In Rice’s “The Vampire Lestat,” Lestat’s autobiography serves various purposes: he hopes to counter Louis’ published interview, reunite with his vampire lovers, and trigger a human-vampire war once his story goes public. Autobiographies are never exempt from embellishments, and someone like Lestat, who snatches autonomy instead of seeking permission and craves control, cannot be taken at face value, even when he does expose genuine inconsistencies in Louis’ story. In the show, we have not been privy to Lestat’s perspective yet, but we perceive him through Louis and Claudia’s eyes. While Louis’ perception morphs constantly, Claudia’s diaries convey a sense of awe, hatred, and disgust.

Although Claudia’s diaries are key to unlocking Louis’ narrative inconsistencies, her entries are a self-soothing mechanism birthed in the absence of a trusted confidant. Claudia is a maturing adult trapped in the body of an adolescent, and her emotions rage and boil over (for good reason) when it comes to her parents — Lestat, whom she is most similar to, but abhors, and Louis, whom she dotes on, but feels betrayed by. Her desire to seek out others stems from a need to belong, to believe that vampires can provide sanctuary to their kind without being abusive. Her escalating disdain towards Louis is rooted in truth, but should not be used to objectively deconstruct his morality.

Enter Armand, who has a vested interest in making sure the interview documents controlled truths, although we are unaware of his motivations so far. How will Armand perceive Lestat, and how will his shared memories with Louis line up, if at all? If we are to interpret Armand like his book counterpart, there’s reason to exercise caution, while giving his truth a fair chance in this complex web of memory and desire.