The Vampire Lestat - *Episode 2 - Toledo

Ah, Gabriella...

***SPOILERS***

My criticisms first:

I'm still a bit sad they didn't use Gabrielle's gender-bending in the show because that was a big part of her story for me and likely, for other gender fluid AFAB people who read these books in the 80s.

I also feel like they cheaped out on wigs this season. I don't mind Gabriella's silver bob, but her long-haired wig and the wigs for young Lestat and his brother's were...pretty bad. I also feel like Lestat's family was portrayed as caricatures rather than three dimensional people. However, 19 reminded me that this is all told from Lestat's POV which obviously influenced his perception of these people that he hated.

What I liked:

Loved that they didn't pussyfoot around Gabriella's and Lestat's physical relationship. It's quite clear in the book that after he turns his mother, all bets are off and they quickly form an intimate relationship. Personally, I agree with Lestat's perspective that becoming a vampire changes everything, and one is no longer beholden to the moralistic restrictions of humanity. However, folks on Reddit have pointed out that on the show, Lestat seems to be in an abusive relationship with Gabriella. He tries to pull back from the sexual nature of their relationship and also in the flashback seems to possibly be regretting his and Gabriella's brutal murder of his brothers when their children return to find the horrible scene. It does feel like they are setting this up to be a struggle between his love for his mother and the affects of her selfish manipulations and predatory nature towards him.

I enjoyed Sam's performance after he kills the wolves and his mother is with him dealing with his many wounds. This was well done and right out of the book, including Gabriella's description of her detailed fantasy of going into town and f**cking all the men. Very obviously an inappropriate conversation whilst she is using the excuse of caring for his wounds to touch him in intimate places. Sam was suitably vulnerable in this scene and especially when crying out for his mother when she simply leaves him and tells him to clean himself up and come downstairs.

Really enjoyed Lestat on the bus explaining his vampirism to his bandmates and telling them why it doesn't matter that he drinks blood and sometimes kills people. I also liked the explanation of the Farm as a reliable blood source for any vampires who need it. His casually thrown-out comment about having the blood of Akasha was hilarious, since nobody knows what he's talking about.

Very cool again when Lestat freezes his audience and uses the cloud gift to fly up to Louis and give him his annotated copy of Interview with the Vampire.

The final scene between Lestat and Gabriella in the piano bar, when he sings a song in French to a montage of the two of them killing the rest of the family was both incredibly touching and so macabre. 

*This episode was written by Johnathan Ceniceroz and directed by Craig Zisk.