innk-kk

Latest Posts by innk-kk

I've been thinking about Armand, the mind gift, and Daniel. Do we actually see Armand read Daniel's mind more than once throughout the whole Dubai interview?

It's actually Louis who looks into Daniel's mind. The Alice memory, the "what does he taste like/how much does he weigh", the flashbacks to 1973.

The Alice memory does get picked up by Armand first*, but in no particular detail. He doesn't elaborate on it at all, while Louis is the one who really digs into it. And it's the only time I can remember that Armand gives any indication he's been in Daniel's head (please correct me if I'm wrong, my memory is notoriously unreliable).

I've seen a bunch of very legit theories floating around about this. But they all revolve around some flavor of DM having happened in the past (the blood exchanges, the romantic feelings, the memory wiping). I actually think this might be one of the more compelling arguments in favor of past DM having happened. Because if it didn't, then why the fuck wouldn't Armand be in Daniel's head all the time? Because he was distracted by keeping Louis under his thumb, keeping Louis from remembering? Bullshit, Armand is incredibly powerful in the mind/spell gift, he can most certainly handle Louis and Daniel at the same time. Daniel is just a human after all. He presumably never learned any kind of shielding technique.

Throughout those two weeks in Dubai, Armand is obsessed with controlling the interview. First from the sidelines as Rashid, and then front and center. And he has seen the "damage" (from his pov) that Daniel can do to Louis, digging up repressed memories, questioning the parts that don't make sense. Why the hell wouldn't he look into Daniel's mind to check if what real Rashid was saying about them not meeting anyone at the sushi restaurant was true? Nothing about it makes sense if Daniel means nothing to Armand, if there's no history there, if his only concern was truly to "protect" Louis (again, from his pov).

But he doesn't. He lets the "reveal" at the end come as a surprise. Now we can speculate that some part of him wanted Daniel to tear it all down, just like he did with Louis (TdV coven) and Lestat (CoD coven) in the past. And I think that's probably true, it fits his MO. But it still doesn't make sense to me that he would let it be such a surprise, that he wouldn't take all the knowledge he could get to, idk, prepare himself better for it? And aside from that, Armand is in people's heads all the time, he canonically loves to use the mind gift. And he was in Daniel's head constantly in 1973.

So yeah, Assad also already hinted at this in an interview, but there has to be a deeper motivation there related to Daniel himself as to why Armand isn't in his head more often during the interview, why he didn't realize that Daniel was talking to the Talamasca. I really hope we revisit this in some way in future seasons. Or, you know, we get a past DM reveal. That'd be cool :D

*arguably, if Armand knows about Daniel's past because he stalked him, he doesn't need to be in his head to guess that thinking about Paris might trigger a memory of Alice. It could just be an educated guess. Impossible to tell at this stage.

There's a reason why Armand became my favorite character in QotD during the Devil's Minion chapter. Because for once, we were seeing Armand for who he is and not as the villain in someone else's story. For once, we truly see him through Daniel's eyes. Because Daniel knows Armand's faults. He knows his good qualities, too. He has reasons to both love him and despise him. He adores him, yet he is beyond frustrated with him for not giving him what he wants and making him a vampire because he wants to be with him forever. Daniel's perspective on Armand is probably one of the least biased in the series despite the fact that this is a series full of unreliable narrators. No one portrays Armand as more of himself than Daniel. Not Lestat, Louis, Marius, or even Armand himself. Daniel sees Armand in all his facets. The gentle and thoughtful young man. The ghastly and loathsome creature that has devoured a million lives. The absolute weirdo who becomes obsessed with blenders and other human technology and watches Bladerunner over and over again. The immortal idiot who breaks into his room in the middle of the night demanding he call Paris. The guy who takes care of him and drags him to art shows and hunts pirates and kills drug smugglers to buy the two of them a literal island. Armand's no longer the charming and manipulative vampire who Louis blames for Claudia's death. He's no longer the deranged yet beautiful cultist Lestat met. He's no longer Marius's tragic, Botticelli angel. He's just Armand. Just a weird little guy with a fascination with blenders who wants to be loved but is not well versed in the language of romance and who loves Daniel and would rather die than see him dead but would also rather die than make him a vampire because he doesn't want to damn him. Just Armand.

