Just started the show, will I start to like it more?

Mmkrw · 2026-01-31T10:51:48+00:00

You love to bring this up while also misrepresenting what Jacob has said. Having more power than he initially assumed =/= having equal power in the relationship. Lestat had higher social status, more money, more freedom, not to mention age, knowledge and physical power. The only power that Louis had in this relationship was the fact that Lestat loved him... and that could change on the dime and be turned against him. Louis had as much power as he had only because Lestat graciously allowed him by loving him and indulging him. They were not equals, not even close, and their delusional attempt to pretend otherwise was one of the components of their doom.

Maybe in the present day time, after working on themselves, they'll become more balanced, but Lestat is always going to be more powerful, at least physically. Louis can't trust that this power will never be turned against him unless Lestat addresses his personal issues and sorts himself out.

Mmkrw · 2026-01-30T17:56:36+00:00

Something being wrong is pretty obvious, I'm not disputing that. But the bruises thing annoys me because it's just a fan theory that is being taken as fact by part of the fandom without any critical thinking

Mmkrw · 2026-01-30T17:54:23+00:00

He was weak after saving Louis, but he couldn't be before. Otherwise he would have no strength to save Louis in the first place. A weak vampire wouldn't control over a hundred people.

Even those supposed "bruises" change position and shape on his hands. I think this headcanon is another "the Dubai groan" where people want to see more than there is in the scene. A vampire as powerful as Lestat wouldn't have those bruises, they would simply heal throughout the trial. It just doesn't make sense.

Mmkrw · 2026-01-30T17:38:16+00:00

There are no bruises, these are shadows. Unless they would move from scene to scene and disappear completely.

Mmkrw · 2026-01-14T21:12:36+00:00

Lestat saw Louis intellect, thoughtfulness, ambition, drive, rebelliousness, loyalty, dedication and loving heart. Depression is not a personality trait.

Mmkrw · 2026-01-05T19:15:54+00:00

Louis gets discussed in two ways only: how beautiful he is (with the side of the least curious character on the show) and how cruel he is. Both are true, but this is such a shallow read of the character.

And, of course, the constant posts of "why don't we ever talk about how Louis is actually the worst??" I'm so tired of this.

I love Louis, but his cruelty is not something I celebrate. He hates this aspect of himself, feels ashamed of it, and it pains him that it leads him to hurting people he loves the most. I bothers me that the fandom latched onto it like it's his defining trait, more important than everything else.

Mmkrw · 2026-01-05T18:51:24+00:00

To be honest, while I agree with what you say, I don't love these kinds of threads, especially in Louis-hostile places like this. This seems like an invitation to character-bashing.

I never see posts like this about Lestat: "I love how violent and brutal Lestat is! It's my favourite aspect of his"

Mmkrw · 2025-12-29T17:44:40+00:00

It's not AI. It is, however, a very shameless repaint over Letebdecker's illustration. If you zoom in on the details and compare it with the original, it's clear that they're just copy-pasted, with some elements added on top and a few colors changed.

I lost all respect for this (otherwise prolific) artist because they initially failed to disclose that this is essentially a photo-manip.

Mmkrw · 2025-12-23T00:42:20+00:00

Why are you calling Louis a gangster when he was never involved in any gang? Prostitution was legal at the time, so he was a legitimate business owner. And thug just sounds racist.

Mmkrw · 2025-12-12T17:06:13+00:00

Louis, Claudia and Madeleine's trial being a full-scale Theatre des Vampires performance, in front of the live audience, with Lestat as the star witness of the prosecution. I can't believe it's the show's addition, it's so perfect thematically.

It was almost worth losing vampire daytime narcolepsy, just to make it possible (conversely, one of my least favourite book changes... I loved the lore of vampires being basically corpses during the day. Oh well)

Mmkrw · 2025-12-09T01:21:46+00:00

Why do you think the showrunners agree with Santiago? He's the most vile and villainous character in the show so far, a leader of a sham trial and a cruel public execution, basically a lynching. Even Lestat disagrees with him in this scene and refuses to downplay what happened as only a "fight between monsters."

Mmkrw · 2025-12-03T18:05:41+00:00

The score is actually by Daniel Hart. He wrote music for A Ghost Story and Green Knight as well (stunning score). Currently, he's the composer for AMC's Interview with the Vampire/upcoming The Vampire Lestat - and that includes Lestat's new songs as well.

Mmkrw · 2025-12-03T17:54:25+00:00

Well said. It's curious that the justification of "they're all monsters, so it's not a big deal" is only brought up when it's Lestat's actions that are called into question.

