“He loved you. I can say that now. He loved you a great deal. It must have been terrible for him to see us off that night”- Armand [to Louis]

Essentially, this three tier love story boils down to the sarcasm in the above mentioned quote, why you ask? Because even though Armand was faking the conviction, his words were true. Lestat did love Louis a great deal, enough to forgive both him and Claudia for attempting to kill him; doesn’t mean he wasn’t foolish enough to masquerade an entire charade with the “Théâtre des Vampires” wannabes. Season Two of AMC’s “Interview with a Vampire” ended on a fitting note. If you have watched the movie adaptation, the glaring differences will be obvious. The televised remake is far more gritty and bloodthirsty than the movie version. The discrepancies can be forgiven as we dive into a tale of betrayal, deception and lies that was maintained astutely for almost 7 decades. For someone who is seemingly strong, Louis de Pointe du Lac is not as bright as his maker, making it an easy job for Armand to manipulate him and turn him into a manageable puppet. There are so many secrets waiting to be decoded, this review might take sometime, buckle your seat belts and stay on your guard. We got artistic vampires hellbent on death & destruction!

Armand, Louis and Their Fake Relationship

Picking up from the last season reveal that Rashid is actually Armand (Assad Zaman), Louis’ longtime companion; we dive headstart into Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia’s (Delainey Hayles) attempts to try to adapt to a new “Lestat-free” world. Seeking refuge while searching for other fellow vampires, they land up in Paris where they are introduced to Armand and his motley coven “Théâtre des Vampires”, vampires masquerading as artists to stage bloodthirsty plays. Armand is instantly enamored with Louis’ free spirit, not so much with Claudia though. As Louis and Claudia settle down in their new household, they are treated to the shock that Lestat (Sam Reid) was the founder of Théâtre des Vampires. While Armand and Louis spend their time romancing, Claudia is left to her own devices. Loneliness strikes, and she takes to writing diaries, which are currently in Daniel’s (Eric Bogosian) possession. The turbulent sequel weaves through three different timelines, in the 1940’s where Louis meets Armand, in 1973, where he meets Daniel for the first time and the current timespan where they are continuing their interview. Daniel isn’t that pleased with Armand’s lying abilities; he acutely pokes through each statement that Armand makes. They are all essentially lies which Daniel deciphers with precision as he unmasks the truth that Claudia’s death was staged by Armand. The obvious holes in Louis’ and Daniel’s memories are because they were erased by Armand who has been manipulating them for decades. As both recover most of their memories, Armand’s schemes fall apart.

What Happened to Claudia

Claudia: You were Lestat’s. Now your Armand’s.

Louis: Or Armand is mine.

Claudia: I’ve been a third all my life. Not saying that to fight, just saying it’s true. I feel like I get to pick one thing for myself. And it’s her. A weird white lady I met by happenstance.

Despite her teenage appearance, Claudia had a lot of growing up to do this season. Her desire to socialize leads them to Paris, and she is thrilled to join “Théâtre des Vampires”. Only life doesn’t treat her well or her fellow vampires don’t. From treating her act like a servant to making her stage ridiculous plays, Claudia is left teetering. As it happened with Lestat, she begins questioning Louis and Armand’s relationship. Only Armand isn’t Lestat, he doesn’t coddle her; as the Maitre, he is overtly strict with her, seemingly alienating her from Louis. His supposed closeness to Louis also annoys the other vampires in the coven who begin to investigate Lestat’s murder attempt charges. All the while, Claudia is falling for the white woman, Madeleine (Roxane Duran) whom Louis turns into a vampire at Claudia’s insistence. While Louis, Claudia and Madeleine are experiencing bliss in their newfound dynamics; Armand carefully maneuvers a stage play inclined to punish all three of them. Only his plans are disrupted when Lestat saves Louis from sudden death, unfortunately he is unable to save Claudia or Madeleine who are burned to death. There is no Madeleine in the movie, so giving Claudia a poignant yet tearful love story elevates the entire experience.

Lestat & Louis’ Tearful Reunion

Personally, this is one of my favorite scenes from Season Two. After Daniel debugs the mountain of lies that Armand has been feeding Louis for decades, Louis promptly dumps Armand. He leaves for some soul-searching to his hometown, only to find Lestat laminating on his past offenses. The pain they both experienced because of the lies that Armand orchestrated is apparent; but even more apparent is the guilt of not being able to save Claudia. A powerful scene where both admit their wrongs; Louis thanks Lestat for the gift he gave him and how he didn’t appreciate it before while Lestat apologizes for his mistakes. As Lestat breaks down resolutely, Louis hugs him tightly. We don’t know if they have reconciled, because in the next scene, Louis is back in Dubai talking to Daniel (who has been shockingly turned into a vampire by Armand).

A Tear Jerking Potboiler That Spells Heartbreak

I was left heartbroken after watching the finale, that’s years of deceit glaring in your face!

While I didn’t expect anything better from Armand (the movie version would have already given you an idea of his mentality); the way, his love story with Louis is depicted, the ensuing betrayal hurts even more. There were some loose ends left to be untied in the finale; while Armand did script the stage play that caused Claudia’s death, did he really free and awaken Louis when he was banished, did he already plan to use Louis to obliterate the Paris coven, why did he turn Daniel into a vampire when he was resolutely against the choice when Louis asked him to turn Madeleine? There is still a lot to unpack about Armand and it seems he is in hiding. Will Season Three give us a better outlook into his treacherous nature? Will Louis & Lestat reconcile or will they go their separate ways forever? Let’s hop on the bandwagon again when Season Three premieres next year!

Rating- 4 out of 5

Streaming on- AMC+