they’re making some really interesting choices with the vampire lestat in terms of adapting the books and like, having read the novel fairly recently i am unsure what the end goal of the changes is. not that i think changes are bad inherently (imho the Best decision the series made was racebending louis and claudia because it just allows for a much richer and complex exploration of power, exploitation, and violence that was already present in the text) but in that some changes do not have their thematic purpose revealed yet, if that makes sense?
like, the main one that sticks out to me is lestat and gabrielle killing their family. because in the novel, while lestat fantasies about getting revenge for all the abuse he suffered, when he actually has the wealth and power and ability to do so…he doesn’t. he financially supports them with his newfound wealth and sends them gifts and while he’s pretty awful to his father when they’re staying in new orleans he also cannot bring himself to kill him. but in the show, it’s the first thing that happens after he turns gabrielle. it’s her idea, but he goes along with it, and seems to revel a bit in the violence (in the moment, at least, he pretty clearly regrets it immediately after).
and i guess what i’m puzzling out is what new information do we learn about show!lestat because of this change? we know he can be brutal and spiteful, and short sighted in enacting violence even (and often especially) against those he loves (and i do think he loved his family, because lestat has never once made “they treat me well” a condition of his love). we know he’d do anything to make gabrielle happy, even if it does not bring him any particular pleasure. this information could have been communicated other ways that didn’t necessarily diverge from the book in such a dramatic way.
i am reminded of the trial, because that is another instance of someone coming to lestat (who was not planning revenge) and telling them “don’t you want to get revenge against these people who have wronged you?” (not that what louis and claudia did was in any way equivalent to what his father and brothers did, show!lestat 110% deserved to get murdered in a way his book counterpart didn’t, but yeah). and i’m wondering if the change is because they have something to say about it. because this would be the second time lestat’s family was killed because someone claimed to want vengeance against them on his behalf, and the second time he was at least partially a contributor in enacting that vengeance. and maybe that’s what the change is setting up - the reveal that he was an even less willing participant in the trial than previously indicated because we get a shot of him looking abjectly miserable as his dismembered family is discovered and does that seem like someone who would cross and ocean to kill the family he’s had objectively way more positive experiences with?
and idk where i’m going with this because for all his (uncountably numerous) faults, i never read lestat as a particularly vengeful character. he’s petty and brutal in the moment but doesn’t have any kind of long term schemes planned, and if anything is concerningly willing and eager to keep people who have hurt him in his life, because he truly would prefer to be with people actively planning to murder him than on his own.
i do hope, however, they establish that he does keep financially supporting his theater friends after becoming a vampire instead of killing them, both because i think that would be kind of upsettingly out of character (for both show and book lestat), and because his reluctance to fully abandon the people he knew before he turned in the aftermath is 1) endearing and 2) evidence of his hypocrisy as far as fledgling louis is concerned i want daniel to POUNCE on
