The second season of Interview with the Vampire has ended, bringing a close to the events of the book of the same name that inspired it. But the show’s creators, Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson, have already said a third season tackles The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice’s second chapter of The Vampire Chronicles. This was confirmed in AMC’s official announcement for season three. Yet the season two finale actually hinted at more than just book two in the future. There are hints for elements from book three and beyond. Here are the biggest things in the season two finale that tease what the future may hold for Louis (Jacob Anderson), Lestat (Sam Reid) and the other eternally sexy undead.
The Vampire World Exposed
One of the central conceits of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles is that each novel in the series is also a book in-universe. Daniel Molloy’s interview with the undead Louis is published as Interview with the Vampire, and most of the world at large consumes it as historical fiction. But those in the vampire world, and in the Talamasca Order? They know that it’s all true, and that Louis has exposed the world to their secrets, breaking their highest laws.
In book two, The Vampire Lestat, we learn that Louis is Public Enemy #1 in the undead world for giving the interview, and the end of season two suggests that scenario is already in play. Vampires all over the world are already threatening to tear him apart for his crimes. In The Vampire Lestat, the vampire community declares war on Louis and Lestat for revealing their secrets to the mortal masses. It looks like that fight is certainly coming in season three.
Interviewer Daniel Molloy Becomes a Vampire
One of the biggest changes to Rice’s overall story in season one concerns the reporter, Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). In the novels, the young reporter published his interview with the vampire Louis in the ‘70s. He then enters into a long and twisted affair with the vampire Armand, which lasts for a decade. He becomes his human familiar, but Armand continuously denies giving him the Dark Gift, no matter how much Daniel begs for it. All of this occurs in book three, The Queen of the Damned.
Armand finally makes Daniel a vampire while he’s still a young man, when he thinks he’s near death, in the novel Queen of the Damned. With Daniel growing to old age in the series, many believed the Armand/Daniel relationship would never play out in the series. But in the season two finale, we flash forward some time, and learn that Armand (Assad Zaman) did indeed make Daniel into a vampire. The how and why remains a mystery, but it seems that we might see the twisted story of Daniel and Armand from Queen of the Damned play out in season three. Especially as Eric Bogosian is confirmed as returning as Daniel.
The Arrival of Akasha, the Queen of the Damned
One of the most important characters in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles finally gets a name-drop in the season two finale. When Louis goes to say his seemingly final goodbye to Lestat in 1940s Paris, after the execution of Claudia (Delainey Hayles) by the Paris coven, he and Armand threaten to kill him with the Fire Gift. (In other words, mentally set him on fire). He tells Armand that it won’t work, even fire won’t kill him, all because he has “the blood of Akasha” in his veins.
So who is the mysterious Akasha, you may ask? She is one half of a royal pair of vampires known as “Those Who Must Be Kept.” The other is King Enkil, her consort. The reason they must be kept is because as the first vampires, the bloodline of the entire race comes from them. If they die, the entire vampire race dies too. The official season three announcement mentions the inclusion of “Those Who Must Be Kept” in the upcoming continuation.
Akasha, in Rice’s vampire mythology, is the first vampire, over 6,000 years old. The mother of the vampire race, Akasha was an ancient Egyptian ruler, who became the source of all their power. Her husband Enkil actually was only the second vampire made, and so the power truly lies with Akasha. She first appears in book two, later playing a central role as the titular Queen of the Damned. The late Aaliyah played her in the 2002 movie of the same name. With season three adapting The Vampire Lestat, it means our first glimpse of the undead royal in the flesh. A queen who has sat frozen like a statue for millennia. Start your casting guesses now. Who will fill Aaliyah’s crown?
Armand’s Treachery Exposed
In the season two finale, reporter Daniel Molloy finishes his interview with the vampires Louis and Armand. He reveals the bombshell information to Louis that evidence he uncovered suggests Armand didn’t save Louis’ life in the trial of the Théâtre des Vampires as he’s believed for decades. It was his maker Lestat that did. Lestat telepathically influences the “jury” to give Louis a sentence of banishment instead of death. He later secretly helped Louis escape his torturous imprisonment in the walled-up coffin.
Louis becomes enraged at this revelation, that Armand not only fully orchestrated Claudia’s death, but also his own, all in order to save his own skin from his own coven. Only when he was out of danger from the coven did he take credit for Lestat’s actions. In the novel, Louis realizes that Armand was ultimately responsible for Claudia’s death decades later. Instead of making a fuss, he quietly leaves him. In the series, however, this revelation comes in the modern day, fracturing their relationship. In the books, Armand then moves on to seduce the interviewer, Daniel Molloy, and establishes a billion-dollar vampire lair called the Night Island. With Armand’s duplicitous nature revealed, we may see these aspects of the story play out now.
Lestat the Rock Star
Louis sees Lestat (Sam Reid) again, for the first time in decades, at the end of season two. He encounters Lestat singing to himself and playing music in a rundown old shack in New Orleans. This occurs right as a hurricane is about to hit. He quips to Louis about “practicing to go on tour.” Now, that may seem like a joke, but in The Vampire Lestat, the 18th-century bloodsucker becomes a bonafide rock star, an internationally famous performer with stadium tours and music videos, all depicting vampiric history. And in the official season three announcement, they confirm that Lestat is putting together a band to go on tour. Even the announcement image features what look like stage lights.
When his progeny Louis tells his story and has it published, Lestat feels the need to one-up him. Not only does he tell his (far more expansive) backstory, he also tells his story on stage and MTV. This was the ‘80s after all. Since the series takes place in the modern day, the notion of a vampire rock star seems very dated. It already seemed dated in the 2002 movie Queen of the Damned. But who knows? Maybe this series can make that aspect work. We already know Sam Reid can sing. It would be a shame not to see him rock out in some capacity. We’re very curious to see what the future holds for this bold TV adaptation of Anne Rice’s vampiric universe.