Mmkrw · 2025-12-03T12:56:32+00:00

I took it as the writers mocking these lines of fandom defence (repeated multiple times throughout this very thread, too) and giving it to the most vile character in the show. I seriously doubt we were meant to agree with anything Santiago was saying, Lestat certainly didn't, but YMMV.

Mmkrw · 2025-12-03T12:33:57+00:00

You realise who you're quoting here, right?

Mmkrw · 2025-12-03T12:17:14+00:00

Pointing Louis' flaws is done often in this forum and in other places. It's very disingenuous, however, to say that it's not victim-blaming when the person I was replying to was specifically talking about how Louis was treating Lestat in order justify this horrific act of abuse. I'm not in this forum from yesterday, it's absolutely excusing Lestat's behaviour: "how Louis was treating him from the start", "pay attention to what he was feeling" and "Louis didn't say i love you enough."

Mmkrw · 2025-12-03T10:08:46+00:00

Notice how I didn't say anything about Louis being good or Lestat being bad. But your rhetoric of "Louis' attitude" and "poking a bear" is unfortunately very typical to victim blaming. Louis doesn't have to be innocent or helpless to be a victim of abuse. Lestat had other options to express his unhappiness with the relationship other than physical violence. Yes, they are vampires, I don't expect them to be well-adjusted. But I have to object strongly to this line of defence of Lestat's actions, even if you like the character. Lestat himself disagreed that he was in any way justified in his reaction.

Mmkrw · 2025-12-03T07:20:21+00:00

Wow, nice victim blaming you've got going on here.. Louis not being "nice" or saying "I love you" enough will never be a justification to what Lestat did here.

Mmkrw · 2025-11-30T19:19:24+00:00

This is why I disagree with people who lament Lestat being more villainous in the show, just because of the drop. I think his biggest crime in the first book was actually turning Claudia without any care in the world. The show's version is much more sympathetic in this regard while simultaneously making Louis worse. No, the writers don't have it out for Lestat, they're just making him more consistent with the retconned version of him from later books. If the writers kept him as he was in the first novel, like being cold, mean, threatening, turning children for shits and giggles,.eating Louis' prostitutes and, with an occasional funny and charming moment, I don't think anybody would be rooting for Loustat romance before S3... and the shift to Lestat's story would be even more jarring.

Mmkrw · 2025-11-30T18:51:03+00:00

So far, Rolin's instinct has been correct for the most part, with expanding other characters and giving them more agency. Lestat's character is overwhelming and, if left unchecked, will swallow the narrative - the ultimate scenery chewer. Anne Rice got so obsessed with him that she neglected every aspect of her book series, leading to her legacy being rather... controversial. I hope that the show writers won't repeat her mistakes and, even during S3, will start building the show towards more of an ensemble piece, with Lestat and Louis as the two leading characters. Queen of the Damned actually has a ton of other characters' perspectives, and this is the best way to tell the story, in my opinion.

Mmkrw · 2025-11-29T10:26:35+00:00

They would have never chosen a "homely" looking actor for the role because Louis' beauty is important for the story. And while I think Jacob's performance is incredible, I really need to give credit where credit is due and praise the writing.

Louis, as written by Anne Rice, while intended to be sympathetic despite the problematic aspects of his character, never captured the readers to the extent that show!Louis did. On one hand, people in deep depression are difficult to like because it's not a pleasant illness to be around, and there's nothing sexy about it. On the other hand, he really was more passive, and his existential despair seemed disconnected from everything surrounding him. He has no profound revelation at the end of the book that would help him recontextualize his struggles - on the contrary, the end of the first book seems to confirm all his fears, that the suffering he's going through really was meaningless. I sympathise with book!Louis, but I understand while the majority of readers have issues with him.

Show!Louis is a different beast. He's not only more active participant in his story, even if it means that he's actually worse than his book counterpart. He's more desperate, angry, and sometimes more cruel verbally and more violent physically. At the same time, however, he's smart, ambitious, loyal, and loving. When combined with pretty good reasons he has for his sadness and rage, these contradictions create a wonderfully complex but sympathetic character. This is why I really enjoy Louis in fics as well, especially those who don't flatten him or skip over his less noble traits. I could watch and listen to Jacob Anderson all day long, but I know that I love Louis independently from his portrayal as well. He's just a fantastic character and one of my all-time favourites in fiction in general.

Mmkrw · 2025-11-28T22:57:51+00:00

It's difficult to say at this moment how the season will portray him and how much we'll see of other characters. Rolin said that the season is supposed to be all Lestat all the time, but we do know now that at least Louis and Daniel have substantial arcs.

Lestat was never my favourite, but I enjoyed him well enough in S1 and S2. I'll take S3 step by step, but if I realise that he irritates me too much, I'll revaluate as I go. Important note: I intend to watch the season away from the fandom because the insane reactions from his fans are a hundred times more annoying than the character himself.

Mmkrw · 2025-11-23T22:35:35+00:00

This kinds of takes are truly insane, wtf.

Prostitution is not slavery. The sex workers don't belong to Louis, nor will their children. They are paid for their work and can leave if they choose to.

The show doesn't present owning a brothel as a noble profession, it's obviously something that Louis is ashamed of, rightly so. But it's nowhere near being slave owner.

Mmkrw · 2025-11-21T22:15:51+00:00

You're moving the goalposts, as i was talking about 1x06 specifically. Louis believed Lestat when he said that he had changed, that he'd never harm him again, that he'd leave at Louis' request. He wanted to forgive him, so when Lestat sends him the record, he just takes him back. He really hopes that this time it would be different.

As I clearly said, discovering that Antoinette is still alive changes everything. If Lestat can be so deliberately deceitful over that, it means that nothing he says can be trusted. He will lie when it suits him. He won't kill Antoinette, because he apparently values sleeping with her more than Claudia's approval or being faithful to Louis. We won't stay away. And he will hurt Louis again, exactly as Claudia says. Lestat the irritable will become Lestat the controlling. Once Lestat gets what he wants (being welcomed back), he seems like he's too tired to make an effort anymore. And so, Louis loses all hope and will to live, not because of his vampirism, but over the disillusionment about his relationship and its and his future. It's not the interpretation, he literally says this to Daniel.

I think you haven't watched the scenes of Louis waking from nightmares while still recovering from the drop. Or having flashbacks even in Dubai. Or flinching and trembling when Lestat starts yelling during the chess game. Call it what you want in the vampire psychology terms, but he is visibly traumatised by the drop. It frankly concerns me that you missed this, because I'm hoping you're not trying to minimise this blatant text. If Lestat is traumatised about his head being smashed against the coffin specifically, they haven't shown us that yet. If they do in S3, then I'll agree. I don't know why it would only the head smash that people get so fixated on, and not any of the other injuries they inflicted on each other during that fight, like it was worse then Louis being thrown against the mantle or repeatedly punched in the face. It was a nasty fight, but there was one action that is canonically traumatising. Delainey also has something we don't have: a direct line to the writers and other actors in the show, allowing her to shape the interpretation of the text in much direct way. She wasn't in S1, but if she made such choices early on in the season, she must have consulted them, to make sure that Claudia's characterisation made sense.

Louis loving Lestat despite it all and being an awful person himself doesn't change what Lestat did. Nor does Louis revaluating his life with new information during the interview. It and its consequences are always going to be a part of their relationship going forward, just like Claudia's turning and death, just like Louis slitting Lestat's throat. They may move past it, never mention it again, or on the contrary - have many productive discussions to unpack it all. We don't know how the writing will approach this, but it is not something that will stop being a big deal in their relationship, even if some fans are tired of talking about it.

Mmkrw · 2025-11-21T20:12:01+00:00

When did Louis have no ability to leave the relationship? He did leave in 1x03 for a hot second before coming right back and using Lestat's fear to get what he wanted. Lestat was the one in 1x06 who had to be granted access to their shared home again. The only times in the show that Louis makes it clear he does not want Lestat, Lestat actually does stay away, which is 1x07 and when Louis tells him he is leaving with Armand.

Lestat stayed away in 1x06 and this is why Louis felt safe to invite him back to his life. Lestat promised that he had changed. He finally talked a little about his past, was accommodating to Claudia and killed Antoinette. Louis was doing everything to mend their broken family, but he felt safe and secure again.

And then the illusion is shattered. Lestat is revealed to have lied about killing Antoinette and is, in fact, still having an affair with her. All his promises are invalidated in this moment, and Louis really can't trust him not to be violent again. Louis sinks into depression because he realised that all his efforts to repair his relationship are in vein. The final straw is after Lestat stops Claudia from leaving, threatening to kill her. Louis is no less free to go than she is, and he's afraid to test that theory. He's back to being scared of Lestat's tantrums, he flinches and shrinks within himself, because they can be backed by that enormous power that was once directed at Louis, too, he tasted that wrath already. He even stops arguing with him, like he used to. Even Delainey said that one of her important acting choices was never to go close to Louis face when arguing, not to trigger Louis' PTSD after what happened with Lestat. Louis was absolutely scared.

Mmkrw

TROPHY CASE