cool

Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your time as a reader and as an artist!

This is remarkable. I am really just so moved by this!

but the show has both of them speaking in the same irreverent, quippy voice and cycling through the same types of jokes in a way that makes it clear this is what the writers think is funny, that this is a reflection of the writers' (esp rolin's) racism. rolin said the audience was gonna feel the whiplash of the show suddenly being taken over by lestat and feeling like we're in lestat's head, but the tone shift fails bc it specifically doesn't feel like we're in lestat's head or that the kind of narration and dialogue we're immersed in reflects lestat's character in any meaningful way- instead, it feels like rolin has taken the fact that the show is now set mostly in the present day and the general premise of "lestat is chaotic and terminally online" as a free pass to use lestat as a mouthpiece for his own voice and sense of humor. lestat isn't just any random mid-30s rockstar edgelord on tour, he's a specific character with a specific background, and while it's believable that he became terminally online and obsessed with pop culture in the 3 years since he reunited with louis in s2ep8, that doesn't mean all traces of his past and the history that shaped him is gonna vanish from the way he speaks, narrates and views other people.

.... you must be new here.

Because you're totally right! I have been posting a lot Armand and Lestat... For the last week of the last two-ish+ years I've been active in the fandom.

I don't usually encourage people to do the weird creepy antisocial thing of stalking through someone's sm, but like. There is this thing on a blog that anyone can access that looks like a little magnifying glass. If you use it to "search" you can type in terms like, for example, "loumand" or "louis de pointe du lac" or "lestat de lioncourt." If you wanted to see what a person posts about a lot vs a little over the course of their whole blog's runtime.

But since I received two almost identical asks in the span of a few minutes, I'm going to go ahead and guess maybe you don't have the patience for all that. (And should we even bother talking about how, based on the post you are referring to and the context surrounding it, chances are almost certain that this is coming from a DM shipper who's upset I'm critiquing the way that their ship went canon negatively affects the context around loumand? And not someone who themselves actually cares about Louis as a character).

But hey, since we ARE here talking about Louis, let's refocus back on Louis! Because there's a lot to talk about in this season that I haven't gotten to yet, and why not take this as an opportunity!

bebop dancer at the savoy ballroom in harlem, new york. 1950.

now, almost all of the bigoted remarks are happening in the present day with no framing to indicate how the audience is supposed to feel about them. they are primarily played for comedy rather than drama and the audience is encouraged to laugh at the marginalized (especially racialized and ESPECIALLY Black) characters.

The show got me 100% on board with this pairing in a single episode, and it’s with two characters I definitely wouldn’t have thought to ship before watching season 2. Kudos to OFMD for making me adore the Swede and Jackie together!

When Jackie meets the Swede in 2x01

“Who’s Blondie?” “That’s—that’s the Swede.” “I’m the Swede.” Hee! I love the Swede not being sure she means him at first, and the way he answers after Oluwande

I like the slightly confused Swede turning around under Jackie’s instruction, and her telling him, “Aren't you the absolute unit?”

The Swede seems a little perplexed, and sometimes nervous, throughout this meeting scene, but I like how genuine his smile is when Jackie assures him, “Spanish Jackie don't bite,” and then leans in to add, “I lied—I bite.” 1) His smile is so sweet, 2) it offers a front-row look at his missing tooth, and 3) it shows that the Swede is into this too, not just Jackie

When Jackie takes the savings jar in 2x01

It’s interesting to see the Swede’s conflicting loyalties here. He’s definitely aligned with Jackie, but it’s clear that he feels for Stede and co. as well

When Jackie tells them, “I think I'm gonna upgrade you to the triflin' ingrate plan,” I like the apologetic tone in the Swede’s voice as he says, “There's a lot of fees”

Hehe, I love Jackie calling the Swede “boo cakes!”

Even though he obviously doesn’t like that Jackie is taking his friends’ money, the Swede still chips in when she asks about any other fees: “Ongoing job training and education?”

“I know that guy! We had breakfast together.” “You will be having a lot of breakfasts-es together.” Love it!

When the Swede performs his “husbandly duties” in 2x01

First off, nice shift from Izzy moaning after being shot to Jackie moaning in pleasure—with, of course, the added swerve that the Swede is giving her a massage!

The Swede cracking his knuckles as he says, “Your back is really tight. Like, super tight!”

Awww, he’s so excited to get started on Jackie’s hamstrings! Also, I don’t know why, but every time the Swede says, “Okay!” to Jackie, it’s just unreasonably cute

“Yes, fuck those hammies up!” Come on, need I say more?

I love Leslie’s delivery on, “How are you so good at this???”

When Jackie catches Ricky in 2x01

It’s still the massage scene, but there was a snippet in between with Stede, the crew, and Ricky, so I’m counting it as a separate entry. Short but excellent!

omg, the Swede intently massaging Jackie’s hamstring while saying, “The calf muscle is the most mysterious of all the muscles,” in that singsongy voice

I like that Jackie is immediately all action when she hears a noise: “Somebody fucking with the bar.” She’s so goddamn cool, I swear!

