#acting analysis

One thing that bothers me no end in media or story-telling is when villains are lazily delivered (in writing and/or performance). Villains have the potential to be the most compelling forces when executed well, and sadly I've often found in BL they tend to lean towards the more one-dimensional or cartoonish. So when I see a great portrayal of a villain, I get very, very excited. I've been chomping at the bit to do a deep dive on First's performance as Dr Karn (in EP9 specifically).

I have to preface how well the entire confrontation is orchestrated between Jimmy and First. The twists and turns throughout the conversation, the varying degrees of abrasion before we get to the climatic blow-up.

Ideally villains need to feel human, and humanising your villains will only provide a more convincing sense of threat that they pose, and therefore elevate the conflict at play. One of the ways First does this is by conveying fear. Karn has mostly been cool and calculated. Precise and methodical. So what we're about to see is how fear unravels this man. First is very expressive when it comes to speaking with his eyes, and boy does he put that to good use here. He uses his eyes to provide that commentary of thought which is driving Karn's behaviour throughout this scene.

⬆️ When Karn first enters the room, he looks noticeably tentative and wary. He's treading carefully, still playing it cool at this point, but you start to see small glimmers of the mask slipping. He's genuinely cautious and on edge about how to navigate this without it blowing up in his face. When he feels uncomfortable, he tries to hide behind nonchalance, smiling as a means to disguise uneasiness. But it also translates as a sense of misplaced arrogance, of thinking he can continue pretending and Thap will buy it. You can see this every time First's gaze draws back towards Jimmy, his stare intensifies and genuine emotion trickles through, like he can't even consciously reign it all in anymore.

⬆️ As Thap purposely attempts to provoke him, you see First's acting get increasingly stiff and tense, his emotions more fractured, betraying the force of his increasing anger. In the midst of this, First also manages to convey a mixture of genuine disgust, resentment, contempt as Karn's real feelings rise to the surface. Like so many times before, Karn feels like he's being outplayed, outmanoeuvred and outsmarted by Thap yet again, and that hits a sore spot like nothing else, so he begins to lash out.

⬆️ Karn then stops all pretence and admits what's driving his jealousy and anger. Karn has always felt that Thap is in competition with him, and what's worse is he always seems to 'win', as if purposely rubbing it in his face. From Karn's perspective, he's completely justified in punishing someone whose been constantly screwing him over. The way First performs this really hits the conviction of that sentiment home, because his expression screams 'the audacity you have to say that to me', and you know that in Karn's twisted mind, he believes it.

⬆️ As tempers fray, Karn begins to spiral, quickly losing purchase over his composure. The way First paces makes Karn feel like an unpredictable animal that's on a trigger hair, but it's also a clear sign to us that Karn feels cornered. The mounting pressure and frustration at not getting his justice has taken it's toll and that's being released like a dam flooding open.

I love the tiny pause in the middle of this where First goes quiet and still, lets out a small laugh to himself in a self-deprecating way. As if he's thinking, 'what a sick and twisted joke, he really never cared about you'. The irony is not lost in that most villains do tend to feel like they're the victims of the situation. His blinding hatred comes from a source of real hurt that his best friend never gave him room to breathe, to shine, to fulfil his potential. Constantly overshadowed.

⬆️ Then we see the roles switch briefly as Thap proceeds to get very worked up. Karn doubles down, still maintains that Thap wronged him. Karn starts to taunt and gloat because he gets satisfaction in seeing Thap suffer that same betrayal he himself feels. To communicate the depravity of his need for revenge, First begins to display that more unhinged side to Karn. The smiling is now reflective of vindication but also that he doesn't give a damn anymore. He's giving himself over to his persistence in seeing this through.

⬆️ And it all comes to a head. First's performance leads to it's explosive climax as he fully leans into the madness of Karn's desperation. We now know just how hellbent he is on making Thap pay in any way possible.

