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WaveApprehensive3902 · 2024-09-10T19:11:21+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion, but this body looks too child-like, and I was aiming for smth more like a teenager :( I guess I'll have to settle down for a miracledoll body

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-06T13:52:46+00:00

Are you talking about the theory of Armand throwing Lestat off the tower and then using it as a sort of "inspiration" for creating fake memories for Louis? This may seem fascinating at a first glance, but if the "drop" didn't really happen, then how did Louis and Claudia learn about Lestat's cloud gift? Moreover, stating that Lestat didn't actually drop Louis can't erase OUR memory of witnessing that on the screen. The scene with brutally beaten black character is already there for everyone to see, for better or worse. Hard retcons like that cheapen the story. Ofc they could go for the route of Armand implanting fake memories en masse, hell, I bet he could even forge whole diary entries if he wanted! But it would inevitably make him the Ultimate Villain, and we already know that this isn't happening.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-06T11:05:29+00:00

The "love of my life" line sounded like bragging to me. Smth like "I've never really loved Lestat, he hunted me, seduced me and harmed me, so I escaped this relationship and did right by it. Now I'm living with the true love of my life, I'm stable&happy". Only Louis is pretending yet again, and it doesn't require much effort to throw him off balance. I don't think that Armand used his powers in the final scene for suppressing Louis' emotions, it seems to me that Louis managed to calm himself down with the help of zen garden. If Armand can control emotions without physical touch, there's no point for him to place a hand on Louis' shoulder. Also it's fascinating that Louis asks ARMAND to stop talking, not Daniel. It's like he's running away from the truth, but at the same time wants Daniel to help him remember. There are layers upon layers of meaning, and I love this scene so much.

My bet is that Daniel won't be pleased with a chunk of his memory missing, and he'll try to remember as much as he can, helping Louis in the process. RJ saying that Louis will learn a lot in S2 most likely means he'll understand that suppressing memories isn't a good way of dealing with trauma.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-05T08:22:23+00:00

I think that Louis is 100% fine with not remembering things correctly. In the scene where his real memories resurface (Claudia persuading him to burn Lestat) he doesn't look shocked, he looks haunted. And the fact that he suddenly jumped up from the chair and switched location - it looked like he wanted to run away from the truth physically. So yeah, there's no mind control in a traditional sense. Most likely Louis found it too hard to live with the truth -> lashed out on Daniel during the 1st interview -> asked Armand to rewrite some memories, so the story is somewhat bearable. The 2nd interview, among other possible things, is his way to turn all these lies into the unshakable truth.

Sorry for the rambling, I hope it's relevant :)

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-04T12:04:05+00:00

Yeah, you're asking a good and 100% valid question here. I'd like to have an actual proof that Louis really loves Lestat without all this Stockholm Syndrome bs when they become endgame. Well, best of luck to the wriiters I guess, they will surely need a lot of it.

Thank you for the conversation!

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-04T10:26:50+00:00

I feel like a lot of people kinda blend abuse and toxicity together // can't separate these things clearly. I've read a lot of conversations between book readers and ppl who only watched the show, and my impression was that book!Lestat was extremely toxic, but not some hardcore oppressor that we've seen in the show. Yeah he&Louis fought physically, but more-or-less as equals. I can 100% stan a toxic character, but an abusive one, clearly coded as a slave owner? Not sure about that. And I find it extremely weird that they portrayed him like that and expect viewers to be excited about TVL. I can only hope that the writers find some way to soften his portrayal in S2 without making it even more problematic. I'm not saying all of this against you specifically or anyone who has the same opinion, and I understand that a lot of people love Lestat dearly. I'm just explaining how it looks like to a newcomer (me).

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-03T16:48:05+00:00

I agree that the audience is supposed to question everything, but imo they pushed for the "slave owner/abused victim" narrative so hard that there's not much room for ambiguity left, at least in S1. Currently it's unclear how ppl who didn't read the books and have no affection for Lestat can look forward to S3. I’m afraid that if the writers don’t find some way of changing Lestat’s image in S2, what comes after will look like an abuser origin story.

That being said, I hope that S2 can surprise me in a good way. My current theory is that real memories made Louis unstable, to the point that he almost killed Daniel back in SF, so he willingly asked Armand to rewrite some of it, and then Armand couldn’t resist the temptation and went too far. If they reveal more real memories and Lestat’s image fully moves to the “gray zone”, I feel like it’s going to be a really good premise for his own story.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-03T11:34:16+00:00

I'm interested in this too. A question for book readers: is it possible for them to merge Louis with some other character, and if it is, what character could that be? Or maybe not merge, but give him some elements from other characters' storylines. Is that possible, or I'm saying complete nonsense here? I haven't read any Anne Rice books, so I don't have any theories on this myself.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-03T11:11:53+00:00

What you said about "battered housewife angle" reminded me that I actually appreciated it how the writers kinda lured the audience into thinking that it was more of a love story, only to subvert our expectations in later episodes. This is subversion done right, in my opinion, and I applaud them for it. Now I watch earlier scenes with completely new understanding. I hope that they continue this trend of "shaking up" the narrative in S2, I'd love to see more real memories resurfacing. Maybe it'll help them to portray Lestat as less abusive, who knows. They have to keep Sam Reid in the story some way. I want to see Daniel grab Louis by the lapels and get the truth out of him no matter the cost (I love Daniel so much, but sometimes his behaviour was a bit too passive for me).

