Interview with the Vampire Season 1 Episode 7 Review: The Thing Lay Still
As it should be, Interview with the Vampire Season 1 Episode 7, “The Thing Lay Still,” is a bloody, shocking end to the show’s first season.
Most of the episode revolves around the plot to kill Lestat, all while Louis opens himself up to being vulnerable to his maker once again. For reasons she doesn’t share at first, Claudia won’t give Louis all the details of her plan.
Instead, she asks for his trust and says what she needs is for Louis to open up his heart to Lestat again. Even though doing so would make the act of killing him all the more difficult.
Opening up his heart again is exactly what he does. Because at the end of the day, Louis can’t just quit Lestat. They remain connected, and it’s impossible for him not to give in.
Still, there’s enough disdain left there for Louis to support Claudia’s plan, one that involves an elaborate Mardi Gras ball. Enough years have gone by that Lestat, Louis, and Claudia have all become outcasts in New Orleans.
Their living situation is one thing, considering the time period, but on top of that, people have noticed how none of them age. There are whispers, and the assumption is that something evil is involved.
“Otherness” is a common theme in vampire stories, and this is really a culmination of what that means for their family. And they are “other” in several senses of the word.
That actually makes it satisfying to see them going on their killing spree, which comes nearer to the end of the episode. But I’ll get to that in a minute.
The party planning shows Claudia’s genius, especially in the way that Lestat begins to feel like it was all his idea to begin with. The group pulls off an incredible feat and by throwing the ball in the first place.
It’s apparently not the type of thing that’s thrown together this quickly, but because Lestat is able to make an enticing deal with Tom Anderson, they’re able to use their otherness to their advantage by bringing in curious guests.
These guests want to know what Lestat, Louis, and Claudia have been hiding all these years, even though one can presume most of them are a bit uneasy as well. It’s a lavish ball that is entertaining all on its own, with incredible details and extravagant costumes. Lestat deems himself the king, opening the ball in the most twisted way imaginable with that baby.
Lestat is at the center of attention in a way that he’s always desired, and he’s almost giddy with the power of it.
Along with Claudia and Louis, though, he’s also been fasting, which makes all three of them a bit on edge. It’s hard on Louis, particularly as he dances with Lestat — a moment that brings them to the center of attention in an even more incredible way.
Again, keeping in mind the time period, their relationship being out in the open this way is extremely significant, and it’s not taken well. Many of the guests gasp or laugh, and they are so caught up in each other at that moment that it doesn’t much matter. It wouldn’t anyway, considering their plans, which makes it especially satisfying.
At the ball, they also walk around with boutonnieres, literally claiming victims by asking if they want to know the secret to immortality. Those that say they get invited to an intimate dinner party later.
What follows is a bloody, horrifying massacre where the vampires leap to attack their victims, Lestat, in particular, guzzling blood with reckless abandon. By this point, he also believes he knows Claudia and Louis’ plan, thanks to a special guest at the ball who has been listening in on Claudia and Louis’ communications. Antoinette.
But just as he thinks he’s bested them, he falls ill. Once again, Claudia proves how intelligent she truly is.
We know that Claudia and Louis were both well aware of Antoinette being a vampire now, but Claudia understood right away that Antoinette was listening in on them. And she played right into it, telling Louis incorrect information and poisoning Lestat with the blood of the first person she knew he’d attack: Tom Anderson.
Winning in this way isn’t joyful, though. Even Claudia finds the killing of Lestat more difficult emotionally than she’d assumed, and Louis slicing his throat, while Lestat lays in his arms declaring his love is… tragic. They have done what they felt they needed to do, but he’s still family. They are still connected.
And getting rid of his body is even harder.
Of course, that’s where Lestat winds up with an advantage. It’s not exactly easy to kill a vampire, after all. And Louis makes it possible for Lestat to find a way out. This still isn’t the end of Lestat.
This is all still the story that Louis is telling Daniel, as usual with Daniel asking some prodding questions and reading into the details with a critical ear. But there’s more to the story than that. Louis’ current situation still has some of its own mystery, and that’s just as important in the story Louis is telling.
Daniel understands now, especially after the dream we saw him have on Interview with the Vampire Season 1 Episode 6, that Rashid is more significant than he first thought.
And he’s been a part of Louis’ life for quite a long time. Daniel also understands a difference in the way Louis feeds from Rashid as opposed to another human. We as viewers have had reason to suspect Rashid was more than what he appeared as well.
So Louis finally reveals that Rashid is someone far more important. If you’re familiar with the book series, this is a special treat, and even if you aren’t, this reveal would be surprising. Rashid is actually Armand.
I can only begin to imagine the possibilities of storytelling that will come in the next season thanks to that incredible reveal.
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Interview with the Vampire is streaming on AMC+.
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.