The Vampire Lestat: "Montreal"

The Vampire Lestat found its footing. Now, it finds its heart. 

For those who read my review of episode 4, you know that while The Vampire Lestat was undoubtedly my most anticipated television release of the year, I found the first two episodes lacking and very disappointing. Episode 3 was a big step up, and thankfully the show has continued its upward trajectory ever since, with each episode being just as good if not better than the last. 

Let’s take a look at my favorite moments from the penultimate episode of season 1 of The Vampire Lestat — or is it season 3 of Interview with the Vampire? Anyway…

Brutal Love

"Montreal" finally gave us Lestat performing the soulful romantic ballad, “Brutal Love”. I have been waiting for that song to be performed on the show since I was lucky enough to witness Sam Reid perform it live in-character as Lestat at the one night only concert at the Beacon Theatre in June. While the entire affair was a transcendent, nearly spiritual, experience, Sam Reid’s performance of “Brutal Love” is the singular moment from that night that has stood out in my memory more than any other. It was the moment when Sam’s vocal prowess was on fullest display, showcasing the raw vocal talent he possesses. It was also the song that allowed the charming flamboyant rockstar persona to fall away, leaving only the yearning, deeply emotional, passionately expressive Lestat (my most favorite side of Lestat) on stage in all his glory.

Each week, I have waited with bated breath for the song to be performed in the show, and each week, my hopes were not realized. Until now. At long last, “Brutal Love” has been performed in-universe by our favorite vampire rockstar, and while nothing will ever compare to experiencing this song live, its moment in the show does not disappoint in the slightest.

The performance takes place in rehearsal for Lestat’s upcoming concert, his final performance, which will be the catalyst for the Great Conversion. As such, there is no roaring crowd, only a meager audience of two — Gabriella and Louis. (Lestat introduces Gabriella under the pseudonym ‘Sofia’, Louis has no idea that she is Lestat’s mother.) At first, I was not a fan of Gabriella’s inclusion in the scene. The song is so clearly for Louis, it is about the love Lestat has for him. I was wishing for this intimate performance to be only for the two of them. But as the scene progressed, I came to realize the significance of Gabriella’s inclusion. By witnessing the song and the energy between her son and Louis, Gabriella realizes that there is one person Lestat is more devoted to than her, there is someone he loves more than her. And, perhaps most significantly of all in her scheming, manipulative mind: there is someone who has more control over Lestat than her. 

Loustat Has Always Been The Heart Of This Show

Not long after the performance, Louis learns the true identity of ‘Sofia’ and discovers the incestous relationship between Lestat and Gabriella via a public video Armand and Daniel have posted online of Lestat and his mother having sex. Louis is positively outraged at this discovery. He feels lied to and betrayed by Lestat, even going so far as to compare Lestat to Armand, accusing him of “all-time Armand level deception.” Louis rails at Lestat, calling him sick, which would be an apt descriptor if we as the audience did not have the knowledge Louis lacks that Lestat has been groomed, abused and manipulated into this relationship. 

Lestat fires back at Louis, calling him out for judging Lestat so harshly when Lestat has never reacted this way to any of the shameful things Louis has done, namely paying a woman to roleplay their dead daughter. 

Falling apart, Lestat screams at Louis how he has shown up for him, supporting him and pulling him back from the depths of despair and madness, all the while in the midst of his own “fracturing” that Louis was not privy to. No words can do justice to the brilliant writing of Lestat’s breakdown, so here is the dialogue for you to read yourself (though I must say, as impactful as the written words are, they reach a whole new level of pain when delivered by Sam Reid’s shattering Lestat): 

“You call me out of nowhere, and you say that you’re paying a girl to pretend to be Claudia, that you’re paying a girl to pretend to be Madeleine and what do I think? Do I say that you’re sick, Louis? Do I see sickness? No! I spent a month and a half talking you back from unimaginable frenzy in the middle of my own fracturing! I offer you room? Under my roof? I offer you the possibility of reckoning your crippling guilt!”

Lestat’s breakdown consumes him. He begins hyperventilating and starts to collapse. Louis catches him before he can fall (what a beautiful metaphor for their relationship.) Understanding that his reaction was unfair, Louis holds Lestat through his panic attack, consoling him and apologizing for his harshness.

Loustat’s fight and Louis’ subsequent gentle apology and consolation is quite possibly my favorite scene from the season. These moments capture everything that makes Lousat Loustat. They are both so damaged, so broken, so fucked up. And they love each other so very deeply. 

The dialogue is beautiful, poetic and cutting in the way that so uniquely belongs to this fictional world. The performances by Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson are nothing short of astounding. It is and always has been their unmatched chemistry with one another that make this show what it is. Jacob and Sam as Louis and Lestat are the beating heart of this story. It felt so good watching this entire episode focused on our favorite couple spending time together again, and this scene was the crown jewel of it all.

