INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Recap: (S02E02) Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved by Death

Noetta Harjo

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The Vampires are in Paris, and things are about to get interesting on Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire.  In “Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved by Death,” Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) encounter a coven of Vampires as the past comes back to haunt Louis once more. 

RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Interview with the Vampire episode, “What Can the Damned Really Say to the Damned”

Arriving in Paris 

Louis and Claudia arrived in Paris. They did not find any immediate signs of any vampire activity; but! The vampires immediately found them. The vampires watched Louis and Claudia from afar but found them a bit boring. Louis took up photography and was immersed in Parisian culture.

Claudia picked pockets but found Paris to be very boring. Daniel (Eric Bogosian) is bored too. He’s almost combative as he reads Claudia’s journal out loud. Armand (Assad Zaman) reads Daniel’s mind and turns the tables on him. The memory that pops up in Daniel’s mind is when his wife told him that she was pregnant. His response was less than enthusiastic. Daniel avoids Armand’s evasive tactics and continues reading the journal.

Claudia 

According to the journal, Claudia was miserable in Paris. She began to wonder what her life would be like away from Louis. One night, Claudia entered a dress shop to get out of the rain. The owner tried to get rid of her, but Claudia was taken with a dress in the window. The seamstress said the dress was made for a woman, not a child. Claudia threw all the money and jewelry in her pocket onto the counter to pay for the dress and alterations. 

Armand joins Louis in his interview with Daniel on Anne Rice's interview With The Vampire
Jacob Anderson as Louis De Point Du Lac and Assad Zaman as Armand – Interview with the Vampire _ Season 2, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC

Real Rashid (Bally Gill) brings in a box of photos that Louis took while he was in Paris. Louis took a lot of pictures of humans, mostly young men. Louis sought out comfort in a public park, known for its discrete and dark places. And that’s where he met Armand. Armand went there to reprimand Louis for not following the vampire rules. Rules like, traveling vampires are supposed to alert local covens of their presence. Armand’s coven also cleaned up after Louis and Claudia when they killed and dumped bodies in the sewer. 

Armand and Louis 

Armand felt he was being toyed with and his coven wanted him to do something about the messy American vampires. Louis was intimidated by Armand when they met. The first words that Armand said to Louis were, “I will not harm you.” He invited Louis and Claudia to Théâtre des Vampires. After Armand left, he ran home to tell Claudia. She was excited to learn they finally found their kind. 

The night Louis and Claudia visited the Théâtre des Vampires, they immediately felt the power of the coven. Armand watched them from the balcony as the other vampires performed for their loyal fans and passing tourists. The Master of Ceremonies opened the show to let the audience know what they were about to see was real. He looked directly at Claudia when he said it. He also let the audience know that they disgusted him and he loved them for it. 

RELATED: Interview With The Vampire: AMC Drops Extended Season 2 Trailer

The vampires acted in front of a cinema screen, in perfect synchronization with the film. Louis and Claudia loved the aesthetic. Louis says the plays were weird and always ended in death and/or violence. The actors, though real vampires, used fake teeth, lots of makeup and ropes in their acts. Vampires pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires. 

Theatre Des Vampires in Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire
Theatre Des Vampires – Interview with the Vampire _ Season 2, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC

Death Claims a Soul 

The final act was the most important to Armand. The play centered around Death as he came to claim a soul. A woman runs out onto the stage, screaming that vampires are there to kill them in French. The theater has one rule.  Everyone must speak in English. The woman stands before the audience, telling them that she was taken from her hotel room and the actors are real vampires. They will kill them all. The audience laughs, believing she is also an actor. 

The MC offers to let her go if she will pick another victim. She picks an older gentleman in the audience. The MC tells him to take it as a reminder that his neighbors will sell him out. He turns back to the woman, calming her down and talking about how everyone must die. He says he will make her a bride of death and asks if she knows what it means to be loved by Death. Claudia is captivated, but some of the audience members are very uncomfortable.

RELATED: The Origin of Tropes: Vampire Lore

The MC bites the woman, but she does not scream. A light comes on behind the MC and a chorus of vampires stand on the stage. The MC moves so the chorus can take the woman and feed on her. When the lights come back on, the crowd has mixed reactions. The devoted fans and Claudia give them a standing ovation. Louis and others are disgusted. 