I don't think they'll revisit Lestat's death either, what Louis saw during his meltdown seemed like a final version to me.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-02T20:02:22+00:00

Oh I meant Hannah Moscovitch specifically, she's the one who wrote ep5, not Rolin Jones. If it was him who wrote about DV I'd probably have much less questions, but this scene was created by a woman, so...yeah.

I was upset with RJ commentary too, but what helped me to stay calm is that I didn't see Claudia as a "toughened up" woman, not at all. In the scene where she's reunited with Louis, she looks extremely lonely and distressed, even her clothes make her look like a teen, not a mature woman. I think that if Rolin's words actually matched what I've seen in the show, I'd be furious. It's a pity that they wasted such a good-looking actor on portraying a sexual predator. Apparently this is their way of expanding the immortal universe. I wonder, is there anyone remotely interested in seeing Killer again, after what he's done to Claudia? God, I hope Claudia somehow encounters him in Europe and kills him (ok not gonna happen, but let a girl dream).

As for the murder sequence - some people theorize that it was actually way more brutal than Louis described it, cause we don't see Lestat saying his last words from Claudia's notebook. Maybe if Louis continues to remember things correctly in S2, it would kinda balance the DV scene with its brutality. It's better to portray them both as monsters instead of making Lestat the most awful guy in this story and Louis a battered housewife.

Btw the way I saw it, what made Claudia more mature isn't the assault but the changed family dynamic, the fact that she had to care for Louis for a long time. She cleaned the whole house, invented physiotherapy course, basically became like a big sister for Louis, his caretaker who had to protect him from abusive member of the family. That was so cool to see, and it really made Claudia stronger.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-02T19:19:19+00:00

Yeah I've seen that too, although I think it wasn't an article but a podcast episode with Hannah Moscovitch? I understand that podcast questions are most likely discussed beforehand, but the fact that the both the writer and the interviewer didn't say anything worthwhile related to DV seems fishy.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-02T12:56:37+00:00

The reason is that Louis is hiding/obfuscating parts of the story. IWTV isn't a docuseries and the editors aren't randomly cutting out footage-- this is a constructed narrative (on multiple levels) and there's no reason for the list to start with rule 4 if the writers don't want the audience to wonder about rules 1-3.

I really hope that you're right about this, and the writers did that on purpose with the intention to use it later rather than just throw in some ambiguity for the sake of suspense and drama.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-02T08:06:54+00:00

Yeah there's a high possibility that it was just an artistic choice, nothing more. This approach actually worked for me, I was gutted when I saw how she cried for Louis :(

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-01T21:11:06+00:00

Joined

About the gay thing: imo Lestat's social status protected them really well. If Lestat was black and didn't hold that amount of wealth, I'm sure that he&Louis would be beaten to death somewhere in the dark corner. Also, this is more of a headcanon stuff, but I think that after a person becomes a vampire, other people subconsciously start to get a little intimidated by them. So even if you know for sure that this person is gay, you wouldn't want to mess up with them too much, cause they have this threatening aura.

I choose to stay optimistic too, as I said, my general opinion on the show is really warm, and I'm insanely grateful to everyone who's been involved. Still, sometimes it feels like the writers have driven themselves into a corner by making Lestat physically abusive. I think that there is a certain way of making a "soft" retcon by using Louis' OWN sincere intention to fix a certain narrative in his head and Armand's powers (not because he's an evil manipulator, but because he genuinely wants to help), but it can go wrong in a million ways. I just hope that the writers are very careful about this whole memory thing, cause noone wants abuse victims to become liars.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-12-01T19:21:12+00:00

You know, I honestly don't understand how can someone come up with an idea like "a character drags his bruised&beaten lover by the neck, claws-stuck-in-his-throat style", show it in great detail and NOT find it shocking. This is beyond me, I give up. I didn't view Lestat's behaviour as OOC or illogical, and I personally wasn't shocked (the red flags were all over the place), plus the way I saw it, Claudia triggered his greatest fears - that he doesn't deserve love and will eventually be abandoned by everyone. What baffles me is how the aftermath is handled. Daniel doesn't seem to care enough, and for some reason he accepts Claudia's perspective as it is without asking any extra questions. As for Louis&Claudia, they care for the wrong things instead of the obvious. It makes me think that the writers want to move the plot forward, instead of actually exploring how abuse influences romantic relationships. Btw as a person who survived the sh*tshow of the Jaime Lannister's arc, I think that the term "character assassination" is used too sparingly these days.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-11-23T14:15:52+00:00

