People hating Louis after his reaction to Lestat and Gabi
The reaction to this scene absolutely infuriates me because it makes it painfully obvious that many people discussing it have little understanding of how survivors of child sexual abuse actually respond to disclosure, especially survivors of incestuous child sexual abuse. This isn’t simply CSA; it’s abuse perpetrated by a parent, the person who was supposed to protect, nurture, and teach the child what love and safety meant. That betrayal affects a survivor’s entire understanding of intimacy, consent, trust, family, and their own body.
1. This isn’t the Trauma Olympics.
The constant comparison of Louis and Lestat’s trauma is insulting, reductive, and, ironically, incredibly judgmental.
People are so focused on deciding whether Louis reacted “correctly” that they’re barely acknowledging what has just happened to Lestat. His most private trauma has been exposed without his permission, broadcast publicly, and turned into entertainment. Picking apart Louis’ every word as though he had been given time to prepare also shifts attention away from the person whose abuse was just weaponized against him.
Both characters are traumatized. Both are reacting from places of fear, shame, anger, and emotional dysregulation. Recognizing that complexity isn’t excusing cruelty. It’s understanding what the scene is actually portraying.
2. The way Louis discovers the abuse is crucial.
Lestat doesn’t sit Louis down privately and disclose what happened to him. He doesn’t get to choose the time, place, language, or circumstances. Louis finds out at the exact same moment as the entire world because Lestat’s abuse has been turned into revenge porn and broadcast across the internet.
Louis has just spent hours being kind to a woman he believes is a stranger. Within minutes, he learns that she’s Lestat’s mother (someone he believed was dead) and that she sexually abused her own son. He has to reconcile all of that while watching explicit evidence of Lestat’s trauma become public spectacle.
This entire confrontation happens in approximately seven minutes. Louis has no time to privately process the revelation, regulate his emotions, understand what he has seen, or determine the perfect trauma-informed response. He’s shocked, horrified, confused, and angry, and he reacts badly before recognizing what Lestat actually needs from him.
That doesn’t make the cruel things Louis says harmless. It does, however, make his reaction psychologically understandable.
3. Walking away wouldn’t automatically have been kinder.
CSA survivors frequently carry profound shame, self-loathing, and the belief that disclosure will make other people see them differently. Many struggle with suicidal thoughts or the conviction that they’re permanently damaged. Incest adds another layer because the abuse is entangled with family, attachment, dependency, and the survivor’s earliest understanding of love.
I’ve seen people argue that Louis should’ve simply said, “I need time to think,” and walked away. But why is that automatically considered the better reaction? Because it would’ve sounded calmer? Because he wouldn’t have said anything cruel?
In that particular moment, leaving might have been far more damaging.
Earlier in the episode, Lestat says that it was enough that Louis showed up. That line tells us exactly what Lestat needs: Louis’ presence. After having his abuse exposed to the world, Lestat couldn’t be left alone with his shame. He needs someone he loves to remain with him and prove that this revelation hasn’t made him completely unlovable.
Yes, he argues. Yes, he lashes out. Yes, his words are cruel. But staying gives him enough time to move beyond his initial shock and recognize what’s happening in front of him. He realizes that Lestat needs him, apologizes, and offers reassurance through his continued presence.
If Louis had gone silent and walked away, Lestat could’ve interpreted that silence in the worst possible way: Louis is disgusted by me. Louis can’t look at me. Louis finally understands how ruined I am. Louis is never coming back.
Uncertainty can be devastating. When someone says nothing, a survivor often fills the silence with every cruel belief they already hold about themselves.
There’s also no universal “correct” response. Some survivors would want space. Some would desperately need the other person to stay. Some wouldn’t know what they needed until much later. Survivors aren’t a monolith, and neither are the people receiving a sudden disclosure. A “perfect”, therapeutic response might look better to an audience, but that doesn’t mean it would’ve been emotionally safer for Lestat in that specific moment.
4. The bar scene and the sharing of blood are deliberate.
The symbolism of blood in that scene is incredibly important, particularly within queer history.
Blood has been treated as a source of fear, contamination, and stigma in the queer community since the AIDS epidemic. HIV was once publicly framed as an inevitable death sentence and falsely associated with casual contact. The panic became so extreme that people feared sharing public bathrooms, shaking hands with queer people, or simply occupying the same space. Queer bodies (and especially queer blood) were treated as dangerous, diseased, and untouchable.
That history created a loneliness and bodily shame that are difficult to put into words.
Louis drinking Lestat’s blood after learning about his abuse is therefore not a meaningless gesture. It’s Louis silently communicating: I’m not disgusted by you. I don’t see you as contaminated. What happened to you hasn’t made your body repulsive to me. I’m still here, and I still accept you.
The fact that the blood is poured into a glass matters too. Louis doesn’t demand access to Lestat’s wrist or neck or body. Lestat is able to choose how his blood is shared. He pours it himself and consents to Louis drinking it.
That’s especially significant because Lestat’s bodily autonomy and ability to consent have repeatedly been violated throughout the season. For once, the exchange occurs on terms he controls.
It also directly contrasts with Gabrielle drinking from Lestat’s neck earlier in the season. That moment isn’t merely vampiric feeding; it’s framed through the language of sexual violation. His mother takes from an intimate part of his body and once again blurs maternal affection, sexuality, hunger, and ownership. The later scene reclaims the act of blood-sharing by transforming it into something consensual, beautiful, and accepting.
Louis doesn’t need to deliver a perfectly worded speech because the gesture itself becomes the reassurance. He accepts Lestat’s blood after the world has attempted to turn Lestat’s body and trauma into something shameful.
But much of the fandom conversation hasn’t shown that level of sensitivity. Instead, people are using a CSA survivor’s public violation as another opportunity to rank trauma, moralize imperfect reactions, and prove which character is supposedly the worse victim or partner.
For all the claims that this conversation is about protecting survivors, very little empathy is being extended to the complicated, ugly, and deeply human realities of surviving or responding to incestuous sexual abuse.
Real trauma rarely includes “perfect” and “good” reactions.
dailybridgerton
stormborns
jacobvanloon
andulkaphoto
annaxmalina
