Interview With The Vampire: Season 2 Episode 8 [Season Finale] – Review/ Recap

As we end the main story of “Interview With The Vampire,” we’re left wondering what may come next in a rare, positive way.

Plot Recap

Lazarus’ Revenge – Armand, Louis, Santiago, Lestat

Despite what could happen, Armand frees Louis from the crypts, and from that point on, Louis’s aim is revenge. There were 14 people involved in Claudia’s death and his imprisonment, and with the element of surprise on his side, Louis plots out how to kill everyone part of his trial – sans Armand.

Six, he kills by fire as he burns down the theater. Two, he kills by blade, and one is a combination of the two. An additional two are killed using a backup plan, so their getaway vehicles explode, and that just leaves Santiago, Lestat, and one more of Santiago’s minions.

Santiago is easy enough to find and trick into revealing himself, but the minion has gone to the wind. As for Lestat? Even with Armand by his side, between Magnus’ and Akasha’s blood, Louis knows he can’t defeat Lestat the traditional way. So he hurts him by kissing Armand and reaffirming his love for him. Leaving you to wonder if Louis’ relationship with Armand is to spite Lestat far more than because of his love for Armand.

A Reconciliation – Lestat, Louis, Daniel, Armand

But, 77 years later, thanks to the Talamasca, Louis learns the truth. Armand didn’t save Louis; he was ready to let him die, and he was even the director of what would become the end of Louis and Claudia. Daniel produces a script with his notes, and while Armand claims innocence, Louis has had enough. There have been so many lies and acts of manipulation, and he has realized that Armand and him exist purely because Louis knows things wouldn’t work out with Lestat.

So, with that in mind, he breaks up with Armand and tells Armand not to harm Daniel. Louis then makes a trip to New Orleans to visit Lestat, who lives in a modest home. They reconcile, at least to the point of being friends, and close the chapter on their almost century-long beef.

The Aftermath Of Interview With The Vampire – Louis, Daniel

Despite Louis paying Daniel $10 million to forget about the book and destroying Daniel’s laptop, through the Talamasca, Daniel releases it anyway, and while it has sold 5 million copies in four months, some say Daniel’s shift to such a topic is beneath him. What doesn’t help is that he pushes the idea that vampires are real, and he does so on television. With that, you can see The Great Laws being made a mockery of, and despite Daniel’s doing, all eyes are on Louis.

However, despite whispers, threats, and ideas of what many a vampire would do to Louis, he gives his address, notes his security, and opens the floor for any vampire to confront, torture, or try to kill him. All without having Lestat in his home for some kind of defense, or even Daniel, who Armand seemingly has made into a vampire.

Additional Information

1. Previous Episode: Season 2/ Episode 7
2. Series Page: Interview With The Vampire
3. Character Guide: Interview With The Vampire: Cast & Character Guide

Cast and Characters

Character’s Name	Actor’s Name
Armand	Assad Zaman
Louis	Jacob Anderson
Santiago	Ben Daniels
Lestat	Sam Reid
Daniel	Eric Bogosian

Review

Highlights

Santiago’s End

The death of any antagonist needs to be as grand as their rise, and “Interview With The Vampire” nailed Santiago’s end. Louis took his coven, theater, and dignity from him by saying his original name, Francis, and lastly, his head. Yes, a back and forth between them could have been interesting but lest we forget, Santiago is a young vampire, and Louis has Lestat’s blood and Armand’s teachings. Santiago, without his audience, without his minions, would never stand a chance.

Name Dropping Akasha

As noted in this Deadline article, while we may not get a prequel series, it does seem season 3 will shift focus and bring Lestat onto center stage.

In Season 3, the Vampire Lestat sets his story straight in a way only he can — by starting a band and going on tour. Gabrielle. Nicholas. Magnus. Marius. Those Who Must Be Kept. They join Louis, Armand, Molloy, Sam, Raglan, Fareed and others we can’t tell you about yet on a sexy pilgrimage across space, time and trauma.

Now, will this mean casting a younger actor to play Lestat? Could they do the same as Delainey Hayles, take the role, and run with it? That’s all hard to say, but at the very least, it seems we may finally sidestep Louis’ melodrama and focus on what has kept Anne Rice’s vampire series going for decades.

Lestat’s Softer Side

It’s easy to forget, considering the domestic violence, stalking, and violent outbursts, that Lestat does have a softer side to him. One that was abandoned by his maker, who longs to be adored like a child by their parent and given the grace to mess up. It’s fairly easy to romance away Lestat’s issues.

But with this episode, one could submit the softer side of Lestat we see isn’t manipulation or bait, but the young man made a vampire who may have got the hang of that but still struggles with what it means to be cursed with some sense of humanity.

General Information

Episode Title	And That’s The End Of It. There’s Nothing Else.
Release Date	June 30, 2024
Network	AMC
Director(s)	Levan Akin
Writer(s)	Rolin Jones

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