time for some thoughts on the finale now that it’s a more reasonable tome to discuss it (and then k can let myself reblog all the gifsets I’ve been dying to post for the past like 40 hours)

my biggest overall thought is that the finale would’ve benefitted greatly from being split up into 2 episodes. a lot of the pacing felt rushed where it deserved to breathe, which meant that a lot of things didn’t quite feel earned. unhinged revenge louis was an absolute delight to watch but I wish in the end we’d had more time to dedicate to his slaying of the coven, particularly with santiago. I think the one-and-done chop felt too quick for the villain that he was and would’ve loved to see the telepathic fight lead into an actual physical fight when santiago showed himself. also rip ben daniels you were fantastic and I hope you come back next season as a different but equally cunty villain. all that said, gay blade louis was so hot, his being unhinged and plotting revenge was delicious, and his hallucinations were spooky as hell.

I am coming around to the main twist of lestat being the one to save louis and armand’s actual relative powerlessness at the trial. yes he directed the whole thing, but powerlessness in the sense that his fear of being alone essentially paralyzed him to any active defiance of the coven. I did love the louis/armand conversation and armand admitting that he couldn’t count on louis’ love long-term, and I feel that justified his sticking with the coven and even his more active participation in the direction of the trial itself. as for the fact that he was willing to let louis die, I still feel a little lukewarm on it, but I’ll admit that I got attached to my own idea that armand’s ultimate plan was to manipulate louis into his arms by purposefully saving him, letting claudia die, and solidifying louis’ hate for lestat. at the end of the day though, I guess he still achieved those goals but in a slightly more opportunistic and pathetic way than I’d expected, and the horrific manipulation of him taking advantage of lestat’s actions and lying to louis across an additional 70 years of their relationship is delicious in an altogether different way. so for the most part, I’ll take it. (as an aside, I hope we hear more from armand in future seasons about his rationale of the trial. I’m personally of the opinion that he truly didn’t know whether or not he would intervene on louis’ behalf in some way later on into the proceedings, and that we’ll never truly know bc lestat got to it first. which is kind of hilarious and tragic in equal measure when you really think about it)

my main problem with the twist (and ultimately the biggest problem I had with the finale) is that daniel’s reveal of armand directing the trial and lestat being louis’ actual saviour didn’t feel like it was earned. armand directing the trial, sure, that was almost to be expected, and again I’ve come to terms with the idea that lestat saved louis. but the sam/talamasca/copy of the edited script deus ex machina wasn’t signposted enough and felt like an ultimately cheap way to bring about the reveal, and daniel jumping from that reveal to the certainty that lestat saved louis felt rushed. show me daniel putting the pieces together over multiple episodes; show daniel perhaps suggesting that armand may not be being truthful and have louis start to question it himself after everything he’s learned about armand this season. show me more of the fight, with louis dragging the truth out of armand and throwing him around the room. the way it was presented felt like it was something daniel pulled out of his ass, like daniel connected dots that weren’t really there. again, this is a critique that could’ve been solved by splitting the episode in 2 and signposting daniel starting to put it together across episodes. the finale really just needed more time to breathe.

daniel was a fucking delight (outside of the lead up to the reveal about lestat mentioned above), both as the human finally getting the last word against the ancient vampire he’s been trying to trip up ever since 2x05, and the as the deliciously blasé vampire who seems to have upped his sarcasm and lowered his bullshit-tolerance tenfold after being turned. I cannot WAIT to learn more about his turning and whatever is going on with him and armand (and I don’t believe for a single second that it was just done out of spite, I can’t wait to revisit it in s3 and see what was really going on) and I am beyond delighted to see bogosian living his dream and to see daniel continue to be an old man (the body thieving theories were scaring the daylights out of me)

the only other thing I’ll say about danny’s role in the finale was that I never truly felt the stakes were that high for him. during the fight he never seemed to truly be in any actual danger, so raglan james warning him to run felt a bit hollow when all that essentially happened was that some papers fell on his head and the he got 10 million dollars. (he very much did get turned into a vampire I guess, but I never felt like he was actually in danger of dying or getting seriously hurt — “you should be afraid of the other one” WHERE, louis never did anything to indicate he would put daniel in any danger, despite his anger at the reveal. like okay let me see louis get genuinely angry at daniel for ruining the fiction he’s resigned himself to for the last 77 years, give me some payoff on that or something). however him and louis remaining best friends and the setup for the armandaniel stuff next season means I never lose.

