Interview With The Vampire: Season 1/ Episode 4 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
Louis gets a renewed shot at having a family as Claudia comes to life. However, with Lestat’s influence and Claudia being an eternal 14-year-old, how long could the joy last?
Louis gets a renewed shot at having a family as Claudia comes to life. However, with Lestat’s influence and Claudia being an eternal 14-year-old, how long could the joy last?
| Episode Title | The Ruthless Pursuit of Blood With All A Child’s Demanding |
| Aired (AMC+) | 10/16/2022 |
| Director(s) | Keith Powell |
| Writer(s) | Eleanor Burgess |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| Charlie | Xavier Mills |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Recap
Getting To Know The Help – Rashid, Daniel
With Louis deciding to rest before his fourth session with Daniel, he is allowed to read Claudia’s diaries. But, one thing which distracts Daniel, or offers him something else to do, is Rashid.
Those who work for Louis are quite interesting because it isn’t clear how or how much they are paid, their full duties, or how much they know. Rashid sees Louis as a God yet appears to be a practicing Muslim. How does he reconcile that conflict?
Daniel asks himself these questions but cannot get a clear answer on as no one seems willing to add layers to Daniel’s book. They just want to guide him to where Louis wants him to go.
Things Are Always Easier When They Are Curious And Innocent – Louis, Claudia, Lestat
When Claudia comes into being, sometime around 1917, she is 14, and while venturing towards adulthood, she is still very much a child. One who is inquisitive about everything, especially this new life as a vampire, and her appetite? It is like any teenager, with two bodies barely being enough for her a night.
But, while her appetite is worrisome, she does give Lestat and Louis what they need. For Lestat, she is a worthy pupil who doesn’t shy away from the more primal parts of being a vampire. Then, for Louis, Claudia gives him what he has longed for, a family. He gets a daughter, even if Lestat is her maker, and with that, there is a sense of joy. Especially since they can read one another’s thoughts while Lestat is locked out. Thus giving them secrets and a level of intimacy that Louis can’t get from his blood relations.
But Then They Form Their Own Reality You Aren’t Part Of – Grace, Louis, Claudia, Lestat, Charlie, Levi
The first couple of years with Claudia are blissful, but then the cracks begin. Louis takes Claudia and Lestat to his mother’s wake, and a confrontation with Grace and Levi sours the rare reunion. How and why? Because of them questioning him adopting Claudia and focusing more on financial matters, like ownership of the house, over trying to rebuild bonds and catch up.
But, while that was the crack for Louis, realizing his place in human affairs really does need to come to an end, what makes matters worse is Claudia’s first crush. He is a man named Charlie, barely 18 when Claudia is 19, who spots her when she is trying to age up and dispose of her 14-year-old wardrobe. At first, with Claudia looking too young, he doesn’t have much interest, but she pushes the idea her family just looks young for their ages, and Charlie buys it.
Thus beginning something between them where you can see Charlie has some insecurities because Claudia clearly comes from money, but the two press on. They even make out and nearly have sex, but being that Claudia can’t control herself, hearing Charlie’s heart go wild turns her on to the point of bleeding him dry.
As you can imagine, this is frightening for her, and she hopes Lestat can turn him as he did her, but Lestat can’t revive the dead. In fact, he decides to use this as a lesson. Thus far, he has shown how cruel and violent vampires can be towards humans, and now he has decided to show how they can be that to each other, as he forces Claudia to watch Charlie’s face burn in the incinerator as a lesson of why they don’t fall for humans. This leads to Louis blowing up at Lestat for being cruel to what he fully claims as his child.
Things To Note
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Are they going to change Claudia’s fate for the series?
What Could Happen Next
- With Louis speaking of Paris and Lestat mentioning how long and painful it is to recover, the expectation is Claudia and Louis will abandon Lestat and likely leave him for dead
Review
Highlights
Bailey Bass As Claudia Doesn’t Face The Same Comparison Issues As Jacob Anderson or Sam Reid
Second to Tom Cruise’s performance as Lestat in “Interview With The Vampire” is Kirsten Dunst as Claudia. Yet, while Anderson and Reid struggled to make the role their own, Bass didn’t have the same issue. Perhaps more than Anderson, she benefitted from the race change of the character, which allowed her to simply be a new adaptation vs. having to directly challenge a performance that already existed.
Which I think is thanks to how much Storyville has been built up by Louis, thus making Claudia a product of the neighborhood he played a notable role in. Rather than feeling like a random child he rescued. So when it came to ushering her in, while the name is familiar, enough is different regarding the foundation of the character to make her hard to compare. Even if the trajectory likely will be the same.
Claudia’s Relationships With Her Father and Uncle
What also helps Bass’ performance is that the way her story is presented, especially with Louis and Lestat, will be played out in multiple episodes, and she gets an episode talking specifically about her. For whether you talk about how she claims Louis as her father and Lestat as her uncle and treats them as such through secret chats with Louis or hunting with Lestat, you see two beautiful, unique relationships.
Add in the recognition of who wants to spend time with her, talk, ponder about life, and who is just there as a teacher, who can sometimes be cruel. It helps you understand why 2022 Louis holds Claudia’s journals so dear and knows them word for word. Never mind looks at them as a treasure in one way, yet also a detailed account of how he failed as a father.
Daniel Having All The Same Questions Viewers Might
Self-aware shows are a blessing and a curse. Daniel having the same questions about 2022 Louis’ staff as us lets you know the writers have an idea there are things we may wonder about and want to reflect that through Daniel. Yet, with the recognition of these questions comes the need to wonder if we will get answers? How does Louis find his staff, warm them up to the idea of what he is, and keep himself relatively protected? These are good questions.
Also, while Louis has lived a long time, that doesn’t answer how he affords such a large home in Dubai. Does he have a trust or LLC he pulls from? How much does he pay everyone? Never mind, how does Louis handle government ID, or does he, at this point, never leave his home? There are so many questions, and the nod that the show writers know they are there does create the hope we may get answers.
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