s02e03 — No Pain

26 May 2024, 03:23 #

With each new episode, I am more and more amazed by the amount of effort and work put into this show. The creators not only made a great series for a new audience, but also managed to keep the attention of fans of the book series, giving a new reading of the story they already know. Throw in Raglan James at 2 minutes of the episode? A strong move. This alone would have made all the book fans go crazy and come up with theories, but they went further, sharing with Daniel the dossier from the archives of the Talamasca, what is it if not an invitation to pause and review each file?
The background of Armand and Lestat is very logically and competently set before the beginning of the official romantic relationship between Armand and Louis. This gives a great understanding that they are not just sharing a guy, as Daniel said earlier, but also sharing the trauma inflicted by this very guy. To be honest, I got a chill from the scene where Louis walked away from Armand after a kiss, and he just froze with fear, thinking that Louis would leave him now and leave him the same way Lestat did. Or how Louis tried to take a photo of Armand and Lestat to make sure that Lestat wasn't really there, of course.
The growing tension between Santiago and Claudia is also wonderfully spelled out, how she begins to feel threatened and finally tells Louis exactly what she went through with Br*som, because unlike Louis, she has met other vampires before (except Antoinette) and knows what they are capable of.
Well, let's remember Nicky, he was a good kid. Special thanks for the parallel between Lestat's betrayal with Armand in front of Niki and Lestat's betrayal with Antoinette in front of Louis.

To sum up: a very intense episode with a huge number of Chekhov guns, which, apparently, will not just shoot, but will blow up the entire FD in a way that we cannot even imagine.

crazybee

29 May 2024, 15:59 #

@8u881egun: Was Lestat's affair with Armand real? or is it all a fanfiction in Armand's own head

8u881egun

29 May 2024, 21:45 #

@crazybee: Based on interviews with the cast and the creators, they are of the opinion that all these events are true, at least for the characters who tell the story, but at the same time none of their stories is objective.
If we talk about this moment in the book, then everything is a little different: after his conversion, Lestat avoided Nicky because he was afraid to harm him, but after much persuasion, Lestat turned him anyway, and Nicky went crazy, so in order not to harm him even more, Lestat sent him under the supervision of the vampire theater. Lestat has never had a romantic relationship with Armand. After Lestat destroyed the cult of the Children of Darkness, Armand came to Lestat to ask him to teach him how to adapt to a new life, and Lestat gave him his theater, but he did not stay with Armand because Lestat was going to explore the world with his mother.
As a result, Armand looked after Nicky at the theater, but Nicky could not come to his senses, and everything ended badly. So, if we talk about the book canon, then Lestat rather left Armand, not Nicky, because he took care of Nicky until the very end, but Lestat refused to stay with Armand.

26 May 2024, 16:50 #

After learning about Louis and Armand's long-lasting relationship, it was hard not to wonder what Louis found in Armand.". From the very beginning, everything was more or less clear with Armand, he found someone who was both weak and strong, and was delighted and captivated by fresh blood and otherness. But Louis?
I have loved Armand with all my heart for 20+ years, I have always really liked the image of this adult child, who looks great and powerful from the outside, but at the same time is weak, broken and mired in contradictions so that he cannot find a way out for all 500 years of his immortal life. But it's me, I can't live with him and I can't baptize my children. And Louis, my God, Louis? Why do you need it, don't you see all this trauma behind the facade? And this episode just answered my question. He sees - and that's why he chooses.
Delightfully.

26 May 2024, 18:50 #

It's not obvious. How sad that Nicky is shown to us through Armand's eyes, dim and pathetic. I would really like to see the real him, especially after Lestat's words about him last season.

Rutha

27 May 2024, 08:40 #

@Cry_to_Heaven: in season 3, they will show

26 May 2024, 19:00 #

Poor, poor Claudia. My heart squeezes every time. So much pain. The actress perfectly depicted how she constantly tries to save face, to seem stronger, how she keeps her voice steady despite breakdowns and all the mental oppression. It is especially terrible to watch this, while Louis constantly repeats " I have not seen her happier ". Like, look at her, dad of the year 😭
I really want to see Lestat's reaction to Armand's story about him. I don't remember the original text well, but somehow it doesn't fit) I wonder how much truth there is, how many scenario changes, how many lies or embellishments there are.
Armand apologized to Daniel!! It's a pity that this is almost their only full-fledged interaction per episode) He still can't help but smile. I also mentioned blenders, haha
And the appearance of Raglan is frightening. It's so early, and there's all this mess with files. I'm worried about Daniel now.

