Ngl, friends, the whole TVL CSA of Lestat (as is trending in the fandom) isn’t sitting well with me. I won’t stop watching the show, I love it too much, but this one segment does upset me a little (and by a little, I mean a lot). I’m not great at expressing my thoughts clearly in writing (especially on my phone), so please bear with me as we buckle up and go on this ride:
In the books, Lestat is emotionally abused and neglected by his mother, so yes, I’m not arguing that childhood abuse happened. But the incest? The physical sexuality? That didn’t happen until well after Lestat was not only an adult, but a vampire, her maker, and he instigated it (she seemed hesitant at worst and uninterested at best).
This? The way the show is seemingly trying to set the scene? It feels like they are taking part of Armand’s backstory to get some quick sympathy for Lestat. Armand’s CSA trauma has now been given to another character, and while it seems they will still imply that Armand’s history was horrific and traumatic, he will not get that same chance to tell his story, to show the audience why his motivations are as effed up as they are.
He will not get that same chance to show the viewers his inner struggle, his heartbreak, his brokenness as his parent (Marius, obv), his abuser, his molester blithely plays with his hair as Armand tries to play piano and visibly fight to keep it together. We are being robbed of that. Even if by some miracle, they do show us something like that, the effect will be diminished, because it will have already been done.
And it really upsets me. Lestat is an amazing character, and yeah he’s gone through a lot of trauma, and he’s resilient af! I love Lestat, this is not a hate post, please understand — He’s broken too, but his brokenness is DIFFERENT than Armand’s, different than Louis’, different than Claudia’s! That is what makes them, as characters, so compelling!
And that leads us to the other issue: they have robbed us of a Gabriella that so many young women looked up to and could continue to look up to. A woman who was fearless, who cared not what the world of man thought of her, and who had a streak of independence that was to be envied. No one could touch her! She was one of the few characters in the books that was immune Lestat’s charms, which was so refreshing. She was so strong, an enigma all her own as she cast off the social conventions surrounding sex and gender and told a grimy gremlin 200+ years her elder that she didn’t have time for his silly BS.
But now? Now, she’s portrayed as a villain, a monster of such magnitude that no other monsters in this universe can compare to her: a mother who sexually abused her son. Her character is tainted, while Lestat is easily forgiven, paving the way for Armand to continue to be criticized for being a liar, attention-seeking, and manipulative. This allows Marius to enter the scene and exist without the same level of scrutiny that Gabriella is currently facing. She has been transformed into his metaphorical shield.
…Anyway, just wanted to write down some of these thoughts as I let s3e2 really sink in.
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