Interview With The Vampire: Season 1/ Episode 7 [Finale] – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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We’ve come to the end of what is being dubbed as “Part 1” of “Interview With The Vampire,” and things end with a notable reveal.

Aired (AMC+)	11/6/2022
Episode Title	The Thing Lay Still
Director(s)	Alexis Ostrander
Writer(s)	Rolin Jones, Ben Philippe

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Recap

How To Kill A Vampire – Daniel, Louis, Claudia, Lestat

How to kill a vampire is the question on Daniel’s tongue. Is it a stake through the heart, like in movies? Clearly, crosses and ornaments like that don’t do much. So, what makes a being, by most assumptions, immortal, suddenly mortal? The answer? Starvation, drinking the blood of the dead, fire, and decapitation.

Certain things, like drinking the blood of someone with cancer, can be unpleasant and disgusting but won’t kill a vampire. Arsenic and other poisons won’t kill them but make them weak and ill. So to kill a vampire, as Claudia and Louis wish to regarding Lestat, you have to go all the way.

A Ball To Remember – Tom, Louis, Claudia, Lestat, Antoinette

So, what was the plan? Louis was to allow himself to love Lestat again as the key distraction, as Claudia used Lestat’s ego to get him to throw a massive Mardi Gras party, with him as the lead. The combination would be enough of a distraction so Claudia could gather the poison and people she needs to finish off Lestat.

But, when the time comes and the people are chosen, Antoinette appears. It seems Lestat made her into a vampire for his own protection since he doesn’t underestimate the potential of his lover and niece. However, Claudia caught on to Antoinette’s presence way back when she wanted to leave it all behind by train with Louis, and Lestat stopped her. So rather than the beautiful twin, who is the obvious choice, Tom Anderson, the bastard businessman, he was poisoned to weaken Lestat, and Antoinette is killed, including burned alive, so that she can be no more.

As for Lestat? Louis slits his throat and leaves him on the brink of death, but from what it appears, Claudia isn’t allowed to finish him off. Instead, Lestat is forced into a suitcase, put with the garbage, and left to feed on rats to regain his strength. Which, for someone like him, adds insult to his notable injuries.

The Vampire Armand – Daniel, Rashid, Louis

Daniel likes to poke, prod, and even antagonize Louis, making it seem like he wants Louis to attack him like before. As if death isn’t coming quick enough so he’d rather Louis murder him than continue to suffer.

However, Rashid won’t have it. He is more than Louis’ assistant; he is his lover and elder. In fact, he is the vampire, Armand. The only reason Daniel lived after the first set of interviews but, Rashid does grow tired of Daniel being disrespectful and with powers far beyond Louis, due to being over 500 years of age, who knows if he’d give Daniel a merciful death or show him pain beyond what Daniel’s body is capable of.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. So do all vampires, after a certain age, gain the ability to float and not worry about the sun? Is it all age/ experience-based, or who is your maker, something which plays a role?
2. With Lestat now weakened, will that mean him being gone for most of season 2? From what I remember of the book, he doesn’t go to Europe, though I could be mistaken
3. Why would Armand take on the name Rashid? I get for the audience, which creates a notable reveal, but why would he hide his name in their world?

What Could Happen Next

1. Despite early reports from Deadline, which note this will be an eight-episode season, it appears that we’re only getting seven.

Review

Highlights

The Armand Reveal

Armand is one of the most notable vampires in “Interview With The Vampire,” and once Louis and Claudia arrive in Europe, he becomes a major player. So for him to be there all this time, acting like a servant vs. the love of Louis’ life, was strange. It leads to many questions, yet at the same time, it is the best way to hype a second season since now we’re coming to the point where someone can co-sign all of Louis’ story rather than us relying on him to speak the truth. Which, as pushed by Daniel, can sometimes be how Louis wished things were or a certain level of romanticism versus the absolute truth.

Everything About How This Season Ends

There is something about people dressing in French high-society clothes ripping someone’s jaw off that creates a nice conflict of visuals. It reminds you that, as old and posh as these vampires are, at the end of the day, they are doing a performance. They are predators who hunt what they used to be, and for those like Lestat and Claudia, they relish in it. They are given a level of power they didn’t have in their former life, and that just adds to the ecstasy of the feeding.

But, as shown, trying to maintain your sense of humanity for survival does allow for some potential to be prey. Hiding away for nearly a decade, not aging, it draws suspicion, and as others age, you don’t. And in that, you see all the more reason to be brutal. If there is no fear and no knowledge of your own power and how to use it, you could slip and go from apex predator to a being who waits until there is no running to defend itself. Which, if you’re lucky, may allow you to survive, but for those who aren’t so lucky? Death could come swiftly.

So, with the grand exit from New Orleans comes Claudia and Louis getting to start over, rewrite their narrative, and who knows? Maybe Claudia could finally find her Louis? Maybe not under her true age of 36, but at least someone older than 18 who she need not fear is a child predator.

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