Interview With The Vampire: Season 1/ Episode 5 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
As Claudia goes on a journey of self-discovery, Louis mourns her absence to the point of Lestat growing both angry and distant towards Claudia.
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As Claudia goes on a journey of self-discovery, Louis mourns her absence to the point of Lestat growing both angry and distant towards Claudia.
| Aired (AMC+) | 10/23/2022 |
| Episode Title | A Vile Hunger For Your Hammering Heart |
| Director(s) | Levin Akin |
| Writer(s) | Hannah Moscovitch |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| Bruce | Damon Daunno |
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Recap
A Void, A Pit – Claudia, Lestat, Louis
Charlie’s death was mourned through reckless abandon. 56 bodies were gone through and barely appropriately buried. Because of this, Lestat and Louis find themselves under investigation, and with Claudia having keepsakes from each kill? Be it a toe, a thumb, or even a woman’s breast? Increasingly it is becoming clear Claudia is a menace, and Lestat doesn’t like it.
He blames her for all their troubles, and their back and forth, which includes Claudia revealing she tried to turn people, leads to the type of blow-up that has Claudia leave. This causes Louis to become depressed to the point of him obsessing over Claudia for years and barely leaving the house. All he does is try to reach out to Claudia through telepathy.
I Don’t Need Another, I Want You – Bruce, Claudia, Louis, Daniel, Lestat, Grace
Unfortunately for Claudia, the telepathy causes another vampire, Bruce, to catch onto her existence, and Bruce is the epitome of all Lestat warned Claudia about when it comes to European vampires. How? Why? Well, to make a long story short, he rapes Claudia when she doesn’t act like the young lady he thinks she should. This triggers her and leads her to end her time away and come home.
However, the home she left isn’t the home that it is now. Louis and Lestat can barely stand each other, and Lestat’s vitriol is worse than ever. He even fights with Louis over the idea of leaving and doesn’t only destroy the house but drops him from the height of a skyscraper.
Daniel, who seems to be in a bad mood, decides to just poke the bear. There is no sympathy for Claudia, who he just sees as a little monster. Then, in terms of Louis dealing with domestic violence, again, no sympathy. The only one who seems to have sympathy for Louis is Claudia, and she reciprocates. For one of the things which confirmed her need to return was seeing Grace saying goodbye, one last time, and how that broke Louis. Thus putting into perspective why she was made into a vampire and why he raised her as he did.
Things To Note
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Considering the pace we’re at, should we expect both Claudia and Louis to be gone in the second season? If not, this being a pseudo-anthology with each season maybe covering a book?
What Could Happen Next
- Louis and Claudia escape after trying to kill Lestat and damn near succeeding
Review
Highlights
Louis and Lestat’s Emotional Breakup Featuring Claudia
Daniel’s cruel domestic violence joke isn’t lost on us because, essentially, Louis was in what can be seen as an abusive relationship. Lestat may have loved Louis but didn’t afford him the same leniency he expected. Being that Lestat is bi, pan, or open to more than just men, he didn’t want to limit himself to just one, and you can see when Louis was talking to that guy from his past how jealous Lestat got.
Heck, even in terms of Claudia, Lestat became jealous as soon as he realized those two could and would have secrets that didn’t include him. Add in Claudia pulling from him and not taking on his monstrous side and killing alongside him; he felt shut out. And all things considered, while it hasn’t been explicitly said, you can fathom there is a reason Lestat came to the Americas. Likely, vampires like Bruce chewed him up, spat him out, and he couldn’t hang. The elders didn’t have a fondness for him, maybe he was abused himself, and because of this, he couldn’t deal with the idea of rejection again.
But, to be rejected by his own kind, then those he made? Never mind, who knows if Lestat may have some form of racial superiority he keeps well masked, you can see there are layers to his reaction. Not the kind which justifies or excuse what he did, but it does allow you to understand Daniel was being quite the bastard considering Louis clearly struggled, and may still struggle, with how to process his love for Lestat while recognizing and accepting who he is.
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