Summoning Claudia

After some rest following their fight, Loustat meet with the witch Merrick Mayfair. She performs a seance, summoning the ghost of Claudia. Before the seance, Louis and Lestat both acknowledge that this was a bad idea but that did not stop them from going through with it. Louis is hoping for closure, a chance to deliver the heartfelt goodbye he has always regretted he was never able to share with his daughter before she burned alive before her parents’ eyes. What happens instead could not be further from that. From the moment she appears to the moment she vanishes, Claudia is filled with a bitter, burning hatred for both her parents. Somewhat surprisingly, the majority of her anger is directed at Louis. She hurls an arsenal of insults at Louis, making the depths of her fury known. 

Delainey Hayles is a tour de force. It is difficult to find words to describe a performance that defies language, that must be experienced to be understood to the full scope of its excellence. She is a violent force unleashed, a storm to behold in terror and awe, utterly enrapturing.

Brilliantly, this scene does not only give us a closer look at Claudia’s rage, it also uncovers even more of her own monstrous nature. In her wrathful tirade, Claudia reveals that she hates Louis even more than Lestat, that she considered killing him instead of Lestat but chose to keep him alive because he would be easier to mold to her will. She also unveils a truth many Vampire fans have long suspected — her story about Lestat threatening her on the train was a lie concocted to manipulate Louis into doing her bidding and ultimately convincing him to kill Lestat. 

The most painful moment of this entire heartwrenching-yet-terrifying scene is the very end, when Claudia reveals that Madeleine is not there with her in the afterlife and that she cannot find her anywhere. She is completely, utterly alone. Before the vanishes, Claudia howls in pain, “The one good thing in my bleak, black life! And I don’t know where she is! And I spend every fucking second of nowhere looking for her! And where is she? Why is she not here with me?”

Even in death, Claudia is not free from suffering. The woman whose existence was one misery after another cannot even find peace in the afterlife. She is stuck wandering the void of purgatory, stuck with her eternal rage and grief, the love of her life ripped away from her with no clue where she might be found. 

There is no knowing for certain whether we will ever see Claudia again, but I have a feeling that the broken salt circle of the ritual is an indicator of more to come. Before her death, Claudia did promise to kill everyone involved in the trial. Perhaps future seasons will see her make good on that promise. 

The End

Loustat have a remarkably calm reaction post-seance. Rather than being remotely rattled by what they have just experienced, they are accepting of Claudia’s anger and mutually agree that it is best to move on now. This is a brilliant way of showcasing the unique kind of horror that is central to Loustat: the horror of all-consuming love. Louis and Lestat love each other more than they will ever love anyone else, and that is the horror of their love. They do not truly care about anyone but each other. They do not love anyone the way they love each other, and they never will. Claudia is of course the most obvious victim of this. She had to watch Louis and Lestat choose each other over her time and again. She was never put first, never chosen, never the first choice. 

I think there is an interesting thematic thread present here. Lestat has severe abandonment issues, he has spent his entire life grappling with the fact that no one he loves will ever love him back as much as he loves them. Somehow, his ability to love Louis and only Louis with such a specific level of depth and devotion feels like a reflection of Lestat’s continued abandonment. He has been abandoned all his life, but now that he is reunited with his one true love, anyone else he loves will be abandoned in favor of his love for Louis. Yet another of the multitude of ways in which this show shows us how harmful cycles are continued by their very victims. 

After agreeing to try to move on from Claudia, Louis and Lestat sit together on a park bench, contemplating a dreamy future together. The chemistry is palpable, their eyes are full of adoration for one another, and for once everything finally feels calm and dare I say… happy?

As a matter of fact I do not dare say. These brief, content moments are cut short when Lestat and Louis have their heads sliced clean off by Armand and Daniel. And that is where the episode ends. 

This is perhaps the most shocking final scene of any episode of the series, and perhaps the most shocking moment of the show ever full stop, rivaled only by the famous, heartpounding  revelation “He didn’t save you, Lestat did” of the season two finale. 

The question is not ‘Are Loustat going to come back?’ — we know they are: Louis is present at the auction and Lestat has not yet recorded The Failures — the question is ‘How?’ 

Final Thoughts

I do not think it’s any coincidence that this episode in many ways feels the most like watching the show when it was titled Interview with the Vampire and Louis was the narrator of the story. For all of its spectacle — its beauty, performance, sensuality, sexuality, violence and gore — the show was always at its best when it was two (or sometimes more) people in a room talking. For the most part, outside of Lestat’s performance and the final bloody moment, this episode is almost entirely people in rooms talking. Conversation is the lifeblood of what makes this show the masterpiece that it is. 

With Loustat as the heart and conversation as the blood, it is no surprise that this episode feels the most alive of any we have yet seen this year.