Hm I still don't have strong, clear thoughts on ep4 but it's really interesting how they'd begin Armand's new trajectory for the season, obviously he's not going to be well after losing Louis, I had this idea of him looking and acting like a divorced, wet looking cat on this season and that's what we've got, at least in this episode that is.
The AA group and the 12 steps plot points has me curious on why the writers picked something like this to reprimand himself on everyone Armand has wronged (I understand why Louis wasn't included on this, but why though?).
He seems astray by everything and everyone currently, and of course he feels alone and, essentially, he is, what else is he going to do I guess? It does seem accurate to his character.
Though the thing to note is that he is receiving mockery and actual comeuppance of his actions against Lestat, whom he knows far too well to understand Armand's cowardice behind them, at least it's like that in the books but I can hope it applies on the show as well. Louis' blow after the reveal in the S2 finale were mostly for their relationship and the betrayal of having been lied to. Armand unfortunately has done, much, much worse to everyone else.
Something that I'm really curious about is how that Lestat and Armand scene is interpreted by the non-book readers, and how much my perception of their dynamic of the book taint me of their adaptation, mostly in the critical way. We only have gotten two contradicting flashbacks on their dynamic so far, but we do know there's truth about Armand's obsessive nature on Lestat, and Lestat mocking him and treating him less than, mostly for the events of the Trial, the before and after, and Louis.
I guess speaking of which, the show has not given full focus on the Trial yet and I feel there needs to be direct accountability on Lestat's part both by his recollection of Armand and himself on that regard, I can only think they will address Lestat's account on it when the focus will eventually be about Claudia and Louis, and I predict that we're gonna have that in the last two episodes.
Before the season came out I knew we were only going to receive crumbs of Danny and Armand and what had happened when he'd turned him, but fuck me, slight mention of book-accurate Private jet turning and then nothing else? You can't leave me with that and most likely never mentioning it until next season, which might be two years from now if we're unlucky.
I don't know, it's been tiring for me the pacing of TVL's episodes so far, even more because everything does feel more fast paced and unfocused than Louis' narration, which despite also being too quick it had the slow, intimate moments to sustain the tone and storylines of each episode. While being intentional they should know how to balance it out, it's ep3 where they've succeeded at it the best.
Can we just please focus on the building plot of the current timeline a bit more since we're this allergic on wanting to show full, flashbacks scenes, just a little more I'm asking.
The final scene of Lestat and Gabriella in the episode started to lean a bit more on the Vampire war plot finally, I really really hope they'll indulge in it from the get-go by the next episode because I still don't like how much we're missing for only 7 episodes.
The flashforward of the first episode still lingers with me and makes me wonder many things, obviously it's mainly foreshadowing about Akasha and Lestat's reunion with her, but it's how they're going to handle it all where I'm wondering what's going to be next of the story. I really, really hope it lands.
The episode mostly wanted to focus on both Armand and Daniel's new baggage with their vampire bond and all of that which it'll have an impact on the final arc of the season, so I'm pretty excited regardless.