the loustat reunion did work for me, probably mostly bc jacob and sam’s chemistry is literally electric, and also because lestat looking so pretty and pathetic did move me a little. the acting was phenomenal, and the framing of them as grieving parents solidifying claudia’s central role in their lives and in the fabric of this story was really nice. “siri, stop” was absolutely iconic and I am fascinated by the first true look at lestat as a weird offputting creature that is going to take to the 21st century in the craziest ways imaginable. his driftwood keyboard was pathetic, his shack was dilapidated, and jacob and sam both deserve emmys for that reunion scene.

really glad to see louis powerful, thriving, moisturized, still a lil depressed, but ultimately growing into himself. so glad he’s going to stay a main focus of the series and in absolute awe of jacob’s performance. overall, this wasn’t the strongest episode of the season (reserved for mid-season 2x03-2x05 where I think it really hit its stride) and definitely not as strong of a finale as I wanted it to be, but solid overall and I’m exciting to see where they take things next season.

You know how it is when you’re a kid and you break something? And then instead of cleaning it up or apologizing or whatever you hide the evidence so you won’t get in trouble? But what actually happens is you dig yourself into an even deeper hole because it’s lies on top of lies? This is basically what happens to Armand 24/7, 365. There’s no grand master plan. He genuinely feels like he’s constantly backed into a corner he’s trying to get out of. Of course, he’s never actually backed into a corner, but that’s how it feels to him, emotionally. So he’s always digging himself deeper and then occasionally, by sheer luck, something or someone pulls him out, and he’s like, well, I suppose this is my life now. He never makes any real decisions. He lets things happen and those things carry him places.

100%

Season 2x08 Thoughts (pt 1?): Armand

My biggest gripe with the finale (which also had a lot I loved) is the "twist" that it was Lestat who saved Louis at the trial rather than Armand and that Armand intended for Louis to die. I'll preface this by saying that I was not going into this episode deluded into thinking Armand isn't a monstrous creature. Hell, going into season 2 I was really hoping to see the frankenclaudia experiment as described in The Vampire Armand on screen. I also was looking forward to Louis and Armand's divorce; their simple separation after years of them both retreating inwards becoming shells of people, barely speaking to each other but being too cowardly to leave for 70 years is one of the fascinating parts of the book to me.

Yes, Armand always directed the play (in the book's case scripted Lestat in the trial), but his motivations have been greatly altered in the show in a way that feels less compelling and to a degree flattening, of course, though this is impacted by personal taste. In the book(s) Armand's actions during the trial (and beforehand psychically manipulating Louis to turn Madeleine) are done out of a warped perception of love in part based in ownership and isolation. Armand views Claudia as he does most others that he does not love, as an insignificant pawn, in this case, an obstacle for Louis' "growth" and and obstacle in the way of their relationship. He genuinely believes that by enacting the cruelty of Claudia and Madeleine's deaths he can isolate Louis into loving him entirely. He states plainly before the trial (when it's already been set in motion):

"She's an era for you, an era of your life. If and when you break with her, you break with the only one alive who has shared that time with you. You fear that, the isolation of it, the burden, the scope of eternal life." (pg 221)

and after the trial:

"I used to believe you would get over it, that when the pain of all of it left you, you would grow warm again and filled with love, and filled with that wild and insatiable curiosity with which you first came to me, that inveterate conscience, and that hunger for knowledge that brought you all the way to Paris to my cell. I thought it was a part of you that couldn't die. And I thought that when the pain was gone you would forgive me for what part I played in her death. She never loved you know. Not in the way that I loved you, and the way that you loved us both. I knew this! I understood it! And I believed I would gather you to me and hold you. And time would open to us, and we would be the teachers of one another. All the things that gave you happiness would give me happiness; and I would be the protector of your pain. My power would be your power." (pg 260)