28 May 2024, 15:23 #

@ShelbyFromViola: Later, I also noticed that in the last scene, the blood on Claudia's face resembles a ventriloquist's mouth. To be honest, the longer I think about it, the worse it gets - Santiago said that he achieves this effect by questioning his victims, finding their hidden shame. He's also probing Claudia. Someone in tt noted that when he allowed her to look into his eyes, he did it almost the same way as with his victims on stage, when they slowly raise their heads. And this donated circus. Aaaaaaaaa 😭

fireside

26 May 2024, 21:50 #

I can't stop admiring the way the narrative is developing and the fact that other parts of the Chronicles are finally being filmed!!

Lestat is on the stage of the theater.. A delightful, magical Harlequin! How little there is of him this season, but what SCENES with him
you make death better... and then he broke Armand's heart...Asshole!!! Although it's so flattering, to be honest

Lestat's appearance on the embankment...judging by Armand's reaction, for some reason it seems to me that he knows that Louis is hallucinating, but he is fine, as long as Louis is around, even if he is schizophrenic. And a scene in a cafe playing the piano. What a beautiful voice Sam Reid has, the lyrics are just AAAAAAAAA :D and the scene after through the green filter is so crazy.

Santiago and Claudia...such an unexpected interaction between them, it was scary for her to goosebumps. I think he realized that he and Louis were lying.
And really, poor, poor Claudia : (
The baby is so good on stage, her sincere joy is that she was allowed on stage and Louis's smile...but the parallel quarrel between Santiago and Arman....SU-MAS-SHEST-VI-E
The choice of the play, the choice of the role for Claudia and the despair in her eyes * the kitten sits and screams, holding her head*

jally

27 May 2024, 14:19 #

I was very amused by Sartre's cameo in a cafe (french existentialism? in MY messy vampire polycule drama? it's more likely than you think) and thoughts about how Lestat, meanwhile, is quietly eating rats in a New Orleans landfill

jally

27 May 2024, 14:21 #

@jally: the rest of the series is, of course, complete madness (I say with admiration) and it hasn't even been half a season yet, I'm afraid to imagine what awaits us for the final

27 May 2024, 22:47 #

How I like Santiago! He inspires true horror.
Oh, Claudia, what will happen, what will happen?.. I'm holding my breath watching the scenes in the theater.
Armand is pissing me off again. He falls in love with everyone he meets, and falls in love like a madman. He is no better than Lestat himself, cruel and breaking others for the sake of his lust for possession...

I need to finish reading the Vampire Chronicles, or something. I'm stuck on the third book somewhere. I haven't reached Armand and Daniel yet. I need to know what was there. The same obsession as with Lestat and Louis, I suppose...

28 May 2024, 08:58 #

@juliawishes: Arman says here that Lestat broke him, but in fact - in the interview with Assad Zaman, it is new - Lestat became only a part in a series of breakdowns that happened to Arman. And thanks to all this complex of injuries, he is constantly looking for someone to fall in love with and through whom he can try to rebuild and heal himself. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong, many people do exactly the same thing, but Armand has it every time (except for the very first one with his creator) this is due to tons of lies, manipulation and cruelty ((
In the story with Lestat, Armand exposes himself as a victim, but if you look from Lestat's side, then the words about the fact that vampires in Europe are vicious / evil are immediately clear, because Armand found him himself, got to the bottom of his own rules, beat, kidnapped the guy and wanted something else there. According to the books, he also seemed to cast some kind of spell on Lestat for a particularly strong seduction, because of which Lestat saw him almost in a divine light as a beautiful angel X)

28 May 2024, 11:31 #

@Cry_to_Heaven: That's why I don't like Armand, because I've read about all his flings with Lestat in the beginning, and then how he stuck to Louis maniacally... In the books, Louis's story comes first, on behalf of Louis. Only the second one on behalf of Lestat already, and how uncomfortable it was for me to understand that Armand had already turned this cruel scheme full of manipulations, lies, pain before Louis. So yes, it wasn't Lestat who broke it - it was rather Armand who had a hand in Lestat's formation to some extent, became one of the bricks.

