When Lestat said that Armand did more damage than Akasha ever did, he wasn’t kidding.
Armand is a person who’s obsessed with Lestat in all ways possible, especially in ways that are vengeful and vindictive. When he wrongs him, he never forgets.
Regarding why Armand had killed Larry at the end of the episode, this is what Rolin had to say:
“It’s Armand. Armand is 4 or 5 levels of haunting than most of us. There is like a 7 layer burrito reason for why he thinks that will get into Lestat’s head and haunt him more than anything instead of way easier and direct hits”
And the thing is it will. Larry represents the frailty of Lestat’s being and all of his failures. His mediocre guitar playing is actually crucial to his overall music because it allows it to stay rooted in something human. It’s why Lestat actually loves Larry, but ultimately let him go when he wanted to drive his music into a more transcendental territory. You can see why his death is going to really fuck him up.
Now that being said, Larry’s murder is not only symbolic of another one of Lestat’s growing list of failures, but also destroying a pillar of what’s maintaining his fragile stability. Whether Lestat believes it or not, his mortal bandmates are what is keeping him together and losing them would only further break him. And since they all participated in his humiliation, Armand will annihilate them and leave Lestat alive to be haunted in solitude.
Now apart from this whole vengeance against Lestat, it’s also true that Armand is a maker now and he must provide for his fledgling accordingly. He does genuinely want to help Daniel and he wants to free him from Lestat’s wretched claws. And so he’ll do his part to make it happen; One, by outing Lestat’s incestuous relationship with his own mother as ammo for Daniel and two, by beginning to kill off the bandmates to isolate him.
Did he jump off the band wagon? Absofuckinglutely. He calls Louis and Lestat “methodically cruel”, but he is something so far beyond that and is willing to showcase it. He’s not following any rules or order other than to be a haunting menace. This time he intends to get his cake and eat it too. Granted, that is if Daniel sees this as amusing instead of horrific.
It just goes to show you that you should not piss off Armand and/or mess with his fledgling. Hell hath no fury like a mother gremlin who is locked in.
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I've never made a post since joining Tumblr several years ago. I don't even know if anyone will actually see this, considering I don't have many followers(?)/friends here, but I've been wanting to get these thoughts out, so...
Here are a few of my thoughts about Devil's Minion this season.
There's been a lot of discussion about Daniel and Armand's dynamic and where their individual journeys—and their relationship—might be headed over the next few seasons. I've ended up with a couple of theories of my own.
Before I get into that, though, a small disclaimer: I'm genuinely exhausted by the negativity that's taken over part of this fandom. It hangs over everything like an oil slick on what could otherwise be perfectly clear water. Sure, there are ripples. I'm the first to admit that some directing and stylistic choices could have made Season 3 stronger. But that doesn't justify the endless doomposting and the relentless criticism of every. single. thing. If your favorite hobby is sucking the joy and creativity out of other people's excitement, please log off and go touch some grass. Thanks.
Now, onto the topic that's been worrying so many people: the idea that Armand's feelings for Daniel are one-sided.
Guys... no. Just no. And I think the show makes that pretty obvious.
From Daniel's perspective:
- There's an incredibly unique Maker/Fledgling bond between them. It honestly reminds me of Muirn Beatha Dàn, the Gaelic expression describing two souls bound together. Neither the books nor the show give any other Maker and Fledgling such a visceral, deeply personal connection.
- Then there's Daniel's inexplicable sense of longing and need whenever it comes to Armand. That's the source of so much of his confusion and discomfort, and it goes far beyond the anger of being abandoned by his Maker. Anger has always been Daniel's oldest friend—his sharpest weapon against fear and against the world itself. What he feels here reminds me much more of saudade: that bittersweet ache for someone who's absent, mixed with the painful awareness that they may never come back. If the Past Devil's Minion theory ends up being true, those feelings would suddenly make perfect sense.
All of that makes it very difficult for me to believe Daniel doesn't return Armand's feelings.
