Assad Zaman as Armand - Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat _ Episode 04 - Photo Credit: Sophie Giraud/AMC
Whether you call him maitre, gremlin, Amadeo, Arun or Armand, one thing is for certain: the vampire Armand is a character who always keeps you guessing. Throughout The Vampire Lestat thus far we’ve heard the battle cry that “Armand told the truth.” When it comes to Daniel, that might be true. According to Assad Zaman, it’s really hard to pin down Armand’s version of the truth and it’s Daniel Eric Bogosian) who is just starting to figure that out.
In episode 3, “Toronto,” Armand admits he’s an addict during an AA meeting. By the time episode 4 rolls around, he’s going on a full-blown apology tour, but the only person who seems to get a genuine apology is Daniel. For Daniel, it’s too little too late and quite possibly another lie from his maker…until he realizes that maybe it’s not a lie.
“The Devil’s Road” was a turning point for Daniel Molloy. During Daniel’s bowling trip, Armand shows up and wants to read him a letter. Daniel isn’t in the mood for letters or apologies that are two years too late. He gives Armand a piece of his mind and storms away, presumably heading back to the tour bus.
Of course, things aren’t so great between Daniel and Lestat (Sam Reid), either. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist is still sore that Lestat played him during their sit-down interview in episode 3. Lestat insists that what he shared was a gift between vampires and not for the documentary. When Lestat sees that Daniel is still upset, he drops a truth bomb: “Missing the psychodrama of Dubai? Do you want me to play dumb like your maker and pretend you’re two steps ahead of me?”
Lestat was being cruel to Daniel with that zinger, but little did he know he was actually opening the door to something even bigger in the journalist’s brain. Questions started churning in his brain.
Later, at the concert, Daniel watched as Lestat sang his heart out to “Big Boss,” a song he’d written especially for Armand. The diss track stung and Armand ended up leaving. Daniel watched the interaction with something akin to compassion for his maker in his expression; he might not like his “dad” but it looks like Daniel might be protective of him, too. It’s ok for Daniel to hate him, but he’s not too keen on seeing Lestat treating him so poorly.
Outside the concert, Daniel confronts Armand:
Daniel: Was Dubai bullshit?
Armand: What?
Daniel: Me breaking you down. You knew everything the whole time, didn’t you? It was just theater.
Armand: No. No. I swear. It was love.
Daniel: I’m a vamp now. Loving Louis doesn’t shut it off.
Armand: It wasn’t my love for Louis, Daniel. But it was love.
Naturally, this revelation is going to have far-reaching consequences for Daniel as he reconciles the violence of being transformed against his will. Daniel thought he was outsmarting Armand by revealing the truth to Louis when Armand was merely waiting for it to happen. Perhaps Armand even wanted it to happen and allowed the Talamasca to infiltrate his home with Louis in Dubai to give Daniel access to the weapons that would destroy his life with Louis. Perhaps, with Louis out of the way, Armand saw a path to be with Daniel.
In The Vampire Lestat: After Dark episode “After The Devil’s Road,” Zaman talks to host Lizzie Bassett about Armand’s present situation with Daniel: “It’s tricky, ’cause, with Armand, you never truly know. But I…I feel with him, with every speech that Armand gives, there’s always…it’s, you know, when someone tells a lie through telling truths… You’re telling lots of different kind of truths that skirt through a big lie. The little truth here is, I think, is the admission that the love that was distracting him in season 2 was for Molloy and not for Louis.”
So there we have it…Armand was acting out of love for Daniel, not Louis. We’re on the cusp of The Devil’s Minion here, folks, and it looks like Armand was playing a game all his own this whole time.
Armand knew what Daniel was up to in Dubai. He knew Daniel was going to obliterate Armand’s relationship with Louis, and he allowed it. Armand allowed it because he loved Daniel.
This is going to be a very fascinating thing to watch. Daniel now realizes that Armand has very complicated, but very loving, feelings for him. He’ll be forced to reconcile that will all of the anger and resentment toward his maker that’s been building over the past two years.
Now, clearly the battle cry that “Armand told the truth” is more about the vampire laws and vampire lore and all of that, but it’s pretty darn funny to think that the in-show “Armand truthers,” including the Fang Gang, all think that Armand is some bastion of vampire truth, vampire justice and the vampire way. But the real truth is that Armand plays fast and loose with the truth every moment of every day…except, it seems, when it comes to Daniel.
Only time will tell how this all plays out.
The Vampire Lestat airs Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on AMC and streams the same day on AMC+.
