Interview with the Vampire: Louis and Lestat’s Beautifully Complex Love Story

The magic of The Vampire Chronicles was only mildly captured in the ’94 film adaptation of Interview with the Vampire. Failing to fully lean into the queerness of characters, more specifically Louis and Lestat’s relationship, is partially why it’s not nearly as explosive as it could have been.

Thankfully, the TV adaptation of Interview with the Vampire doesn’t make those same mistakes. 

The first two seasons of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire follow Louis de Pointe du Lac’s recounting to Daniel Molloy how he became a vampire, his relationships with Lestat and Armand, and the loss of his and Lestat’s adopted child.

Interview with the Vampire Season 1 focuses heavily on the relationship between Louis and Lestat, and that relationship still has a presence in Season 2. No matter what Louis tries to convince himself, he never rids himself of Lestat.

During the flashbacks in Season 1, we’re introduced to a closeted Louis who is struggling to accept that he’s gay. Considering he was a grown man in 1910 and being openly queer wasn’t remotely accepted, it’s understandable. And making Louis a Black man in this adaptation adds intersectional layers to his character. 

Therefore, when Louis meets Lestat, who is bisexual and lives unapologetically as a vampire, he experiences an immense level of queer acceptance. Their connection goes from friends who have feelings for one another to lovers who later adopt a child. 

Since Interview with the Vampire is a gothic horror series, the relationships between the vampires, in particular, aren’t going to be full of light. And that’s where Louis and Lestat’s up-and-down relationship comes into play. 

Their relationship is intense from the start. Their love for each other is full of fire and, later, plenty of issues. Louis’ retelling of the events is unreliable, but Lestat is still nowhere near perfect as a partner or father. 

Louis and Lestat perfectly capture the nature of love and relationships between dysfunctional vampires. That’s not to ignore Louis’ emotional dysfunction or Lestat’s abusive behaviors towards him and Claudia.

Instead, it’s an explanation as to why analyzing them as one might a regular human relationship is a strange task. 

Understanding Lestat’s abandonment issues and abusive childhood gives insight into how he functions in their relationship. Meanwhile, Louis growing up as Black and closeted plays into his side of things.

Combine all of that with their vampirism, as well as how it heightens everything, and you’ve got a rollercoaster relationship.

The ending of Interview with the Vampire Season 1 Episode 5, “A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart,” is often what people cite as an uncomfortable moment in their relationship. As Lestat and Louis violently fight each other, and it ends in Louis being dropped to the ground from the sky.

Then, on Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Episode 7, “I Could Not Prevent It,” we see more of what actually unfolded that night and how much of a boiling point they’d reached. 

During “I Could Not Prevent It,” we learn more about Louis and Lestat’s relationship through Lestat’s eyes. When he’s not being controlled by the vampire coven for the orchestrated trial to punish Louis, Claudia, and her lover Madeleine, that is.

His love for Louis is continuously clear, and any cloud of disbelief is blown away. 

Their love is tested, and they experience an extreme separation after Louis and Claudia “kill” him. That leads to the events of Season 2 and Louis meeting as well as staying with Armand longer than necessary. 

Instead of getting back together post-trial, Louis subjects Lestat to the emotional torture of staying with Armand, even after he participated in what happened to him, Claudia, and Madeleine. And even though Louis was being lied to, deceived, and manipulated by Armand. 

Ultimately, this leads Louis to try to fool himself into believing that Armand is a greater love than Lestat. This is mostly to dull the pain of losing Claudia and partially to spite Lestat. 

Louis and Lestat can’t stop loving each other despite everything that should have separated them and destroyed that love permanently. Much like their existences as vampires, their love is long-lasting. 

Some fans question whether or not Louis returns the love because he’s not as vocal about it. But if none of the countless moments in Season 1 and Season 2 aren’t any indication, then what is? 

Their reunion, after nearly 100 years, hammers home how much pain they were in without each other, including how they weren’t able to grieve their child’s death as a couple. Nor forgive themselves for the ways in which they failed her as her parents. 

Louis and Lestat’s relationship might not be that of sunshine and picnics. And it’s not meant to be in the slightest — this is, after all, a gothic horror love story. 

In Season 3, we’ll be following Lestat’s point of view using the second book in The Vampire Chronicles, The Vampire Lestat. Their relationship won’t be filtered through Louis’ eyes, and instead, we’ll see how Lestat views Louis. It’ll be an interesting journey for viewers because it’ll be the unfiltered Lestat. 

At the end of the day, there’s no mistaking the importance of Louis and Lestat’s relationship. Queer representation can be complex and still be profound to queer viewers. Many of us who love gothic horror will continue to appreciate such complexities. 

While the film adaptation was exciting for people back in ’94, and it’s not undeserving of appreciation, the television series remedies the issues regarding Louis’ character and the lack of explicit queerness. The TV show leans all the way in with Louis and Lestat being together and does so unapologetically. 

Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire airs on AMC and AMC+.

Follow us on X and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!