Daniel is overwhelmed. His entire world has collapsed under the weight of several life-changing revelations arriving all at once. But despite that, he's there for Armand. And Armand is there for him.
Now, from Armand's perspective.
People make it sound much more complicated than I think it actually is.
Armand is, at his core, a deeply traumatized young man who's spent centuries learning that horror is answered either with more horror or with self-erasure.
In this version of him, I find it completely believable that his obsession with Daniel started during those six days in San Francisco in 1973.
For seventy-seven years he'd been living on a knife's edge, taking care of Louis while constantly knowing he could be exposed, discarded, or broken all over again at any moment.
Then twenty-year-old Daniel walks into that apartment. Louis gives Daniel something Armand has never truly felt he received himself, despite all the devotion he'd poured into that relationship. Daniel is alive. He's brilliant. His mind runs like a perfectly tuned machine. He refuses to bend easily. Most importantly, he's so wonderfully, ridiculously human.
Daniel's humanity could have been the perfect excuse for Armand to disguise something profound as something harmless. That would also explain why Louis never saw Armand's stories about Daniel as a threat to their relationship over the following fifty years, while Armand himself quietly remained obsessed with him.
Daniel may have become Armand's breath of fresh air—a brief escape between one dishonest obligation and the next.
Let's not forget these three very important points that come from Armand himself:
He specifically says 52 years. That includes the 1970s and 1980s.
He talks about giving Daniel back half of his life and making amends for the harm he's done. What exactly does that mean? What is he supposed to be giving back if, as Episode 5 clearly shows, Daniel remembers the memories Armand brings up in the park perfectly well? And what harm is Armand actually referring to?
Speaking of those memories, why doesn't Armand mention a single moment from Daniel's life before 1990?
So where does that leave us?
Personally, I think this love story is absolutely going to be mutual. Will it be written well? Will it live up to everything we've imagined?
I sincerely hope so. I guess we'll find out around 2028 or 2029.
Speaking of 2028–29...
I honestly don't know where Daniel's story is going.
The simple reality is that Eric Bogosian isn't getting any younger, and neither is Daniel. That's not pessimism, it's just a fact.
Looking back at Seasons 1 and 2, it's obvious he's lost muscle mass, weight, and his hair seems a little whiter every time we see him. I truly wish Eric another hundred years of life, but it's also reasonable to wonder whether age could eventually affect the direction the show takes with Daniel.
I can imagine three possibilities:
- Daniel's arc ends with his death (for good).
- Daniel leaves the story in some other way, with an open ending.
- Daniel's storyline becomes intertwined with Talbot's, allowing him to continue in another body.
That last possibility could either be fascinating... or absolutely terrible.
Since Regina is essentially Claudia's doppelgänger, the writers could use a similar narrative device to let Luke Brandon Field take over from Eric Bogosian. They could invent some completely non-canon magical solution to physically rejuvenate Daniel. They could simply recast him altogether.
Who knows how many other possibilities exist?
Honestly, all of them scare me a little, and I genuinely don't know what outcome I'd want.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
One last thought—and maybe it's more of a wish than anything else.
Let the story seduce you.
When it's over—and only when it's over, because this story was never written to provide immediate, exhaustive answers—we can decide whether we loved it or not.
Did anyone else notice that when Armand walks away from the concert, a man follows him, and then, when Daniel runs after him outside, he gives a slight hand signal and the two men just behind him cross the street? Is it just me or...?
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What all of TVL reviews from the last couple of days are saying about Armand (and Daniel):
Winter Is Coming
Daniel, now a vampire, is in search of answers. Answers seem to be all Armand has to offer.
My Nights Are Booked
Daniel's maker, the vampire Armand, is in a very different place this season. His world has once again been turned upside down and he's struggling to find his place in a world that knows so many of his secrets. Zaman gets to play a whole new Armand this season. Gone is the ancient vampire in control of his destiny who has been tampering with Louis and Daniel's memories. This Armand is on a journey, and Zaman gets to bring out his vulnerable side as Armand works things out.
