Interview With The Vampire 1×05 & 1X06: Our response to the harrowing violence
There’s no denying that Interview With The Vampire is one of the most talked about shows in the United States right now. Both heterosexual and queer audiences have flocked to this retelling of Anne Rice’s novel of the same name. This remake has definitely taken some liberties with the original story and in this version, Lestat (Sam Reid) and Louis (Jacob Anderson) are openly queer. Their relationship was never exactly a healthy one, but in episode 5 Loustat becomes shrouded in gross harrowing violence.
We’ve been covering each episode as it drops each week, however, after watching episode 5, the Q+ Magazine team needed a minute to process what we watched. Socials were buzzing with chatter about an incredibly violent scene that played out between Lestat and Louis which was definitely not in the source material. Fans were horrified that the creators of this show took their relationship in this direction.
The harrowing violence that played out between the lovers was a lot to digest. In isolation, it seemed extreme and unnecessary, and it was difficult to understand why the creators of the show would go to such a place. Like with everything though, context is often required to really understand motivations, so we opted to wait for another week and watch 1X06 before we decided if we wanted to continue covering the show. And we’re glad we did.
Here is our reaction to the harrowing violence that played out between Loustat in Interview With The Vampire.
The toxicity of Lestat
After Claudia (Bailey Bass) returns from her hiatus away from Louis and Lestat, she returns for the sole task of convincing Louis to leave Lestat and travel to Europe with her. Claudia doesn’t think Lestat is worthy of Louis’ love, and she might be right.
Claudia attempts to apologize for leaving and causing so much stress to Lestat and Louis, but Lestat does not really accept her apology. Claudia begins communicating with Louis telepathically, begging him to leave with her, but she eventually ends up voicing her desires out loud. When Louis doesn’t say outrightly no, this angers Lestat and he snaps and attacks Claudia. Louis intervenes and Lestat responds with a beating so severe that it’s difficult to watch.
People flocked to social media to lament their disappointment with the show’s creators and share their despair with others who also watched the episode. From a queer perspective, the Q+ Magazine staffers that watched 1X05 didn’t feel great about the optics of this particular scene as the episode came to a close.
The statistics regarding domestic violence among gay men are no joke. Domestic violence happens far more often than people are talking about in male-centered relationships. And while it’s unrealistic to expect all queer representation that graces our screens to be positive, the question remains: was the harrowing violence Lestat bestowed upon Louis necessary for the plot of the show, or was it merely for shock value?
We couldn’t answer that question after watching 1X05, so we waited for 1X06 to make this determination. After we did this, it was easier to understand why the writers made the choice they did.
Lestat is, if nothing else, exceptionally toxic. In this adaptation, he is funny and charming, and for the first four episodes, viewers were lured in and fooled by his toxic spell. Lestat’s toxicity is actually evident from the very first moment that viewers meet him, but it’s disregarded and swept under the rug because he is such a charismatic character.
Like Louis, we fell for his ways. But his violent tendencies, his controlling and abusive behavior, and the way he attempts to groom Louis from the moment they meet are on display for all who wish to see it. Louis himself sees it but also chooses to ignore it, like most victims of domestic violence do. He makes excuses for Lestat and reasons away all the things he does that are massive red flags. Combing back through all the evidence, it’s a surprise that Lestat didn’t snap sooner.
Claudia threatening to take away his ‘pet’ simply pushed him over the edge.
Did the harrowing violence have to be so harrowing?
Despite the fact that it’s all incredibly hard to watch, what transpires between Lestat and Louis in 1X05 is in keeping with Lestat’s character traits. He is that toxic. He is that abusive. He is that violent. And this is precisely why Claudia doesn’t want him to be part of their family.
And while Lestat is a textbook classic profile of an abuser, Louis is also a carbon copy of a trapped victim. Despite Claudia’s requests to do so, Louis would never have found it inside himself to leave Lestat had this harrowing violence not been enacted upon him.
In 1X06, Louis takes Lestat back and although Claudia demands they re-write some of the rules of their family, Louis and Lestat return to business as usual in their relationship. However, in 1X06 Louis is silently festering inside and his contempt for his lover grows more and more each day. They may be living side-by-side, but Louis now harbors deep resentment and hatred towards Lestat that he is keeping locked inside of him.
Spoilers for 1X07 suggest that Claudia and Louis do attempt to create some separation between themselves and Lestat. Louis would never have been able to do that had Lestat’s violent attack not been as brutal as it was.
Does this mean we like the decisions that the writers made regarding this particular scene in 1X05? No. However, we do understand more about it now, and it does fit Lestat’s character profile.
So we’re going to finish out the season and then made a decision about whether we’ll continue to cover this show as it moves into its second season. AMC already renewed Interview With The Vampire for another season, so the story is definitely going to continue.
Episode 6 of Interview With The Vampire, “Like Angels Put in Hell by God”, airs on AMC tonight. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
