Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire returns to AMC with a steamy second season and a new face for a familiar character. In the season two premiere, “What Can The Damned Really Say To The Damned,” Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (now played by Delainey Hayles) begin their search for their kind.
Interview With The Vampire season one established Louis’ story in this series as a retelling of the story from the book. Louis explained these differences as forgotten details in his memories. Also, with help from Claudia’s journals, he can see occurrences differently. But some details are vastly different from the first time the story was told. Something reporter Daniel Malloy (Eric Bogosian) finds skeptical.
The first season centered on Louis’ human death and vampire rebirth. He struggled with finding purpose, so his maker, Lestat (Sam Reid) gave him one. Her name is Claudia. Louis loved Claudia like a daughter and wanted to protect her at all costs. He couldn’t protect her from the one person who should have loved her more than Louis. Lestat did unspeakable things to maintain a hold on Louis and Claudia, to make sure they never left him. Claudia knew the only way they could be free is if Lestat died. Louis did not want to admit that Claudia was right, but eventually gave in. At the end of season one, Claudia kills Lestat and they are finally free. Or are they?
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The season also ended with a big reveal. Louis’ servant Rashid (Assad Zaman) is actually Louis’ lover, Armand … also a vampire. So who is Armand? Where did he come from? And why did he hide his identity from Daniel? We’ll find out in season two.
Daniel is still in Dubai with Louis and Armand. Sometimes Louis refers to Claudia’s journals to help him recall what happened. Armand sits at the dining room table with them, commenting on the story from time to time. Every time he speaks, Daniel makes a note in the recording to disregard Armand’s comments. It’s clear there is tension between the two.
Four years have passed as Louis and Claudia travel to Europe. Season two starts as they arrive in Romania. They sleep underground during the day and travel through battlefields at night. The war has taken it’s toll on everyone in the area sad and hopeless. Louis can taste it in their blood when he drinks. Claudia chose this area because her research in America said this is where vampire myths originate. She wants to find other vampires that she can relate to. Along the way, she finds herself annoyed with Louis, especially when he talks about going home to New Orleans. She assumes he wants to be close to where Lestat is buried.
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Speaking of Lestat, Louis hallucinates that Lestat is with him on their journey. Lestat taunts Louis about picking Claudia over him, asking if it was a good idea to kill him. Louis stands by his decision, but clearly something internally is making him feel guilty. Lestat says Louis and Claudia carried out the perfect betrayal and he vows to kill them for it. Louis says if Lestat were alive, he would have already killed him. Lestat says he’s just waiting for Louis to be happy.
Claudia and Louis make their way to Romania encountering strange behaviors from the Russian soldiers and the village residents. They saw soldiers digging up coffins and shooting the dead bodies. The village windows were all boarded up and the doors covered in garlic and crucifixes. Claudia is certain there are vampires nearby.
They befriend a local woman named Amelia (Stephanie Hayes). She takes them to a factory where most of the villagers are staying. The building has stone walls and metal doors. She introduces them to Morgan (Blake Ritson), a British reporter, sent to cover the war. Louis sends Claudia to meet the other children. After she leaves, Amelia and Morgan fill in why everyone in the village is on edge.
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Louis has a little trouble remembering this part, so Armand suggests he take a break. The servant, the real Rashid (Bally Gill), joins Daniel and Louis. Daniel calls him Real Rashid. He tells the servant that Armand and Louis are being suspicious and he wants Real Rashid to tell him what’s really going on. Armand dismisses Rashid and follows him out of the room. Back to the story, Claudia wanders into the woods and witnesses a vampire attacking two soldiers. She tries to talk to the vampire, but he’s more monster than human. The vampire doesn’t answer her, instead kills one soldier and drags the other away.
Morgan questions Louis about his cover story. He happens to be a photographer and notices that the photo of Louis’ wife was taken by a much older camera. Morgan thinks Louis is a German deserter and tells him to go back to face his punishment. Louis blows him off and asks Amelia to dance. Claudia returns with a dislocated arm, saying she fell out of a tree.
Claudia tells Louis everything about what happened in the woods while he resets her shoulder. They find a place to sleep and argue about whether or not Claudia really found another vampire. Louis knows Romania is famous for vampires, but all they’ve found are superstitions. He thinks she saw an animal. Claudia accuses him of slowing her down, knowing he thinks about Lestat often. She says she only knows four vampires and they are all jerks.
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In Claudia’s journals, she said she stopped dreaming. But later that night, Louis woke up to find Claudia dreaming. He felt her having a nightmare. It makes him realize that she still has a soul. And that makes him cry tears of blood. Claudia woke up to the sounds of a commotion among the living. They went back to the factory floor to find Amelia injured. Morgan is screaming for someone to help her. The soldiers step up and remove her bandages, revealing a bite on her neck. Morgan tries to convince them that the bite is from wolves, but everyone is certain it is a vampire. That’s all the proof Claudia needs to convince Louis. As they leave the factory, the villagers cut off Amelia’s head.
Louis and Claudia enter the woods and find a soldier to use as bait. When the vampire arrives, Claudia tries to talk to it, but Louis is disgusted. He says that is not a vampire, not like them. A woman runs out of the woods and attacks Louis. Claudia tries to help him, but the vampire attacks her. The fight ends with Claudia ripping out the eyes of the vampire. The woman, also a vampire, kills her fledgling because he can’t hunt.
Louis and Claudia follow the woman vampire to her cabin. She has a soldier in her dining room and feeds him her blood. Claudia and Louis try to talk to her. The woman says the people in Romania don’t want life. Louis says it’s because they are sad and have a lot of pain. He can taste it in the blood.
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Claudia asks the woman if there are other vampires. The vampire says there are none. She killed her last child in the woods. The soldier on the table starts to turn. She says he will turn into a monster like the others and she kills him. Claudia invites her to go to America with them. The vampire says she will and she will grow stronger so she can make more children. She wants to tell Claudia her story and to hear theirs. They tell her their names just before she jumps into the fire, killing herself.
After Louis and Daniel finish for the day, Armand briefs Louis on business matters. Louis is still thinking about Claudia and asks to see the hidden pages from her journals. They tore out pages they didn’t want Daniel to see. Armand is hesitant because his name is in some of those pages. Louis doesn’t know what else is blurred or misremembered and wants to read them to remember. He promises not to share them with Daniel. Armand wants to send Daniel home, but Louis says no. So, Armand agrees to give him the pages.
Armand does have one observation. He says the boy they met in San Francisco is still there. They can find him and have him say what happened next in no time. And they will do it together, like they’ve done everything for the past 70 years. The next morning, they both sit down in front of Daniel and agree to tell their story together.
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Louis and Claudia decided to go to Paris. The war was over and the city was ready to flourish. Claudia was sad that she didn’t find another vampire, like them. Louis tells her to stop feeling sorry for herself. If he sees her giving up, he will pull her back. As long as she walks the earth, he will never taste the fire. He promises they will find others like them. They will keep going, city to city, to find good vampires like them. If she were the last vampire on earth, it would be enough for him. As he speaks to Claudia, Louis sees Lestat sitting next to her. He says it’s just the two of them and Claudia agrees.
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News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
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