Armand is desperate for Louis (bringer of change, embodying the 19th century) to continue to love him past their early infatuation to be Armand's new window into the world and a replacement for Marius (embodiment of the Renaissance) and Lestat (the 19th century which has already rejected him). His longing for that all-consuming companionship characterized by isolation, manipulation, and ownership becomes most implicitly clear I think when Armand speaks nostalgically about Venice, "I wish I had the artist's power to bring alive for you the Venice of the fifteenth century, my master's palace there, the love I felt for him when I was a mortal boy, and the love he felt for me when he made me a vampire. Oh, if I could make those times come alive for either you or me . . .for only an instant!" (pg 222) (in a way the trial and subsequent isolation IS him trying to make those times come alive)

Ultimately Armand's greatest transgression, the murder of Claudia, is born out of selfish and twisted love for a man (who he has incorrectly perceived as full of endless curiosity and wonder) who he has placed the weight of his world onto. Before the trial even begins he says, "No, I've had to wait and watch for you. And now I'll fight for you. Do you see how ruthless I am in love?" (pg 223)

However, in the show, his transgression is the attempted destruction of LOUIS along with Claudia, and Madeleine. Rather than being born out of selfish love and desire, it is instead born out of Armand's passivity to the status quo (which he clearly wavers on and struggles with as seen by the the Lourve scene, his look of regret outside the restaurant following the judas kiss, and his eventual taking Louis from the coffin). But to me, this aspect of Armand is just as well commented on and explored in an ending closer to the novel in that an orchestration of the end of the coven or a seeking for connection with the age can not be done through himself but only through another acting as a savior. Another compounding possible motivation for Armand's actions is the belief that Louis does not love him and never will love him in the way he needs, and this is him cutting his losses by preserving the coven. This would fit well with the look of guilt and regret outside the restaurant as it immediately follows confirmation from Madeleine that Louis does in fact love him but is withholding. His look could be read as a realization of miscalculation. However, frankly, I don't think that this angle is really explored or built up strongly within the season. And I think that's at least in part because I don't think that their dynamic and its strengths and flaws in the Paris era had enough room to breathe this season. In the last few episodes, their relationship in that era felt to some degree sloppily ill-defined. Ultimately I think that not enough was gained in the twist when it caused Armand's ruthless love to be lost.

Also, I HEAVILY dislike that the reveal comes by way of the Talamasca rather than organic probing from Daniel and Louis leading to a confession from Armand. (I honestly haven't loved most of the Talamasca use this season in general and think the organization is better suited to show up in more general investigative work like with Jesse Reeves in the books rather than in the context of interfering with the interview which felt much more intimate and contained without it). I find Armand's admission of his role in the trial to Louis in the book born out of an attempt to bait Louis into feeling SOMETHING even if it was rage at him after decades of them both living in monotonous misery infinitely more interesting than Daniel being given a file with the answers. I don't think that the reveal needed to play out exactly like in the novel, but if they were going to change it, I wish it had been to another equally strong character moment instead of Talamasca bullshit. Part of me wishes that this season had had another episode because the finale just had so much it needed to include and balance that this cop-out almost feels as if it was born out of necessity to keep everything within runtime.

Anyways, I adored the burning the coven segment, I'm happy Daniel's a vampire, and I really liked the Loustat reunion scene even if I don't love how we got there. I didn't originally intend to post any thoughts on the episode until after my second watch later tn with some friends but it was plaguing my mind so this is the initial ramble. Might have more to say late tn or tomorrow.

Also, I love that the inevitability of Daniel and Armand having been together/hooking up again in the future is so queer coded. Getting together with your best friend’s ex after you both dig up all the drama and help him decide to divorce that guy?? Peak gay. Inevitably all having to hang out together and make it seem like a somewhat normal interaction: even gayer.

Cannot wait to have Lestat, Armand, Daniel, and Louis in a room together.

