The Quiet Dark

Jacob Anderson & Delainey Hayles as LOUIS DE POINTE DU LAC & REGINA

(i think it’s one of those hard rules jacob has for louis and given than rolin defers to him on the nuanced stuff like that, if it changes then a.) they had a BATTLE about it and b.) it’s because jacob thought it was necessary to serve the story/character.)

i love hearing the cast discuss their characters so i hope he can elaborate one day on the “louis hates humans” thing, because i get what he’s saying but it’s also not that simple. it’s definitely jealousy, him having a bit of a power trip about being stronger than humans, and spending years isolated with armand post san francisco that led to him being disconnected from humanity. but i do want to see louis interacting with humans in a friendly/cordial manner again like he did when he returned to new orleans. he is distant but very nice, polite and generous towards humans and still seems to prefer avoiding killing them to feed. (it’s also probably still his catholic trauma and disordered eating at play. also whatever “the farm” is also probably fucked up but he’s a capitalist lol it’s most likely some sort of vampiric blood donor business and the donors are compensated generously.)

i especially loved that conversation with his black cab driver about essence fest and him code switching back to his real accent. maybe i’m projecting but to me it shows that he’s still connected to his blackness/black culture, still has empathy towards black people, and just feels more at ease around other black people. like he knows he can’t insert himself back into the community, but he enjoys observing and interacting with black folks and black culture/art whenever he can and loves that he can still experience that default sense of feeling welcome.

(a related thing i noticed is that when he redecorated his dubai home i think the big centerpiece painting was by a black artist too. i’m going to try to pay attention to the art he surrounds himself with, because i’m sure most of it is by black artists.)

i think him having this blanket dislike for humans and disinterest in human affairs while also having a soft spot for his community/people is so interesting and in character for him. he can’t sever that connection because despite the shield his money and vampiric nature give him, he still had to and has to continue to move through the world as a black man. but i also think he still just cares about black people and that makes him incapable of actually hating humans.

sorry, this is a little disorganized and long-winded but food for thought!

I really couldn’t agree with you more. Whenever we have seen Louis connect with humans it’s always with kindness (with the exception of racists and Antoinette). Morgan, Damek, Rashid, Emilia, the desk clerk etc.

He screamed at the art dealer in S2 but much of the audience is blind to micro aggressive comments. He tells Louis he should buy that Gordon Parks print and sell it when the season changes. That wasn’t advice, it was a dig. But you have to be familiar with that shit to know it when you see it. So yeah, fuck that guy.

I saw some idiot wearing racist goggles say she thinks Louis would be rude to servers when we’ve seen nothing but evidence to the contrary.

Louis grew up in the Jim Crow South a few miles from where I did. Most humans haven’t given him many reasons NOT to hate them frankly. It’s 2026 and we see folks on here all the time who would’ve been right at home in that era.

Blackness can’t be shrugged off and despite the fact that it’s an everyday battle on and offline, most Black folks wouldn’t trade it for the world. To understand Louis even a little bit you have to understand that anyone who meets him, human or vampire, sees his Blackness first and treats him accordingly, including the fandom. He understands that. It lives in his bones.

That hard rule of never seeing him eat Black people not only makes perfect sense, its also a crucial part of understanding him in all his many colors. He draws lines that other vampires do not and it’s one of the things that makes him fascinating. If you’re actually looking and listening.

I'll stay. I'll stay. I'll never leave you ever again. I promise. I'll be happy, for you, for her.

I was trying to make the opener happy. I was trying to give it purpose.