(the vampire lestat [amc, tv] spoilers)
that article that came out with a few plot details- the change to Lestat being a SA victim via Magnus is going to PMO so bad because i guarantee the fandom will baby him and justify his abusive behavior as a coping mechanism to his trauma yet armand, who is also an SA victim by marius (and was literally forced into prostitution so, also nameless others) is villainized whenever he, a traumatized individual, reacts maladaptively to trauma. its almost like when the exact same character trait is seen in a brown man vs a white man the fandom mysteriously dislikes it now hmmm
I honestly think the difference is that Lestat is portrayed as a victim in some aspects of the show, whereas Armand is not. As a result, most viewers tend to empathize more with Lestat than with Armand, who is portrayed (at least in Season 2) mostly as the villain.
Of course, that's only true if you don't pay close attention and focus solely on the surface-level aspects of the story. In reality, it's essentially the same issue Lestat faced in Season 1, where most people thought he was only a monster. I just hope that in Season 3, Armand's motivations will be explored in a way that makes them easier to understand and allows the audience to empathize with him a little more.