Once again, First adds in these brilliant little breaks in between the heightened emotion his character is going through, by showing brief moments of inner conflict. He pauses again with his head down for a second, and it almost looks like he's letting out an agonised sob. As if it's all hit him and he hesitates, 'how on earth did it come to this?' or 'I have to do this or I can never be happy because you'll always be in the way'. A glimpse of Karn justifying his actions to himself all over again, in order to do what he needs to do, 'because you made me do this'. There's also a hint of madness and helplessness there, a sign of a man who perhaps doesn't like what and who he's become. 'I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you'.

⬆️ The final scene ties up his acting in this episode wonderfully. Unlike the Karn who was fighting with Thap earlier, this is a man who wasn't prepared to face consequences. There's an inclination of denial and remorse, but more so remorse from getting caught rather than over what he's done. In First's expression, you can detect real pain and disappointment, 'so this is how it's going to be, of course you win again', without forceful defiance but more quiet disbelief, as if he's thinking 'why have things got to be so unfair?'

You can see First's eyes actually darken and go a little distant and hollowed out right at the end. Like he's mentally steeling himself to accept he's lost, trying to dull the humanity of his hurt. He'll never win against Thap, and that's the hardest pill for him to swallow. What I find so impressive about this final scene, is how it made me feel bad for this man momentarily. The fall from grace, the plummet to rock bottom, having lost everything and now vulnerable. The question we ask a lot of villains - was it all worth it?

I personally love watching when actors play villains for a change. It's a fantastic opportunity for an actor to push themselves and First did not disappoint. The best result any actor can hope to achieve when playing a villain is making you feel empathy for them. Even if it's only for a split second.

The idea for this post originally came up when I had made an offhand comment about how I’ve noticed Armand’s eyes change color due to different emotional states, and someone asked me to compile those changes. I’m a nice person, okay? So I did. ☺️This was also my first analysis post ever so I was still green and I cannot be arsed to polish it so yes, please do criticize and critique but be gentle about it thank you!

Please note this is not exhaustive, it’s just what struck me and I’m not the best at analysis either. I have done my best as much as I could. I have taken some screenshots and provided a play-by-play of either some dominant emotional states, and in two cases, an analysis of the scenes. While this post has primarily to do with his eyes, an actor’s arsenal is so much more - body language, facial expression, etc, etc. So this analysis will obviously be very limited in scope, but once again I have done my best.

Before I begin, some disclaimers. Well the contact lenses for the vamps are mesmerizing on the show, and to discuss the shifting nature of Armand’s eye colors, I did some research on why this is so. Now the obvious answer would be VFX, but lighting also plays a role in pupil dilation and the prominence of the iris color, but it set me thinking if actors, if immersed into their emotional state, could control pupil dilation, as we would see in our regular human lives in case of heightened emotions. This set me on a little rabbit hole of colored lenses, and if this interests you, here is a link.

Now the conclusion of going through all of this was that yes, actually, actors *can* control pupil dilation even through colored contact lenses. Many of these have an opaque ring of color with a clear central window over the pupil. In that case, the pupil can still dilate and constrict, and the change will be visible through the transparent opening — although sometimes the “window” is small, so large dilations may appear slightly cut off.

Having said that, I do think no matter how great of an actor (and Assad is a great actor in my opinion) they can’t necessarily do this well enough for the camera, so my conclusion is this with respect to the eye color changes in terms of greatest likelihood to least:

Contact lens change

Lighting

VFX 

Acting ability

I’ll begin my deep dive now. I have about 6 slides or photos in here, and I’ll go over them one by one.