Imagine being a full-on grandpa in your 70s, and suddenly, a young man in his thirties comes to your workplace, and the first thing he says is, "we're hooking up." Well, you don't have to imagine it because this happened to my dear friend Eric ....

Do think the funniest possible reaction from Louis upon finding out Daniel and Armand are a thing is schadenfreude. I mean canonically he’s not above delighting a little in Daniel’s suffering. He’s like well well how the turn tables… had to put up with all that shit from Daniel during the interview about how his boyfriend sucked and was a liar and a control freak and Louis was a fool for staying with him, etc etc but ohhhhh look who’s the fool now. Isn’t that funny, Daniel? Isn’t it funny how things work out sometimes? Right, Daniel? And meanwhile Daniel has never regretted the whole “he and Louis can now read each other’s minds” thing more

armand spending his entire early life in complete forced submission leaving him to need to be in control to feel safe but not wanting that control. He will play with submissions but will always hold power as insurance because he can't fathom actually being powerless and vulnerable

Everything about this scene is stunning.

Interview with the Vampire | 2.05

ASSAD ZAMAN as Armand

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2024) 2.02 – Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved by Death

Yes to all of this

When Daniel is young and erratic and crazy in love and begging to be turned even though he sees into the truth of Armand and loves him anyway, there’s still too many reasons for Armand not to accept that love. He wants so much, but he has no idea how to accept everything he’s been longing for.

But then with old Daniel it’s like. He doesn’t want to be turned. He thinks Armand is fucking weird and creepy. He’s too old and tired and sick to run anywhere. And if that Daniel (however long it takes) gets to a place where he can love Armand, then that 500 y old vampire is doomed to actual character development. Like yeah good luck still refusing to accept love bitch when you don’t even have any excuses anymore. Especially when the person who loves you is so annoyingly perceptive. He will figure you out. Like Armand totally played himself. Vampire gets dragged kicking and screaming into healing and emotional development like a toddler, more at 8.

Interview with the Vampire | 2.07

THE DEVIL'S MINION

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2024) 2.05 – Don't Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape

ASSAD ZAMAN as Armand

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2024) 2.03 – No Pain

ASSAD ZAMAN as Armand

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2024) 2.05 – Don't Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape

LUKE BRANDON FIELD & ASSAD ZAMAN The Genetics Game | Immortal_AMC

It would have taken another immortal to keep up with him.

so i haven't read the books but i did read the Devil's Minion chapter and this part made me laugh out loud:

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE 2.06 "Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before He Made Light"

A clever detail I noticed!🍸

Daniel comments in his ongoing notes about Louis’ household staff that Rashid “makes martini like he’s worked at Duke’s.”

What distinguishes a “Duke’s” martini from other martini?

The “Duke’s” martini is served in a well-chilled glass prepared with just a thin wash of vermouth, followed by gin that has been kept in the freezer and is so cold that its consistency is almost syrup-like. The peel of a lemon is crushed over the top.

You can see that Rashid has everything needed on his cart.

The result is an EXTREMELY cold, dry, and potent martini, considered by many martini aficianados to be the best. Each martini has the equivalent of 5 shots of alcohol.

This martini was developed by bartender Salvatore Calabrese in response to the nightly complaints of a certain Pulitzer-winning journalist who kept complaining that his martini was never cold or dry enough.

No, it wasn’t Daniel Molloy, obviously. It was Stanton Delaplane, who proceeded to write a column praising the Duke’s martini and calling it “the best martini in England.”

I find it a cute and clever touch that out of all the cocktails that could’ve been served to Daniel, he was given a martini created because of the nagging of a fellow Pulitzer-winning journalist. 🍸

britney yeah.gif

We got on set, we rehearsed it, and immediately, I just started crying. Assad was going through it, Armand goes through this long thing, and then there's that line that Daniel has, “I'm a reporter. I have a point of view.” I was shocked because it felt so natural and so real. I felt so vulnerable. I think we both did. We filmed it a couple of times, and then they got it, and afterward, we both hugged each other because we just didn't really have any words.

