Our The Vampire Lestat Finale Thoughts Ahead of "Queen of the Damned"

Posted in: AMC , TV | Tagged: queen of the damned , The Vampire Lestat

In light of the news that "The Vampire Lestat" will be Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned with Season 4, some thoughts on "The Failures."

The last episode of Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat , "The Failures," aired last week, and during SDCC next season, it was announced: Queen of the Damned . Wow. Now we know for sure where things are heading and, newsflash, no bueno! What an episode to go out on for the finale, though. There is a lot I am still processing. Rather than a proper ending, this episode just led us to the end. Unlike Lestat and Louis, we are left here twisting with no answers and already foaming at the mouth for what may come next. I felt like Sal from Impractical Jokers: What? Ahh, hell no! Huh? Oh? Okay? Then rinse and repeat throughout the episode. I know I had mentioned it before, but this show reminds me what fandom is all about. I have not felt this excited over a show in so long.

So let's start with Armand ( Assad Zaman ). So the thing I was probably going to leave for last, but I just must address first: I really loved the thematic link between Lestat ( Sam Reid ), Louis ( Jacob Anderson ), and Armand. How similar their roads are, yet how different the path they choose to walk is. So yeah, Armand, huh? They really got me, and I was so wrong to think he had an ulterior motive or that he even cared about the Vampire Conversion. Sike! Joke's on me, the big baby just had a vamp-trum over getting Louis to take ownership of the parts he had involvement in and the damage he caused. So much for working on himself, he had to make Louis come to terms with things, too. And that, he did… As much as I hate him, I loved seeing this side of Armand rather than the sniveling rat trying to get away with things. To be honest, given how messed up they all are, I really do not root for any of them, but their way of handling things will not cease to amaze me.

I do like that we get to know who he really is now… maybe? I am glad we know now that he was the one who added the wrong picture to Louis' collection, just to mess with him. Gotta love the level of pettiness these vamps exhibit on a daily. It keeps me on my toes, and I love every single second of it. Give us all the vamp drama. So Armand is keeping Louis' head and body at the butcher's, trying to get an acknowledgment from him. All the while exposing all the steps of his plan like any mid Bond villain, but it's Armand, so I'm here for it. We even get an appearance from his main star of the bring-Louis-down plan: Regina ( Delainey Hales ). While in retrospect I should not have been surprised, it did take me by surprise. Like, WTF, Armand? He did not spare himself any punches in this match, and this one hit Louis straight in the heart. It's funny how this is a common theme in the episode, on both Lestat's and Armand's side: their calling out Louis for making ages without taking accountability.

Regina was the final straw that brought down Louis. He then finally answers, and it fully disarms Armand. Not only does he confess that Lestat was his true love, but he also explains why he didn't address the big elephant in the room. So he focuses on Armand's past and knowing what it was like from the other side of things, and then breaks down when recalling Armand's age at that time. I honestly got teary-eyed at that part. For a disembodied head speaking telepathically, it sure was an emotionally intense scene. While cutting Louis' head off to get accountability must be considered the epitome of pettiness, I am glad they got some sort of closure. Even more so when Louis told Arman he deserved to be loved. Gah, why do I love this fictional men's love triangle so much?

So now that we know about Louis, we get to Lestat… Where is he? His body is at the butcher's while his head is in a bowling bag with Daniel ( Eric Bogosian ). Man, and does Daniel hate Lestat. Poor Daniel, there seems to be a raging swirl of hate inside of him, and so far, we have not seen cases like these end well. Meanwhile, my man was fully aware of what was happening in the alley and to Louis. I would be an unstable person, too. No wonder bro has so much trouble tuning down the noise. However, Lestat is forced to face himself in the most intimate way possible. I love how we see Lestat's emotions manifest through the guests at the table and his impromptu concert. Especially Antoinette ( Maura Grace ), I loved that we got to see her. I wish we had gotten more of her and TC ( Sarah Swire ). They are both so chaortic. But it makes sense. Lestat thrives in chaos… or thrived? That was his middle name, I am sure.

But yes, the guilt we see Lestat deal with, and how all the roads led to Louis. I think the way we see Lestat's timeline constantly overlap was very effective. Especially the part where Gabriella ( Jennifer Ehle ) made him watch the witch burning while holding his face in place, while we see him do the same to Claudia. I wonder where this sense of coming to terms with himself will mean for the future… or at least the time between what happens when he wakes up and where things end. What exactly was the failure, and why did it end up like that? That said, there were so many meaningful little moments in this scene. I especially got choked up when Louis' brother showed up to thank him for loving his brother the way he needed to be loved. While we can argue about the needed to be loved part, i think it connected Louis to Lestat at that moment and their bond just made my heart happy. In a very messed-up way, but it did… ahh, those red flags… we love them no matter how much they hurt.

Outside of the bowling bag where Lestat's head lies, we get to see a little confrontation between Daniel and Raglan James ( Justin Kirk ). We learn that the number of vampires has increased to 290,000. Also, the Talamasca is behind Lestat's success, even admitting to creating the "Make More" tagline. So what exactly is the Talamasca looking for here? Are they hoping to tip the scales and get the vampires to turn against one another? I am very curious about the mindset behind the ir plan and not exactly hopeful considering what we see when Lestat opens the doors to his balcony at the end. That said, Raglann tells Daniel that Lestat's head and its connection to its body are proof of the existence of the human soul. So I wonder if this is part of the theme we will be exploring as things go along. That said, we do not see Daniel this time. I wonder what happens after he bares his fangs. This was a phenomenal season, and I had so many questions and concerns leading into The Vampire Lestat finale.

That said, now we know where all roads are leading from The Vampire Lestat to Queen of the Damned , and with it, we got a phenomenal teaser to prepare us for what's to come. I think it is extremely important to keep in mind who Akasha ( Sheila Atim ) really is vs who she claims to be, no matter how much we may want her to be that. I am very curious about how things will come together. We already know some people… scratch that, some vampires will have to team up to fend off whatever is coming their way. I was concerned that we didn't get to see Akasha again, but I can imagine there needs to be a proper intro before all hell breaks loose. I am so excited! Will she be the answer?