SLIDE 1: LOSS OF CONTROL

Now one of the things I noticed with Armand is how his irises change in color whenever he experiences any loss of control. I have displayed here 5 stills on a spectrum from left to right, and as you can see visually, you can see the brightness getting more prominent with each still, and this is to reflect how far along the loss of control is. The first one is from Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start The Tape at the very end of the episode, when he realizes that Louis and Daniel have been discussing San Francisco in his absence rather than Paris, and what the implication of that is. His stare is very calm and collected, and his eyes are a dark honey brown here. It’s the stillness that strikes me here - almost un-human (not inhuman yet), as Armand is - a predator who has suddenly realized maybe he’s not as much in control as he thought he was. That realization is still sinking in. In the second still, which is from the very first episode of the second season - oh this is probably the most interesting to me personally. Louis has just remembered that the German lady did not actually mention the wolves in front of Claudia, and he mentions to Daniel that they should “get every detail right”. Armand looks up - and you can see this note of caution. If Louis can recover that small, rather innocuous memory, what other memories are coming back? Immediately after, he suggests taking a break - but for what? So that they don’t continue down this path of memory retrieval? Armand you sly cunt. The third still is from the “I could not prevent it” scene as he’s trying to convince Louis that Claudia’s death was beyond his control - really now Armand de Liar? See how the color is brighter here? By this stage his San Francisco manipulation has been revealed, and he knows DanLou don’t trust him. There is more strain here as well in the eyes. In the 4th still, which is taken from the scene between Louis and Armand as they’re discussing the possibility of Madeleine’s turning being attended by Armand, he asks Louis, “are you asking, or making me?” and Louis goes away, saying it’s okay, just make sure no one from the Coven disturbs us. Now, I could write a thesis on this scene alone, or I could finish this post I started a couple days ago. Suffice it to say, this is when Armand realizes that he’s not quite in control of the relationship here, and that Louis will always want to have his way, and I also see this as the turning point of when he decides to collude with the Coven in betraying Louis, Claudia and Madeleine. Also, if anyone goes back to this scene after my word vomit, please observe the flickering and transition of emotions across Assad’s face. HE IS DIVINE AT MICROEXPRESSIONS. Anyway, the final frame is when he’s been finally exposed for his 77-year old lies - you can see that this is the ultimate loss of control in his relationship with Louis, there is no more Loumand - the eyes are wide and glowing orange brighter than ever before, and this is not someone who has a lid on his emotions, unlike how we saw previously. 

SLIDE 2: CUNTINESS

One of the things about Armand is his cuntiness, in the modern sense of the word, and I also noticed how the eyes change color depending on what kind of cunty mood our vamp is in. Once again, I have tried to find scenes and still where I think he’s especially being a bit of a diva and tried to arrange them in a spectrum, where I think you can see some clear escalation in intensity, both in terms of expression and how the eyes register on screen. I don’t want to go into too much detail in terms of the scenes themselves, but if you look at the first two stills - which I have tried to give labels for - the playful and confident cuntiness show how the eyes are still reading warm and soft, they’re honey brown. There’s a lot more “groundedness” if you will, and the cuntiness in these two stills are expressed more through posture and subtle gaze. When it comes to the third still, however, his cuntiness is a lot more apparent - this is the scene in Louis’ and Claudia’s apartment when he asks Claudia - “Did I give you permission to look me in the eyes, Puce?”. He’s flexing his authority here, and the amber in the eyes is far more apparent, and this is despite the lighting being dimmer compared to the previous two stills - this is a predator, and his eyes are signaling his menace. Now, the last one was a still I debated, but it’s something that has struck me over the multiple rewatches of the Loumand fight scene - why is there the hint of a small smile in his face despite the clear antagonism from Louis’ side? This is when Louis has just finished saying that the 10 hours spent in Daniel’s company were more interesting compared to the decades spent with Armand. So why is he seemingly smiling? I believe there’s an element of a more insidious gremlin-ness here - he’s grimly happy that the elephant in the room has been addressed - that theirs is a union of convenience, nothing more. He doesn’t have to say it, Louis has said it for both of them. See the eyes in this shot? It is the most pronounced in terms of brightness. The irises are more reflective and glowing, befitting the feral cuntiness he’s displaying.

