Our Interview with the Vampire Season 2 recaps conclude with episode 8, “And That’s The End Of It. There’s Nothing Else.” Catch up on our previous recaps for the rest of the season right here. Beware: spoilers below!
In the present, Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Armand (Assad Zaman) are at opposite ends of a long table as they continue to give an interview to journalist Daniel (Eric Bogosian).
Louis (Jacob Anderson) says while he was entombed in his coffin beneath the Théâtre des Vampires, he could feel that Claudia (Delainey Hayles) was dead – and couldn’t feel his hand or back, but could feel his heart pumping slower. If he’d had enough energy in the coffin, he’d have used it to set his clothes on fire and burn himself to death.
Armand says that Santiago, the new coven master (Ben Daniels), who is now in charge of the Théâtre des Vampires, punished him for swaying the audience to banish rather than outright kill Louis. While Louis is starving, the Théâtre returns to its old formats and plays.
Armand finally gets Louis out by swapping coffins and leaving some of his own blood. When Louis gets out of the coffin, he immediately takes the blood Armand left but wonders what’s the point – Claudia is dead, and Louis feels dead.
However, Louis’ rage and madness lead him to a cemetery. He begins feeding on humans, though with no satisfaction. He hides his kills in an abandoned crypt and plans retribution.
Armand psychically connects with Louis, begging him to leave Paris, and not to worry about him. Louis yells that he’s not worried about Armand. Armand physically shows up, continuing to plead with Louis, although he knows Louis will never forgive him. Louis tells Armand to shut up and warns him away from the Théâtre the following night.
In the present, Daniel asks if Armand knew Louis would burn down the Théâtre. Armand says no, but he could sense Louis’ fatalism. Daniel wants to know how Louis could be sure Armand wouldn’t betray him again.
Louis said there were thirteen vampires in the coven, and one of him; thus, he assumed he’d die either way. Daniel also wants to know why Armand didn’t warn the coven. Armand says his feelings for the coven members were complicated, but he felt he was nothing if he wasn’t with Louis.
Pretending to type notes on his computer, Daniel corresponds with Raglan James of the Talamasca.
Louis narrates as we see his destruction of the Théâtre. He kills the coven vampires: six by fire, two by blade, and one by a combination of the two. Four escape—two out the front and two through the sewers. Louis has rigged the motorbike shared by Estelle (Esme Appleton) and Celeste (Suzanne Andrade) so that it explodes while they’re riding it (and arguing over who set the fire; they don’t suspect Louis).
Louis communicates telepathically with Santiago, who is in the sewers. Louis says he’s broken up with Armand over the deaths of Claudia and Madeleine. Santiago insists that he and not Armand orchestrated the killings and tells Louis that he defiled their ashes.
In return, Louis mocks Santiago, from physical endowment to unfortunate stage career to begging to be made into a vampire. When Santiago makes his move, Louis decapitates him. The thirteenth vampire, playwright Sam (Christopher Geary), escaped and is now a DJ (and, it turns out, a Talamasca operative).
In the present, Louis says that Santiago’s immediate willingness to desert his coven made him unworthy. After killing Santiago, all rage and madness exited Louis’ body – and nothing replaced it.
Flashback: Louis says that Armand could have revealed what the coven was up to and made a different plan with him. Armand says he will spend his life making it up to Louis. Louis says, “You’ll never make it up to me.” Armand replies, “I know.” Louis asks if Lestat is still in Paris.
Louis finds Lestat in a subterranean cave where Lestat’s maker, Magnus, had kept him. Lestat asks Louis if destroying almost everything in his wake takes a lot out of him.
Lestat says he came here to contemplate why he does what he does. Louis asks about Lestat burning his daughter (Claudia) alive and rehearsing a play about it. Lestat starts to talk about the Great Law. Louis says that Lestat followed no law.
Louis announces that he’s come to kill Lestat. Armand, begging Louis to come home, appears ready to help. Lestat says that he has the blood of Magnus in him; he has the blood of Akasha in him. Louis doesn’t know who Akasha is, and Lestat says that fact alone means that Louis can’t kill him. Lestat would have to be willing, and he’s not in the mood.
So, Louis says, “Here’s your death, Lestat,” and starts kissing Armand. Have Louis and Armand been together for seventy-seven years just (at least on Louis’ part) to spite Lestat? That’s a serious grudge. Louis says that he and Armand will spend their lives together. Lestat says, “Let’s see how long it lasts.”
