The second episode of a new season is important. Fans expect the season premiere to go all out to bring viewers in. The second episode is a make-or-break situation. If the episode isn't compelling, then people will tune out. Thankfully, episode 2 of The Vampire Lestat ("titled Toledo") was just as good as the debut.
The previous episode of The Vampire Lestat ended with the debut of Lestat's mother, Gabrielle de Lioncourt. From the moment she appears, it's clear that they have a very sexual relationship. However, it is revealed that she wasn’t just Lestat’s lover. She was also his mother. While this isn’t a conventional relationship (to say the least), the flashback explains why they’re so close.
The Recap
“Toledo” immediately gave the viewers an explanation of Lestat’s early life, and it was clear that Gabrielle was the only person who cared about him. His father and brothers physically and verbally abused him, while his mother did whatever she could to build him up.
This continued into Lestat's older years, despite him being the only person worth anything. A perfect example of this is when he kills wolves that frightened the townspeople, who later wanted to praise him for bravery. This leads to the creepiness of Lestat and Gabrielle.
"She had a cold beauty like snow behind a thick, distorting wall of glass."Lestat de Lioncourt
Lestat refused help tending to the wounds he received from the wolves (these are the scars he still has) until his mother visited him. He allowed her to put healing creams on him. While she was tending to his wounds, Gabrielle told her son about her sexual dreams, and he seemed to be getting aroused by them. Before she could finish, Gabrielle coughed, indicating that she was sick. Later, before she dies, the now Vampire Lestat turns her into a vampire, and the two lovers go back home and brutally kill their family.
Back in the present, Lestat justifies their sexual relationship with the Bible. He says that Noah had eight people on his ark. There was Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their sons’ wives. He goes on to say that now there are eight billion people on Earth. His justification is that, somewhere down the line, everyone has incest in their family.
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Other things happened in this episode. For example, Louis was offered the opportunity to get revenge for Claudia by killing Killer, who now goes by Bruce (season 1, episode 5 of Interview with the Vampire). There was also the spectacular scene in the tour bus where Lestat reads his bandmates’ minds. But none of that compares to the story of the de Lioncourts.
A lot of amazing things happened in movies like classic movies like Blade, The Lost Boys, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Nevertheless, certain moments and storylines within them stand out. In this case, the origin story of the mother and son who became lovers.
"Our hunger propelled us inside. And we watched as the remaining items on the menu marinated themselves in the pole-ravaged sweat of sex-positive, sex-cynical, sex-stipulated dancing."Lestat de Lioncourt
I continue to emphasize this because it’s important. No matter how gross we may think it is, Lestat’s very poetic rationale of their relationship made their tale beautiful. Creepy, but alluring, nonetheless. For example, when Lestat and Gabrielle are at the strip club, stalking their next victim, Lestat talks about the environment and actions in a way that would make Shakespeare envious.
If Lestat hadn’t explained their relationship in an intriguing way, this would have felt more like Jaime and Cersei Lannister, rather than Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen. Still unconventional by human norms, but those things are thrown out of the door when you’re part of the undead community. The only thing left is to see how this ends, because there’s no way things stay all blood baths and piano music forever.
For more on Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat, stay tuned to Show Snob.
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