SLIDE 3: GREMLINNESS

Now one of the things that struck me is how eyes gleam when he is Gremlin mode, and I would argue, unlike most people, that the Gremlin mode is not limited to Don’t be Afraid, Just Start The Tape - you see glimpses of it in short bursts and scenes. Armand’s gremlin spectrum unfolds as a set of shifting masks, and each expression reveals a different register of his sly, dangerous self. At his most Petty Gremlin, for which I chose the still from when he threatens Claudia to fall in line as a diligent Coven member rather than continuing her relationship with Madeleine, he uses knife-sharp words, letting annoyance or jealousy curdle into cutting remarks. Okay, don’t make too much fun of me when it comes to the second still and how I have named it, but this took me a while to find the words to say why I find him in Gremlin mode here. This is from when Daniel mockingly asks him “or what” when Louis mentions that he was as much of a captive as he, Claudia and Madeleine were. This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, pretending to play weak - his calm, seemingly innocent demeanor conceals his real power. Armand replies, “Or they’d kill me” - hmm, really now Armand? He’s playing the long game, weaving manipulation beneath a disarming exterior. In contrast, Feral Gremlin bursts out when his restraint snaps as in S2E5 the facade gives way to something animalistic, unpredictable, and edged with cruelty. The sly manipulator becomes a raw predator, in a sudden reminder of what he truly is beneath the softness. Finally, there is the Half-blank, Half-apocalyptic Gremlin, and this is a chilling state where his face empties of emotion but his eyes tell another story - he is a black hole of catastrophe capable of pulling everyone into his destructive orbit. Poor Daniel had a bad time of it in S2E5. Now, again I have put everything into a spectrum, because I think with each mode his eyes go brighter and brighter, but I absolutely need to say that these are not mutually exclusive states. Not a single human being is uncomplicated, Anne Rice’s vampires even more so, and Armand heightens that complexity exponentially. Each gremlin mode doesn’t cancel the others but folds into a larger pattern of survival and control, showing how Armand thrives by shifting between masks of fragility, cunning, violence, and apocalypse. For me personally, it’s this fluidity that makes his “gremlinness” very interesting, because he is never just one thing. 

SLIDE 4: LOVE/LUST

Okay, I think it would be a disservice to Armand to not discuss how lust and love are portrayed on his face. Now, I took two stills to display lust, and two stills to display love. Once again, these are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but I took stills where either one of those was the predominant emotion. In the first two images, what registers is softness. His eyes are darker in color and more liquid, his face is open, and the slight lift in his expression suggests that he is present and receptive. The lighting here does veer dark, but that darkness doesn’t read as ominous to me; instead it frames him with intimacy. This aligns well with “love,” because the energy is inward and protective. In the first still he is looking at Daniel, in the second, when he is reminiscing with Louis about the first time they met in Paris (Please don’t come at me about the love in Loumand I am being objective about the first time they met but I also think it’s disingenuous to say there was no love in Loumand but that’s a discussion for another time).Now If you look at lust, the first still is from when he’s watching Lestat on stage, and the second is from his and Louis’ romantic walk along the river in Paris. The eyes are more amber colored here and the lust comes through, not just because the lighting is technically brighter, but also there is more hunger in his face. In the first still lust is predominant, the second one is where I had a hard time and I could potentially be wrong, but this is where I see lust mixed with love. Out of the 4 stills, this is arguably where I could be wrong, but I chose this because of the expression on his face - there is an edge to his smile here that mixes the satisfaction of desire with the knowingness that he is falling in love as well. It’s a sharper expression to me. 

SLIDE 5: SCENE ANALYSIS 1

I think this is one of the first scenes where I was really, really struck by the change in the iris color, because it was rather quick, and also more pronounced. Now I have taken 3 stills, and this is from the episode “No Pain”. Armand has just finished telling Daniel his history with Lestat, and after taking a deep breath, he opens his eyes. That’s when you see the dark honey color in his eyes. There’s no loss of control, and let’s be generous and say there’s no history with Daniel at all. He’s in a state of “neutrality”. But this is when Louis comes up from behind him and finishes up the rest of the story with a line or two finishing off with the statement that Lestat has always been for himself and no one else. Armand then says that he locked away his heart for 150 years, till that lock was shattered by Louis, and this is what “frightened” him the most as well about Louis. Now look at the third still - his eyes have this bright, golden hue to them. Why? Why is seemingly referring to your love so frightening to Armand? Is it because he sees love as loss of control? That is a whole other discourse I am willing to engage in but there’s a lot of ground I need to cover and I’m not done. But that all of this eye color change happened within the span of 30 seconds is what gets to me - it’s easy to miss it on first viewing, but not on rewatches.

