‘The Vampire Lestat’ Ep. 4: The Devil’s Road Is Paved With Sorrow

*This article contains spoilers for “The Vampire Lestat” episode one through four*

Episode four’s title pulls straight from Anne Rice’s novel. “The Devil’s Road” is a term spoken to Lestat and Gabrielle (in the show, Gabriella) by an ancient vampire queen. It refers to a vampire’s journey through life, the simultaneous gift and curse that is immortality. This episode juxtaposes Lestat’s current life on the road with the roads marked by abandonment that led him here. Along the way, we see Louis falling deeper into his own grief and Armand trying to make amends in his own unique, and less than successful, way. Though the episode hasn’t weaseled its way into my brain and stuck there like episode three has, it was certainly a wild ride.

The Devil’s Road and the Devil’s Minion

Lestat opens the episode with another classic humor-laden monologue that soothes the wounds left by episode three. The band is finally having their semi-viral moment what with Lestat’s floating stunt on stage. Yet, there’s still a sense of dissatisfaction threaded through it all. The views are bot-driven and we learn that “Sofia,” or Lestat’s mother, Gabriella, is no where to be found. Lestat throws the news out flippantly but as the episode progresses, we see just how heavily her disappearance is weighing on him.

But before I dive into the ever-more unsettling nature of Lestat and Gabriella’s relationship, or Louis’s search for healing through Regina, why not start with Armand. He’s just getting started after all. Last episode, Armand met Alex in a support group after the latter parted ways with the band. Well, Alex returns to the band singing the praises of his sponsor who miraculously wiped away his worries. And it seems Alex’s grievances aren’t the only ones Armand is determined to resolve. His attempt at apology with Lestat only earns him rejection and a scathingly satirical diss track that he gets a front row seat to. The concert scene just as campy and theatrical a moment I would have expected from Lestat. Coupled with Armand’s reaction, I’m reminded how much I love these two’s dysfunctional dynamic.

Devil’s Minion

Armand’s apology tour also leads him to his fledgling Daniel, giving us a taste of the devil’s minion action fans have been craving. Again, he is met with some very harsh words, which though not unfounded, did make me feel a bit sorry for Armand. Lestat isn’t the only one whose abandonment trauma rises to the surface in this episode. Armand even admits to Lestat that his childhood trauma led him to misjudge their relationship in the past. It’s clear Armand is sincere in clearing the air, though he is simultaneously determined to halt Lestat’s rockstar road to ruin before it’s too late.

Daniel, on the other hand, is dealing with his own abandonment at the hands of Armand. As much as he likes to avoid the “transformational trauma” topic that Lestat throws at him, he’s obviously struggling. Despite rejecting Armand’s attempts at reconciliation, he still seeks him out after the concert. Both he and Armand share an unusually strong vampire bond, one that literally tunes out the world around them, leaving them and no one else.

Spurred by the bond, they allow a moment of vulnerability with each other that we don’t see very often. We also learn just how dire the “Great Conversion” is becoming through Armand’s eyes. Lestat’s music is drawing more and more vampires out of the shadows and Armand warns Daniel against following his lead. We already know Lestat’s music will have catastrophic consequences, but I’m curious just how far Armand is willing to go to stop Lestat.

Running on Grief and Abandonment

Louis and Regina

As we revisit Louis and Regina, we see that Louis hasn’t succeeded in staying away. In fact, he’s finding himself at the diner almost every night, chasing a ghost. The show spells out for us what we already knew: that killing bruce was not enough to assuage Louis’s grief. Instead, he turns to this doppleganger, offering money to help Regina carve out a better life for herself. If only he can save this girl the way he could not do for Claudia. Regina initially rejects him but, by the end of the episode, gives in. A desperate girl and an even more desperate immortal. Money in exchange for rekindling the ashes of a father-daughter bond. As Regina slips into Claudia’s accent and mannerisms, a testament to Delainey Hayle’s acting prowess, there’s an undeniable discomfort under the familiarity that we can’t shake.

Lestat and Gabriella

On the other end side of the dysfunctional parent-child dynamic coin lies Lestat and Gabriella. Ever since learning of Gabriella’s disappearance, Lestat has been on a downward spiral. This isn’t the first time his mother has abandoned him, and though he tries to drown them, the memories come rising back up again. We meet Lestat and Gabriella on their own past Devil’s Road. We also get to see Gabriella’s deep infatuation with vampirism. It’s even more clear in these flashbacks that she embraces all aspects of immortal life, including the monstrous label. She is able to separate herself from humanity in a way Lestat has never been able to. In death, she wields the power she never had in life like a sword.

But she also wields another type of power over Lestat. If it wasn’t clear enough that Lestat is not a willing participant in this relationship, but a victim, it is now. Lestat’s desperate plea for his mother in the past is only met with an “I love you,” from a woman who knows what Lestat wants to hear. In the present, when Gabriella finally returns, Lestat’s anguish is met with a similar flippancy. She is a mother only in that she reprimands him like a child and him asking why she won’t allow him to hate her is only met with more manipulation.

Following the Road to the Bitter End

After the assassination attempt on Lestat, it seems this road has come to end, for a brief moment. The band have been driven away and Lestat is getting ready to leave it all behind. But Gabriella’s reappearance shakes loose that familiar insecurity within Lestat. In his vulnerable state, her words become all the more persuasive. For Gabriella, the “Great Conversion,” the promise of a world where immortals reign supreme, is irresistible. As Lestat uses Louis’s words, once used to describe the effect Lestat had on him, to describe yielding to his mother’s pressures, a familiar score seeps in and his muses fill the tour bus.

I cannot end without commending the sound design and scoring this episode, a strength of this show that has been consistent since season one. In this particular episode, the overlapping of sound draws us into the chaos of Lestat’s mind. Present-day chatter overlaps with ocean waves as Daniel’s current interrogations meld together with memories of Gabriella’s past abandonment. Hauntingly beautiful violins underscore both Lestat and Gabriella’s tragic relationship, as well as Louis and Regina’s. Again, the parallels this show draws between its characters cut deep.

Lestat is still following the Devil’s Road, and we’re along for the journey. With just three more episodes left, the end is drawing nearer, but what it will bring with it, and who it will take, is still left to be discovered. Nothing to do but strap back in and enjoy the ride.