Hello, Tailor

Film/TV critic. Creator of Behind the Seams, a YouTube series about costume design. Co-host of the Overinvested movie podcast. Co-editor of The Rec Center, a newsletter for fanfic recs & fandom news. Twitter: @Hello_Tailor.

[skyrigel]

[hellotailor]

The Vampire Lestat: The Queen of the Damned

In episode 5, “New York,” Lestat strips back his rock-star facade and confronts his memories of Akasha.

"There’s no way of knowing how Claudia might have behaved if she'd lived to see 2025, but Louis’ fantasy is embarrassingly shallow, opening with Claudia smiling sweetly and telling him that she missed him (would she really??) before segueing into small-talk about Louis’ latest business ventures. Much like with Daniel Molloy and Miss Lily, he’s paying someone to listen to him—now with an increased level of emotional baggage. Is Regina doing a convincing impression of Claudia? Obviously not! She’s basing her entire performance on secondhand accounts from Daniel’s book. Her job is to enact a vague outline of a happy family dinner, and in the same way that people manage to fall in love with chatbots, Louis’ imagination does the rest of the work.   In reality, Louis and Claudia’s relationship was far more contentious.  Much of their conflict stemmed from Louis feeling a sense of ownership over Claudia, leading all the way back to the moment of her turning: a horrifying scene where Louis dragged her body across the floor like a ragdoll and begged Lestat to give her the Gift. In the years after her transformation, her fathers kept her in a childish role that she quickly outgrew. The casting change from Bailey Bass to Delainey Hayles became an unintentionally effective transition point between Claudia’s adolescence and adulthood, when she and Louis began living as brother and sister. The complexity of this relationship can’t be translated into a staged hangout with Regina and her actress friend."

[hellotailor]

re-upping this because Fansplaining just lifted the paywall for recaps 4 and 5, making them available to free subscribers!

[homoquartz]

if you spoke to lestat or louis about your pain, they would say, "your pain? what about MY pain?" but if you spoke about your pain to armand he would say "let me lobotomize you and you will never feel pain again." he has a solution-based mindset and we could all learn from him.

[tsunflowers]

reading a historical romance novel and reflecting on the way these stories often present woke nobility for the contemporary reader. a big thing is servants. you can’t not have servants in those times but many modern readers think “but I would never have servants. it would be so weird to have servants” and in order to make the protagonists of the story more relatable they are actually friends with the servants. but flip your perspective and think of it from the side of the servants. wouldn’t it be so awful if your boss was always trying to be friends with you. a really common thing you’ll see is the woke baronet having tea in the kitchen with the servants bc he’s not like other baronets. but what if your boss wanted to hang out and talk during your lunch break every day. not so charming when you think about it that way

[hellotailor]

finally interviewed a vampire from the famous vampire interview show :)

[hellotailor]

lads i'm scheduled to interview two more vampires next week.......!!

[hellotailor]

The Vampire Lestat: The Queen of the Damned

In episode 5, “New York,” Lestat strips back his rock-star facade and confronts his memories of Akasha.

"There’s no way of knowing how Claudia might have behaved if she'd lived to see 2025, but Louis’ fantasy is embarrassingly shallow, opening with Claudia smiling sweetly and telling him that she missed him (would she really??) before segueing into small-talk about Louis’ latest business ventures. Much like with Daniel Molloy and Miss Lily, he’s paying someone to listen to him—now with an increased level of emotional baggage. Is Regina doing a convincing impression of Claudia? Obviously not! She’s basing her entire performance on secondhand accounts from Daniel’s book. Her job is to enact a vague outline of a happy family dinner, and in the same way that people manage to fall in love with chatbots, Louis’ imagination does the rest of the work.   In reality, Louis and Claudia’s relationship was far more contentious.  Much of their conflict stemmed from Louis feeling a sense of ownership over Claudia, leading all the way back to the moment of her turning: a horrifying scene where Louis dragged her body across the floor like a ragdoll and begged Lestat to give her the Gift. In the years after her transformation, her fathers kept her in a childish role that she quickly outgrew. The casting change from Bailey Bass to Delainey Hayles became an unintentionally effective transition point between Claudia’s adolescence and adulthood, when she and Louis began living as brother and sister. The complexity of this relationship can’t be translated into a staged hangout with Regina and her actress friend."

[fay989]

It is sooooo diabolical for Armand to stalk Daniel and report back to Louis for 50 years just for Louis to giggle and bat his eyelashes and go “wait but what if we pretend we haven’t seen him since SF and invite him to interview us again while you pretend to be my maid” and Armand goes “sure babe but first let me steam my purple silk top and send the chef his favorite dessert recipe” like yeahhhh they’ve all been alive for too long and have completely lost their minds your honor

[emoparamore]

gerard way @ glasgow

[fansplaining]

Happy Vampire Lestat Sunday! Are you caught up on @hellotailor's recaps? Read or listen to an audio version of her analysis of ep 4:

The Vampire Lestat: Hurtling Towards End Times

In episode 4, “The Devil’s Road,” Lestat’s reality begins to fracture as Armand returns with portents of doom.

