Ron Does Stuff

The premiere episode of the second season was spectacular, so I can’t wait to see the rest of the second season, and see how they adapt the rest of the book.

I really like how Daniel immediately punctures the image of Paris Louis and Armand bring up at the start of the episode, as well as that little nod to both book and movie with the “Paris was a universe unto itself” line.

And since we aren’t in the same time period as in the books, it’s also interesting to see how this Paris experience is different. It’s after World War II, and both the city and Louis and Claudia aren’t swimming in unlimited funds like they were in the book and movie.

This is also where the show first introduces vampire covens, which as readers of the book know, will play a very important part in the upcoming episodes. I don’t know if covens were ever really a thing in the other books, though, because Lestat is just ~a universe unto himself~ that he really doesn’t have his adventures with a group. I’m only on The Vampire Lestat in my re-reading, so I might just be proven wrong!

As Louis and Armand’s recall their time in Paris, Daniel just keeps poking and poking and puncturing their projected image, and I love the tension that it brings. I know we’re just starting out the season, but I am already looking forward to when the tension breaks. Is it going to happen in this episode or in the finale?

I also like how the tension between Louis, Claudia, and the Parisian coven doesn’t just stem from the conflict between Louis and Santiago. Louis and Claudia are portrayed as ugly American tourists with no respect for Parisian vampire culture, and honestly? Isn’t that just typical Americans?

Claudia’s journals, just like the previous season, provide a wonderful insight into her that we don’t get in the book or movie. I don’t know if the dressmaker that she goes to is Madeleine, but if she is, it’s interesting why the show has her be a Nazi sympathizer. It’s a quick way to show that she’s as cut off from the rest of society as Claudia is. But is she Nazi Nazi or is it just a Malena situation?

It’s also interesting that they chose to have Armand be the first one to engage Louis in Paris, rather than Santiago. Does Santiago even play a role here? Other than that, the interaction is pretty much the same as in the movie, with Armand inviting Louis and Claudia to the Théâtre des Vampires.

I like the way that they’ve also expanded Armand in this adaptation in the same way they’ve expanded Claudia. We get to hear more of his thoughts than in the book or movie, and with the way the show emphasized the “I will not hurt you” and Armand sharing that he hasn’t hurt Louis yet in the 40-plus years they’ve been together just tells me that that is going to explode either in this episode or further down the line.

Also interesting is how they’ve made the Théâtre des Vampires more appealing to the American coming in after World War II, rather than the local Parisian theater community. I don’t know enough about the history of theater in Paris, but it does track that after such a horror like World War II, what the Théâtre des Vampires is offering might look passé, in much the same way that bodabil didn’t quite survive the end of World War II in the Philippines.

It’s here that we meet Santiago for the first time, and the actor that plays him? Google says Ben Daniels. Ben Daniels? Superb work. The scene where an actual human is eaten in front of the theater audience? Chilling. And that part where the other vampires suddenly appear? I’d say it was done even better than the movie.

I also liked how they’ve expanded the members of the Paris coven as well, along with recognizing France being a colonial power with the inclusion with Vietnamese vampires. Southeast Asian vampires! Tween me would have been delighted about this back then if this was included in the books. Also, France is still a colonial power, by the way. Call them ~Overseas Territories~ all you want, they’re still colonies.

Also, thank God they mention Lestat being the co-founder of Théâtre des Vampires and Daniel’s reaction to finding out about it is hilarious. Daniel telling Armand and Louis they essentially shared one dick between them? HILARIOUS.

This discovery is also what starts Louis and Claudia freaking out, especially since Santiago is already suspicious of them right from the jump. I am assuming it’s not just because Louis called him a buffoon, because that scene never happened, so I’m looking forward to seeing why he was suspicious of them in the first place. Was it because they didn’t introduce themselves to the Paris coven immediately? Also, Claudia saying “Now I know what two blood fat cocks slapping hands feel like, so thank you for that.”? HILARIOUS.

It’s immediately followed by heartbreak, as Louis wants confirmation of Lestat’s death so he visits Lestat’s law representation and is given a letter where Lestat says that Louis is the only one he trusts and who he loves “above and beyond” himself.

A moment immediately punctured by Daniel. I love it. This back and forth, Daniel’s skepticism, him calling Armand a rebound? Delicious. And then we get a hint of something, because as Louis is figuratively punching back at Daniel, there’s a memory unearthed, of Armand telling Daniel that he used to sell his father’s Playboy magazines at recess. Also, Louis just even figuratively punching back is so refreshing and is definitely a Louis I like better than the one in the book. Also, Louis and Armand flirting while the rest of the Théâtre des Vampires massacres an entire mansion of people? Now I know what two blood fat cocks slapping hands feel like!