One Change The Vampire Lestat Gets Right, and One Big Miss (Based on the Trailers)

With so much content pouring forth from the official AMC social media accounts, fans have been scouring every tidbit looking for clues about the upcoming season of The Vampire Lestat. I’ve lost count of all the teasers and trailers at this point, though admittedly I watch each and every one no fewer than a dozen times because of course I do. As a fan of the books and a fan of the show, there are two things that jump out to me about the changes that Rolin Jones has made to the TVL canon. One’s a big hit, and one is…not so much. But trust me, it’s not what you think!

Urine not kidding

Seven months ago, fans were treated to this extended first look at The Vampire Lestat. And what a treat it was. One very noticeable moment takes place around the 2:24 mark. You’ll see Lestat (Sam Reid) and Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) peeing blood into urinals.

It never made sense to me that vampires didn’t have to pee. With all the blood they consume, it stands to reason that they would need to rid themselves of all that fluid. Anne Rice’s explanation was that once vampires shuffle off their mortal coils, they no longer need to perform all of the necessary bodily functions.

Showrunner Rolin Jones changed things up by giving vampires the ability to drink, smoke, have sex and, evidently, pee.  The blood pee is kind of hard to look at since we’ve all been conditioned to seek help at the sign of bloody pee, but it really works for the story and it makes perfect sense. All that blood has to go somewhere….

Justice for ferns

Truthfully, one thing has been bugging me for a while now and it’s all tied to this teaser:

Lestat arrives for his interview with Daniel and spots a lamp and a fern and declares that if he sees that lamp and fern in a room, he’s not entering. (Of course, he’s already in the room, so…)

I love this teaser because Sam Reid is playing Lestat in total devastating diva mode and I’m here for it.

However, I think Lestat should appreciate ferns.

There. I’ve said it.

Lestat and Louis lived in a flat on Royal Street and ferns are a major component of Royal Street balcony decor. One of my favorite sections in The Tale of the Body Thief is the part where Lestat is bringing the flat back to life and he describes all of the plants that he has brought in to remind him of the past. He appreciated the plants, and that includes ferns.

I completely understand why Lestat might not care for the lamp or, God forbid, the goblet!, but the fern…I think the fern hate was misguided. I’m not saying we need a #JusticeForFerns hashtag or anything…or maybe we do?

Naturally, this is all tongue in cheek (kind of…I happen to like ferns). Rolin Jones and his team have done some wonderful things with Anne Rice’s source material and I can’t wait to see where they go this season and in all the future seasons of the show. (But seriously, Rolin, the ferns!)

The Vampire Lestat premieres Sunday, June 7, at 9pm ET/PT on AMC and AMC+.