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I still think that's what we're leading into, yeah. Because whilst they've gone and turned the asshole dial on Daniel up to a million, I still think we need to go back and remember that Daniel's behaviour during the few times we saw him with Armand was very different to his hate boner behaviour with the others.

He still has those heart eyes when he tells Louis he feels Armand. He still looks emotionally tormented and like he's seconds from folding in the park. He still wants Armand to prove he loves him, which I can only put down to him having feelings of his own, even if they are currently confusing him. He still looks hurt on Armand's behalf at the concert and now enraged at the bowling alley over the Big Boss song.

The shared looks between Louis and Daniel

Louis laughing and shaking his head after Lestat says they’re better than Daniel

Louis not elaborating on Daniel getting in his mind and what he must’ve read/what they must’ve telepathically discussed, even.

Notice the points where there’s bumps in the road

Louis getting genuinely frustrated about Lestat not sharing things, maybe even giving Lestat the opening to share something which he turns into a “Justice for Antionette” moment

“It’s what you do with the blood” was actually the one place where Lestat could’ve took accountability. but he didn’t and laughed instead. both this and the previous point, it feels like avoidance, like Louis’ getting too close to something.

Louis genuinely looks scared of Gabriella. Idk if he would look that way if he thought she was just someone Lestat was hooking up with/a manager on Lestat’s terms.

Lestat calls Sofia “Mademoiselle Vecce” when addressing her and Louis before Brutal Love

Louis starts looking pissed during Brutal Love, it’s a very similar look as the one he gave Armand after he learned the truth about San Francisco in 2x05, Gabriella’s expression is odd as well. She also suddenly tells Lestat that she should avoid an appearance.

“How did you two get on?” “I’ll tell you in the car.”

Lestat calls the video of him and Sofia fake even though Louis already knew they were hooking up before Louis shows him the beginning of the video. Doesn’t make sense for Lestat to deny it from the start.

It’s just hitting me, but how come Louis after living with a daywalker for 77 years not know what a daywalking tan looks like?

Things I caught myself thinking about during the episode:

Not only is Daniel Louis’ biographer, but Fareed was also Louis’ physician, who was the one who brought up beheading in the first place. Louis is also pissed about Fareed working for Lestat in episode 2.

Continuing on my last point— Fareed and Seth were in contact with Louis and Armand since the beginning. There’s obviously something going on there. and where’s Seth?!

Sending Louis to distract Lestat makes sense because Lestat can’t get in his mind.

Something’s up with Arturo…

some additional things:

louis gets the sex tape from lem - he doesn't even play it, and he is already mad. all he got was a thumbnail saying TVL exclusive. right after that, he's already hurt and clearly not okay with gabriella in that moment. he says: "i'll tell you in the car" without watching the video. this means louis already knows about the sofia ordeal. here is what i think occurred:

daniel and armand had already told louis about sofia being gabriella probably a while ago, louis doesn't wanna believe it. whatever daniel 'dropped' in his mind is about sofia. it's daniel telling louis again that sofia is indeed lestat's mother. that is why louis gives lestat another chance in the car to be truthful, he wants to hear lestat confess to lying about it. he gave lestat multiple chances to do so before getting to the rehearsal. lestat dodged each one. lemuel is def in on this. because he's the one who sends the video to louis.

louis doesn't bother confirming to lestat whether the video was made public and weirdly brushes it off after lestat asks - this makes me think louis knows it's targeted to him. like he knows why he received it.

the scene where they are at the park on the bench, fantasizing about a trailer park - this is just like the scene mardi gras night outside on the balcony. you can also see louis's expression is a bit somber (JA is gifted as hell man), rewatch again, you'll see lestat is blinded by the affection. he is sooooooo cheesing but louis is not. because i think louis does mean all these things, but he also knows why he has to say them.

louis points out alex in the corner

louis doesn't look shocked AT ALL by alex - he also points out alex right after a very intimately touching moment because he knows what he said has worked on lestat (doesn't mean he's lying, just means he knows how to fog lestat as well)

if i'm wrong i'm okay with it it's just a show and speculation for fun. i'll eat my words and laugh and keep writing iwtv yaoi. however, the things people have pointed out to me as this not being true just don't make sense.

"louis would never lie to lestat" - literally has done so in s1 for the mardi gras murder

"louis wouldn't hurt lestat" - he slit his throat and left him in a dump in s1, and this time it's not even out of hatred that louis is doing it so why wouldn't he inflict violence to save lestat

"louis is not a good liar" - 1x07, not telling lestat about the book that everyone wants to burn louis at the stake for

Are you joking ? Do you know the fanfics I've read? The dead doves I've ate? The absolute art I've had the pleasure of viewing of those two freaks.

