I reckon it's kinda unavoidable for how they moved things around in the show, but it does feel like something important will be lost if Daniel's turning wasn't consensual.
I guess they still can kinda write it in a way that makes it retroactively consensual. Like, Daniel "doesn't want it," but then he starts remembering past DM and remembers how much he actually wanted it for years. He can still be like, "Okay, but that was then and this is now, and even though I'm having a good time being a vampire, I didn't want it now." Because he's so mad at Armand.
Then when they reconcile he can be like, "I guess I always wanted it and never stopped wanting it, but I didn't want to admit it because I was so mad at you for not giving it to me back then when I first asked, and for erasing our relationship."
But of course, who knows what they'll do.
I think it'll make me a bit sad if the turning is made to be something Armand imposed on Daniel when it was Daniel who begged for it for so long and Armand didn't wanna do it in the first place. Idk, I liked that dynamic because it stood out against all the other vampires who were made without much of a choice.
I feel like that dynamic was also really fundamental to their relationship, and changing it alters a lot of the core of them. One of the things I liked about Devil's Minion was that Daniel knew exactly what vampires were and still wanted it anyway. He sought it out, while Armand was the one resisting it.
Not that the show can't do something interesting with a different approach, but I do think something gets lost if it becomes a straightforward "Armand turned Daniel against his will" situation. That whole reversal is such a big part of what made them stand out to me in the first place.
And maybe this is just me, but I'm also not really vibing with the people who think it'd be more "juicy" if the turning was fucked up, or who seem excited by the idea of Armand being made even more of a villain. It's not that I think Armand is a good person, or that he doesn't manipulate and impose himself on Daniel. He absolutely does. But we've already been there with his relationships with Louis and Lestat. I just don't think every important part of their relationship needs to be reduced to that again.
Part of what I liked about Devil's Minion is that, for all its issues, it wasn't just another version of that same dynamic. They weren't equals, but they were probably closer to being equals than in any other relationship Armand ever had, and it felt like a moment of growth and change for him. The iconic line "I'm the Devil's Minion and he grants my every wish" speaks to how it's not really about one person having all the power. It's about the fact that they both end up having power over each other because they genuinely care about each other and want to be together, even if their actual power and worldviews don't align.
That's why I don't really see Daniel's turning as just another example of Armand having power over him. The show can already explore Armand's tendency to shape Daniel's life through things like the blood addiction and the memory erasure. It doesn't really need the turning to become another example of that too. At a certain point, if every major aspect of their relationship becomes Armand overriding Daniel's wishes, the dynamic starts to feel a little one-note. Part of what made Devil's Minion interesting to me was that it wasn't just that. There was still this huge thing that Daniel wanted and actively pursued while Armand was the one resisting it.
And in the end, Armand's refusal doesn't win. Whether he turns Daniel because he loves him, because he's afraid of losing him, because he's dependent on him, or some combination of all three, the result is the same: he ends up doing the one thing he spent years insisting he would never do. Daniel's desire matters enough to change his mind. For a character like Armand, I think that's a huge thing.
Part of what I like about Devil's Minion is that it shows a different side of him. Not a nicer side, necessarily, but a more complicated one. A part of him that doesn't run. A part of him that actually faces the thing he's afraid of when so many other times he's chosen the more comfortable path. He doesn't want to turn Daniel. He spends years not wanting to turn Daniel. But in the end, his fears, his reluctance, and his desire to say no don't win.
And part of why I care about all of this so much is that, in this universe, turning carries more weight than almost anything else. It's a death, a rebirth, the creation of a new vampire. It's practically sacred. Turning isn't just another decision in a vampire relationship, it's the defining act. It's the thing that tells you who these people are to each other.
Louis and Lestat's relationship is inseparable from the circumstances of Louis's turning. Claudia's relationship with both Louis and Lestat is inseparable from the circumstances of hers. These moments end up defining people for decades, sometimes centuries. So if you fundamentally change the circumstances of Daniel's turning, you're not just changing a plot point. You're changing one of the foundational things that defines the relationship itself.
So if there's one thing I wouldn't want Armand imposing on Daniel, it's that. Not because I think Armand should never have power over him, but because this is the one choice that feels bigger than all the others. In Devil's Minion, the ancient vampire ultimately gives in to the human, and I think something important gets lost if that stops being true and it becomes once again a completely selfish action on Armand's part. It also takes away from Daniel's win. He wanted this for years. He fought for it, argued for it, refused to let it go, and in the end he got what he wanted. There's something really powerful to me about the fact that, on this one thing, Daniel's desire matters enough to overcome Armand's fear and reluctance.
