The second season of AMC's Interview with the Vampire came to an end last night with an emotional, cathartic finale, which finally allowed viewers to see the real Lestat de Lioncourt.
Major spoilers for "And That's the End of It. There's Nothing Else" follow.
The episode begins with Louis recounting his escape (with a little help from Armand) from the coffin he was left to starve to death in, and the fiery revenge he dealt out to the vampires who imprisoned him and burnt his beloved Claudia to ash in last week's episode.
Louis burns most of the coven in the theater, but the best on-screen death is saved for the hateful Santiago, who reveals some of the depraved things he did (though he may well have been lying just to taunt Louis) with Claudia's ashes... before Louis takes his head clean off with a single swing and kicks it down the street for good measure ("say that shit about Claudia to my face").
Armand begs forgiveness (though he doesn't get it right away), and accompanies Louis to see Lestat, who claims that since he has the blood of his maker Magnus and Akasha (a little nod to the Queen of the Damned) in his veins, he can only be killed if he chooses to allow it. Louis then tells his maker that his "death" will be living with the knowledge that himself and Armand plan on spending the rest of eternity together.
At this point in the present timeline, Daniel drops a bombshell that completely alters the direction of the story and the relationship between Louis and Armand. It turns out that Lestat, not Armand, used his power to manipulate the audience during the trial and save Louis from sharing Claudia and Madeleine's fate - not only that, but Armand actually directed the play!
A furious Louis attacks his lover, telling him to leave before he returns and warning him not to harm Daniel. Louis then burns the laptop, shakes Molloy's hand, and leaves for New Orleans and a reunion with Lestat.
Up until now, we have only seen Lestat through the memories and perspectives of others, and we already know that Louis is not the most reliable of narrators. Here, we finally meet Lestat as he actually is: A lonely, reclusive, almost broken man haunted by the death of the daughter he failed to protect. There may still be a flicker of the cunning, charismatic vampire we spent time with over two seasons, but it seems clear that Lestat is far from the uncaring, ruthless monster he was often depicted as.
The two share a tearful embrace, but the raging hurricane means we don't get to hear what Lois says to Lestat as the camera pulls back (we're sure lip-readers are already on the case).
The episode and season conclude with another big reveal: Armand made Daniel a vampire out of spite. This marks a significant departure to the source material, but the show served as both a retelling and sequel (of a sort) to Anne Rice's first novel right from the start, so a few changes were inevitable.
Finally, we see Louis telepathically inviting the vampires that want him dead for spilling their secrets to come and take a shot, leaving them with a warning: "I own the night."
The story will continue in season 3, which will adapt Rice's The Vampire Lestat.
“Resentful of the perfunctory portrayal in the trashy bestseller ‘Interview With The Vampire,’ the Vampire Lestat sets his story straight in a way only the Vampire Lestat can — by starting a band and going on tour. Gabrielle. Nicholas. Magnus. Marius. Those Who Must Be Kept. They join Louis, Armand, Molloy, Sam, Raglan, Fareed and others we can’t tell you about yet on a sexy pilgrimage across space, time and trauma. No Auto-Tuning. No Trigger Warnings. All Feels Amplified.”