I had a fang in his neck, but I was interrupted. Had to let him go. I tracked him down, planned to finish the work. But as I followed him, I found him fascinating.

Daniel Molloy has driven away everyone who ever loved him, and he knows it.

By the time we see him in S1, he's been divorced twice, he's estranged from his children, and he has no friends to speak of. All he has is his career, which he holds onto as the one thing he did right in his life. He even tells Louis: I was bad at everything else, but I was a good journalist. He has accepted this about himself. He knows he was the problem in all his relationships - the choices he made and the hurt he caused are the reason he's alone. That is a HEAVY pill to swallow, especially when you're in your 70s and staring down the barrel of a terminal illness.

Then suddenly, he's a vampire. He's not dying anymore. Now he's going to live forever. What's he gonna do with all that time? The only thing he knows how to do is be a journalist, so that's what he does. He throws himself into making his documentary because it's literally all he has. He's not like Louis, whose mortal family still loved him and wanted him around even after he turned, or Lestat, who quickly made fledglings of the people he loved so they could spend eternity with him.

Daniel tells Louis: "Vampire loneliness - I get it now."

Daniel doesn't have people who love him. He ruined all that. All he's got is his career as a journalist. So that's what he spends his eternity on - he's gonna make his documentary and wring some truth out of Lestat, because it's a distraction from facing down eternity as an immortal who is not just alone, but who has lived a long life and come out if it with the conclusion that they are fundamentally unlovable and its their own damn fault.

And now here's his maker again. Fuck this guy, right? Armand is the one who gave him this immortality, which he's now going to have to spend alone and unloved. And to top it all off, Armand left Daniel too. At least this one time, Daniel can say that it wasn't his fault, and he can pour all his anger and frustration out on the one person who left him when he didn't deserve it.

And then Armand says, "By the way, I love you."

"I've been here the whole time. You thought you pushed everyone away? You didn't. I'm here. I've always been here."

"Do you remember all the times you were a bad husband? I was there and I still love you."

"Do you remember all the times you were a bad father? I know about that. I still love you."

"Those awful, shitty things you've done? I know about those too and I'm fine with them. You aren't repulsive to me. I still love you."

"I've cared for you at your worst, and I still love you."

"I know you need your career to give your life meaning. I'll even support you in that if you let me. Because I love you."

I got somethin' to say to you. ⬇️

This, ☝️ is Eric Bogosian. You probably know him from his plays or from his role as Daniel Molloy on IWTV/TVL. Eric is doing a fine fucking job at acting this season, i think. You don't have to like him, or like what he's done. You can even disagree with me on that first statement. But you do have to treat him like the real, genuine human being he is. Your words have impact, whether you think he sees them or not, and a lot of what I'm seeing from every direction is hurtful, it's ageist and downright disgusting. What the fuck is wrong with some of you people that you can't just move onto something else you do like? Focus your energy on other things and leave that man the fuck alone so the rest of us can enjoy things without your bullshit ageist comments.

Let's grow tf up while we are at it.

First, the fact that Daniel goes there, and that he wants Armand to prove that he loved him. The way Armand goes straight to 1990, conveniently skipping over all of the 70s and 80s. A love confession didn't work last time, it clearly scared Daniel off. But the following (chase)? The stalking? In the context of "past DM real", that worked last time. That got Daniel to fall in love with him in the first place. Maybe it will work again?

Then the face journeys they're both going on. They are dancing around each other like crazy. Both playing their cards way too close to their chests. Daniel's "yeah?" feels so much like he's waiting for that fanfic favourite "yeah" reply. A return to that verbal sparring of Dubai because he likes that and it's comfortable, but he doesn't get it. Instead he gets "love between vampires..." and he fights it with "I will never love—" and then Armand changes tack. Another self-preservation tactic.

No, it's not about them. Not at all. It's about Lestat and Sofia, because Armand knows Daniel loves a good journalistic takedown. Loves to lob a bomb. He'll want this and maybe it'll make him want Armand too. And Daniel looks disappointed that maybe Armand doesn't want him, doesn't want to love him anymore after all.

Meanwhile, Armand looks like he wants to say so much more but he's being so careful because last time it went badly, and every time he loves, every time he hopes to be companions with somebody they shoot him down. So it's safer to say that he wants to be Daniel's maker. That's safe. That's less vulnerable.

The entire scene Daniel is vibrating out of his skin, looking like he's fighting for his life against the instinct to go to Armand. Does he want to kill him or kiss him? He doesn't know. He's about two seconds from folding and if you held a lit match next to those two they would both fucking explode.