You can also read eps 2 and 3 by becoming a free member!

The Vampire Lestat: You Have to Ask for It

In episode 3, “Toronto,” the show takes bold creative swings as Lestat tries (and fails) to rewrite his own sexual trauma.

The next few will remain locked to paying subscribers for the time being. Check out the early-season recaps for free, then consider becoming a subscriber!

Our BITEME discount is still in effect—just $5 a month for two months, and it begins when you subscribe, so that would take you through the end of the summer. (@elizabethminkel will likely be writing something about TVL as well before summer's out...)

You can access BITEME directly here:

Reporting, criticism, and more, all by, for, and about fandom.

These recaps are a big investment on our part—we only have a few hundred paying subscribers right now, certainly not enough to cover this work. Help us pay Gav for her super-sharp analysis! If you don't want to commit to a subscription, we also welcome one-off donations. Even a few dollars makes a difference!

Writing by, for, and about fandom.

[itsthenovelteafactor]

armand was genuinely so funny last episode like he’s planning out his apology tour and he’s like “okay let’s start with lestat…i will break into his trailer while he’s sleeping and everyone else is gone which won’t freak him out at all because i have never once been involved in the disappearance of his loved ones, and then i will read my apology letter which goes chronologically and doesn’t start with the murder of his daughter which is clearly the main thing he’s upset about and also our last interaction with each other and then i will tell him to stop making music that announces vampires exist even though i contributed to a book that also announced vampires exist and that he was one and included his full name and physical description and instructions on how to kill him that people have been attempting to do in my name”

[overinvestedpodcast]

Ep. 341: The Vampire Lestat (Episodes 1-3)

Claire and Gavia break down the first three episodes of The Vampire Lestat, discussing the show's drastic tonal shift, its elaborate narrative structure, its bold exploration of abusive relationships - and much, much more.

Overinvested is available on all major podcast platforms! You can find us on Patreon here. Read this episode's show notes here.

[lioncourtz]

this fucking show

[wizard-laundry]

The KIDS act (which contains KOSA) passed the US house, so I would recommend calling your senators and telling them to vote in opposition. I don't think I need to stress the importance of being able to use the internet freely and without privacy barriers being breached.

There are many scripts online you can follow, many ways to tweak your message to fit your senator (ESPECIALLY if they are up for reelection this year). Whether it's a recording you reach or a real person, be straightforward, don't argue, just let your rep know that you are a constituent and you oppose the KIDS act, etc.

Here is where you can search for your senator... call, email, fax, bring them physical letters, show up in person to their offices if you are able.

[sparvverius]

can't stop thinking about how "dark and gritty treasure island prequel" sounds like the premise to the worst show ever aired but it's literally good. goes to show that nothing is for certain in this life

[hellotailor]

"Lestat and Claudia’s experiences come together in one of the season’s most effective and harrowing pieces of non-chronological editing, intercutting Claudia’s words with a brutal replay of Magnus assaulting and then biting Lestat. Both of these characters survived a trauma that left them with lasting scars, and we’re invited to question whether closure is ever truly possible—especially when the original aggressor is out of reach. Claudia is already dead, so when Louis kills her rapist, it doesn't help her in any way. It's ultimately just another example of her fathers making decisions on her behalf, and while Louis is technically saving other people from Bruce's predation, that isn’t his primary motive. (Notably, Louis hasn’t done anything about the vampire Sam, who wrote the play that led to Claudia’s death. He is, in fact, employing him, a fact Louis writes off in episode 2 with the excuse, “He’s paying down his debts,” which leads Lestat to derisively label him “Bottom-Line Louis.”) Meanwhile, Lestat still hasn't come to terms with the reality of his rape after 200 years and change, in the same way that he can’t untangle the abusive nature of his relationship with Gabriella." - The Vampire Lestat episode 3 recap at Fansplaining.com

[hellotailor]

btw we lifted the paywall so this recap (alongside the first two) is now available to free subscribers!

[othellho]

julian de narvaez piranesi illustration i will think about you every day for the rest of my life

[professional-rat-eater]

Lestat: and then Armand appeared out of nowhere and started reading me a gay little notes app apology. He would not shut up about my vibrant personality and beautiful golden locks and so I got bored and I took a blood shower (I had a blood setting installed on my tour bus shower!!!) which is a practical and sane thing to do. I whipped my dick out in front of him and he was sooooo into it. Then I threw my hair into a messy bun and told him to kill himself.

Whoever is listening realising they went bankrupt so they could listen to this shit: