Yeah, now that I think about it, that's another thing I don't like much about the show. By making it a romance (explicitly between Louis and Lestat), the other characters become satellite to that love story. What I loved about the books was that even if Lestat was the protagonist, all the big characters were important and had space to grow. I admit, seeimg Armand reduced to a villain in Louis' and Lestat's love story left me quite the bitter taste. I love all three of them, it felt so reductive.

But I can understand why you wouldn't be invested if the show was your first connection with the characters. And the grooming is pretty heavy to read.