This article contains spoilers for Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire on AMC.
Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) knows how to conclude an interview in a dramatic style. Unlike in 1973, when the whole endeavor became a foggy blur, the now-veteran investigative reporter produces a best-seller from the material he gathers in Dubai. But a book isn’t the only souvenir of Daniel’s time spent with Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Armand (Assad Zaman), Interview with the Vampire saves one of its biggest bombshells for the end of the Season 2 finale.
Before we get to this game-changer, the traumatic events described by Louis (with an assist from Armand) in the penultimate episode still need to be concluded. The dust barely settled after the verdict and subsequent punishment that Louis, Claudia (Delainey Hayles), and Madeleine (Roxane Duran) endured during the trial, which doubled as entertainment for blissfully unaware paying humans. However, the harrowing trip down memory lane is far from over, as Louis is left buried alive in a coffin full of rocks. Of course, we know Louis escaped his death sentence because he is sitting in this plush penthouse, telling his story 74 years later. Now, he is ready to reveal how in “That’s the End of it. There’s Nothing Else.”
Interview with the Vampire showrunner Rolin Jones has expertly deployed nuggets of truth throughout the season, with the great San Francisco reveal in Episode 5 as a huge turning point. Not only does this amplify Daniel’s mistrust, but it undoubtedly gives the reporter extra incentive to prove how much information Armand has kept from Louis.
The finale also masterfully showcases the defining relationships in midcentury Paris and present-day Dubai. AMC has not only renewed Interview with the Vampire for a third season but has also shared details of how Daniel’s book has a knock-on effect when it comes to Lestat (Sam Reid). Regardless of where the story goes next, this is a satisfying end to one of the best and most confident TV shows of 2024 so far because it leaves us wanting more while tying up loose threads.
The interview might be over but, like Daniel, we have some follow-up observations and questions.
Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Ending Explained
Just in case you didn’t find Claudia’s demise at the end of the previous episode devastating enough, then getting to hear Louis recall experiencing Claudia’s death hammers home what this loss means. Anderson delivers Louis’ memories of his time imprisoned and starving to death with a haunted but measured tone, underscoring his grief and the magnitude of his pain. Toggling between the two timelines is an effective way to show how pain changes shape over the decades. With distance, the rage that festered has dulled, but the ache remains.
The episode smartly also never lets us forget that Armand is the master of deception and misdirection. It is what saves Louis because Armand has played up the despondent card so no one pays him any attention, but also damned Louis in the first place. When Armand frees Louis from his stone-filled tomb, the finale briefly dips its toes into noir territory, capturing the mood of a revenge thriller. Part of me wishes this sequence was in black and white to fully hammer this genre choice home, but Louis embodies the cigarette-smoking trenchcoat-wearing anti-hero without changing the overall visual aesthetic.
Four escape the initial fiery assault, but Louis has booby-trapped the motorcycles to explode, killing Celeste (Suzanne Andrade) and Estelle (Esme Appleton). As Louis taunts Santiago (Ben Daniels) about his maker in retaliation to Santiago’s comments about Claudia, Daniel Hart’s score adds an extra layer to the bottle-blonde showman’s impending demise. Watching Louis take control is incredibly satisfying, as is the moment he kicks Santiago’s decapitated head like it is a soccer ball. “He brought a cloak to a knife fight” is Daniel’s perfectly dry response to this slaying.
Considering Daniel's tenaciousness throughout the interview sessions, it makes sense that the thread's final pull comes from picking at inconsistencies. In the first season, Daniel couldn’t let go of whether it was raining when Louis hooked up with Jonah in the Bayou, and given how far this dates back, you can forgive Louis for misremembering the weather. In the finale, this specificity is an equally pointed and precise weapon. At first, Bogosian’s nonchalant delivery remains consistent with previous back-and-forths, but the casualness is a ruse so Daniel can twist the knife. The reporter is the least powerful in the room, yet he is the nuclear bomb that blows up this nearly 80-year relationship.
Walking the line between dread and excitement is no small feat as Daniel builds to the humdinger revelation that Armand directed the trial. I wanted to throw up and cheer during the sequence when Daniel asks about seemingly unconnected moments covered in Season 1. This series constantly reminds us that everything is a matter of perspective and memories aren’t always the truth. In addition, clues have been hidden in plain sight, from Daniel’s penchant for writing notes on scrips to something some eagle-eyed viewers noticed last week. How could Sam (Christopher Geary) be in two different places during the trial?
Louis has always been somewhat of an unreliable narrator, and the discovery that Armand can fog memories adds to this. But Louis isn’t as forgetful as he has been portrayed, and while the term gaslighting is overused, he has been made to believe that his memories are faulty — even when they aren’t.
It is a one-two blow that Armand was an active participant in Claudia’s death, and it was Lestat who saved Louis from a similar fiery fate. Yes, Armand might be an ancient vampire, but he never looks smaller or more pitiful as he tries to suggest the script is a forgery. Whether you want to call this a dance or a chess match, watching Bogosian, Anderson, and Zaman go head-to-head each week as the dynamics continually shift has been a pleasure to behold. Regardless of how thrilled I am by the third season synopsis, I will miss this masterclass.
Will Claudia Haunt Them?