It was very quiet on set when we did the scene, and just by listening to him, I felt like I was in a trance. I felt like I was fighting. And I cried! I cried in his arms after we shot the scene, and I had to take a minute outside and just chill, have a coffee and a cigarette. Then he came up and hugged me, and it was great. | Luke Brandon Field [1, 2]

If you see Good Omens s2 as a bridge between the end of s1 and a s3 plot that, it seems, will revolve around [spoilers below]

Aziraphale and the second coming (in a parallel to s1 being about Crowley and the Antichrist) then a lot of things make sense, and actually I think this is one of the only routes they could have taken that would seem remotely plausible.

Because how the fuck do you get Aziraphale back in Heaven after the events of s1? Both you (a writer who wrote s1 as a self-contained adaptation of an existing work, having no idea if there would be future seasons) and you (Heaven within the world of the story).

In the book verse, I could see this playing out as a sort of “you thought you were happily retired and then they pulled you back in for one last job” situation, and I think that could have worked. Because book Heaven and Hell seem to end the story basically agreeing to forget Aziraphale and Crowley’s numbers out of sheer embarrassment, and that works in the world of the book because Heaven, in particular, seems to forget Aziraphale exists at least 80% of the time anyway. Book Heaven is mostly notable for its absence. We recognize their hypocrisy in claiming to be the good guys while mostly doing the exact same shit as Hell with better PR, but in the book Hell seems like the side that’s more dangerous and actively intrusive in Crowley’s life.

But TV Heaven and Hell are terrifyingly, oppressively present in Aziraphale and Crowley’s lives, and both of them very recently (in immortal being terms) tried to execute their respective agents for treason, and still don’t understand why they failed. This raises the stakes and the threat to their relationship enormously, which works great in a television drama where their relationship is much more of a focus than it is in the book. But it also makes it much more difficult to imagine either of them going back to their respective sides after the events of s1. They made that choice already.

So what do you (writer now trying to solve this problem for s2 and potentially s3) and you (Heaven, trying to come up with a way that Aziraphale would walk back into his former prison willingly) do?

You offer Aziraphale the one thing he can’t refuse, the thing he still doesn’t have, even now after Armageddidn’t and surviving the trials and 4 (?) years of living more or less openly with Crowley around. You offer him safety. Safety for himself and Crowley, together.

We know it’s a trap. We know what Heaven is offering is not safety, but control. But Aziraphale hasn’t gotten there yet. We understand why Crowley sees it as a rejection and an insult. But to Aziraphale it’s an offer better than he ever thought was possible to receive.

He thought, all of s1, that he would have to choose between following Heaven’s orders and saving the world and his relationship with Crowley. And he made his choice. Now someone is telling him he can have both? Love and acceptance from Heaven for him and Crowley, and the power to make things better? And when he realizes Crowley won’t come with him…well, maybe at least from Heaven he will still be able to protect him, even if he’s not by his side.

And you know what? I bet, in the short term, this is going to only make him double down on his “it was just a few bad angels” justification for the way Heaven behaved. Because this offer is coming from the literal voice of God. Maybe it even reinforces the idea that God didn’t want Armageddon to happen at all, that Aziraphale and Crowley and Adam and the Them actually were doing her will by stopping it. Because now Aziraphale is being invited back in, with more authority than he ever had before. And they invited Crowley (who he always believed was Good) back in too.

He doesn’t get it yet, that Crowley is right. That you can’t reform Heaven from the inside, because it is not and never was the good side. Because there is no good side.

Aziraphale hasn’t figured that out yet. But he will.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Cast Diaries, episode 5

you’re laughing sam reid kept jacob anderson’s prosthetic swollen eye from ep5 as a souvenir and you’re laughing

going absolutely insane at jacob having a whole face journey while sam talks about his babysitter showing him stephen king's it at age 6 and how he would deadass run around his neighborhood hoping to be taken by pennywise, calling it a "positive experience".

Jacob Anderson being heartbroken a bit because of how the dynamic between the cast and especially with Sam will be different for season 2 🥲

Wait a minute. Where are people getting that the balcony monologue by Sam was shot in a single fucking take and was nearly cut??? Like are you kidding me??? He really did THAT all in one take?! I'm foaming and frothing at the mouth. I-