IWTVL S3 Ep2 Musings - Auvergne (TVC vs AMC) RANT
According to Rolin Jones (After Dark 3x2) due to the limits of tHE bUDgeT~! we will never see Lestat at the monastery, or with the commedia troupe, or being dragged back home & tortured by his abusive father & brothers (twice). Hopefully he's lying and there's more vignette frame flashes (we didn't see Lestat pimp slap the woman--just like we didn't see Louis touch Lemuel's hand, so IDKWTF's going on), but I bloody doubt it. 😭🙏
Now, Imma be real: I already said 1000x that Auvergne's my most anticipated part of S3. So YES, I'm disappointed; but I don't HATE the flashbacks we got--I just want MORE. 🤷♂️ What I DO hate is that there's a already quantity scarcity with only 7eps we've waited TWO (2) whole years for, and in 3x2 there were ABUNDANT times when I wish they'd shortened some of the present-day stuff to focus longer on the past (Gabrielle, I'm looking at YOU!). And really, what I'm seeing wrt my own reaction to 3x2, and the fandom outcry in general, are 3 main problems:
The biggest problem is SHOW vs. TELL
Overhyped Marketing Problems
Book readers, lower your expectations RIGHT NOW
1) The biggest problem is SHOW vs. TELL
If viewers tuning in to SEE events transpire on our screens are talked down to by people oozing toxic positivity: "Oh, it's in the books~! Just read the books if you want to know about that scene~!" then WHAT pray tell is THE POINT of even WATCHING a SHOW? 🤨
YES, 1x1 has Lestat explain to Paul that he WANTED to be a priest when he was a boy, and how his father & brothers pulled him out and tortured him, which made him lose his faith in God. And yes, that IS book canon.
I DO like that the monk explained that bb!Lestat could see visions, but I did NOT like that they didn't explain that that's because Lestat was the 7th Son; that there's all kinds of lore about 7th Sons sometimes being magic (prime pickings for the Talamasca, HANCOCK, jfc AMC).
[EDIT] AMC even messed up, cuz while it's true book!Lestat did have a dead sister (AMC names her Marie), they only give Lestat 4 dead brothers, not 5. Which makes him a 7th CHILD, yes, but NOT a 7th SON. 🤦♂️ Y'ALL KNOW I CAN'T COUNT, IGNORE THIS PART!
I love the insults to the Lioncourts; calling the dead siblings "Garden Gnomes," and Augustin & Gregoire & the Marquis "Cabbages;" it was giving peak S1 Claudia SO MUCH. 😂 There are SO many parallels with Gabrielle-Lestat & Claudia-Louis. 💯 The reviewers already spoiled that Lestat would stab his brother, and I was happy he stabbed his p.o.s. brother--I also figured that the monks would offer to help stop his stutter (but clearly he had it even into his adulthood, and AMC's making that it NEVER actually went away, since he's still stuttering at the end of 3x1).
Sadly, what we DON'T get is WHY Lestat was removed from the Monastery--cuz no eps thus far have confirmed how DIRT POOR book!Lestat's family was (he was already rich as Midas by the time he arrived in NOLA). Yeah, Lestat told Claudia & Louis in 1x6 that Magnus gave him a pile of money, which is book canon, but I hope we'll get it emphasized in 3x3 why Magnus giving Lestat his treasure was so important (Lestat can still send money to the orphaned nieces & nephews via Roget, so hopefully that's covered, too--WHY Roget exists in 1x7/2x2/2x6).
I already said 100x that I hate AMC's chateau--it's antiquated, yes, but it's way too opulent for an indigent family that never got off their arse to work & sucked Gabrielle's coffers dry to rest on their Crusader laurels.
SINCE WHEN did book!Lestat's father & brothers "hunt the land"?! 🤣
Yes, we DO see AMC!GabriellA using a brooch to pay for Lestat's education--the same way Lestat confirmed in 1x1 that Gabs also paid for his gun, horse & dogs. But without the added CONTEXT of the Lioncourts by the time Lestat was born already being BROKE, we LOSE the significance of the brooch. It just seems like Gabrielle was Mommy Moneybags, NOT that the Lioncourts were already in a state of severe financial decline.
We don't know from THE SHOW that book!Augustine only married his "pockmarked wife" for her dowry, cuz he was a gambling alcoholic wastrel who blew Gabrielle's money. We just see show!Augustine as a lazy shiftless bully who disrespects his mother & mocks Lestat's stutter.
More importantly, the state of the chateau doesn't adequately VISUALLY message how Lestat felt; how didn't "enjoy living in a ruin", and that he loved the monastery because it was CLEAN.
Yes, there is damage on the wood paneling, and a greasy patina a few years later--but beyond that, everything's the same. They haven't sold off any furniture, decor, weaponry, antiques, heirlooms, but they still have "a bounty" of fresh food on their table HOW? Gabrielle's literally hollering like a crazy woman about how the Lioncourts refuse to "BEEEE MEEEEENNNN~!" and hunt animals on their own--Augustin literally refuses to hunt right to the starving villagers' faces.
But the rot & decay of the CHATEAU itself is NOT ubiquitous, cuz there's plenty of areas that don't look changed/decaying at all. (Sure, there's FINALLY less food on the table, but that's it.) And I even made a post about why I think that DOES say something important--but now I just feel stupid or giving this show too much grace/credit; cuz the details are NOT sufficient to provide visual storytelling. We're being TOLD, not SHOWN.
