93% stardust

In eighteenth century France, a young man ventures into the woods in search of wolves. During a storm in New Orleans, a young vampire requests a bedtime story from her guardian. On the road, a journalist interviews an unwilling subject. Three stories of wolves.

twin peaks (season one)

obviously one of the goats, but it’s delightful to get to experience the story for myself. technically a rewatch before i start season two, but i think i got way more out of it this time around black sails (season three)

this show has taken up residence in my brain and is not leaving room for much else. its absolutely enthralling and i cannot get enough of it, even though i know it’s going to break my heart.

black sails (season four)

and the thing is…so was the apology letter. like, the things armand apologizes for (misinterpreting lestat’s affections in their time in paris, thinking poorly of him for leaving him the theater) are so superficial and insincere and bury the lead on the things he’s actually done to the extent that it’s actually insulting. he doesn’t apologize for orchestrating the (very real and not a performance) trial that killed lestat’s daughter. he doesn’t apologize for kidnapping and torturing nicki, outing lestat as a vampire in the process. he doesn’t apologize for psychologically abusing louis and claudia, lying about their shared history in the book, abruptly cutting off communication after he told lestat louis had tried to commit suicide or any of the things lestat would actually care about (and yes, he doesn’t necessarily owe lestat apologies for all of those as much as the people directly affected but there’s no way he even for a second thought lestat being so depressed and guilty his daughter died he didn’t bother to correct louis that he planned it as “strength of character”). and so the song is similarly shallow and dumb. lestat makes fun of his hair and his attitude and his sexual prowess while wearing the pants from the trial and the hair and makeup armand made claudia wear to humiliate her because that’s the elephant in the room that armand won’t talk about and lestat can’t talk about.

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.