The Vampire Armand is a bit of a mess, I think we can all agree. Armand’s pursuit of perfection and survival on Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat is not only constantly causing harm to others in his orbit but also getting in the way of his own happiness, sending him closer to his greatest fear: being alone. While a state of “not being alone” does not necessarily require any kind of shared love, it is often helpful to the proceedings. And yet, to date, on the TV series at least, Armand has never quite managed to crack a true bond. But what is love to Armand? And can Armand actually have a meaningful relationship with another soul? We sat down with The Vampire Lestat‘s Assad Zaman to see if we could uncover these answers and better understand Armand’s deepest truths. You can also read our full interview with Assad Zaman about Armand here.
First and foremost, Zaman reveals, “I don’t think Armand knows what love is, really. Because I think there are better, more compatible options for him that I think he’s blind to because he looks for something he can’t really have.”
But that’s not to say Armand doesn’t have his own vision of what love is; it’s just not a vision that can lead to any actual love in his life, at least as most people understand love. Zaman offers Armand’s definition of love as grounded not in any kind of emotional connection or shared sentiment, but in a more pragmatic sense of survival. “I think he thinks power is love, or like strength. He’s incredibly attracted to strength and power, and anyone who seems to navigate the world in a more relaxed way or understands the world better than he does, because he seems to never really understand it. I think that’s part of his fascination with the changing times, the technology, the blenders. He’s constantly trying, trying to understand the world in a sense, trying to understand love, but he falls short every time because when it is in front of him, he sort of discards it and goes, ‘No, this thing’s stronger. This must be love.'”
When we take into account the sharp upheavals Armand has suffered at every turn of his life, it does make some sense that he’s constantly seeking a sense of safety beyond what he has and viewing that as love. But, of course, the constant discarding of relationships and the mathematics of worth are probably not contributing overall to his goal of not being alone, and also leaving him in situations that are not actually making him any happier, even if he is safer.
So could Armand enter into a truly vulnerable relationship, one that could bring some measure of healing or peace and actual love into his life. Zaman isn’t sure. “It’s a hard question.” He says, “Because he’s tried and failed so many times to give himself to someone. I think two broken people will always struggle to heal each other. But if a broken person can find an unbroken person who accepts them, there is potential there for healing. Of course, it could also go the opposite way…” As it so often does, with Armand.
That leads me to think about the romance I want for Armand, which may not heal him, but could be right for him anyway. When it comes to Devil’s Minion, the canon romance between Armand and Daniel Molloy from Anne Rice’s series, Zaman agrees, in the abstract and without any spoilers, that a relationship between older Daniel and Armand has merit, especially since Daniel isn’t afraid to call Armand out on his BS, unlike in his relationship with Louis. But Zaman cautions that he’s “a bit contrarian, maybe, to the fans of DM…” Because, he “think[s] they’re doomed.” Noting, “I think Daniel is broken, and much of it has been done by Armand!” Okay, so Daniel is not the unbroken person who could heal Armand with his love, but maybe healing is overrated anyway. Are any vampires ever healed?
Zaman does go on to offer this thought about the relationship between Armand and Daniel in Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat, “Vampirism to Armand, I think, acts like a form of self-flagellation, similar to the way prayer and punishment go hand in hand.” In turning Daniel, “Armand is punishing a man whom he also worships in a fucked up way.”
Maybe one day, though, we’ll get to see Armand in a romance that he’s fully invested in for reasons that are not just his ultimate fear of destruction. Zaman tells me, “There’s a tender side to him. Maybe that’s more me than Armand. I’m a bit of a hopeless romantic, and I think that carries into Armand’s scenes. But I think, actually, I identify with Armand in that sense. I think he is also a hopeless romantic, a little bit.”
But in the words of another famous (emotional) vampire, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” Maybe Armand has some soul-searching to do on his own before he can consider the notion of love with another. Zaman considers that, at least for Armand, it might be better if he stopped trying to keep a lid on himself and embraced in full the messier parts of his nature. He notes, “I think if he did just let go, though… I think, actually, in a strange way, not that I’m self-destructive, but I think if he did just let himself be manic and embrace that insanity, he’d probably do a lot of damage, but he might be happier.”
And, as I asked in my larger piece, doesn’t Armand deserve to be happy? We’ll see where Armand’s journey, which may or may not include love, takes him this season when The Vampire Lestat premieres on June 7 on AMC and AMC+.