be all the beautiful things you are

This episode wasn't at all what I was expecting. I won't lie, I really miss the sit-down interview format from seasons 1 and 2, where Daniel was there to get the story back on track (lord knows Lestat needs some of that), call out inconsistencies and just generally be fascinating

I originally thought that episode 1 would be the chaotic precursor to Lestat deciding to sit down in front of the camera and Daniel and tell his story in a more structured and linear way. I think I should probably drop that expectation now or else I'll keep disappointing myself as the season progresses

It also occurred to me that the documentary format for Lestat's interview is a good way to convey that he is the most 'reliable' narrator of the vampires. The near objective truth of the camera. But even then, there are still details that the camera will miss or omit or edit out in post, which I also think is consistent with Lestat's flavour of unreliability. What with the way he refused to answer 'were you a stutterer as a child'

General structure thoughts out of the way and into particular thoughts for this episode:

I was disappointed by the Auvergne flashback sequences. For a significant part of Lestat's life, the abuse from all of his family and the reasons why he is the way he is, it was really disappointing to have those years condensed into roughly 10 minutes. I also didn't like how Lestat's attempts to escape his home through the monastery and acting troupe were told rather than shown. And the fact that the Wolfkiller scene was reduced down to almost nothing. Lestat himself said that he 'let it define him for a period of time', so I just find it odd and again, really disappointing, that such an important scene was barely there

I also thought it was... interesting how Lestat and Gabrielle killed the de Lioncourt family and not a revolutionary mob. When I first read The Vampire Lestat (which I really should reread soon) it really stuck out to me how Lestat let his abusive family live on and even bought countless gifts for his nieces and nephews. It was one of the many moments in the books that made me sympathise with Lestat ,another one being Lestat's inability to truly forgive his father, who begs for Lestat's forgiveness on his deathbed. I can't quite decide how I feel about this change, but it does really stick out to me

I like how Salamander, the 'dumb' one, is asking all the right questions. Especially this one about Armand. Could Lestat calling Salamander dumb be another way he attempts to distance himself from painful memories and control the narrative? Maybe not entirely, but let me imagine it is

I'm always happy to see Daniel, no notes, no in depth analysis. But Louis' remark about him seeming younger is accurate and very bittersweet, it's nice to see that vampirism has given Daniel a kind of 'redo' or 'second wind' at life. He's all vivacious and fearless now. Even so, he is unable to undo or fix the mistakes of his mortal life. His daughters still won't talk to him, and the pain caused by his book looms over everything and everyone

lmao at Salamander wanting to fuck Lestat and Lestat quickly shooting him down

I adore Lestat's soft spot for Alex. This could simply be Lestat's love for musically gifted mortals or it could also be because Alex somewhat resembles Nicky

Quick theory for the next episode (which I should stop so that I don't keep disappointing myself): when the below still of Armand was released, I saw a lot of theories that this was him at some sort of meeting, likely a support group for suicidal people given that those are the kind of people Armand prefers to drain from

The fact that Alex left the tour bus to go to 'an anonymous group', makes me think that he'll probably meet Armand there. At first this worried me, because if it is a support group for suicidal people then it would most definitely make Alex a prime target for Armand. But given the fact that Alex is described as 'straight edged' and 'vegan', it's more likely alcoholics anonymous or narcotics anonymous

And I like the build up to Armand. Constantly mentioned but not yet seen, at least within the present day of 2025. It'll break me when he and Daniel finally meet again

God, something about Lestat in the strip club but being more akin to a sex worker than a patron... this season really isn't holding back how Lestat only feels loved and useful and worthy when he is offering himself, his body

Absolute best scene of the entire episode, it makes up for any shred of disappointment I felt for the rest of it

God I am so normal about Daniel and Armand. Again, it will break me when the two of them come face to face. The tenderness of Devil's Minion just makes my heart ache. Peak gothic romance. And seeing Daniel being so vulnerable and in love and in pain - it's delicious, utterly beautiful

Oh Louis de Pointe du Lac, how I've missed you and your complete inability to form a convincing lie

I really feel for Daniel, vampire loneliness on its own is a painful curse but being abandoned by your maker/lover, being a fledgling with no idea how to use your vampiric gifts and with no one there to teach you, your daughters still refusing to talk to you, pissing off your best friend with the release of your book and said book setting into motion the awakening of the sadistic, genocidal vampire queen - poor Daniel, he's all on his own

After two seasons of seeing Louis' perspective and Louis as he sees himself, it's really cool to see him from an outsider's point of view. And since Lestat and Daniel are our main narrators for this season, we get to see what Louis is like when he withdraws and withholds. It's fascinating to see a more distant version of Louis after being in his head and getting a first hand, poetic recount of his version of events and his feelings

I'm a big fan of Daniel and Louis' friendship, it's really sweet. They do need each other. It's absolutely tragic how they're bonding over their failures as fathers

I feel somewhat vindicated with this. There was a clip from panel I saw (which I can't for the life of me find now) where Rolin was being vague about who Delainey was playing for this season, the panel host addressed this and it was coyly admitted that the vagueness about her role was intentional. Ever since seeing that, I thought that Claudia would be haunting Louis and Lestat not only as a ghost and/or hallucination but also through a human reincarnation. Similar to the 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula film. A human version of Claudia, a version of her that got to live to adulthood and live a happy life, one that her parents could never give her

And Louis' line to Lestat from the teaser - "I need you to go in there and tell me if it's her" - is very likely in reference to this human Claudia lookalike

Maybe I'm just blanking and completely forgetting, but I'm not sure what this is referring to... maybe something that happened through Lestat's point of view that we are yet to see??

I love this look on Lestat <3 Big fan of vampires in colourful glasses, I loved this look on Louis too

Fuck.

I'm really glad that Louis is going to be given more of a presence in the TVL season than he was given in the later books. Jacob Anderson is fucking amazing and I love Louis. I'm excited to see his arc for this season and eager to feel the heartbreak that will come with it