Jennifer Ehle Appreciation as Gabriella on TVL - Favorite Scenes
(My Reddit comment got stuck in post purgatory so I’ll share it here instead)
I love Jennifer Ehle and was so thrilled about her being a vampire on TVL! There will be many favorite scenes mentioned here (up to ep 6); feel free to comment yours.
Favorite scenes and lines- too many! But these stand out:
JE simply looks the part of a mysterious yet alluring vampire even just standing in a sea of concertgoers (ep 2 and 3).
Looking scary AF baring her fangs with a deranged, ravenous laugh at the prospect of turning the band (ep 5). Also in ep 5, some peak momager moments on the phone - in that 18th century accent "Okaaaayyyy.. Nice to talk!" and her snarky jabs at TC, "it's cos her deepest wound is a man walking away mid-ceremony" and when TC says "so we're just gonna record the whole album again" and Sofia/Gabriella bursts out laughing- like it's the most obvious thing in the world-- "Not You", LOL I always get a kick out of that scene.
As much as I enjoy Sofia/Gabriella in the modern bob and sharp/sexy suits, I enjoyed all the flashbacks as well - her as the miserable Marquise, giving Teen Lestat a brief yet genuinely affectionate look as he stutters about joining the theater (ep 2).
It comes as no surprise that ep 4 "Devil's Road" is one of my favorite episodes mostly for all the Gabriella backstory we get (and we should’ve had more TBH- i think that’s why there’s been less investment in her character: we just don’t know her that much! Hope this changes in the future). She somehow seemed more human (and relatable?) in the flashbacks, maybe cos of Vampire Toddlerdom, or enjoying Lestat's company, or both. The scene in the carriage poking fun at Armand and laughing with Lestat, learning how to count heartbeats in the tavern --the uncomfortable looks exchanged between her and Lestat after "in flagrante delicto". The classic line: "not a Vecce.. not a marquise, not a wife, not a woman, not a mother.. I'm a fever that comes in the night and kills by the morning". The bone-chilling , nonchalant "And...?" as Lestat bursts into her bedroom mid-coitus. I MEAN. So effortlessly cold and calculating. She took to vampirism like a duck to water.
More from Ep 4 - in the bus Lestat cries, "you abandoned me" and she goes - "For a week--?!?" . That scene at the end as the band plays "Nothing to Lose" and there's a close up of her sick, ravenous vampire face.
Episode 6 is so memorable mainly because she gets to interact meaningfully with a character other than Lestat. Her exchange with Louis showed a promising chemistry and I want them to be best friends next season LOL. That slowww chest-heaving, knowing glance at Louis as she realizes she is no longer the apple of Lestat's eye. Brutal. Amazing. Again-- without words-- Jennifer Ehle-- she just stands and sits there, and throws her dagger vampire looks, and it speaks volumes.
The Gabriella fanbase may be a small camp right now, but I'm hopeful the writers will turn things around in episode 7.. somehow! I mean, some clues: Rolin Jones etc have always mentioned that she's "one of the most important characters" in this season. Sam Reid describes Gabriella as having "wonderful elements to her" once the "spell" is broken -- right now it's frankly under a heavy cloud of incest and sexual abuse. Jacob Anderson also had to pipe in during the Ep 6 backstage pass that "Gabriella is one of my all star favorite characters" -- which I don't think is something you say about a character who caused a lifetime of misery to your beloved, unless.. she somehow.. redeems herself? Only time will tell! The finale can't come soon enough!
No matter what happens to Gabriella/Sofia— Jennifer Ehle deserves all the praise for playing the f*ck out of this complicated, unhinged, and seemingly misunderstood diva 🖤
So they've established that Lestat is a stronger vampire than Gabriella even from the beginning right (stronger senses, and to pick apart the heart beats, see the details of the boat from further away). All makes sense, less diluted blood.
Are they trying to hint on that beach that she resents him for that? I think I could read her expression as pissed that he has to tell her of the details of the boat that she can't see? Or just preoccupied with her overall musings on the future and the nature of evil?
And she hated being married, marriage is a hell for her, the blood ring on his finger can't be indicating anything good from her perspective. Does she feel like he's trapping her again, like her very dead husband? (Does she realise he DOESN'T WANT THIS BLOODY 'RELATIONSHIP' anyway so if it's a reminder of her mortal marriage that's on her?)
