‘The Vampire Lestat’ Ep. 3: Horrific Parallels and Musical Catharsis

*This review contains spoilers for “The Vampire Lestat” episodes one through three*

Episode three of “The Vampire Lestat,” titled “Toronto,” has instantaneously climbed its way into my top three episodes of “Interview with the Vampire” as a whole. It’s right up there with powerhouse episodes like season one’s pilot and season two, episode five. In fact, it’s hard to know where to begin with this episode. We meet Lestat and his band in Toronto on their next tour stop. Unlike previous episodes, the rockstar momentum takes a backseat for a moment. Lestat finally sits down and dives deeper into his past trauma. It feels like a return to what we know with the sit-down interview format. But Lestat, as always, puts his own spin on things.

The Performative Vampire

This is the first time Daniel has managed to wrangle Lestat into speaking directly to the camera, but this interview won’t be that easy. We start with the iconic opening monologue from the book, imbued with som new references. After that, every question is met with a sarcastic remark or a jab at Daniel’s own past. As Daniel probes deeper, Lestat challenges him in turn. Yet, through the levity, we see cracks in the armor.

The stuttering is a big point of contention between Lestat and Daniel. Lestat starts out by shrugging it off, but it’s clear the more Daniel digs the closer he gets to hitting the exposed edges of the wound. It seemingly comes to a head as Lestat breaks down. But when the tears turn to laughter, we realize both the audience and Daniel have been fooled. Lestat’s performance mocks Daniel’s lead-searching, which he pursues even at the expense of his interview subjects.

But while Lestat performs for Daniel, there’s truth buried in it and we can see the emotions rising to the surface, ready to be released in all their honesty. Even if you’re not a Lestat fan, you can feel for him in this scene. Daniel clearly doesn’t care how the interview affects Lestat. But Gabriella is even worse to him. She laughs on the sidelines as Daniel mocks Lestat’s music, then gets what she really wants out of Lestat through Jarda when the real thing isn’t available. It’s a stark reminder that these people aren’t interested in seeing Lestat for who he is, but as a means to an end.

Both Daniel and Gabriella chip away at his boundaries until they get through. Lestat parodies Louis’s past vulnerability with Daniel, until the questions and the recollections manage to break him down too. In his own words, describing the meaning of one of his songs, “performative vampire, then you get the real thing.”

The Real Thing

Nicki and Lestat

The first hit of reality comes in the form of Nicolas de Lenfent, or Nicki, Lestat’s first love. Joseph Potter, who plays Nicki, is a standout in this episode. He brings a depth to Nicki’s character and the suffering he endures that I could have only hoped for while reading the novel. When Lestat meets Nicki in Paris, a deviation from the books where the two escape to Paris together, we get to see the buddings of their romance. Seeing human Lestat again is always a treat. This is a Lestat stripped of all the vampiric bravado and left as a timid, hopeful dreamer with a crush. At first, Lestat leaves it at that, a happy memory untainted by what comes after.

Eventually though, the rest fills in. This is where the parallels really start. Nicki’s turning is eerily similar to Claudia’s in the first season. In this case, Gabriella warns Lestat against turning Nicki, much like Lestat later does to Louis. Neither Lestat nor Louis heed the warnings and we see the fallout for both. The scene where Nicki breaks down and Lestat recounts his death is a masterclass in acting from all four actors, but especially Sam Reid and Joseph Potter. Potter pulls Nicki’s fragility and sorrow out of the mania. Sam Reid’s performance is similarly riddled with grief, desperation, and guilt.

With this scene, Claudia’s turning is recontextualized. Now we know what was going on in Lestat’s head when Louis asks him to turn her in season one. His love for Louis and desire to make him stay at once warring with the knowledge of what happened the first time he did something like this. While the circumstances aren’t mirrored exactly, neither Claudia as a child nor Nicki in his fragile mental state were primed to take to the gift. Lestat recounts Nicki’s death in vivid detail, from the look on his face to the sound he made as he burned, a specificity of which I’m sure only matches that of Claudia’s death in his mind.

