No Pain

Episode 3 of Interview with the Vampire Season 2 kicks off with a tense moment as Molloy dines at a restaurant. A stranger initiates a conversation, dropping a bombshell-Molloy’s computer is bugged. The man cryptically refers to the ‘Great Conversion’ and reveals that four others who attempted what Molloy is doing met horrifying fates.

We circle back to the interview at Louis and Armand’s house. This time, Armand takes the lead while Louis is still getting his beauty sleep. Molloy is curious after his meeting with the random man. He wants to know how vampires avoid leaving digital footprints. He asks, “How do vampires avoid Google?”

Armand notes that vampires have minimal contact with humanity and are at the height of wilful ignorance, quickly distracted by the relentless technology. Armand also apologises for the intrusion of Molloy’s memories in the last session. While they talk, Molloy looks through his computer and sees files that were not there before. 

To answer Molloy’s question in depth, Armand takes us back to the year 1556 when Lestat arrived in Paris. Unlike the other local vampires, Lestat didn’t subscribe to the medieval five laws of the vampire.

According to Armand, his coven hid in the sewers, living in squalor and relative peace. By the time his maker was beheaded for breaking one of the laws, Armand felt like he was failing his coven.

Then in walks the magnetic Lestat, doing live shows at the local theatre. He perfected the art of hiding in plain sight which enthralled the audience and Armand. However, Armand tried to bend Lestat to his will, a mission that failed terribly.

Armand notes that each rejection from Lestat inflamed him and destabilised the coven further. For the first time, the coven members realised they didn’t have to hide in the dark, drowning in shame. 

Ultimately, Lestat led to the end of Armand’s beloved coven, but surprisingly, Armand let it happen. Deep inside, he wanted to bring in a new era and teamed up with Lestat. And that is how  Théâtre des Vampires was founded.

Unfortunately, soon after confessing their love for each other, Lestat took off never to be seen again. Poor Armand was heartbroken, and it was not until Louis’s arrival that Armand’s heart recovered. In hindsight, Molloy points out that Armand should have never confessed his love to a raging narcissist. Molloys sharp wits and humour are everything! At this point, Louis finally graces us with his presence.

As we know, Louis and Claudia’s arrival also set off a few challenges for Armand and his coven. The coven was not pleased that Louis kept a distance and rarely dropped by the theatre.

Meanwhile, Claudia did her best to fit in and insisted that Louis tread carefully to ensure their safety. They constantly worked on their ‘story’, streamlining all the little lies. Soon, the coven decided it was time to officially welcome Claudia as a full member and introduce the five laws of the vampires.

While Claudia finds joy in her work at the theatre, Louis is focused on his photography. One evening, Armand joins him and raises the coven’s growing concern about Louis’s apparent indifference to their lifestyle. Louis asserts his desire to live on his terms. He clarifies that his independence doesn’t make him a threat but rather a person pursuing his passion and striving for a good life for himself and Claudia.

Armand, torn between understanding and his role as the coven’s leader, grapples with the need to maintain control. His feelings for Louis also pose a huge threat especially since he can sense the latter is hiding something. They start hanging out more, and Armand slacks on his role at the theatre. 

One eventful night, Armand is unable to hide the fact that he is in Louis’s head. He knows every time, Louis’s mind drifts to Lestat. Lestat’s ghost has a pendency of showing up in Louis’s mind randomly. Finally, Louis comes clean about killing Lestat, and Armand admits he knew for months.

Louis worries that Armand will kill him and lies to protect Claudia. Armand insists that Louis broke one of the great laws, but Louis clarifies he doesn’t know about the laws. Obviously, Lestat kept that little facet of information to himself in typical Lestat fashion. Louis has a breakdown and accidentally kills a random mortal. He then tries to keep his cool around Claudia to avoid giving her cause to worry.

The coven learns of Louis’ mishap with the random mortal and brings their concerns to Armand. They all agree that  Louis will be killed on the same night they usher Claudia as their new member. Unknowingly, Claudia is excited about the coven’s acceptance of her. She finally feels like she has found her people. 

Back to the present time, they take a break to allow Louis and Armand to have a business meeting. Molloy uses this time to read some of the documents sent by the mysterious man. He comes across a news article from the mid-1990s about a great fire that ravaged Théâtre des Vampires. 

We circle back to Paris on the night of Claudia’s induction. Armand invites Louis to get some fresh air when the other vampires finish Claudia’s ceremony. As Louis is not a member of the coven, he can’t witness the full ceremony.

The two vampires walk down the sewer and Louis immediately senses he is in danger. He doesn’t run but simply asks Armand to take care of Claudia. Armand says that Claudia will die soon. Apparently, she will fall apart due to her age; Armand has seen it happen too many times. Since she was created at 14, her mind will break down with time. However, Louis still begs Armand to look after Claudia. 

Louis is surprised when Armand walks him home. Armand questions if Lestat broke Louis and the latter says he is still in pain over the Lestat situation. Armand can relate and shares his experience, struggling to forget Lestat. In another surprising twist, he pulls Louis in for a passionate kiss. Instead of running, Louis invites Armand to his house.

Back at the Théâtre des Vampires, Claudia’s happiness is cut short when the coven unveils the new play. In this play, she is expected to play a little girl. The look on her face says it all: she is distraught. 

The Episode Review

A wise man once said pain demands to be felt, and there is a lot of pain in this episode. We start with Claudia, our girl who thought that she could finally be the woman she had always envisioned and was happy with the coven. That is until they touched on her main insecurity and fear and gave her the role of a child.

All her vampire life, Claudia has tried to move past her human age. This is not what she wanted or expected from her new family. There is also the fact that Armand says she will die soon. I guess this explains why we never see her during the interviews. 

Secondly, there is Louis, still grief-stricken and guilt-ridden over killing Lestat. I mean, Lestat deserved it, but Louis is having a hard time forgiving himself. He is still in pain. As for Armand, Lestat broke his heart, and it took him centuries to move on.

In a sinister twist, he found himself falling for one of Lestat’s exes. A coincidence that Molloy never lets the couple forget. In this episode, we see Armand’s internal conflict; his feelings for Louis mean he is betraying his coven. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place!

Did he burn the theatre down? What happened to the coven because at the end of the episode, it is clear he chose Louis. 

Lastly, unless you are new to the Anne Rice world, you know about the Talamasca. The mysterious man is part of this watcher organisation. We can’t help but wonder if the four men died at the hands of the Talamasca and they are toying with the truth to scare Molloy off.