After The Phantoms Of Your Former Self
Episode 2 of Interview with the Vampire starts with Daniel Molloy waiting for Louis at the dining table. When he does show up, clingfilm is spread across the table on Louis’ side, with a very different meal compared to Daniel’s fine-dining experience. He apologizes for his earlier outburst, and prepares to drink his prepared bloodbag. The story continues, with Louis picking up where he left off at the church. Lestat explains what’s happening to him. He’s turning into a vampire but he’s going to feel like he’s dying for a while. Retching, extreme pain and groaning; it all comes with the territory. And then… bliss. Lestat’s blood dances gleefully inside Louis’s head, with heightened senses. He’s also a baby bird in the nest that needs Lestat’s guidance to stay in control – and learn how the hunt works. Louis can barely concentrate when they show up at a bar, preying on a simple and ordinary man as their target… but Louis more interested in a man on the other side of the room. Lestat encourages him to stop and focus on their prize. A prize they entice back to their house. It’s a messy affair, at least to begin with, as Lestat tries to teach Louis how to feed. After, Louis ends up spiralling out of control. He decides he needs to go home but that’s going to be impossible given it’s daytime. The sun gives life to everything but a vampire, and poor Louis is burnt badly, forced to head back to Lestat’s place. Louis starts to slot into his new role, keeping up appearances at night. Given he is already a successful businessman with numerous Pleasure houses, it’s not much deviation from the norm. This time though, Louis will be in a much more profitable position. Lestat teaches Louis how to read minds, with the former informing him that the gift does not work on other vamps though. Louis ends up killing an important man in town, and Lestat is not happy. He burns the body but reminds Louis that he needs to have some restraint with these things. Lestat eventually concedes, not wanting to go to bed with the pair of them angry, apologizing for his unhappiness. He promises to make it up to him, helping him to buy the Fair Play Saloon. With the money rolling in, Louis pays all the staff much more than before, and between 1912 and 1917, he makes a boatload of money. But that success comes at a cost. The biggest price to pay though comes from his family, namely Grace, as he misses out on seeing her children grow up. Additionally, that hot blood pumping through the babe’s veins is enough to get Louis going and after visiting Grace and being left alone with the babe, he eventually skips out and rushes back to Lestat. Lestat suggests they take a break, and that comes from watching an opera together. While there, Lestat gets into the music…until the tenor playing Ernesto bursts Lestat’s great mood. He stews in his anger up in the rafters, as Louis narrates that the man did not see the morning. As the episode closes out, Louis explains that he could hear the man’s thoughts as Lestat killed him slowly.
The Episode Review
Interview with the Vampire bows out its second episode with a slower paced chapter, this time introducing Louis’ newfound powers and feelings as a vampire. The chapter essentially works as an initiation of sorts, with Lestat teaching Louis the ropes which, indirectly, helps us to understand his plight and what being a vampire actually entails. Beyond that though, there’s not much in the way of plot progression. I’m sure the chapters ahead will remedy that but for now, Interview with the Vampire sets things up for a much more dramatic chapter to come next week
