to be straightforward, i think tracing back the mistakes of this season to an agenda of propping up or servicing lestat is a bit reductive. playwright hannah moscovitch is one of the lead writers on iwtv, and she responded to 1.05 lestat domestic violence backlash by going well. you’re talking about a fictional character, first of all. who canonically doesn’t shy away from rape, second of all. lestat as a fictional character gains nothing from preferential treatment, and was also, not incidentally, at his most compelling and recognizable in season one, when this show still employed black writers. i think it would be much more convincing to argue that the fault lies within the television production process, in the executive decision that got these writers sacked. not because it’s lestat’s season, but because they thought black writers can’t significantly enrich lestat’s story. and i believe we can all agree their absence is deeply felt.