Nexus Point News
Eric Bogosian’s Daniel Molloy is a delight on the screen, bringing cynicism to ground this otherwise bizarre narrative. Assad Zaman’s complex performance as Armand on his path to redemption will keep you on your toes.
TheHollywoodNews
As for the other returning characters no-one is having more fun this season than Assad Zaman as Armand. Completely untethered from social niceties Armand is by turn utterly pathetic, hilarious and spectacularly unnerving. Zaman is brilliant whether being subjected to Lestat's rage baiting antics or carrying out acts of such profound villainy you will be aghast. Fans of the Devil's Minion ship will also be delighted, although Eric Bogosian as Daniel is arguably underused this season.
The Wrap
Eric Bogosian's Daniel is an even more bitter pain in the neck now that he's undead, directing the documentary and dealing with a few fledgling hiccups. His maker, Armand (Assad Zaman), has some apologizing to do, but how much can you trust a 500-year-old gremlin?
SDCC Blog
And what of the Vampire Armand, you might be asking? He's been off on his own, working through some things. But fear not, he is literally the first character we see this season (though as we have never seen him before), as if the show is signaling to fans, "Don't worry, he's still here, and he's still going to play an important role this season."
(And for those keeping count at home, Armand is in every episode except for one. Breathe easy).
G+ Magazine
Assad Zaman's Armand becomes increasingly fascinating the deeper the story goes, and without spoiling any specifics, let's just say viewers should absolutely not underestimate how much damage Armand is capable of causing. The season understands exactly how terrifying he can be beneath all the restraint and elegance, and it weaponizes that beautifully. Eric Bogosian's Daniel Molloy also receives far more material than viewers may expect, and every scene he's given crackles with tension, humor, or danger.
The TV Cave
Assad Zaman is hauntingly ethereal and romantically stoic as Armand, balancing a subtle comedic energy that the character himself does not openly exude with a power that draws everyone into his orbit of destruction.
Eric Bogosian's Daniel faces a similar and familiar turmoil that plagued Lestat and Louis, grappling with his vampiric identity in the wake of abandonment and an inexplicable bond to the one who caused him the most pain.
Nerdist
Here, I will say that both Assad Zaman and Eric Bogosian deliver incredible work this season, taking their characters to new places of both bravado and vulnerability. Bogosian's Daniel Molloy is adjusting to being a vampire to varying degrees of success, but he definitely misses his maker. In a stunning way, he captures the feeling of simultaneously being a very old human and a very young vampire.
Meanwhile, freed of all specific obligations and masks, Armand is trying out a few different courses of action, perhaps trying to find himself. But, as always, Armand is prone to making all the wrong choices. Since it's his greatest talent, though, he does so beautifully. There was a moment where Zaman's Armand was brimming with such fragile, stoic, frozen pain, alone in a crowd, that was truly the stuff of antihero legend. Armand oscillates wildly between something like "trying to be good" to giving in to his every worst impulse, undoubtedly walking the trails of what he believes to be the most necessary action. And that's why we love him.
Nerdist DM Edition
From even before their first meeting, in just the barest of mentions that Daniel makes to an unimpressed Louis about his connection with Armand, the depth of feeling between the pair absolutely aches. And, interestingly, in The Vampire Lestat, their vampiric bond manifests in a unique way that I won't go into too specifically. But the manifestation resonated with me (again, me as a viewer interpreting the narrative, who is preexistingly inclined toward the idea of their romance) as both twistedly dark and gorgeously romantic. And this connection of maker and fledgling ensures they are bonded, whether or not they share scenes together. To me, it feels clear that Armand's abandonment is a point of deep vulnerability to Daniel. And Armand, meanwhile, does not really wish to stay away. The narrative draws them together, even as one or both of them protest.