28 May 2024, 14:20 #

@juliawishes: Yes, they all injure each other and injure each other X))) I would really like to hear Lestat's opinion performed by Sam Reed about Armand - and what kind of scum X is)))
I love the image of Armand precisely for this double bottom and constantly justify it. Like, this is not him, this is his life, how can you form normally when you were kidnapped at the age of 14 and sold into slavery in a brothel? Not to mention further losses and zombification by religion in the Roman catacombs. But in his relationship with Louis, he is exactly the same abuser as Lestat, if not more. Because Lestat, kmk, really loved Louis, and Armand invented this love for himself more for his own reasons and - although he did not commit any violence against Louis directly - did and continues to do many other vile things ((( In general, poor, poor Louis, God, why is he so unlucky with men? ((((

28 May 2024, 17:03 #

@Cry_to_Heaven: Well, actually, yes, I agree, Armand had a reason to become what he became. But I didn't get attached to him somehow, so no excuses, just hardcore))
But that doesn't change the fact that I'm still fascinated by him at times. So, this double bottom still got me hooked!))

And Louis, yes, is not lucky catastrophically, that's a fact. But he seems to be like that, suffering is his path in life and in death - this inexpressible longing for something that he himself does not know. He's the perfect victim.

28 May 2024, 15:18 #

@juliawishes: Daniel and Armand are just in the third book, somewhere in the beginning)

28 May 2024, 17:05 #

@ShelbyFromViola: I'll go back to the books in the evening, I started the third one, but I don't remember anything really anymore. I'll refresh my memory and continue the cycle as a whole. I have almost all the books in my paper))

sunshine_lika

28 May 2024, 10:36 #

Lestat makes my heart flutter in every appearance🔥 what a divine film adaptation, I really love the interview after the episode, every time I watch, incredible work🔥😍 has already been extended for season 3? It's impossible here without him.
The obvious outcome for Claudia, maybe they will change something from the original, I would really like to. When I heard -"You are our bird in the next 50 years".
Even I felt sick, for how long 😅😅
Louis Louis😍 Armand is still nothing to me, no match for Lestat 🔥

28 May 2024, 18:22 #

I know the plot of the Interview with the vampire and I watch all the trailers and teasers that show the subsequent events. But when Armand's coven caught Claudia, and Armand took Louis to the dungeon, I was physically afraid for both of them! These scenes were shot very coolly!

Rutha

31 May 2024, 09:41 #

I'm shocked! I always watch the series in the original as soon as it comes out, and later I show the series to my mother when it comes out in voiceover. I watch TVShows in the voiceover (it seems this is the only voiceover, not counting the Amediateka, where everything is incredibly cut off), before this series everything was always fine with this voiceover (although in places the translation could have been better, but nothing, tolerable), although I noticed that from the second season they began to translate instead "beloved" - "friend", but I turned a blind eye to it, because all the scenes were in place, and in this series they just cut out all the kissing scenes, which, of course, lost the meaning of the subsequent scenes and I was especially pleased with the scene at the end, where at first Louis stands in one place, and a second later in another, the scene was not cut off at all. I write this as a warning so that other people know that they may not have watched the full version of the series. I don't even know if there is even a version with some kind of Russian translation that has not been censored (in the comments to the last series they wrote that somewhere even the series with subtitles was cut off). It's all very sad.

lizaandreevnaa

31 May 2024, 11:51 #

Wow, that's a shame, then I'll watch with subtitles, although it's not clear whether these scenes will be there or not

31 May 2024, 17:55 #

@lizaandreevnaa: It says here that the episode is 61 minutes long, but this is together with the analysis of the series after the credits. The episode itself is 53:40, plus 01:20 at the beginning - this is a summary of the previous episodes. If there is a 42-minute episode somewhere in the player, it is clearly with X bills)