In the present, Louis and Armand tell Daniel they took one last spin around Paris, then went to various places, and are currently in Dubai. Louis says, “And that’s the end of it. There is nothing else.”
Armand feels comfortable now, saying that Lestat loved Louis a great deal. Daniel has some follow-up questions.
These queries prove that Armand’s story contains inconsistencies and that Lestat’s mental powers were strong enough for him to have psychically persuaded the audience to vote for banishing instead of killing Louis.
Finally, Daniel has a copy of the Trial script with Armand’s handwritten notes. Louis has not seen this before. It proves that Armand didn’t just know about the play; he directed it. Louis was supposed to die; Lestat, not Armand, planted the psychic suggestion that saved Louis.
When Armand protests that this is a forgery, Daniel says that he got it from the Talamasca, who got it from Sam.
Louis injures Armand and warns him that if he harms Daniel, Louis will kill him. Louis is going out and wants Armand to be gone before he returns. Louis thanks Daniel for revealing the truth and will arrange a flight home for him, plus $10 million wired to his account. They shake hands.
Later, Louis goes to see Lestat in their old house in New Orleans, which Lestat feels is his true home. The first floor has been turned into a tourist attraction, and Lestat is about to go on tour as a musician.
Louis asks why Lestat didn’t announce he’d saved Louis’ life in Paris. Lestat says he doesn’t like pointing out his virtues, and he knew Louis would figure it out.
Louis acknowledges that he was selfish and wanted Lestat to suffer because he was suffering. Lestat asks if they should list all the ways they have wronged each other.
Louis says he came to thank Lestat for the gift that he denied. It is the part of him that can learn to be honest.
Lestat is moved. They discuss Louis’ suicide attempt in 1973. Lestat confesses he can’t get Claudia out of his mind and knows Louis has the same problem.
By now, they are both weeping. Louis says it’s not on Lestat. Louis made Lestat turn Claudia, saving her from one fire so that she would burn a half-century later. Lestat says that Claudia looked at him at the end, like a child looking at her father. Louis interrupts Lestat by embracing him.
Daniel goes on a TV talk show. Interview with the Vampire has sold five million copies. The host, Leonard Michael (David Costabile), describes it as a fictional memoir. Daniel says it’s not fiction. The conversation quickly devolves into an exchange of professional insults.
Elsewhere, a council of vampires is aghast at Louis’ breaking of several vampire laws, including revealing the existence of vampires to humans.
Daniel reaches out to Louis, saying he guesses Louis hasn’t heard from Daniel’s maker. Yep, Armand didn’t quite “harm“ Daniel, but he did turn him. Back in Dubai, Louis apologizes and says he shouldn’t have left Daniel alone with Armand. As Daniel can now hear psychic vampire chatter, he knows the other vamps are “pissed“ about “our book,“ which Louis still hasn’t read. Daniel is worried for Louis and advises him not to stay put.
Louis is also listening to the hostile vampire psychic dialogue. He puts out a message of his own. His doors and windows are unlocked. However, for anyone considering taking a run at him, “I own the night.”
Well, this certainly leaves Louis and Daniel in much better psychological shape than they were at the end of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire novel. It had Louis in gloomy isolation, disgusted with Daniel, while Daniel (still young) was begging unsuccessfully to be turned.
It’s good to see Claudia get her emotional due from both her fathers and to see Lestat and Louis reconcile, which gives us hope that Louis will show up in Season 3.
It can be argued that Louis does let Lestat off a bit too completely for Claudia’s death, seeing that Lestat could have refused to participate, issued a warning, or even performed a direct rescue.
For that matter, what exactly was Armand going for? Did he orchestrate the trial or just go along with it? He is willing to give up Louis, but then digs him out. Then Armand is willing to let Louis destroy the coven. In all instances, he banks on Lestat not telling the truth, which is quite a gamble.
But we do get to see Louis embrace his full power and identity, and after our journey with him, it feels like a fitting victory.
All episodes of Interview with the Vampire TV season 2 are now available on AMC & AMC+. For more, catch up on our Interview with the Vampire episode recaps. Season 2 may be over, but last week AMC confimed Interview with the Vampire season 3 is a go! Plus, they’re bringing more of The Talamasca in the recently announced full-blown expansion of their Anne Rice Immortal Universe with The Talamasca series.