And I will say this, there is a moment later in the season, one of my favorites, that could have been plucked from a Devil's Minion fanfic. Where I was like, "Omg, Daniel, just…" And Daniel did! We love to see it.
Collider
In between intentionally probing sitdowns with Lestat, Daniel is feeling pretty salty about his own changed state, especially since the vampire who turned him, Armand (Assad Zaman), hasn't reappeared since the events of that fateful night in Dubai. That said, maker and fledgling's paths are practically destined to cross again once Armand learns of Daniel's professional involvement with Lestat, which all but compels him to reemerge from the shadows to warn Daniel about the consequences of getting tangled up with the mercurial vampire who's decided to enter his rockstar era.
Mashable
The Vampire Lestat begins at the end. More specifically, at an auction, where on the block is the Brat Prince's story, told across tracks on the sole vinyl pressing of an album he calls The Failures. In attendance are familiar figures from Anne Rice's Immortal Universe, including Louis (Jacob Anderson), the Talamasca's Raglan James (Justin Kirk), and Armand (Assad Zaman), who is curiously sporting an eyepatch.
Vulture
For the scene's wide shot, he jumps onto the venue floor and moves through a tunnel of extras to sing directly in the face of another nemesis: Armand (Assad Zaman), the ancient vampire who wooed his ex and has been standing in the crowd, glaring, this whole time. Reid writhes in front of Zaman, sticking out his tongue in one take, running his hand down his body in another, all while a gigantic technocrane zooms overhead. When the scene cuts, Reid and Zaman boogie around each other, Pulp Fiction style.
Big Gold Belt
Meanwhile, Assad Zaman's presence continues to loom over the story in fascinating ways, reminding viewers that the emotional scars of previous seasons are never truly gone.
ScreenRant
Daniel, ever the sharp-tongued journalist, maintains his presence by serving as a documentarian for Lestat's tour, albeit sanctioned by the Talamasca to keep tabs on what he's doing. There's a rather engaging hostility between the pair because of the book, one that leads to some memorably tense conversations as they play off one another's egos. This is compounded by Daniel's continued adaptation to the vampire lifestyle, a rocky transition that serves as an undercurrent of stress for him as he follows Lestat's exploits.
Things are further complicated by the return of Armand, whose reemergence isn't too surprising considering his newfound connection with Daniel. Readers of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series will be pleased to see how his development unfolds, especially in relation to events yet to transpire. This setup is but a morsel of his involvement, though, which succinctly ties into how Lestat's music has begun influencing the vampire world on a larger scale. It's a compelling justification for his return, and one that aids in making The Vampire Lestat's world feel honest and lived-in.
Awards Watch
Bogosian remains a stalwart smart-ass, knowing just when to add some levity; he and Zaman also still play wonderfully together in a scene I dare not spoil so that you may gasp the way I did.
Forbes
They're compelling together even as their characters are in a difficult place because it's mostly set-up for what's to come. With Daniel being tied to Armand, and the journalist turned documentarian having a catty, antagonistic relationship with Lestat, much of how he was turned and the real reason for why is left a mystery.
Armand does give him an answer and their scenes are as intense as one would expect, but it merely leads to more questions. For those, like myself who have never read the Vampire Chronicles books, that might be off-putting unless you have at least an awareness of the Devil's Minion, the pair's ship name derived from a chapter devoted to their relationship in Queen of the Damned.
I suspect the pay off of the slow crawl toward their story will be worth it in a season or two but for now it leaves Daniel with very little to do besides snark and seethe as Armand tries to make amends with those he's wronged and also is awkwardly and then insidiously chaotic at the same time.
Inverse
Armand (Assad Zaman) hangs around the edges of the story – he's doing the 12 steps, and has amends to make.
Roger Ebert
"The Vampire Lestat" outdoes season 2. The actors seem to have more fun, spinning their characters in new directions. For example, the resentful Daniel or Armand (Assad Zaman). What are we going to do with Armand?
