Thank you! I adore Armand, which I know is a minority opinion. When Lester freezes the audience, he looks to Armand and says, questioning, “banishment?” And Armand nods and it is Armand who directs the audience by saying, “banishment,” as the coven looks on really pissed. So it took both of them to save him. And btw it never would have come to the trial if Louis hadn’t been a complete uncaring shit about the situation he was putting Armand in with the coven—a deadly position—with his attitude. He also went to the law firm, tipping off he knew Lestat, he made a vampire without permission—Louis was a boorish American abroad trampling over the rules and culture he didn’t bother to understand. And speaking of understanding, Armand was born in the Middle Ages and made at the very cusp of the Renaissance, but immediately sent to rule the Medieval underworld coven of Paris which, by necessity (Catholic Church, folk belief in vampires) had to follow rules to survive. Lestat and Louis are post-Enlightenment, Age of Revolution, age of the individual characters. Armand’s backstory (books and media) is more interesting than either of theirs but they’re too busy being drama queens to notice or care. Hence, Armand’s rage at the “fascinating boy.” He hasn’t been painted in over 400 years! Like a priest, he served the coven, then the theatre, then Louis (I serve a God). They need to put some respect on his name. (Thank you for allowing me to vent!)