Aging Trash

the very same people who clung to the Train Scene to eternally victimise her, and took her word as gospel back then, are the same ones now claiming not to believe her when she is finally speaking her truth. is our love for Claudia conditional? do we only love the season one Claudia who is a "girlboss feminist" who creates a plan to murder the "evil white patriarch"? do we not love her when she attacks her black father figure (because supposedly black men are incapable of causing black women any pain right?) for the multiple times he failed her in her life?

there seems to be selective understanding of the black characters in this show. when they do something "acceptable" (e.g. killing Lestat) they are treated like martyrs by the fanbase. the minute they step out of this role fans want to box then into (e.g. ghost!Claudia or the Regina plotline) this is somehow racist character writing because people don't want to accept that black characters are allowed to be imperfect.

it's always "female rage" until it's a black woman. and this time supposedly all of said black woman's anguish and hatred towards the men who mistreated her entire life somehow is not real because it doesn't fit the kind of idea of female rage that people want.

Not only she killed him, but she also proved Louis just believed her lies without question. How little he trusted Lestat and how couldn't even ask about it. She is basically telling him: Ha, see? He doesn't love you as much you love him.

THE CRAFT

130 favorite horror movies: (102/130)

"i can't believe that godzilla was the last of his species. if nuclear testing continues, then someday, somewhere in the world, another godzilla may appear."

ASSAD ZAMAN as ARMAND

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT 03.06 | "Montreal"

Wow, look at you, all grown up.

Julia Doyle as Sophia

Armand's Guide to Stopping Lestat's Stupid Great Conversion (with Daniel Molloy)

Step 1. Ask Very Nicely (Failed)

Step 2. Break Up the Band (Failed)

Step 3. Bring in the Boyfriend (Failed)

Step 4. Deploy Public Shaming (Failed)

Lestat was Louis’s antagonist in the first season, and now he’s our protagonist. Armand was the antagonist in season 2, so people are primed to just view him in the same way.

But Gabriella is actually Lestat’s antagonist. That’s why Rolin talked about her as the second most important character this season. She’s the one pushing Lestat into a role he doesn’t want and preventing him from making peace with his muses. She’s the one bringing on the end of the world and using sex to manipulate and abuse him.

Louis is the B plot protagonist this season; his plot with Bruce, Regina, and Claudia is its own separate little track. But the fact that he and Lestat are finally not each other’s antagonists is what is allowing them to slowly but surely come back together this season.

Armand is actually the protagonist of the C plot of the series. They’ve chosen to completely mask the where’s and the whys of that c plot from view of the audience. They’re using it to generate suspense, and to show that we’re still firmly rooted in a limited point of view even in this new season. When Lestat doesn’t know what Armand is doing, neither do we.

They’re going to reveal at least part of what Armand has been up to in his own little side plot in the finale, at least enough for his actions to make sense and to understand how they impact Lestat. They’re trying to convince us he’s the villain now because it will make the reveal of his real motives, which I guarantee are more complicated than “being evil” more of a subversion and a surprise. Armand has been that last minute twist (Volta, if you will) in every season so far, and I don’t think this one is going to be any different.

The only thing I’m sure about what they’re setting up is that whatever Armand is doing is going to be the opposite of what is “expected” (by general audiences I have to say, not real Armand understanders). Instead of standing by helplessly, he is trying very hard to prevent something. Instead of destruction, he’s protecting something (while still being willing to break a few Larry shaped eggs to make an omelette 😂). I think he is doing it with a real sense of brokenness and bitterness that Louis and Lestat have rejected him so thoroughly, but he’s still showing up. What were effectively going to see in ep 7 is the end point (or maybe the midpoint really) of Armand’s arc. He’s been changing behind the scenes, but we don’t know how. That character shift is part of the reveal.