‘Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 6 “Like Angels Put in Hell By God”

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In this week’s Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, Louis slowly recovers from Lestat’s abuse as Claudia plots his destruction. Present-day Daniel remembers more of his first interview with Louis, leading to one revelation that will change the entire narrative thus far. Read on to see what happened in “Like Angels Put in Hell by God”!

Note: This episode of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire contains depictions of domestic violence and implied sexual assault. For 24/7 help, visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (online.rainn.org) or The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (thehotline.org). For resources for the LGBTQ+ community, The Network/La Red has a specific hotline at 800-832-1901.

One Big Happy Family

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After Lestat’s attack, Louis is in dire shape. His vampire healing works slowly as Claudia nurses him back to health over a period of months. Mentally, he suffers from PTSD as he recalls details of that night. Meanwhile, Lestat tries to send elaborate gifts to apologize, which both he and Claudia coldly refuse (though she is clearly less receptive than Louis).

Claudia: No one here wishes to speak with you.

Lestat: Well, I know he’s upstairs, I can see his silhouette. Perhaps we should let him decide if he wants to see me or not?

[Louis throws Lestat’s entire coffin out of the top window and into the street]

Claudia: How’s that for an answer?

After six years of silence, Lestat resorts to a more personal gift: a song he composed for Louis and recorded on vinyl. But there’s one small detail he includes to get a rise out of Louis: Antoinette singing part of the song.

The bait works, with Louis swimming the width of the Mississippi River to confront Lestat, who is in bed with Antoinette. He’s delighted that Louis came, and he quickly dismisses Antoinette. In the present, Daniel is disappointed that Louis took him back. Louis shares that part of the reason why is the vampire bond between them — it’s a bond that can’t be severed and is stronger than anything humans could share. Daniel scoffs that Stockholm syndrome would be a better description.

Claudia and Louis write a list of requirements before Lestat can move back in, including that he kill Antoinette once and for all and that a now 33-year-old Claudia can pose as Louis’ sister, no relation to Lestat. Another big rule is no more lies, which Claudia immediately puts to the test by asking who made him. Lestat shares the story of his creation at the hands of a vampire named Magnus, who tortured him for weeks before turning him. It’s convincing, though Claudia’s pity is limited.

Moving On

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They begin to live as a family again, even as the people of New Orleans grow suspicious of their origins. Louis tries to bring Claudia and Lestat together. Their only common ground is feeling that Louis’ vegetarian ways make Lestat and Claudia feel shamed and resentful. That aside, Claudia has no interest in making nice despite Lestat’s halfhearted overtures, like bringing her “souvenirs” from his hunts. She’s convinced he’ll be back to his old ways in no time.

Over chess, Claudia pushes for more answers about Lestat’s past, including his first love Nicholas. He is evasive as usual and beats her, but she still taunts him as he storms off.

Louis: You’re ugly when you talk like that.

Claudia: Better ugly than blind.

Claudia turns out to be right as Lestat complains about their new arrangement to a still-alive Antoinette. The two listen outside the apartment he bought for her as she asks for him to keep all his promises to her, which he certainly doesn’t intend to do. Louis is resigned to her presence even as Claudia urges him to leave Lestat for good. She shares her dreams of getting on the next train for New York and starting a new life.

One night, Claudia decides to take her chances and begs Louis one last time to go with her. He tearfully tells her that he’d only hold her back. She’s devastated and reassures him that when (not if) Lestat hurts him again, she’ll always be there for him. As he tells her she doesn’t need him, Claudia sobs in his arms in a rare display of emotion.

She, of all things on the earth, deserved a nice seat and a wide window to watch the countryside blur before the glass. But it was 1939, and the only Negro allowed in first class was the porter. The Negro passenger rode the rear. The Negro vampire made do with what was left, which was fine with her.

Louis

Hiding on the train, Claudia squeals with delight the closer she gets to her destination. But her freedom is short-lived. In a terrifying scene, Lestat kills the train conductor and makes his way to Claudia’s hiding place. Louis is clearly depressed back home and is even contemplating suicide. Lestat figures out that Claudia left, and he refuses to let her go. He mocks what happened with Bruce, revealing that he knows everything about what happened by listening to other vampires’ thoughts.

We endure each other, for Louis’ happiness. So come home, and make him happy. Because if you try this again, Claudia, I won’t snap your leg, defile your pocket, and zoom off on a motorbike. I’ll turn your bones to dust.

Lestat

Turning Predator to Prey

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At home, Louis is shocked to find Claudia sitting in the living room as Lestat mockingly discusses the unfolding invasion of Poland and how lucky it was that their “sister” was still close enough for him to bring her home. Louis now realizes the depth Lestat is willing to sink to, but this realization doesn’t come close to the one Claudia has.

She tells Louis telepathically that she has a solution to their problems: kill Lestat, and free them both. She plays chess again with Lestat as Louis tries to talk her out of it. In a first, she outwits Lestat and beats him at chess, proving that she does, in fact, have enough smarts to beat him.

And I want to tell you something else now. A secret of all secrets, between you and me. The secret is, Louis… you want to kill him too. And you will enjoy doing it.

Claudia

As Lestat explodes in anger at Claudia’s win, Louis realizes that the only real path forward is to kill the vampire.

In the present, Daniel falls asleep and dreams of his first meeting with Louis in San Francisco all those years before. A younger Daniel passionately tells Louis about his love for interviewing ordinary people as Louis correctly guesses that Daniel is also interested in him romantically. He agrees to an interview with Daniel and calls to a man in the shadows, asking if he’d like to join. As he steps into the light, we see that it is Rashid, who is clearly not the human he’s pretending to be in the present. Daniel startles awake at the revelation.

Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET, with the series also available on AMC+. AMC+ subscribers also get the subsequent week’s episode early.

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