This article contains spoilers for Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire on AMC.
Television has long favored legal dramas that dish out a case-of-the-week in beloved procedurals like Perry Mason, Law & Order, or The Good Wife. Sometimes, one murder trial is the focus, such as Apple TV+’s splashy new limited series Presumed Innocent by David E. Kelley. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a prosecutor turned defendant in a role played by Harrison Ford in the 1990 movie based on Scott Turow’s best-seller, but this is not the most gripping trial on TV this month. No, that honor goes to the penultimate episode of Interview with the Vampire’s excellent second season. It turns out that humans are not the only ones who must face the consequences of breaking the law.
Season 2 of the AMC adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1976 hit novel introduced the Théâtre des Vampires, a coven doubling as a stage company that Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) encounter in postwar France. Here, Louis began a now nearly 80-year relationship with Armand (Assad Zaman) that hit a stumbling block thanks to the discovery that Armand had played Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Louis in 1973.
Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) got to the bottom of what happened in that San Francisco apartment, causing this ripple, so the investigative reporter now turns his attention toward Claudia’s fate. The stage is set to recount Armand’s other source of betrayal and the time he sold out Louis, Claudia, and brand new vamp Madeleine (Roxane Duran) to his coven. Instead of a court of law, the Théâtre des Vampires take the concept of a show trial, producing a scripted play with Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), making his long-awaited return to the Parisian stage as victim and star witness in “Trial! The Treacherous and Unnatural Crimes of the Vampires Louis & Claudia (and Their Fledgling Madeleine).”
Even though this one-night-only production has been meticulously rehearsed, it is the first time Louis and Claudia have seen Lestat since they tried to kill him, and the French vampires’ performance veers off script at multiple points throughout “I Could Not Prevent It.” Considering the defendants are not privy to the text, it is hardly surprising that they cause a few opening night flubs and deviations. In the present, Louis asserts they are props, not characters in a play who are little more than set dressing. Their ankle tendons are “slashed to the bone” to prevent them from moving, and the other vamps use their collective powers to stop the three accused from talking.
It is a thrilling and heartbreaking hour, underscoring why a courtroom drama is an effective storytelling device, even when the outcome is predetermined. The human audience is a collective jury primed to deliver a guilty verdict. However, like the best courtroom dramas, there is gasp-worthy bombshell evidence, confessions, emotional testimony, and biting statements. Final words will haunt all participating — whether they are there of their own free will or not. Furthermore, toggling between Dubai in 2022 and Paris in 1948 gives Louis a much-needed perspective, in which he recants some previous testimony.
While there are three defendants, this episode puts every character on trial, and the verdict is devastating. The only thing Interview with the Vampire is guilty of by the end is not getting released before the Emmy Awards eligibility window. Here are some key takeaways from the penultimate episode.
Lestat de Lioncourt Returns
The first time Lestat appeared this season outside of Louis’ hallucinations (referred to as Dreamstat) was when Armand recalled meeting Louis’ maker for the first time. The year was 1795, and unlike every other vampire in the French capital, he was having a glorious time living it up as a beloved actor relishing every applause. Considering Lestat cofounded the Théâtre des Vampires with Armand, it only makes sense that his entrance is teased out. The shots of him walking to the stage as Louis recounts feeling his presence and recognizing his scent dials up the drama to a fever pitch. The “leering and feral” audience goes wild for Lestat’s entrance, and he immediately has them lapping up every word.
Santiago (Ben Childs) leads the proceedings, relishing his leading role in a traditional barrister’s wig, cape, sheer dress shirt, and oodles of eyeliner. Anyone who has seen Anatomy of a Fall will know the French legal system has some curious quirks, but this has nothing on the scripted takedown of Louis, Claudia, and the guilty-by-proxy Madeleine.
Even though Lestat didn’t die, Louis and Claudia must face the consequences of their attempt on his vampire life — and they did murder the vampiress Antoinette Brown. Claudia is damned by her own words as the collection of her diaries is evidence of their crimes, which are further brought to life via the theatre's signature projection set design aesthetic. But, unlike previous Théâtre des Vampires productions, this one uses colorful illustrations of the misdeeds.
It is a story Louis has previously told, but recollections differ, and Lestat’s testimony hammers home how much the accused have wronged him. However, Lestat doesn’t always play the victim or follow the prosecution's cues. At one point, he shames an audience member who has made a homophobic remark and uses his powers to appear at the back of the theater. It's an incredibly satisfying moment, but it has nothing on a rare moment of humility during an unexpected and unscripted acknowledgment of guilt when Lestat reveals he broke Louis when he dropped him from the sky. Reid deserves a standing ovation for capturing Lestat’s rare shame, staring off into the mid-distance before the vampire tearfully recounts breaking Louis.