Magnus and Lestat

The single most heart-wrenching sequence in this episode is the way they chose to portray Lestat’s turning. The first glimpse we get is passed through Letstat’s many filters. He directs an ’80s-style music video that paints him as the leading man and Magnus, beautifully and horrifyingly brought to life by Damien Atkins, as the pathetic, sidelined admirer. The whole scene is camp and humorous, yet even for those who haven’t read the books, there’s something off about it all. Magnus’s appearance, the lyrics to “Your Biggest Fan,” the bodies hanging from the ceiling, all contrast with the light-hearted picture Lestat tries to paint. That sense of unease is proven true when the harsh reality comes to light.

After running from his breakdown at the interview, we meet Lestat again in his car where his memories have caught up to him. Magnus appears to him, taunting him for his less than transparent retelling of events. At the same time, Louis pulls out Claudia’s ripped-out diary pages and starts reading her words to Bruce. Lestat’s assault and turning unfolds in all its true horror even as Lestat tries desperately to quell the muses. Louis’s narration of Claudia’s own assault resonates through it all, drawing a parallel between these two characters who have always been so different yet so alike. I couldn’t imagine a more devastating way to frame these scenes and the entire sequence will stick with me for a long time.

Musical Catharsis

Something else that I haven’t been able to shake is “The Loneliness.” The song ends the episode and is one of the best in the season so far. It’s prefaced by one of my favorite monologues from Lestat, in which he gives himself over to the music and the muses. He says, “music, in its purest expression, would make me worse, and then make me better.” What a beautiful line to frame Lestat’s search for meaning and healing through art. As Lestat takes the stage, we see a more honest frontman. And as he sings, the music appeases some of the muses and drives back others. Magnus’s apparition leaves halfway through, followed by Gabriella, another parallel set up between two of Lestat’s abusers. At the same time, Lestat sees a happier version of Nicki in the crowd, smiling back at him, laughing with him not at him.

The song’s lyrics capture Lestat’s experience but its more universal than that. Scenes flash by of Baby Jenks crying over Bruce’s ashes, Daniel hunting alone, and Louis seeking Claudia and finding Regina. These are all people who have tried to distract themselves in one way or another from their realities. They’re running from memories, from emotions that are always one step ahead of them. Lestat’s song invites them, and himself, to turn around and face the music.

Getting What You Want, Not What You Need

Every character in this episode is on a wild goose chase for something out of reach. They are searching for something they truly feel they want, but ultimately fail in getting what they really need. Lestat himself starts the episode with the intentions of keeping up his carefully crafted persona. By the end, he finds that what he really needs is to confront his trauma head on. Daniel wants Lestat to crack and give him the juicy story he’s been craving. What he needs is to step back and decide if Louis’s interview, the book, and now Lestat’s documentary have been successful at filling the void in his life that he so desperately wants them to. Spoiler alert: they haven’t.

The most glaring example in this episode, however, is in Louis’s storyline. At this point in the season, Louis has a one-track mind. His sole focus is killing Bruce at all costs, a pursuit fueled by years worth of grief and guilt. And he succeeds, at least on the surface. It’s the most badass we’ve seen Louis and one of the most vulnerable. Bruce is dead yet so is Claudia, and no amount of revenge will bring her back. The audience feels the same instant gratification as Louis seeing Bruce meet his end, as well as the uncomfortable feeling that Louis reading her innermost feelings to her abuser doesn’t seem like the best way to bring her justice.

The hard truth that Claudia has been failed in some way in both life and death by those around her, no matter how good their intentions, sits heavy. Louis is grappling with the lack of catharsis even as the episode ends and Regina makes her first appearance. I am more than excited to see Delainey Hayles back on my screen, though I dread the pain to come. But while Regina may bear Claudia’s face, at the end of the day, she is still not Claudia.

New Storylines to Come

I’m intrigued to see where the writers take Louis’s storyline. This is all completely new with no literary precedent to guide it, so they could really take it anywhere. Of course, I also can’t forget to mention that ending. We meet Alex after his break from the band, now finding himself in Ohio. Here’s another character searching for one thing, direction or passion perhaps, and finding another.

What Alex finds in a support group in the middle of nowhere is, unfortunately, the vampire Armand, or Arun as he introduces him. How these people look past the glaring orange eyes to the person within is a testament to just how supportive this group really is. But that’s besides the point. This is another storyline I’m unable to predict the direction of. What exactly does Armand want from Alex? Perhaps a means to get to Lestat or something more, only time will tell.