“It goes where you think it goes. All the tropes and trapes of forbidden love. Blah blah blah.”
-Lestat
This week, the band stopped in Toronto, Canada. While Daniel continued to press Lestat for his life story, Louie finally found justice for Claudia. There was a great weight of trauma and tragedy throughout this episode as the past seeped into the present.
Let’s review!
The Violin
We caught a glimpse of the infamous violin in 1×02, but in this episode we finally get its origin story. Lestat (Sam Reid) claimed his time with Nikolas (Joseph Potter) was a love, but not a great love. We’re not so sure about that. If that were the case, then why did he still have the violin?
The way Lestat tells the story, Nikolas was his first love. During his time in Paris, the two met and fell in love. Aside from Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle), he was the first person that Lestat had sired and proof that not everyone can handle vampirism. Nikola quickly spiraled and even went so far as to take off his own hand. It threw Lestat into a turmoil of despair and broke our hearts as he recounted it all.
Armand (Assad Zaman) took advantage of Lestat’s distress just as he always has with those he obsesses over, and disposed of Nikolas when Lestat couldn’t. It was brutal, too. He pushed him into the fireplace and held him there. Each of Lestat’s relationships has been deep and emotional in their own way. Lestat has proven over and over again that he feels so deeply and without abandon. That must be one of our absolute favorite things about him, even if he can be a drama queen.
Still, much like Louis’s tale, Lestat’s was filled with tragedy and regret, pulling at our heartstrings. This regaling showcases that Lestat isn’t as selfish as we’ve seen through Louis’s eyes. While he can be crude and blunt, he doesn’t act that way out of cruelty. It’s almost like his way of showing love while guarding his heart and guarding the things he treasures.
My Biggest Fan
Lestat sugarcoated his transformation when it came up during the interview. It was especially obvious when he told of his transformation, which was more of a rock music video than a story to tell. Magnus (Damien Atkins) certainly stalked Lestat through the streets of Paris. He not only created art of Lestat, but would find men who looked like him and drained them until he finally came upon Lestat and tortured him in a dank basement where he’d stored the corpses of Lestat’s look-alikes.
The event of Lestat’s transformation does share some very relatable masking techniques for hiding from or ignoring such an assault. And reliving it nightly, forever, is unimaginable, and yet Lestat does. The event also took us back to when he turned Louis. While Lestat did watch and lure him, eventually falling in love with him, he tried to take an easier, more romantic route with Louis. Louis’s transformation was out of love. Remarkably, Lestat’s trauma hasn’t been reflected in the way he’s turned others. He didn’t take consent away from others the way it was taken from him.
The way it haunted him through the episode only shed the smallest light on Magnus. Now, whether Magnus was really at the Toronto show or not is still up in the air, in our opinion. Vampires everywhere are watching Lestat, and even when we’re told vampires are dead, that’s not the case sometimes.
Could the vision Lestat had in the car as he sped down the highway after his show have been a sign that Magnus was near? After Daniel’s confession that he could feel Armand’s presence, it’s a good question. We can’t help but wonder what would happen if he re-emerged.
At a Loss
While Daniel (Eric Bogosian) was at a loss for words by the end of the interview, he was excited to finally get something he could use. Except, he didn’t. Before Lestat dived into the nitty-gritty of his life, he managed to get into Daniel’s head telepathically and tell his story from there. During the interview, which was recorded on camera, he just appeared ot be sitting there, staring, for more than thirty minutes.
Though Daniel was up in arms about it, we weren’t surprised. It was more surprising that it seemed like Lestat was sharing such intimate details of his life so openly this episode. In the end, it was comical that Lestat was still pulling pranks on Daniel, making the interview a difficult process. Will Daniel eventually wear Lestat down? It’s possible. But, it’s not happening just yet, and we’re living for it.
The Missing Pages
Louis (Jacob Anderson) discovered where Bruce and his coven were residing and released a deep rage that had been burning for revenge. And he got just that.
Bruce (Damon Daunno) returned home from his elopement to Baby Jenks (Ella Ballentine) to find his coven destroyed and his meal tickets caged in tubs gone. We’re still shocked that Bruce was Baby Jenks’s fiancé. that was unexpected and a great twist of events. We even look forward to seeing her again to seek some form of retribution.
Louis didn’t take his revenge quickly. He made Bruce remember Claudia and even read the pages of Claudia’s diary that he kept from Daniel; her entries about the time she spent with Bruce. The pain in Louis’s voice as he read to Bruce brought up those heartbreaking memories, destroying us all over again. But, it did make Bruce’s demise that much more satisfying. It felt like this piece of Claudia was finally laid to rest, though we still mourn her loss.
Destroying a coven (again) and getting revenge (again) did work up an appetite for Louis. He stopped at a diner, but to our surprise there was a motive. He wasn’t there because the coffee was good. It was one of the waitresses that captured his attention, and it was immediately obvious why. She looked exactly like Claudia. Whether you believe in reincarnation or rebirth, whatever, this moment was breathtaking and filled with heartache.
This was closure for Louis, though we’re not certain he’ll ever say goodbye to Claudia. Let’s just hope he doesn’t go too far down this rabbit hole and turn this poor girl into a vampire.
Hello, My Name Is…
Alex was still in Toledo and had finally made it to an AA meeting. He wasn’t the only one however. When the sponsor of the meeting offered anyone else to share, one last group member couldn’t help themselves. Armand in all of his timid, shy, and alluring glory, spoke up.
Alex is in trouble.
We’re pretty sure he isn’t the only one. We definitely took notice of the Toronto tower collapsing as Lestat drove past the large city. Coincidence? Not by a long shot. Coincidence was the electrical grid going down in Detroit when Lestat was talking to Louis, vying for his attention. This was the sign of a pattern left by the one and only Queen of the Damned.
In the book, it’s well known that as she awakens and follows Lestat’s singing, she also brings about destruction like this. It won’t be long now before she shows herself if she hasn’t already.
What did you think of Lestat’s visit to Toronto? Let’s chat in the comments below.
