Last week (review here), everybody was left speechless when Claudia, Madelein, and Louis were abducted by the Theatre Des Vampire for being caught breaking vampire law.
This week, there was dread and devastation as Louis recounted being put on stage for trial with the audience as the jury, Santiago as the prosecutor, and Lestat alive and well as the victim.
Let’s dive in!
Warning: It’s about to get spoiler-y!
On Trial
The episode started with Louis recalling the trial that he, Claudia, and Madeleine had been put on in front of the whole theater for breaking vampire law. To Paris, it was a play. To the vampires, it was a death sentence.
Claudia had been tortured by being put in the disposal box below the theater to be bitten up by rats. Madeleine had been glamoured. Louis had been beaten beyond lucidity. When brought on stage, all three had their ankle tendons cut so they couldn’t run from what they’d done to Lestat in the first season.
And, from stage left, entered Lestat de Leancort.
It was a remarkable entrance for sure. One, that Lestat didn’t entirely soak up with his usual fervor. This wasn’t fun and games for him. Louis, whom he loved so much, though not as much as himself, had attempted to kill him. Now, the two came face to face about it.
Back in the Flesh
Though Santiago was determined to showcase this trial to its full extent, Lestat still did things his own way. The Paris coven was in total awe of him, like being in the presence of a celebrity. As Lestat gave his own “testimony” about his life and how he came to meet Louis, Armand was forced to watch the trial from his usual box seat. Only this time, he was held captive rather than acting as an audience member.
Honestly, I am on Daniel’s side in regard to Armand’s position during the trial. Armand sold out Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine for his coven and he’s going to mope? He could’ve turned and run with Louis. He could’ve let Claudia go. But no. So, he had to deal with the consequences as much as they did.
The Accused
Lestat didn’t hide his rage at Louis. Instead, he used it to share the story of how he’d hunted Louis before turning him, only he made it seem like Louis had hunted him. He was spiteful, but heartbroken because he’d offered Louis his heart and eternity, and to him, Louis threw it in his face.
So, Lestat threw Louis to the metaphorical wolves. Lestat defiled all of the parts of Louis’s Life. Louis’s rejection of human blood and choosing to feed off of animals. Louis’s not wanting to be with Lestat. The turning of Claudia. All of it. And, he flipped it back on Louis as if all of this were evil, which in the eyes of blood-thirsty vampires like the Paris coven, made Louis the villain.
However, Lestat did admit to being the one to turn Claudia at Louis’s begging persistence. This technically put Lestat on trial for breaking vampire law as well. Santiago wasn’t thrilled since his hatred for Louis started all of this.
Lestat’s admittance showed how much he still loved Louis. He couldn’t make Louis the villain in total. He knew he wasn’t perfect. Character development! I love to see it!
From the Heart, Not the Page
Louis had revealed so much through Lestat’s testimony. Though this trial was a mere show to humiliate Louis and Claudia before punishing them, Lestat didn’t like to follow the script. He went on to give a detailed account of his and Louis’s relationship from his perspective. Not only did he pick the specific moments, he relived one in particular.
The deadly fight that ended with Lestat flying Louis high up into the sky above New Orleans and then dropping him to (hopefully) his death was recounted. It hadn’t been as one-sided as Louis told Daniel. Lestat admitted to breaking Louis. To trying to force him to love him and being unsuccessful. But, Louis was filled with as much anger as Lestat was loneliness because Lestat tried to keep him bound.
Though filled with regret and heartache, the revelation that had already occurred back in season one was even more painful when Lestat finally realized that he’d broken Louis.
For Louis in the present, this was difficult and shocking. At this point, he wasn’t sure he should trust any of his memories since Lestat’s perspective was so different. The two perspectives truly showed that people view and feel things differently and understanding them can be life-changing. For Louis, this was a deeper understanding and acceptance that Lestat wasn’t entirely wrong about having broken Louis.
After confronting some of his most difficult memories, I just hope that Louis will take the opportunity to heal after this interview concludes.
The Sentencing
The episode and trial ended with a guilty verdict for all three vampires by the audience. I wasn’t surprised. From the very start of the trial, it was known that things would only end this way. Still, the build-up to it was quite the slow burn. While Claudia and Madeleine had been sentenced to death, Armand fought with all the strength he had to punish Louis with banishment.
Armand was the one to share the final moments of the trial: the verdict being carried out. Louis had been dragged away to be put in a coffin filled with rocks.
For the first time since he entered the interview, Armand was honest. It was clear how much Claudia’s death by the light of day had hurt him. Claudia was the most important part of Louis and watching her die had devastated not only Armand but also Lestat. In their anger about the place Claudia had in Louis’s heart and life, they lost such an important part of him and broke him even more.
For everyone, this was a tragic realization. Even as a memory being recounted, the loss of Claudia is still an open wound for Louis. But the unimaginable wrath that followed this loss has yet to be told along with the demise of the Theatre Des Vampire.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Let’s chat in the comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!
