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the biggest change is obviously the total format shift, how it’s gone from a straightforward period piece sandwiched by present day sections into a totally mental non-linear palooza. i understand totally WHY they made that change, because louis and lestat are very different characters and there ought to be some sort of tonal shift to reflect their totally different narration styles. i just think it’s not being done very well. 

did they really have to go so all out with it? if this season was structured more like the first two, with a level of campier narration and tonal change but to THIS level, would anyone actually be complaining? i understand the reasoning behind making it so crazily paced and non-linear but it’s just not as strong as seasons 1 and 2.

the individual scenes are all still absolutely incredible, but the show as a whole is kind of sucking. it feels so much smaller than the first two seasons, probably because nothing feels in-depth. and yes that’s very lestat but it’s not very good. all of the characters feel lestat-ified, simplified to their most basic level. daniel has gone from a very clever, insightful journalist and a brilliant vehicle for the story into, effectively, a dumb, prying hack? i get that it’s reflecting how much his turning has changed him but they could have done it much more elegantly. gabrielle has gone from a flawed but nuanced character with a complicated relationship with her gender into a loud annoying sex pest. how come the male abusers get to have nuance and be sympathetic (cough lestat cough) but the female ones don’t? on that note the super strong parallels between lestat and claudia’s sexual assault this episode were kind of icky, it felt like they were totally overshadowing her trauma in favour of lestat’s and also reducing the impact of both, the horrifying shit with lestat and magnus deserved to be its own scene, not intercut with louis’ revenge on bruce. and nicki is basically just a footnote now, just the sad dead boyfriend from lestat’s backstory rather than a legitimate character, because how cut down he is from the books. 

for the record i’m not just upset that they’re making changes from the books— i am by no means a purist to them— i’m upset that they’re making changes for the worse. everything they changed in seasons 1 and 2 was well thought out and justified, because i didn’t give a shit about book louis’ story and it kind of sucked. how much has been cut back for the show in this season is upsetting me, because i DO give a shit about nicki and gabrielle and they’re getting steamrolled over in favour of more lestat singing and shouting and thrusting sequences wowwwww just what we wanted!

it’s probably not helping that lestat is my least favourite character of the main cast by FAR in the show; i still like him, but louis, claudia, armand and daniel are way more compelling to me. i’m sure if if i was a huge lestat fan i’d feel differently, and all my friends who are huge lestat fans seem to be liking it a lot more than me so good for them!

overarching first impression from the episode is that i love it and am overjoyed. it is SO camp it is the most lestat thing ever. i didn’t realise television could GET this camp. i am loving the tonal shift, it’s super corny (but self aware enough to get away with it!), perhaps the only problem i had with season two was that it was a little too slow paced and not quite as punchy as season one- this. is definitely punchy

now, i am also sliiightly anxious. i think that we’ve been thrown straight into the deep end with the massive tonal change, and future episodes will stay camp and crazy, but maybe be a bit more linear. if they’re not, and it’s at this highest level of disjointed storytelling the whole time, i’ll be a little disappointed. but it does feel like that’s where they’re headed; the scene with louis and lestat on the phone big stupid ipad and the subsequent one felt very iwtv, as did that ending oh my GOD that episode ending was BRILLIANT i actually gasped i did not see it coming. what an evil show to mislead us into thinking he’s hornily texting his ex husband when it was actually his MOTHER. and the stutter coming back… okay actually i take it back im not worried. the show could go either way from here but this was a great episode and i think it’s going to continue in that direction. especially since we’ve not gotten any of the historical flashbacks yet