Interview With the Vampire season 2 episode 7 recap and review: Reunited with Lestat

Lestat is back in Interview With the Vampire season 2 and it's finally confirmed that Louis and Claudia's attempted murder did not work after all. Whether or not Louis actually wanted his maker dead, he's now in Paris and ready to tell his side of the story. The penultimate episode of the current installment is another eventful one, and it's bound to leave you emotional by its conclusion.

The acting on this show continues to be top-notch, and while it's not for the best reason, it's so great to see Lestat back onscreen! I've been absolutely loving this season and this week delivers again. We break down the biggest moments of episode 7, "I Could Not Prevent It," below. I'm so sad the season finale is next week!

WARNING: Major spoilers for Interview With the Vampire season 2 below.

This week's episode of Interview With the Vampire season 2 opens up where we left off in episode 6, with Louis recalling what happened next after he, Claudia, and Madeleine are kidnapped. At the theater, they're thrown around and injured before being placed up on stage for a full audience to see. Their trial is the basis for a new play, with a brand-new script written and rehearsed. All the vampires of the coven know it and are ready to perform.

Lestat gives his testimony

Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine are not allowed to speak, and when they do, the vampires get inside their minds and disorient them. Lestat appears on stage and the audience goes wild as the trial for his attempted murder begins. Santiago reads Claudia's diary as evidence that the attempted murder was pre-meditated, which, of course, it was.

Lestat then gives his testimony, which lasts almost the whole episode. He begins by recalling his love life before Louis, remembering Nicky, the man he was with in Paris. He then recalls moving to New Orleans and meeting Louis, though his retelling is different from how Louis remembers it. As Lestat tells his side of the story, he does so in a way that makes him the victim and Louis the villain. At first, it seems like he's lying, but as he continues to share his life story, the viewer must question if perhaps he's telling the truth, and Louis is the liar.

Who is the victim and who is the villain?

How reliable is Lestat as a narrator? We know we can't fully trust Louis' memories. This is proven in the episode when Lestat recalls turning Claudia into a vampire. From his point of view, he remembers being adamant about not turning Claudia, wanting to allow her to die instead. In a flashback of his memory, we see him explain to Louis that it would be a terrible decision to turn a child, plus it goes against the vampiric Great Laws. But Louis is desperate and doesn't back down in his begging, telling Lestat that he'll never leave him if he does it, which is clearly a manipulation tactic. Louis then attempts to turn Claudia himself but doesn't know how.

Eventually, Lestat begrudgingly gives in, telling Louis that he'll "regret this for the rest of [his] life" before turning Claudia. On stage, Louis tells Claudia that what Lestat is saying is all lies, but in the current timeline, Louis admits it was the truth. He tells Daniel that he didn't think it was the truth at the time, but now he realizes Lestat was not lying, suggesting he should include Lestat's telling in his book.

Armand's role in the trial

While the play is going on, Armand is forced to sit in the audience to watch. In the current timeline, Daniel learns that all of this was supposedly punishment for Armand; he had to help abduct Louis, Claudia, and Madeline or else he would be killed. While Armand watched from his chair, he tried to think of ways to save Louis.

In Paris, Lestat continues his testimony and remembers life after Claudia left him and Louis. He says Louis isolated himself and did not reciprocate his love, sulking in melancholy until she returned. Because of this, Lestat looked for love elsewhere, explaining his affair with Antoinette. Lestat then recalls his big fight with Louis — you know, the fight from the first season that nearly killed Louis. In Lestat's version, Louis is the one really hurting Lestat, and in a very disturbing, descriptive threat, Louis tells Lestat how he's going to kill him. Lestat loses his temper at this and in retaliation, uses his cloud gift to fly up with Louis high in the sky and drop him to the ground.

Lestat actually owns up to his mistakes?

To the audience, Santiago tries to downplay what Lestat did, saying Lestat knew Louis would be fine and he was. But Lestat disagrees, going off script and telling everyone that Louis wasn't fine. He was intentionally trying to hurt him, and it worked. Lestat admits to breaking Louis because he wasn't getting love, telling the audience: "What is worse than that; crushing what you cannot own?" Lestat then apologizes to Louis and tells him he'll always be sorry for what he did.

Though Louis apparently doesn't fall for it, Claudia becomes angry with Lestat's testimony. She gets up and starts yelling at him, all while admitting to the attempted murder. Lestat continues on with his scripted lines and the audience loves him; they're clearly on his side. In the current timeline, Louis is unable to keep going, so Armand picks it up from there. What's next is the sentencing.

The sentencing

For Madeleine, the vampires agree that because she wasn't aware of Claudia and Louis' crimes, it's only fair for her to be invited to join the coven. But if she rejects the invitation, her sentence is death. Madeleine says her coven is with Claudia, and she chooses death. Claudia's sentencing is up next, and the audience finds her guilty. She's also sentenced to death.

For Louis, however, Armand finally intervenes. The audience all agree that he's guilty, but when they're asked to pick his sentencing, they cannot speak. Armand mind-controls all of them, using all of his strength to make them shout "banishment." In the current timeline, Daniel acknowledges that Armand saved Louis' life, but couldn't do the same for Claudia. "I could not prevent it," Armand says.

Back in Paris, Santiago disagrees that banishment is a proper sentence before realizing that it could be even worse than death. He tells the vampires to send him to Belgium, and they quickly take Louis away. He fights back, not wanting to be apart from Claudia ahead of her sentence, but he doesn't have enough strength. The vampires throw him into a coffin and fill it with rocks so he can't move, leaving him there while Claudia and Madeleine meet their fate.

Claudia and Madeleine die together

Armand recalls their death; the vampires open a sunroof and expose Claudia and Madeleine to the light, which burns them up and turns them to dust. Madeleine is the first to go, and Claudia begins to sing as she burns up. She looks at Lestat as she perishes, and he's the last thing she sees before she dies. The episode ends with Santiago picking up Claudia and Madeleine's clothing from the stage as the audience leaves. What a show, huh?

So now we know what happened to Claudia. I can't say it's surprising, but man, these vampires are truly ruthless. I'm going to need to rewatch this episode to process it all, but it's definitely one of the best of the season. Seeing Louis and Lestat back together, despite the circumstances, is really special. As toxic as they are, I can't help but crave more; their complicated relationship is truly addicting. There's only one more episode of Interview With the Vampire season 2, and I'm honestly not sure where we go from here. Louis ends up with Armand, obviously, but I find their romance less compelling. I like chaos, what can I say!? I'm sure my opinion will change in the finale.

Don't miss the Interview With the Vampire season 2 finale, "And That's The End Of It. There's Nothing Else," on AMC and AMC+ on Sunday, June 30.