Is My Very Nature That of a Devil
In the fourth episode of Interview With The Vampire, Daniel is left to his own devices. Louis is resting, so it gives him a chance to pore over old diaries. These are from the perspective of Claudia though, who calls Louis a black angel that saved her from a fiery fate. In these diaries, Claudia writes about her life before she met Louis and how he changed it for the better. ..
Louis pleads with Lestat to turn Claudia in order to save her life, hastily bringing her to the mansion. Despite being badly burned, he does just that and Claudia becomes stronger than before. She’s revitalized, and shown around the house.
Interestingly, Louis and Claudia can also talk telepathically to one another – something Lestat can’t overhear and which could become integral to the plot moving forward. We shall see! The two men promise not to keep any secrets from one another, and teach Claudia the ways of the vampire together. ..
Claudia goes hunting and her appetite is insatiable. She certainly spices the place up though, but also writes everything out in her diary, which we know Daniel is currently reading. As she does, she spies Lestat and Louis sharing their coffin together. Given their original promise not to keep secrets, it seems they’re doing just that!
Claudia celebrates her death day by indulging in fresh kills and bloodlust. ..
Louis is upset and frustrated after his mother dies, but everything seems to be going good until he gets a call from her. Suddenly, his life is turned upside down and he has to deal with the awkwardness of her funeral.
Claudia has a strong undercurrent of passion throughout the episode. She meets a guy called Charlie, who she ends up catching feelings for.
Claudia and John eventually have sex, but Claudia loses control in the process and bites into John’s neck. With blood dribbling down her chin, Claudia realizes she killed her lover.
Lestat shrugs it off when Claudia shows up with Charlie’s body, pleading with him to help turn her. The thing is, he’s completely dead and that’s out of the question. Instead, Lestat teaches her a lesson and has Claudia watch as Charlie’s body is burned. It’s a lesson never to get too close to mortals.
Claudia is consumed by grief though and harms herself, allowing the sun to sink into and destroy her flesh. With Charlie’s last words ringing in her ears, calling her an angel, Claudia is convinced she’s on the right path and believes there’s so much more fun to be had out there. Promising she’s just getting started, things are left on an ominous note moving forward.
The Episode Review
This week’s episode of Interview With The Vampire follows Claudia instead of Louis, and it works well to get into the mindset of this young girl and understand the highs and lows of vampirism. The fact that she’s struggling to control her abilities, whilst simultaneously setting this trio up like a dysfunctional family, has a nice poetic edge to it, harking back to the idea of teenagers being rebellious and difficult to control.
The episode does well to work as an allegory for coming of age. Just with more bloodshed and killing! However, it does also give this show a slightly different edge, allowing us to switch perspectives so we can see things from an alternate point of view.
This chapter is shorter than the others, but there’s enough here to enjoy all the same. ..
