Review: The Vampire Lestat Season 3, Episode 6: “Montreal”

Written by Ryan Kattner & Kevin Hanna Directed by Jane Wu

If there is one word that could be used for this season of The Vampire Lestat, it’s “surprising”. The season that began with a fever dream of a premiere settled into rock excess and now turns back to what could easily be called the series’ core relationship. After all we’ve seen, it still comes down to Lestat and Louis.

We get a little bit of everything: serious flirtation, anger and recrimination over secrets revealed, and then the horror of a seance gone wrong. Through it all, it works so well because of the core that is Lestat and Louis. Like so much about this series, the reason it all works is because everyone fully commits to the production. Not once was I pulled out of the story because it felt inauthentic. (The Mayfair Witches, I’m looking at you.)

Despite the fact that we’ve only seen six episodes in this relatively short season, it feels like so much more time has passed. And still, there’s moments that only suggest a much deeper context. Take the opening scenes with Daniel: the ridiculous “suntan”, telling us that he and Armand are evolving their relationship, even if Lestat and Louis remain painfully unaware of this. In a different world, we might have had a few episodes exploring the Daniel/Armand dynamic. Here, we only get pieces, but they culminate in devastating fashion in the end.

But before all that, we get the evolution of the Lestat/Louis connection. Lestat has dropped his album, and sure enough, it’s a flop with humans but a solid hit with vampires eager for the Great Conversion. Vampires are descending on Montreal for the one big concert that will mark the end of Lestat’s current incarnation, as he prepares to switch identities and live out a different life.

Where does Louis fit into those plans? Because he’s very much part of the conversation here. They are once again spending time together, even if they are still working on the whole “talking things out” part. There’s a lot of storytelling just in their body language, or the way Lestat changes his vocal cadence around Louis. It’s dripping with subtext.

It only gets more real from there. Lestat’s rehearsal, in front of Louis and Gabriella, is a wonder to behold. “Brutal Love”, indeed. Note the subtle interplay between Louis and Gabriella as the song unfolds. Particularly Gabriella’s annoyance that the song is ultimately for and about Louis. Assuming, of course, you’re not mesmerized by the song itself.

It all has to come crashing down, doesn’t it? And sure enough, Louis finds out that “Sofia” is really Lestat’s mother when a “sex tape” is released to the internet (by Daniel and Armand, no less). Louis does not take this new information well. If anything, he gets to be the voice of much of the audience. But it quickly becomes more than that. Lestat and Louis actually start to hash things out, and Lestat even clings to Louis when having a panic attack.

And then they talk. The shouting and anger and bitterness and recrimination leads to the two of them actually being mature adults together. Despite all their history, they are finding the core of their rapport. And they both realize that they are messed up in their own ways. If the episode ended here, it would have been a satisfying episode on its own.

And yet, there’s more. Because what they have planned for the evening is a seance, led by Merrick Mayfair, to contact the real Claudia. (Is the subplot with Regina really over? Handled off screen? I’m a bit disappointed if that’s the case.) It’s a nice way to connect some of the dots from the larger Anne Rice world (and later books of The Vampire Chronicles). It’s also a scene that is fairly unrelenting.

Claudia is not a happy spirit. She is full of rage and hate. And perhaps surprisingly, much of it is directed at Louis. For all that she seemed to favor Louis over Lestat, all was not as it seemed. And remember how inappropriate it felt for Louis to read Claudia’s diary to Bruce, a few episodes ago? Claudia has some pointed words about that. If Louis and Lestat were hoping for happy closure with Claudia, they had another thing coming. (And give Delainey Hales all the awards for just this scene.)

And yet, when all is said and done, it might actually have given Lestat and Louis a new perspective on their own relationship. Because they seem even more at peace with one another afterward. They’ve faced awful truths together and come out the other side. Sure, they have to work on themselves, but just acknowledging that is a huge step. Particularly for Lestat, who previously wore his psychological issues on his sleeve as a form of posturing.

Alas, all the talk of futures is cut short. Literally, in this case, as Daniel and Armand conspire to stop Lestat’s concert by cutting off Lestat and Louis’ heads. It’s one way to accomplish a goal, I admit, but it also raises the stakes for a season finale that already had a lot to accomplish. Will they stick the landing? If this episode is any indication, they are certainly ready to take some big swings.