Analysis, theories, spoilers and a bit of hate (maybe).
Sorry for the long text, I really can't control myself and if you start to hate me after it, well… I'm not sorry, but it's my opinion so I want to make it clear that, because it's my opinion, it's only up to me and if you agree, ok. But if you don't, just ignore it.
I was thinking recently about the way the series used Rashid who was an extremely small character in the book 'Blood and Gold' and then put him there as a name that Armand hides behind and then now, in the second season, we'll really get to know him. But for those who don't know, Rashid is one of Eudoxia's servants who appears in the book 'Blood and Gold' and just like Eudoxia he is extremely young ( circa 14-15 years old). Eudoxia was turned at the same age and then decided to create vampires just like her, she had them turn others because she always wanted to know what was going on in their minds. Marius ends up destroying her. Knowing this, I'm trying to conclude that perhaps the series won't use Eudoxia in the same way as the book did and therefore this part of Marius' story might not exist, or perhaps she'll arrive at a different age, in different circumstances (but I wish it didn't exist because that would automatically eliminate Zenobia and leave Avicus and Mael to live happily :D).
In short, Rashid was adapted differently, but the same. He doesn't have the same age and isn't connected to the same characters (as far as we know), but he continues to serve (this time for Armand).
Which makes me think of other possibilities.
When we think of adaptation, we automatically want the new media to be an exact copy of the original, but that doesn't always work. The story of the books "works" (or should work hahahaha) in the books and bringing it 100% faithfully to the series could be exhausting, especially when we're talking about a universe full of characters (with the vast majority of them being basically useless).
I keep coming back to this thought because I basically prefer the way the story is being told in the series to the way it is told in the books. I've read them all (except the crossover, no thanks) and now I keep creating these scenarios in my head, but let's get directly to the point.
For those of you who have read the 'Prince Lestat' trilogy, you know that the author simply decided to reboot the universe (as if this wasn't already done naturally with the inconsistencies and divergences in the books). And one of the things that made me very angry was what happened to Memnoch…
He first arrives as a demon or demonic creature who seduces Lestat and takes him on an intense and crazy journey through space and time, revealing a LOT of truth about a lot of things and for those who liked the spiritual vibe of the books, I think the book is a real treat, because it adds very much to the mythology of the universe in that respect. And we even find out a bit more about Amel. But then, when the book ends, we simply discover that Memnoch, just like any other malicious creature, has perfectly fooled Lestat (because our rockstar is very dumb). In conclusion, the book becomes a pit of useless information because you can't determine whether everything that has been revealed and contacted is really true…
Time passes and it becomes more and more something that is forgotten, until the author brings it back in the final trilogy, putting it into the mouths of the Replimoids (creatures and characters that nobody asked for) who end up saying, but without being very sure, because nobody in this universe is sure of anything, that perhaps Memnoch was Maxym, a Replimoid from the "Amel Era" in Atalantaya!
And don't worry, because the narrative about it gets so exhausting and big that you can't fix it in your mind, here's the quote:
As the author likes to do, you finish the trilogy and Memnoch has been forgotten again. This Replimoid shit to turn Amel into an innocent, lost and misunderstood child becomes so great that fuck the devil spirit.
Which, returning to the question of adaptation, makes me wonder what they could bring to the series. They bought all the books, right? That included the fucking Replimoid thing, I'm so sorry…
But then… The Replimoids have been on Earth for 12 thousand years… Much longer than any vampire soul, they are immortal, do not age and reproduce in an extremely uncontrolled way… If you have read the final books you know that a Replimoid is a great opponent for a vampire and they are so poorly used in the books, hmm… If we have Maxym who were one of them and became so spiteful and vengeful to the point of doing what he does to Lestat under the name Memnoch, because doesn't it say in the adaptation that they will come (finally and gloriously) as a true opponent against the vampires?
"Oh my god… But Amel was a Replimoid too!" - Wrong!
He's a mutated human, fuck that Replimoid thing with Amel. He has a human body, a human soul and he suffered on earth and in space (at the hands of other creatures) to have the end he did and become what he became (Oh poor thing, let's feed him - fuck him!) The author (IN MY OPINION, WHICH IS WORTH NOTHING, YOU KNOW) doesn't know how to develop villains or creatures that should serve as opponents for vampires, I don't think this is very well constructed in the universe and it makes me think that maybe I don't have patience to watch Akasha be adapted because she is a mediocre villain. Good luck to Rolin and the writers…
But back to Maxym and the Replimoid business… If they've been on Earth for more than 12 years and are immortal, nothing stops them from walking freely under any identity, after all, vampires do that too… Hmmm~ When I read Memnoch I thought: he's very smart, although he doesn't need much to fool Lestat, but it made me seem like a lot of Les's journey had been paved by Memnoch, that a lot of decisions Lestat made were under Memenoch's influence, so look how much power Memenoch has it!
We later discover that Amel also has a certain power of influence because he is what he is, that spirit at the center of the great web, the great brain that drives the vampires' existence.
And here I make a parenthesis because the introduction of this new race serves no purpose, you spend a long chapter reading Kapetria say about them and in the end no useful answer is answered:
How did Amel become such a spiteful spirit?
Because, when, how does he start to feed on blood if previously as a human he didn't need it?
Was it some spiritual influence that transformed him into this terrible being?
WHY IS SUDDENLY EVERYONE BEING GOOD WITH HIM??????? The guy killed several vampires indiscriminately, he was a huge threat and he convinces Rhosh to do what he does and he gets away with it???? Geez…
And if we have Maxym as a Replimoid walking on earth for 12,000 years being as bad as I want him to be, who's to say that he hasn't already crossed the path of another vampire, or that he's going to do so soon? And why do I say that? Because we have Filip playing this Maxim in the second season.
It's written differently, I know, but I don't think a change like that would bring disgrace to such a character, let's be honest…
-> Filip Finkelstejn as Maxim
And this has an almost 100% chance of being totally different when it comes out, I understand that, but if they put Fareed early in season 1, what's stopping them from inserting the Replimoids as well? What's to stop them from summarizing characters and saving space and time like they did with Rashid and still maintaining their purpose? And WHAT IF Maxym will be there to try and pave the way for Louis because the easiest way to get to Lestat is and always will be through Louis?
I'll let you guys think about it…