Louis’ Present-Day Confession
Another story that doesn’t match what we saw in Season 1 is the steps that led to Lestat breaking one of the “Great Laws” when he turned Claudia. Part of the second law says the “Dark Gifts” must never be given to children because while their minds and spirits age, their bodies won’t. No one wants to be 14 forever, and Claudia's struggles mirror Lestat’s original cautionary words flashing back to when Louis begged him to save Claudia. This subject has been broached before, but when Louis told Daniel about the night Claudia became a vampire, it was a truncated version of the story Lestat tells. “You will regret this for the rest of your life,” Lestat warns before giving Louis their daughter.
Embellishing the facts when telling a story to a big crowd is relatable, as is downplaying what happened when you are one-on-one. Interview with the Vampire is so captivating because it shows different perspectives and how memories can suit the moment and mood you are in. On stage in the late ‘40s, Louis tells Claudia that Lestat is lying, but the 74 years in between have given “unwelcome clarity.” Daniel offers up this phrase, and undoubtedly, what they both learned about Armand fogging their brains in San Francisco has reshaped other memories.
It is incredibly telling that Armand insists that Lestat is embellishing: “Lestat stood on that stage, took all the familiar pieces of Louis’s life, defiled them, bent them into a Lestat-shaped effigy.” Anderson rises to the occasion of this meaty material, showcasing Louis’ disbelief decades ago and his newfound (and painful) understanding.
Notably, this is the only time Dreamstat appears in the present, offering up some fond words about Claudia, cutting between him saying it in Dubai and Paris. The poignant, sparing use of the Dreamstat hallucination occurs after Louis tells Daniel to “go with Lestat’s version, for the book, I think.” It is a confession tinged with regret from Louis, reaching into the past to make up for what has happened, and the real version of what happened probably sits between the two.
What Happens to Claudia?
While Lestat was still knocking about in 1973, there has been radio silence from Claudia in any scene after the 1940s. Even non-book readers have probably guessed that things end as well for her as they did for Baby Lulu in the role Claudia played in over 500 performances. Well, the wait is over, and it is a brutal conclusion explaining why Louis went up to the roof in San Francisco to stand in the sunshine. He was inflicting the same punishment onto his body that he couldn’t save Claudia from.
After Lestat has finished giving his damning evidence, Santiago gives Madeleine the choice to either renounce Claudia to become a member of the coven or receive her punishment. It is all a foregone conclusion when Santiago asks the audience for the verdict, followed by Claudia’s punishment. There is no hung jury or appeals as Claudia and Madeline are both found guilty and sentenced to death. Hayles has been excellent in navigating taking over the role from Bailey Bass, showing Claudia’s struggles to find her place and her joy when that connection is finally made. It is impossible to pick an MVP from this episode as Hayles and Anderson match Reid in swinging between emotional extremes. When Claudia tells the entire room that she will return from the afterlife and kill all of them, I believe her.
Of course, we know Louis will survive, but not the means. When it comes to his punishment, Armand uses his ancient powers to control the crowd. Banishment instead of a death sentence is what Louis must suffer (though being banished to a coffin full of stones is still a death sentence and a much slower one to boot), and his stage exit is forced before Claudia receives hers. Along with Madeleine, they have one last direction to stand beneath an observatory lens, and the manner of execution matches Rice’s novel.
The yellow and blue of their outfits would offer a romantic image if it weren’t so horrifying. When the sunbeam hits, Madeline succumbs fast. It takes time for Claudia to burn, staring at Lestat with her last breath. All that is left is a pile of ash and the clothes on their backs. Santiago is seen snatching up Claudia’s beloved yellow dress (a nice touch that she is wearing the same color frock as the book) before dramatically swishing his cape like the showman he is.
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest questions has centered on Claudia’s fate. Now that this has been answered in a devastating fashion, there are plenty of others to consider. Where did Lestat go after the trial? How did Louis escape from the coffin he was meant to die in? And how did Louis forgive Armand for selling them out to the coven? Somehow, they got over a relationship deal breaker, but as this season has proved, the cracks have never gone away, no matter how much they play the happy couple. The trial might be over, but the guilt will never subside for some.
Emma Fraser is a contributing freelancer for IGN, covering everything from TV reviews to asking burning questions about Yellowjackets and Stranger Things. They have a decade of experience as a culture writer with bylines at publications including The Daily Beast, Elle, Little White Lies, and Backstage.