Meet the Coven 

After the crowd leaves, Armand takes Louis and Claudia backstage to meet the coven. The MC is English and his name is Santiago (Ben Daniels). Santiago says they waited five months for Louis to find them. The rest of the coven welcome the Americans with open arms. Santiago doesn’t waste any time asking about their maker. Claudia says their maker was named Bruce and he threw himself into a fire. She lied because of a portrait she saw hanging on the wall. The portrait is of Lestat (Sam Reid), co-founder of the theater. 

RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Claudia

Daniel acts sarcastically shocked that Lestat was a part of the Théâtre des Vampires. He finds it amusing that Armand knew and dated Lestat before Louis did. It’s like a telenovela. Daniel plays sappy dramatic music on his computer while Armand tries to explain. Armand says crossings of immortal paths are expected and more common in their small community. Louis said Lestat’s presence is important, but not in the way Daniel is thinking. 

Assad Zaman as the Vampire Armand on Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire
Assad Zaman as Armand – Interview with the Vampire _ Season 2, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC

Lestat’s photo scares Louis. He’s afraid the coven can read their minds, and they know what they did. Claudia says she read the coven’s minds and there was no indication they knew anything. Claudia says she felt a sense of pride when she watched the vampires kill that woman in the last act.

She plans to go back to the theater the next night, but Louis argues it’s not safe. Claudia says the coven is led by a man with darker skin than Louis’. The only thing Louis needs to be afraid of is his lust for Armand. She feels the attraction and says Armand reciprocates the desire. 

Is Lestat Dead? 

Louis is more worried about Lestat. He needs confirmation that Lestat is actually dead. He remembered that Lestat received transfers from a firm in Paris. Louis visits the firm. The lawyers know who he is and say Lestat has not been heard from since that fateful Mardi Gras party. They assume that he is dead, but haven’t legally declared him dead. The lawyer brings out a box and says he was instructed to give it to Louis. Inside the box is a letter from Lestat. Lestat tells Louis not to seek revenge for his demise. He tells Louis to carry on with the living. Louis is the only person he trusts and loves more than himself. 

Daniel finds all of this to be more ridiculous than a telenovela. Louis gets mad and reads Daniel’s mind. He recounts when Daniel proposed to his wife. Daniel tries to change the subject and gets so irritated that his hands start to shake. Then he freezes and remembers something. He remembers Armand talking to him about how Daniel stole his father’s Playboy magazines as a child.

Continue the Interview 

Daniel gets confused, unsure of where that memory comes from. Louis and Armand give Daniel a choice, continue with the interview, listening intently, or revisit bad memories. Daniel chooses to continue the interview.

RELATED: Catch up with Louis’ story in our Interview With The Vampire recaps!

Claudia went back to the theater for the next month and was eventually invited to a hunt. Of course Louis accompanied her, despite falling asleep on a night out with the coven. Santiago found that offensive. Louis took pictures while riding in the sidecar of a motorcycle until Armand asked him to put away the camera. 

Ben Daniels as the Vampire Santiago on Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire
Ben Daniels as Santiago and Genevieve Dunne as Eglee – Interview with the Vampire _ Season 2, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC

Never Lie

They rode to a mansion in the country. Claudia was excited to join in the hunt, leaving Louis outside with Armand. Louis attempts to flirt with Armand, saying he thought of the coven leader often. Armand is intrigued with Americans as well, especially Claudia. He likes her spirit and her ability to block her thoughts; although he doesn’t like that she was made into a vampire at such a young age. He says Louis needs to improve his blocking skills and offers to help him.  Armand mentions that Louis seems uneasy when Lestat is mentioned. Louis pretends he doesn’t know who Lestat is, but Armand is no fool. He warns Louis to never lie to him or the coven. Then he suggests that Louis never visit Roget and Associates again. That kind of inquiry can open all sorts of trouble for Louis and Claudia. 

Claudia returns with the rest of the coven and they have a victim for their next show. They light a bottle of alcohol on fire and throw it into the house. Claudia tells Louis that she never wants to hunt alone again and she never wants to leave. She loves them all. Louis looks on as the house burns and drives away. He has an uneasy look on his face. 

Interview with the Vampire airs new episodes every Sunday at 9/8c on AMC

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Noetta Harjo
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