Esp. since apparently AMC's starving villagers NEVER looted the chateau, even though they DID in the books, and even though it was TOLD on the show that they were demanding compensation from the Marquis for Lestat's expenses buying wine for the offscreened commedia troupe (which is NOT in the books wtf?).
The most visual decay is on the Marquis himself--but it's almost overkill; he arguably looks worse than MAGNUS, like wtf? 💀
🤦♂️ Whatever, AMC. I'm so over this. I knew I was gonna hate whatever y'all did with the Chateau, but I'm more shocked at how half-in/half-out the PRODUCTION is. Cuz the show is BEAUTIFUL. But there's some things that make NO SENSE when you DO turn to ThE boOKs~! This is not me coming from the position of some show-only who never read the books & is too lazy to rewatch the episodes (I retwatched it 3 times), or is too media illiterate to pick up on clues (but PLEASE don't hesitate to share your observations--I'm not mentioning everything, just what bothered me the most). This is me coming as a disgruntled fan who was expecting way more.
2) Overhyped Marketing Problems
TBH I do think that book readers & fans (NOT purists, they can STFU, they been hated the show since S1 dared to make Louis Black) REALLY need to temper their expectations RIGHT NOW. Istg I'm NOT tryna doompost or tell anyone to stop watching the show or leave the fandom--I HATE people that do that. We ALL come in with expectations. Esp. when S1 & S2 already set the bar for how AMC has promised to follow the books "pretty religiously" (Mark Johnson TCA 2024, S2). So it's not right when instead of it acknowledging that THE MARKETING can lead people astray, folks instead wanna put the blame on the book readers who were actively encouraged to expect...the books!? 🤔
Rolin Jones famously carted his beat-up copies of TVL all over press events like the Holy Bible.
YES, it was a gag, a funny bit, but DON'T pretend that your own hopes didn't raise seeing Rolin hype the book up, esp. when everyone who loves this series agrees that he's often ELEVATED the source material. 1x1? Elevated. Cinematic masterpiece. 👌 2x2? Elevated. The Theatre de Vampire's introduction was INCREDIBLE. 😍 So WHY do we have to WAIT for S3 to finally "get good" in Ep3 before these promises start bearing undeniable & tangible fruit?
And no, I'm not talking about the non-linear format--PLENTY of shows start EXCELLENTLY even with achronological & chopped & screwed formats (Severance, hello?). It's not even a quality vs quantity issue--there were SEVEN (7) sizeable flashback scenes, so it's not as if we didn't get anything. For me it's more about CHOICES. Why did they spend so long showing this but not that? (Gabrielle, I'm looking at YOU!) It's so wild to me to see some of the folks who complained about how much Loumand/TdV was focused on in S2 all of a sudden defending AMC doing the exact same thing in S3 (did we NEED that much ping pong?!) Then there were other things where I'm like: You mean XYZ really WAS included, but it was cut in post or something? WHY?! 🤦♂️
Like I said, I DID enjoy some of the flashbacks, despite the changes. The essence was still there, even though so much was TOLD rather than SHOWN. At the end of the day that's probably my biggest disappointment; because I'm coming here for the VISUALS. I want to SEE the magic happen on the screen, not just settle for Sam Reid assuring us that there really was a flail he had offscreen, that he never got to actually USE cuz....PRODUCTION ISSUES. 🤦♂️ I shouldn't have to USE MY 🌈 IMAGINATION 🌈 when watching a effing show ffs.
Contrary to the condescending AF gaslighters insisting that anyone who doesn't like the cut corners in 3x2 are just "media illiterate you're not paying attention and can't pick up on clues~ you just hate Lestat and want the show to fail~!" how about you get your heads out of Rolin Jones' arse and acting like you yourself didn't also expect things to go VERY differently your dang selves. Esp. since MOST of the complaints are coming FROM LESTANS, who were looking forward to the 8 wolves, the monastery, the troupe, etc. This is NOT fandom war between ANTIS who hate Lestat. And people keep tryna rewrite history and invalidate dissension by acting like this show has only ever been criticized by Louistans & Armandstans who hate Lestat cuz reverse racism is real & Bipocs don't like white people & blah blah--when Sam Reid himself said a lot of complaints he saw in the earlier seasons were from LESTANS who were mad that they weren't getting what they expected FROM THE BOOKS.
So if you loved 3x2 that's great, amazing, so happy for you. But you don't get to mandate how other people feel about the show they're part of too, they're emotionally invested in too, and they have just as much right to express their opinions on, too--whether you agree or not.
TL;DR: Book readers, lower your expectations RIGHT NOW
I think we ALL need to take Sam Reid's warning to heart RIGHT NOW. Cuz Rolin already explicitly said we're NOT getting certain heavily anticipated scenes.
MAYBE S4 will cover it--we already know S3 is only covering approx the 1st half of the book (they're not doing many Akasha scenes at all, meaning Marius' 1/3rd of TVL is being saved for S4). So maybe somehow Lestat will revisit his past again?
Just, don't hold your breath is all.
But don't take any bullcrap from stans policing your reactions & telling you you're wrong to voice your grievances either. Eff 'em; we're ALL the Beautifully Unwell; the good, the bad, and the ugly.
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