Louis believes he has earned a second chance at having a family after saving the child Claudia from a fire in Storyville. Will Lestat allow someone else to come between the relationship he holds with lover and companion Lewis?
Read last week’s episode review.
I loved this episode! The dynamic Claudia brought to Louis and Lestat’s already tentative relationship made it much more enjoyable to watch!
Louis Regains His Family
Daniel makes note that four pages are missing from Claudia’s diary, most likely ripped out by Louis given his line about “failing” Claudia as a father. Louis seemed to have a lot of trouble reconciling with his new existence as a vampire, in addition to “letting go” of his still-living mortal family in town.
His brother Paul’s death hit hard, and Louis makes a point of mentioning that he’ll never be a father or have a family – which would have been the expectation by his mother Florence as the eldest son. Instead, Grace is keeping the bloodline going through her marriage and husband.
The scenes of Louis taking Claudia out on a boat to catch fireflies, Louis trying to teach Claudia an alternative way to feed for blood, and generally getting ‘upset’ when Claudia became interested in boys was delightful to watch.
It felt like we as the audience were seeing an alternative “what if” situation if both Claudia and Louis had a second chance at different choices for the course of their lives.
Was Lestat Jealous Of Claudia?
Lestat purposefully entices Claudia to channel her ‘inner beast’ and relish the power she received being reborn as a vampire. Lestat purposefully takes Claudia to “Lovers Lane” which indirectly causes Claudia to realize how old she is, and that she is no longer a child despite an unchanging physical body.
This action by Lestat directly undermines all of Louis’ attempts thus far to preserve Claudia’s innocence and in a way, save whatever essence of a soul she has left after transformation.
Lestat even directly appears to be jealous of the bond Louis develops with Claudia, and quite literally “gets in the way” of the mental telepathy conversation they shared at the beginning of the episode.
Lestat further drives a wedge between Louis and Claudia’s relationship when the former forces the newly turned and emotional teenage vampire Claudia to burn her “first love” Charlie in the same furnace she questioned the purpose of earlier.
I’m sure an act like that would play on anybody’s mind. Coupled with Louis’ comments about Lestat often going out into the night to indulge in his kills, this might make Claudia question how many others have suffered a similar fate.
Louis and Lestat Through Claudia’s Eyes
Claudia writing in her diary and running around the house like an innocent schoolgirl was adorable to watch. Most importantly, however, Claudia’s diaries give us insight into the true nature of Louis and Lestat’s relationship. Along with Claudia’s own backstory concerning her past human life.
Apparently, whenever Louis and Lestat start speaking French to one another, they end up fighting.
Despite sharing a coffin with Claudia, Lestat and Louis still “slept together” in Lestat’s coffin once they thought Claudia went off to sleep.
Lestat and Louis were not above showing public affection, as Claudia noticed Lestat’s hand creeping up Louis’ body when they were taking a late-night carriage ride through the Quarter.
Amongst other things, these little displays of affection or quirks regarding their nuanced relationship are much more telling than present-day Louis in Dubai becoming reclusive and speaking sometimes fondly, while other times harshly about a perceivably disdainful past.
Claudia’s Backstory
Through her own words, Claudia’s human past was never so pleasant.
With a mother dead from childbirth and a father who “ran off”, Claudia was left with her abusive auntie who beat her because “nobody was around to tell her not to”.
I’m guessing that was the same auntie who told Claudia to stay inside and away from the windows as the riot’s Louis (partially) ignited began, and the one who died in the doorway on the other side of the room.
Overnight, Claudia became a “rich colored girl” who lived up in the Quarter with her rich uncle Lestat and Daddy Lou who dressed her like a pretty doll. That innocence Claudia was reborn with was shattered by Lestat’s jealousy of her growing relationship with the father figure she never had in Louis.
Florence’s Funeral
One night after going to see Nosferatu in theatres, Louis gets the call that his mother Florence passed away. Claudia says that after this, everything began to change.
We already knew that Louis had become a recluse after the razing of Old Storyville, but Claudia’s remark about how she “didn’t know they could die so peaceful” shows how far removed she is from her former humanity. I don’t know if the ‘they’ line was based on Lestat’s refusal to call humans nothing but “meat” or that she just now views humans as a completely different species.
Daniel in Dubai
Back in the present day, it seems like Daniel has been taking meticulous notes on Louis’ staff. Likewise, Louis has been tapping Daniel’s phone calls – and using other powers he most likely has hidden in his vampire arsenal.
Daniel notices that Rashid ends his prayers in a peculiar language as a Dubai native, and Rashid replies that Dubai is a relatively young country – which hints at Rashid being more than meets the eye. Maybe he indeed is not a human being, but some form of an undead vampire as well.
Dubai was founded in 1833, technically making it a “young country” in the middle east but who are we to question the semantics of his statement?
Anyway, I think I’m going to wrap this review up here – let me know your thoughts.
Do you think Lestat perverted Claudia’s perception of vampire life out of jealousy because of her closeness to Louis?
Why does Lestat have a “sun window” in the middle of their living room if sunlight kills vampires?
Will this odd home feature come into play in future episodes to come?
I’d love to know your thoughts and opinions! Leave them in the comment section below, and Subscribe to our Newsletter for more weekly Interview with the Vampire episode reviews.
⊙ Stories From the New World