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Posted in: AMC, Review, TV | Tagged: amc, anne rice, Episode 2, interview with the vampire, Review, Season 1
Interview With the Vampire Season 1 Ep. 2: What Being a Vampire Means
The second episode of Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire, "… After the Phantoms of Your Former Self," was a fantastic snippet into two main topics: Who is Lestat (Sam Reid)? What does it mean to be a vampire? It gave us a better insight into Lestat and his volatile mind, even though it is Louis (Jacob Anderson) who has just turned into a vampire and is actually telling the story. It was also a good snippet into their relationship and the toxicity beneath it all.
The interview continued, but not exactly where they left off. It is now time for dinner, and Louis is not scheduled to join Molloy (Eric Bogosian) until a few courses after. It was quite the spectacle, to be honest. I wondered throughout what exactly was the point Louis was trying to make by feasting with Molloy. Was he trying to show off? Was Louis trying to assert dominance and make Molloy feel like the prey he was? Was he trying to show Molloy the monster within him that he still cannot reconcile and accept he is? I think the most important moment of their interaction was the last point Louis tried to make after everything: he considers himself a "botched vampire" because he was not Lestat. And we do see those words have an effect on Molloy after all. He exposes a bit of himself before closing the laptop and enjoying the dessert.
However, so much still happens between those moments of interplay: we see a few years of Lestat and Louis' life shortly after Louis turned. We see the battle within Louis between trying to remain his former self versus having to deal with years of oppression and having to suck up the anger and resentment. Louis has become a new man… or has he really? Was he the same, just not able to hold back due to the changes he was experiencing? But from moment one, it was clear Louis was not comfortable being the predator. What is it really like to be a vampire, to see so clearly and compromise your whole sense of life for the thrill of a kill and its blood?
This tied directly into our next point: Lestat. Through Louis' eyes, we can see how narcissistic and manipulative he is and how he manages to play off of Louis' every emotion. We see how Lestat would lose his temper and then do what it would take to make it up to Louis in the smoothest & most manipulative ways. Becoming Louis' mentor seemed to cater to his power play. We see another example of this in how he humiliates the opera singer by disarming him of his confidence… as he does with Louis. A constant rollercoaster of making Louis react to then having to make amends. However, the fascination Lestat shows for Louis seems to go beyond this power play. And also, was he really truthful when telling Louis there were only about 100 vampires left? Or was this just another effort on Lestat's part to keep Louis by his side? To control him?
The differences in the dynamics between Louis & Lestat and between Louis & Molloy were nice contrasts. It also shows more so how messed up Lestat really is as a mentor to Louis. Louis himself is doing something similar with Molloy but does not seem to feel the need to humiliate the human constantly. It helps that Molloy has grown to have a better sense of himself, failings and all, so that the jabs from Louis don't quite sting as much as the vampire would want. The way we go about learning little details about our characters is impressively amazing, leaving the viewer wanting to know more about each of them. It is only the second episode of AMC's Interview with the Vampire, and it has already been more than enough for me to sign on to learn more about this universe.
Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire Season 1 Episode 2 "... After the Phantoms of Your Former Self"
8.5/10
The second episode of Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire, "... After the Phantoms of Your Former Self," was a fantastic snippet into two main topics: Who is Lestat (Sam Reid)? What does it mean to be a vampire? It gave us a better insight into Lestat and his volatile mind, even though it is Louis (Jacob Anderson) who has just turned into a vampire and is actually telling the story. It was also a good snippet into their relationship and the toxicity beneath it all.
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