Armand is the main villain for a very specific reason - they can't afford to introduce another villain at the moment. It would require too many resources and introducing + establishing a new character when they don't even know if they'll get another season.
I do believe you're right about them not having enough resources, anon. But I'm afraid it's not an excuse. If anything, they really shouldn't have done this to Armand because they might not even get another season. Why on earth would you potentially end your entire show with such a huge "FUCK YOU" to all the many fans of such a beloved character - quite literally the most popular in both the TVC and IWTV fandoms, alongside Lestat?? The only possible answer to that is simply that the writers hate Armand, and most probably hate his fans as well.
Do you realize that if the show doesn't get renewed for another season we will NEVER see the absolute treasure that is Assad Zaman as Armand again??? 😨😭 That we will NEVER get Devil's Minion either??? My stomach HURTS at the thought of it!
Not every season of every show needs a big bad wolf, mustache-twirling, evil monologue type of villain. How about just... nuanced characters, all of them of different variations and degrees of evil?
Armand did not need to be horribly villainized again, because a season of such a show as IWTV/TVL (especially one that wants to boast for being "nuanced" and "complex") doesn’t actually need a big main villain. And if they so very desperately wanted one, why not have Gabriella be that. They basically have been building this up this entire season. Combine her with Raglan/Talamasca, sprinkle a little bit of Marius maybe, and voilà.
There's no reason why Armand, who has been the writers' punchbag since season two and was only in this season for the shameful amount of screentime of just 15 minutes had to be villainized yet again.