Hee, the Swede scrambling off the bed, eagerly calling, “I’ll get the knife!” He is such husband material, it’s wild

When Jackie realizes the Swede double-crossed her in 2x01

Poor Swede, crying, “I-I-I owed a life debt!” I like how sweet Jackie is as she replies, “It's okay, sexy Dutchman.” And she’s like, gently stroking his shirt with the bloody knife as she says it—I love her so much!

“Double-cross is my jam.” lol, of course it is!

The Swede looks so hopeful/happy as he asks, “So you're not mad?” So sweet!

“We work it out at the house.” I love them, your honor!

The Swede’s little “oh!” when Jackie smacks his ass is terrific

Not exclusively a Jackie/Swede interaction, but I adore, “Let's go, husbands.” Nobody’s doing it like Spanish Jackie!

When the Swede brings Jackie and Ed their drinks in 2x07

The Ed-Jackie conversation will definitely be discussed in a future Favorite Scenes Between…, but the Swede/Jackie of it all something else to enjoy about this scene

When Ed defends his non-leather look, I love the bemused look the Swede and Jackie exchange as the Swede replies, “Oh, okay—back to basics.” This is the power of Jackie’s swagger, that she and the Swede can rag on Blackbeard together

Squeeeee, the Swede’s adorably smitten smile at Jackie as he turns and walks away from the table!

I like how Jackie raises her voice when she tells Ed, “Now he's mucho caliente!”, making sure the Swede can hear. Makeover aside, I think remarks like that play a huge part in the Swede’s glow-up: the confidence that comes from knowing the woman he loves finds him so sexy

When Jackie poisons the British in 2x08

I love Nat’s delivery on, “I ate poison?! Am I going to die?”

“Ah, you best believe everybody is poison-trained in this household.” What an icon! I adore her

Hee, the Swede looking around all bewildered, asking, “We are?”, and Jackie reassuring him, “Yeah, baby”

When the Revenge leaves at the end of 2x08

The image of them cozied up together at the beakhead is great, with Jackie’s arm over the Swede’s shoulders while she smokes a cigar

Since apparently we are the only fans left with the ability to verify any type of information, here are the facts:

S1 Credits:

1x01 - Rolin Jones

1x02 - Jonathan Ceniceroz & Dave Harris

1x03 - Rolin Jones & Hannah Moscovitch

1x04 - Eleanor Burgess

1x05 - Hannah Moscovitch

1x06 - Coline Abert

1x07 - Rolin Jones & Ben Philippe

S2 Credits:

2x01: Hannah Moscovitch

2x02: Jonathan Ceniceroz & Shane Munson

2x03: Heather Bellson

2x04: Coline Abert & A. Zell Williams

2x05: Jonathan Ceniceroz & Hannah Moscovitch

2x06: Hannah Moscovitch & Shane Munson

2x07: Kevin Hanna & Rolin Jones

2x08: Rolin Jones

Hannah, Rolin, Coline, and Jonathan were retained from S1 - 2. Eleanor, Ben, and Dave did not return. The first season had 7 writers. The second had 8.

3x01: Rolin Jones & Hannah Moscovitch

3x02: Jonathan Ceniceroz & Kevin Hanna

3x03: Anusree Roy

3x04: Jonathan Ceniceroz

3x05: Hannah Moscovitch & Daniel Hart

3x06: Ryan Kattner & Kevin Hanna

3x07: Hannah Moscovitch

Hannah, Rolin, Kevin, and Jonathan returned for season 3. Heather, Coline, A. Zell, and Shane did not. This season has 7 writers. Of these 7, the only 3 that remain of the season 1 writers room are Rolin, Hannah, and Jonathan.

You can definitely say the writers who have been retained from season 1 to season 3 are the strongest writers if you want to. I absolutely think that Jonathan and Hannah are two of the strongest writers. I can’t say Rolin is my favorite. But they definitely lost a lot of wonderful writers season to season and I think that is very much felt.

I also want to start off referencing a quote that screenwriter-director Nida Manzoor made where she talked about being in white-dominated writers rooms where she felt she was there to just sign-off on what they were writing. And what a difference it was when she was able to set up her own writers room, especially in season 2 of We Are Lady Parts, where every writer was a Muslim woman.

If you're not familiar with how writers rooms work, you might think every episode is created by the person credited with the script. (Flashback to the Buffy fandom where Marti Nixon was blamed for every single thing in the Joss Whedon is God days.) But the whole point of a writers room is that everyone breaks the episode beats together, and it is headed by the showrunners.