I want to stay here a bit - for me, what makes this moment so compelling is how the iris shift acts almost like a cinematic tell, a physiological rupture where Armand’s carefully crafted neutrality collapses. The sudden gold gleam isn’t just about affection, but it’s a form of exposure, a moment of vulnerability breaking through centuries of practiced control. IWTV often uses these color changes as shorthand for what can’t be spoken, and here it signals the exact point where love is terrifying for Armand.

SLIDE 6: SCENE ANALYSIS 2

I took stills from the scene where Armand loses his cool with Louis and slams Daniel up and down the air while he’s seated on the chair. This is about a 30-second scene where he transitions from almost clinically reflecting about the floor slant to the north and how they should fix it before selling the apartment, to being a terrifying Jigsaw. This is when Louis interjects with surprise about Daniel being alive, and this is where you see the emotional arc of Armand’s response across these 4 frames. Please note that I have condensed them across 4, but of course the full scene played out via video is best. I chose these 4 stills because they best display the transition of emotions across 30 seconds. 

In the first still, he’s registering Louis’ words - his concern over Daniel, which he clearly did not expect. He’s bought and drained 128 boys before - why should this one be any different? The angled face and the eyes a little disengaged - this is a moment of something dawning. 

In the 2nd still, his head is tilted, this is a transition into awareness. Here he says, “The boy?” with that note of condescension that is so typical Armand when wounded - like - ‘this mortal boy is the one you care about? What’s so special about him?’ 

The third one is the most interesting still to me. For one, you can see his irises more clearly, they are more bright orange, and there is a slight tension to his lips and jaw that wasn’t there before. This is a more controlled Armand, rage just boiling beneath the surface, but keeping a lid still on it. He’s now aware of how Louis feels about Daniel in the moment vis-a-vis himself, and he looks like he’s getting ready to confront Louis. 

Bright Rapheephong Thapsuwan - Yai in I Feel You Linger in the Air

Lee Ye Hwan - Kim Ji Oh in Why R U? (Korea - the Saifah character)

Look I talk about acting style lot, especially around chemistry. So if you're watching these two shows here's something:

Bright does 90% of his acting with his eyes. His eye work is INSANE. You can see just from the way he looks and Jom how much Yai likes him (and wants him). It's pretty flipping cool. This is relatively rare out of Thailand, another actor who does this in Nanon.

Lee Ye Hwan does 90% of his acting with his body. He is super physically aware of space and proximity, which is very very rare from Korean talent. You can see in the way he moves, tilts his head, his hand gestures, breath matching and leaning in, how much Ji Oh likes/wants Lee Won.

It's just really cool to have two such clear examples of acting styles that are in contrast to the other actors surrounding them in their respective shows.

Hannibal's choice to flee with Bedelia Du Maurier rather than alone is an act of mirroring his dynamic with Will. Bedelia, though a reluctant participant, becomes a placeholder for Will—a silent audience to Hannibal's "devouring" of Dr. Roman Fell's identity. Hannibal's actions in Florence, including his meticulous cooking scenes, echo his performance of love and violence for Will. The absence of Will here makes his presence even more palpable, as Hannibal shapes every moment in anticipation of their reunion.

Key Visual Motif:

Hannibal bathing Bedelia in the same golden, warm light that later envelops Will when they meet in Florence (Episode 6). It reinforces the idea that Bedelia is merely a stand-in for Hannibal's true obsession.

Mads Mikkelsen’s performance is a masterclass in restraint. His cold, calculating demeanor is punctuated by fleeting moments of vulnerability—tightened jawlines, prolonged stares—that hint at the emotional void left by Will.

Gillian Anderson’s nuanced performance is breathtaking. Her clipped speech and deliberate movements convey Bedelia’s struggle to maintain control in a situation where she’s perpetually outmatched

This episode is drenched in loneliness. Hannibal may surround himself with culture, fine dining, and intellectual conversation, but there’s a palpable emptiness to his existence. The absence of Will is felt in every frame, from the muted tones of Hannibal’s wardrobe to the haunting music that underscores his solitude.