In the penultimate episode, Claudia tells the paying audience that she will haunt them all from beyond the grave (even if there isn’t an afterlife). If Lestat can linger in Louis’ mind as Dreamstat, I sincerely hope she doesn’t let her two vamp dads get a moment of peace (Dreamdia, anyone?). It seems that Sam Reid agrees with me. "I really hope, should we continue, that she haunts him, because I just love Delainey so much,” Reid told Entertainment Weekly. Better yet, give Claudia agency by turning her into a ghost rather than a hallucination. Hayles has been an exceptional force throughout Claudia’s Season 2 arc, and I am not ready to say goodbye yet.
Who Are the Talamasca?
In April, AMC greenlit a third series within the Immortal Universe, centering on the Talamasca organization, which is tasked with monitoring, tracking, and even containing supernatural creatures like vampires and witches. As agents of the secret society, Raglan James (Justin Kirk) and Rashid (Bally Gill) have given Daniel materials that blow apart Louis and Armand’s companionship. While they have aided Daniel (and even edited his book), they have their own agenda, and there is more than enough material to play out. Given how they have both added bite (excuse the pun) during their supporting turns, I hope Kirk and Gill will have roles in this series.
What Does Louis and Lestat’s Reunion Mean for their Future?
Whether you are a vampire or not, returning to a place stained with memories on every corner is an odd sensation. And even more so when your former home is now an integral fixture on a ghost tour. Truth and fiction intersect in describing what happened in that house, speaking to how grisly stories often take on a sensational tone. Yes, horrors occurred in the residence of 1132 Rue Royale, but Claudia was not a child bride.
Louis playing tourist is an amuse-bouche to the main event, and it is destabilizing to witness Lestat in the present day—especially when he gives Siri a command. Sure, he might be using an iPad, but the disheveled Lestat in his shabby, once-beautiful robe and his initial comments suggest his mind and body haven’t moved forward. Notably, this is the first time we see the French vampire without the interview parameters, meaning the real Lestat has finally appeared. Everything else has been a memory, whether Louis's, Armand's, or Claudia’s (via her diaries). This isn’t to say we should dismiss this previous portrayal because all of these pieces are vital to the toxic relationship jigsaw.
For each, this reunion is part confession, part apology, cramming in 70-plus years of regret. It is haunting and horny to see this pairing again, a combination that is fitting for this universe. Because they haven’t been physically this close all season (hallucination aside), it adds an extra punch to their close proximity. By the time they embrace, it could topple the rickety house over (hurricane or not), and with all the players involved, Interview with the Vampire continues to depict one of TV's most complex love stories.
When did Daniel Become A Vampire?
On top of everything else this finale has already dished out, there is one last twist. No, I am not talking about Daniel’s bestseller, but what better way to find out his book, “Interview with the Vampire,” has sold more than five million copies in four months than with a combative appearance on a local Atlanta news station? I can’t think of one. But this isn’t the biggest surprise, as Daniel’s sunglasses aren’t just a fashion choice. Later, he starts chatting with Louis without a phone, and young Daniel gets his vamp wish. Thankfully, Daniel is the number one vampire expert, and he can put his research into practice — just think of the possibilities! Will Daniel finally get to meet Lestat?
Leaving so many parts of Daniel’s turning unanswered only adds to the anticipation. Knowing that the idea of turning a vampire repulses Armand and has never done it before emphasizes how much Daniel got under Armand’s skin. The ancient vampire is typically unflappable, but no one pushes the ancient vampires’ buttons quite like Daniel Molloy. Whether in 1973, when Armand found the college student “fascinating,” or in 2022 when Daniel picked and prodded until he found incriminating evidence. But when and where did Armand turn Daniel? Was it straight after Louis left for New Orleans? Or did he bide his time before striking? And where is Armand now? Only time — and a third season — will tell.
Is Louis in Danger?
Louis is very much feeling himself at the end of the finale as he embraces the single vamp life. Not only is he wearing something that isn’t black, but costume designer Carol Cutshall has added a pop of Claudia yellow to his ensemble via a blocky YMC cardigan. Speaking of Claudia’s signature shade, Louis has hung the dress his daughter died in on his wall as a memorial, but he isn’t living in a mausoleum or stuck in his past — there is also a painting of his brother Paul. In telling Daniel his story, Louis exudes a lightness we previously hadn’t seen, and the Dubai apartment is not the fancy prison it once was. Daniel thinks Louis should find somewhere safe to lay low because plenty of vampires want Louis dead. It is a genuine concern, and it is rewarding to see how this interviewer-subject relationship has evolved into a true friendship. Yes, they should write a follow-up book together.
Earlier in the episode, Louis doesn’t care if he lives or dies when he takes on the Théâtre des Vampires coven, but this is not history repeating. Instead, It is a sign of how powerful Louis has become in learning what Armand did and didn’t do, and the show has more than earned this character development. Breaking multiple Great Laws has put a target on Louis’ back, and he escalates matters further by directly challenging those who think he should be punished. I am picturing a John Wick-style hit squad of vampires from around the world gearing up to take him down after Louis challenges the naysayers to face him. Or they will slink away into the night, the cowards they are.
Either way, Hart’s hopeful score builds as Louis delivers his DGAF message, adding one final punch suggesting he has reached a sense of peace within himself and his long immortal life. “I own the night,” Louis states. These are emphatic words with which to conclude the season.
Emma Fraser is a contributing freelancer for IGN, covering everything from TV reviews to asking burning questions about Yellowjackets and Stranger Things. They have a decade of experience as a culture writer with bylines at publications including The Daily Beast, Elle, Little White Lies, and Thrillist.
