There’s very little suspense – just dread – in an inevitable penultimate episode of Interview with the Vampire.
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“Chapter 14: I Could Not Prevent It”: Louis and Claudia are put on trial.
After a twist of an abduction at the end of last week’s episode, teleplay writers Kevin Hanna and Rolin Jones eschew any attempt at surprise for the penultimate episode of Interview‘s second season. Instead there’s an air of defeated fatalism and dread that hangs over the Théâtre des Vampires’ matinee performance. It’s clear from the outset that Claudia (Delainey Hayles), Madeleine (Roxane Duran) and Louis (Jacob Anderson)’ trial has a predetermined outcome, and not just because Louis is the only character we’ve seen in the present day.
This isn’t a negative, so much as a change of pace for the series. Anyone familiar with Anne Rice‘s source material knows that the whole season has been building up to this moment; it’s been a question of “when,” not “if.” And with the moment finally at our doorstep, there’s nothing left to do but sit back and watch the show (“The Trial” and Interview itself).
Naturally with Santiago (Ben Daniels) at the helm and Lestat (Sam Reid) as the featured player, “I Could Not Prevent It” is filled with pomp and circumstance. Between the titular interview and this season’s focus on the theatre troupe, Interview with the Vampire has always had a flare for the dramatic, which is why dedicating a whole episode to the sham trial makes perfect sense.
What emerges, then, is one of the leanest episodes of the show, narratively-speaking, to date.
Instead “Chapter 14” takes on the form of an extended goodbye to Claudia and a reintroduction to Lestat, who appears in the flesh for only the second time this season.
The episode mostly works. I’ll confess that if this truly is the last we’ll see of Hayles on the show, Claudia’s exit is a little more muted than I would have hoped. The actress has stepped into the role and made it her own so seamlessly, and it would have been nice to see the character go out in more of a blaze of glory (no pun intended).
Returning director Emma Freeman employs a shaking, distorted filter whenever the coven use their powers to silence or hurt Claudia & Louis during the trial, and while this makes for memorable visuals, it also prevents Hayles from getting to deliver a big, powerhouse moment.
She still dazzles in the moments when Claudia struggles to (mentally) break free, though. Her condemnation of Lestat for attending the trial – not for her, but rather for another round of his “stormy romance” with Louis – is classic Claudia. And the fact that she remains strong even as Madeleine crumbles to dust in her arms is a testament that the child vampire was so much stronger than either Lestat or Armand (Assad Zaman) ever gave her credit for.
The other interesting aspect of the episode is how Hanna and Jones introduce different perspectives of key moments from Louis and Lestat’s relationship. There are two “new” interactions from previously glimpsed scenes, including when Louis begged Lestat to make Claudia a vampire, and how distraught Lestat was before he dropped Louis using his Cloud Gift. These moments are imbued with significant dramatic weight by Hanna and Jones, as though this new information dramatically alters our understanding of what occurred, but I’ll confess that I merely found them curious and intriguing.
Ultimately this isn’t the emotionally devastating goodbye that I was anticipating, though neither is it a complete wash of an episode. Interview with the Vampire is always compelling, beautifully shot, and impeccably acted. Considering the narrative outcome, there were only so many different ways to stage this particular part of the story. With only one episode left, the sole remaining question is: where will the finale go?
Other Observations:
- Like Hayles, Anderson’s performance is similarly muzzled in the Paris sequences, though watching him silence Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) in the present day with a forceful “I’m talking now” right off the top definitely set the tone for the episode.
- The FX to make Madeleine and Claudia dissolve into dust is solid, albeit familiar given how many vampire narratives have employed similar visuals. It was the repeated shots of the “achilles tendons severed down to the bone” that were particularly affecting <barf>
- In his big, dramatic return to the show, Reid is tasked with carrying much of the episode and he is (expectedly) great. Many of “Chapter 14″s best moments occur when Lestat goes off script as he struggles with his emotions over Louis, including his monologue about a vampire’s loneliness. Don’t get me wrong, Lestat remains a monstrous sociopath, but that doesn’t make him any less compelling, especially in these moments of vulnerability.
- A+ callback to Claudia’s indentured time as the Théâtre’s star performer when she sings her iconic “My Baby Loves Windows” while dying. Also loved that she specifically stared down Lestat in her final moments. Let’s hope that image haunts him.
- After giving up the Lestat ghost back in “I Want You More Than Anything In The World”, it’s intriguing to see him pop up in Louis’ present-day scenes. Unlike previous times, though, Lestat isn’t speaking to Louis directly, but rather echoing his lines from the trial.
- It’s something of an isolated moment, but I loved Lestat dressing down the homophobic soldier in the audience who yells the F-slur at him.
- Duran ultimately didn’t get to do a ton during Madeleine’s brief tenure as a vampire, but it was endearing to see the former dressmaker refused the offered acquittal and instead proclaim herself Claudia’s companion. She and the teen vampire really did care for each other in a way that none of the male vampires on the show seem capable of.
- Louis ends the episode imprisoned in rocks, in a coffin, and shoved into the crypt to starve. We know that Armand has already saved him once, so it stands to reason that he’ll do it again in the finale before they burn the Théâtre down. The only question is what else the finale will explore or set up for S03.
- Finally, it would be criminal to end this review without addressing the styling for Santiago. The old-school Magistrate’s wig is hilarious, sure, but how sexy is that sheer, puffy shirt with leather harness look?!
Interview with the Vampire airs Sundays on AMC+