Now let's look at the racial breakdown of that IWTV writers room again

1x01 - Rolin Jones (white)

1x02 - Jonathan Ceniceroz & Dave Harris (Latino and Black)

1x03 - Rolin Jones & Hannah Moscovitch (white and white)

1x04 - Eleanor Burgess (white)

1x05 - Hannah Moscovitch (white)

1x06 - Coline Abert (white)

1x07 - Rolin Jones & Ben Philippe (white and Black)

2x01: Hannah Moscovitch (white)

2x02: Jonathan Ceniceroz & Shane Munson (Latino and white)

2x03: Heather Bellson (white)

2x04: Coline Abert & A. Zell Williams (white and Black)

2x05: Jonathan Ceniceroz & Hannah Moscovitch (Latino and white)

2x06: Hannah Moscovitch & Shane Munson (white and white)

2x07: Kevin Hanna & Rolin Jones (white and white)

2x08: Rolin Jones (white)

3x01: Rolin Jones & Hannah Moscovitch (white and white)

3x02: Jonathan Ceniceroz & Kevin Hanna (Latino and white)

3x03: Anusree Roy (Indian-Canadian)

3x04: Jonathan Ceniceroz (Latino)

3x05: Hannah Moscovitch & Daniel Hart (white and white)

3x06: Ryan Kattner & Kevin Hanna (Wasian and white)

3x07: Hannah Moscovitch (white)

So - not a single Black writer has been given solo credit on any episode. None of them have ever made it beyond one season into a writers room. Of the non-Black writers of colour, Jonathan Ceniceroz is the only one who has written for all 3 seasons, and he only got solo credit for one episode this season. Anusree Roy being the only other non-white writer to get a solo credit. Ryan Kattner probably contributed most to song lyrics, since he's a musician who is also acting in the show.

The show runners and producers are all white.

Just want to add: even though A. Zell Williams wasn't credited in Season 1, he was part of the mini room (a smaller writers' room format so the network can have a draft of a first season without spending that much money prior the series being greenlit. This practice was erased after the WGA strike in 2023) for that season. He said this on his podcast. He was then promoted for S2.

Lestat was called a slavemaster in 1x2--(WAY before Claudia was even a thought)--and LOUIS of all people was the one who clocked his tea!

I love that scene so much, cuz it told me eeeeeeeeverything I needed to know about Lestat's character, and he hasn't proven me wrong yet (*cough* The Trial *cough*). Then immediately after that we also got The Coffin Scene right after:

And like I said: WHEN has Lestat EVER killed anyone because they disrespected Louis? 🤨 Cuz if that was the case, Lestat should've BEEN killed HIMSELF a LONG time ago--whatchumean "IF"?! 🙄😤

In 3x4 Lestat was hypocritical AF getting all up in Armand's face about him being the Coven Master who gets to decide who lives & dies--when Claudia told Lestat to Kill Antoinette to make his family happy with him, and he refused to do it--and LIED to them about her finger! (Hallucination!Magnus confirms he took her finger--so if it's not a continuity error, then Lestat probably gave her a new finger when she became a vamp or wtvr. 🤷‍♂️)

Lestat was more concerned with how Antoinette could nuzzle his "immortal erection" & fill the gaping hole Louis/GabriellA left cuz he hates being abandoned & ignored; than concerning himself over how he made LOUIS feel & fed Louis' low self-esteem & inadequacy as Lestat's "botched fledgling, afraid to disappoint" --these themes were ALL established in was ALL in 1x2; yet people wanna talk about "laying breadcrumbs & planting seeds" about bullcrap that ain't even turn out to be true, LOL, STFU.

Lestat and his nasty effing father/Maker's temper breathed hellfire down Louis' neck since day one about how HE decided Louis should live & behave; what he should eat (and even who he should have sex with--from 1x3 with Jonah & the soldiers, all the way down to 3x2 with his remarks about Santiago, Armand & Lemuel). It's PATTERNS of behavior. Rolin & Jacob confirmed everything I've BEEN saying about how dang IGNORANT some people in this fandom are when they act like this isn't "The Race Show", or that Lestat "understood" Louis' struggles as a Black man--WHY vampirism was so disappointing for Louis.

Louis' always been deeply in love with Lestat, but by 1x6 he'd been figuratively AND literally beaten down so much that he just accepted Lestat's bullcrap, "sit in your choice;" making 1000 excuses for Lestat's behavior. But Queen Claudia repeatedly called Lestat Massa (even TO HIS FACE)--BEFORE she took Louis to the hotel to spy on Lestantoinette, BEFORE she ran away & the Train Scene, BEFORE the Murder Plot!

Everyone keeps gushing about how much Lestat & Claudia understood each other & how similar they were, meanwhile IGNORING Claudia every time she called Lestat on his bullcrap, BECAUSE she understood PRECISELY what his malfunction was. Lestans & Louis-antis always listen to Claudia when she's got bad things to say about LOUIS, but it's crickets when LESTAT gets her lashes, huh? 🤡 LOL.

Like Queen Claudia said--

--and that stupidity applies to Louis just as much as it applies to the Lestans who insist on burying their heads in the sand, stuffing cotton in their ears when people talk on the fine nuances of race on this show that they'd prefer to pretend doesn't exist, cuz it "sucks the fun out of the fandom" or wtvr. As if RACISM is supposed to be fun(ny), LOL.