it helps, remember the last words Claudia wrote in her diary: "Fuck these vampires."

Oh boy, it took everything out of Lestat to do what he did in the townhouse and at the trial, he bled from his ears so he couldn’t do that again. Sorry I just had to get this off my chest as you’re talking there about that.

for now i’m excited to keep watching your hannibal reactions, and i can’t wait for s3 with you!!

this was such a great reaction. god i am so glad i found your channel on youtube. i only started commenting a couple of videos ago (im usually a lurker) but i just want to make sure you understand how much these videos are enjoyed.

WE NEED A SEASON 3 TRAILER REACTION PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

your whole conversation about choosing to believe louis and lestat are genuine in their remorse/grief was so good. whether they are or aren’t (i choose to believe they are), everything you said made so much sense. i don’t really know how to talk about it more eloquently, but it was so good.

omg THE PAINTING!! i was hoping you would do that one. stunning and powerful already wow. i am also so pissed about Claudia and Madelaine. they were amazing and a bright light and they were only there for a visit.

Did you notice how relieved Lestat looked to be holding Louis again. (Tears and sobs).

I think you missed that Lestat exhausted himself saving Louis. He didn't have the strength to save Claudia as well.

I think you should still post the convo with Taco. You can have another later and it’ll be cool to see how y’all’s views changed.

oh we’re in the endgame now

Whaaaaaat???? Lookit dat painting of LOUIS!!!!

THE LOUIS PAINTING OMG BEAUTIFUL

Omg not the Louie painting!!! I really wanted to ask you to do something like that. Just looking at the progress and that eye, I can tell it’s the “you and me, me and you” scene! Love it

🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀 I genuinely need to get ready Thanx frank!!!!!

the louis painting in the back!! that’s so sick

Oh my God! Your Louis painting is incredible!!!!!!!

oh i’m sat

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frank: “how is malloy talking telepathically?” looks at camera me: grinning “dont look at me, keep watching.”