One of the examples of Louis's character assassination this season is his reaction after the séance.
Claudia tells him that she hates him more than her rapist and the vampires who killed her. She essentially tells him (and Lestat) that she is damned to wander alone in nothingness for eternity. And Louis just... shrugs it off. The daughter he spent 77+ years mourning tells him that she hates him and that she will be miserable forever, and his reaction is essentially a shrug.
And honestly, it all leads back to the Bruce's storyline earlier this season. I remember watching an interview with Jacob where he mentioned that he was uncomfortable with the whole "Louis is avenging Claudia by killing Bruce" storyline because he didn't feel like it was something Louis would do. He said there was a lot of back and forth between him and Rolin about it, and Rolin told him it was necessary for Louis's character arc this season. Like I said in one of my previous posts, the Bruce storyline was a trap.
The Bruce arc served three narrative purposes. First, it gave Louis a reason to read Claudia's diary entries describing her assault. This reflects poorly on Louis, especially when combined with the fact that Claudia herself never wanted him to kill Bruce in the first place. As a result, Louis comes across as self-serving to the audience. Second, it provided another opportunity to push the "Lesdaughter" narrative by drawing a parallel between Claudia's assault and Lestat's, reinforcing the idea that Lestat understands Claudia in ways Louis supposedly never could. Third, it gave Louis the opportunity to throw in Claudia's face that she should be grateful he killed her rapist, provoking shocked reactions from both Claudia and Lestat. That's another shared moment between them, another way to fuel the "Lesdaughter" narrative, and an opportunity to show that Louis's love for Claudia and the grief he carried over her death were more about himself than about her. For Rolin, Hannah, and co. , killing Bruce becomes the perfect vehicle for elevating the supposedly "bond" between Claudia and Lestat while casting Louis in the worst possible light.
The problem is that this only works if you're willing to disregard not only the events of seasons 1 and 2, but also the events that took place earlier this season. Louis is still grieving Claudia. Her loss continues to define him throughout this season. He becomes fixated on Regina because she reminds him of Claudia. He can't let go. He can't move on. As a last ditch attempt to find closure, he even arranges a séance. And what does he get in return? He learns that the daughter he has been mourning for decades hates him more than she hates her rapist and the vampires who killed her. On top of that, he finds out that she has not found peace and probably never will. That should devastate him. It should completely shatter him. This is the same Louis whose grief over Claudia defined entire chapters of his life. The same Louis who tried to end his life because of his grief over her. Yet after the séance, he basically shrugs it off. Minutes later, he's discussing his future with Lestat. And I'm supposed to take this as confirmation that it was never really about Claudia, rather than blatant and shameless character assassination?
Can we be serious for a moment? How does that even make any sense? Even if you argue that Louis's grief was primarily rooted in guilt and self-serving, hearing that his daughter has not found peace and probably never will should still send him into a spiral. It should wreck him emotionally because it confirms his worst fears. It means there is no forgiveness, no redemption, no closure, and no possibility that Claudia's suffering will ever end. The séance doesn't ease his guilt; it validates it. So whether you view Louis's grief as genuine love for Claudia or as guilt over failing her, the end result should be the same: he should be emotionally shattered by what he hears. Instead, the narrative barely pauses before moving on to Lestat and him discussing their future together. That's why I can't take the séance as some insightful revelation about Louis. The emotional consequences simply don't match the scale of what he's being told. The daughter whose death has haunted him for decades tells him she hates him more than her rapist, tells him she's suffering, tells him she'll never find peace, and somehow all Louis takes away from that is that he needs to work on himself.
This feels like a deliberate attempt by the writers to sabotage his characterization. And to add insult to injury, they're not even being subtle about it. It's painfully obvious if you've paid enough attention to Louis's character arc up to this point and have even a basic level of critical thinking. The way he reacts after the séance is completely at odds with everything we've been shown about him for the past two seasons. Hell, even this season.
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