My thoughts: *the kiss*

For Pat, the kiss is a relief, the best thing. Pat sees this boy he grew up with and is slowly falling for and he gets to kiss him like he wants to and it’s confirmation of his feelings being returned. It’s the best thing! It’s a “My crush likes me back!” happy dance, the whole lovey-dovey she-bang. It’s a thank god we finally got to kiss, I understand our tension better now, I want to be not just friends but more than friends. Pat doesn’t even think about his parents expectations when he is kissing Pran, in that moment, he’s just a boy who likes another boy. We can see this when he smiles after they stop kissing.

For Pran, the kiss is the worst, the worst possible thing that could happen to him. Yes, it’s confirmation that he still loves Pat, that this horrible crush he just cannot get over is still persistent and alive. It’s confirmation that whatever he has been holding inside (his love for Pat) is now so much harder to deal with because of their parents expectations, their faculty’s fighting at school, and now, Pat seemingly returning Pran’s feelings! For Pran, it’s the end of the world. Pat just had to go and catch feelings and make Pran’s life that much harder. But! Despite all those things, Pran lets himself enjoy the kiss and even kiss back. Why? Because, for a few seconds, he lets himself be just a boy who likes another boy. That’s why Pran kisses Pat the second time. Then, through the tears, through the anguish, and the one happy moment he lets himself have, Pran has to go. In my head, Pran has had a crush on Pat for forever and has always thought of his crush as a nuisance. What’s more is that he’s been heartbroken his whole life, because he thinks he and Pat simply cannot be together. Their parents hate each other so they need to hate each other, too, right? So Pran remembers, oh yeah, this cannot happen. A relationship like that cannot happen. It’s easier to go back to being heartbroken all over again, forgetting that it ever happened, it’s easier to ignore his feelings like he has for his whole life.

It’s like Cinderella holding on to her special night with the Prince thinking she’s never going to see him again, but because she got this magical moment she can hold onto, maybe just maybe that evening is enough to carry her through her worst days. But as we know, the Prince doesn’t forget about it and similarly, Pat doesn’t let Pran forget, he downright refuses to not annoy Pran about what transpired on the rooftop.

Okay maybe I’m late to the outrage train here.

But let me be the next person to say 

NO

WHAT

BAD

Bad on so many many levels

First off, bad for actors everywhere, because they’re saying “posthumously cast” as if that’s actually James Dean. They’re listing ‘‘James Dean” in the credits! But it is not James Dean, it is a really convincing puppet. So what does that mean for all living, human actors? If I can animate your likeness convincingly enough, you’re no longer you. You’re a name and face I can slap on anything I want. Letitia Wright could be shooting Black Panther 2 in one part of the world, while Letitia Wright could be posing for a close-up in a completely different part of the world via computer imagery. They’re both Letitia Wright! Who cares if one is cobbled together by pixels? If it looks and walks and talks the same way—

Oh but WAIT a minute! It does not look, talk, and walk the same way! It can’t. Especially not the James Dean-puppet. 

I mean. Digitally insert someone else into a movie, and maybe the mistake wouldn’t be so glaring. But you can’t put James Dean on the casting list if all you have is pixels. You know why? Because James Dean was infamous for being really sucky to work with for most directors. They’d tell him to say one thing and he’d say another. They’d tell him to go stand over there and look at the camera and he’d go stand over there and look out the window. And it was gold. The other actors were confused and the directors were happy to get his disobedience on film because it was better than what was in the screenplay! He freaked RONALD FREAKIN REAGAN out when they did a TV show together because he wouldn’t stick to the script.

Here’s an excerpt from what the director of his last film, Giant, experienced with James Dean, as told by a Texas-attitude coach:

And that, ladies n’ gentlemen, is THIS:

Which is, by the way, the bumper image for Giant.  You cannot take James Dean, who was a creative genius, and make him from scratch. There’s something human about really good actors that comes across onscreen, and when they act just a little different from what’s written on paper, or put their own spin on what’s written on paper, and cameras happen to catch it, almost by accident? That’s movie magic! Digitally puppeting the actor who was literally known for refusing to be micro-managed is bad and horrible.