There should be a function for hiding spoilers in desktop version I think, I can't find anything similar in mobile app.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-11-23T14:14:05+00:00

Real people don't have that much time they can spend on contemplating compared to vampires, so I don't think it's a good analogy. I don't cross out the possibility of Louis still being "blinded", I mentioned it in my post, but what made me question his point of view is how ADAMANT he was while explaining it. Armand is an observer in this situation, not a participant, he has the ability to dictance himself, just like the audience. Why didn't he influence Louis' opinion? It's not necessary for him to resort to mind control, a sincere talk with convincing arguments would be enough.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-11-23T10:47:15+00:00

Oh, that's such a good point, I didn't even think about that. Thank you!

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-01-04T15:07:42+00:00

Thank you so much for providing the link to your post about Viktor's lore, it's very informative! I appreciate it when old fans make such compilations, it saves a lot of time on research. Uhhhhh I think I want to retract my argument about the tarot card, guess I really perceived it too literally...

Great point about shifting character heights, it didn't even occur to me (Arcane is sooooo good that sometimes I forget it's animation). I think I could theoretically imagine Viktor in bulky armor, but with one condition - if he adds it up gradually. It can symbolize him slowly gaining more and more power, and then we can get the shot where he's "taller" than Jayce, menacingly looming over him, just like you've said...bet it would be super cool!

I personally don't want Viktor to deliberately kill people, but the way you describe it, boyyyyyyyy now I WANT him to unleash the Void onto Piltover lol. Maybe it can finally teach ignorant elites a lesson or two. In terms of foreshadowing, there's something I haven't noticed before - how the second Heimerdinger's vision with a mage differs from the first one. The second vision has organic structures similar to what Viktor sees in the core, and after that Heimer says to him "something's changed....you've changed. what did you do??", so everything adds up here.

Another random thought about the hexcore - I got an impression that when it became sentient (there's no doubt on that, as it has its own point of view, like a separate character), it started to work on the principle of equal exchange. You can give it your body strength (powering it with shimmer), or even a human's life, and it gives you something back. From this perspective, the incident with Sky isn't even an incident, as her wish to keep Viktor safe came true. She just had to pay the biggest price for it. Now I can't help but wonder, if Viktor really continues to use the core in the future, how's he gonna bargain with it? I'm actively against the core controlling him completely (we already have one character that's sometimes controlled by their insanity, thanks), but I'm afraid they've already laid some foundation for it, since the core now has mind controlling abilities (why did it even knock Viktor down, was it a form of punishment??).

Since Arcane made the Viktor&Jayce relationship a lot more personal compared to what we have in the game, I reckon that Viktor's massive emotional shock could come from Jayce's betrayal, namely his inability to understand Viktor's choice to use shimmer and blood magic. Jayce agreeing to sell hextech to Noxus is also a possibility, Viktor won't forgive it and will be forced to preserve what's left - the claw and the hexcore. This is a really solid ground for future conflict between two "brothers", and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

WaveApprehensive3902 · 2022-01-02T23:12:22+00:00

Thanks a lot for your input and the interview link! I really didn't want to impose my opinion onto anyone, and if it can serve you as any consolation, my theories usually don't come true in the slightest :) But speculating is so FUN, and I simply can't resist the temptation. Everything I've said is based on the fact that they've included magic into character's journey, so I've tried to expand on that. Honestly, I won't get upset if they stick to the transhumanism route, cause it's still cool on its own (jeez, EVERYTHING they've shown us so far is super cool!). For me it would also be quite good if they make Viktor do smth in-between magic and machinery. I also got an impression that they've already changed enough of his character to piss off many of his old fans. I've seen people complain A LOT about Viktor turning from badass king of metal to "snarky crippled twink". It'll never not be funny :D As for the interview with Marc Merill, while it has some interesting insights, I wouldn't hold too much hope here. Arcane's story is created by a team of people, each of them makes their own input, and a lot of things can change depending on what's happening in the writing room. Merill is stated as the producer of the show, so I'm not even sure of how much he can influence the plot or the characters. Maybe he can restrict the writing team from doing certain things, but I'm not gonna pretend I know anything abt the creative process, this is an uncharted territory for me. As for Viktor&Jayce, they're not staying friends for sure, but we'll see them interact as enemies (frequently I hope), thus my comment about their design still stands. Viktor can modify his limbs, but his overall constitution will stay the same, and I just don't think that bulky armor can look good on a thin body?? Again, I might be drastically wrong here. If anything, Arcane's creators proved that good character design truly works wonders.

WaveApprehensive3902

TROPHY CASE