This vampiric tragedy hurtles towards delicious devastation as it sets up for Claudia’s demise.
Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Episode 3, “No Pain,” has a lot of nerve because this outing is anything but painless as we soak in Louis and Claudia’s suffering. This season had its fun, distracting us with cheeky tricks and theatrical performances, but as the dust begins to settle, the reality of what we are about to walk into is menacing.
Lestat’s warning to Claudia not to seek out vampire comradery overseas rings true as we watch this seemingly tolerable coven let their composure slip as they spend the episode mocking her eagerness. It’s heartbreaking to watch Claudia descend further into their clutches with such childish eagerness, her hunger to fit in ultimately being her fatal flaw.
Claudia’s arc this season is a beautiful tragedy, fascinating in its poetic irony but terribly upsetting to watch unfold.
The episode is a necessary reintroduction to her character’s inner turmoil after the casting change. Ultimately, it attempts to drive home that emotional connection between the audience and the young vampire just in time to use her likeability as a weapon.
Season 2 has cleverly toned down Claudia’s insatiable bloodlust. Exploring her monstrous hunger doesn’t serve this season when her humanity and coming-of-age journey are far more powerful currencies for creating poignancy.
Interview with the Vampire wants us to remember that Claudia was a child once, and in many ways, she will always be a child.
Watching her fight for a new life as she learns new makeup techniques and embraces a mature theatre-hand wardrobe is adorable.
Delainey Hayles imbues Claudia with infectious joy, but she also finds beats to let the accent falter as Claudia recalls her darkest moment of existence to Louis. This season of exploration has me rooting for her the same way we rooted for Louis to escape Lestat’s clutches in Season 1.
That ultimately makes the look on her face devastating as the coven hands her the child’s costume — and moments after openly pledging to her own abomination, no less. It is when Claudia realizes these vampires will never accept her as an equal.
You can practically hear her heart crack with the pain of it in that final frame.
Throw in the fact that Louis is silently watching these vampiric bullying tactics from a distance, and it’s infuriating to see him go down a familiar path with Armand. I mean, goddammit, Louis is literally being walked to his execution by Armand, and this man is wondering if he’s down to fuck in his apartment later.
Louis de Pointe du Lac, you make it so difficult to love you.
While Hayles pours her heart into one of the season’s most poignant performances, Sam Reid continues to thrive as Dream Lestat.
Having Lestat terrorize Louis’ thoughts is an excellent way to include our loveable terror in the plot while inviting his charming wit to take up space where it is least expected. Lestat playing a rendition of “Come to Me” in the bar as Louis tries to ignore him is perfectly melodramatic.
And it just keeps getting better because it turns out Armand’s memory of Lestat is brimming with over-the-top performances on and off the stage, as well as a pretty epic entrance with a cross slung over his shoulder. Even though we are seeing another version of Lestat through someone else’s eyes, his fierce love for the theatrics lightens the mood of what could be a rather stuffy backstory to the Paris coven.
Tying it into Louis and Armand’s conversation as a physical manifestation of what Armand is catching glimpses of in Louis’ mind is another layer of cleverness with this plot tool. Plus, what is more petty than forcing Lestat and Armand to walk side by side.
With Daniel having beef with the random psycho he met in a restaurant over text and Armand straight up throwing his boyfriend under the bus by apologizing for Louis’ behaviour to Daniel, the men of this vampire soap opera are ensuring they back up Claudia’s coming-of-age with drama that has substance.
What I love most about Interview with the Vampire is it is impossible to dislike any of the core three, no matter how insufferable and deadly their tendencies are.
Anne Rice anchored these vampires in fatal human flaws that no amount of growth or power can change, and that is what makes them impossible to write off.
Just as we root for Claudia and Louis, we cannot wholly disown Louis and Lestat for their role in her misery this season. Louis is spineless and gullible, but love makes him blind. As angry as we are at him, we also feel sorry knowing he is doomed to live out this existence of hurting everyone good that comes into his life for toxic people like Armand and Lestat. Louis’ victim complex is responsible for countless deaths.
Ultimately, complacency will beat us down enough as viewers to accept Louis and Lestat might have been perfect for each other after all.
Other shows would mistake violence as Interview with the Vampire’s most provocative tool. Season 1 would agree that this was the only way to make an impression, but Season 2 proves that the complexity of human morality is far more interesting than bloodshed.
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