The Vampire Lestat Recap: Episode 2, “Toledo”

Lestat’s tour is in full swing as The Vampire Lestat continues with episode 2, “Toledo.” After an encounter with the Tooth Team Fang Gang in the hotel, Lestat has opened up no fewer than a dozen cans of worms and he has a lot to answer for. Thankfully, though, he has someone very important by his side to help. Here is The Vampire Lestat recap of episode 2, “Toledo.”

The Failures, Album 8, Side A

Lestat’s (Sam Reid) narration begins by thanking the listener for returning after the “oedipiphany of the last hour,” which would, of course, refer to his mother, Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle), making an entrance.

The tour bus is rolling through Toledo and Lestat’s thoughts have turned to how it is that he became the man and vampire he is today. He credits the relationship with his mother for it. “Kiss, grope, aftercare, onward,” he says. 

We’re in France’s Auvergne of 1772. There’s a graveyard in the foreground and a large estate in the distance. The Lioncourt family is at the end of its run as an influential family and the cemetery is filled with Lestat’s five deceased siblings.

Inside, a young Lestat is eating with Gabriella at one end of a long table while a monk tells his father, the Marquis, that Lestat could receive a quality education. When asked, the young boy stutters severely and his older brother, Augustin, mocks him while his other brother laughs. 

The monk says they can help with his stutter, but his father mocks him and suggests they only want him because of his title, which was won on the “blood-soaked fields of France.” Gabriella finally looks up from her book and tells him, in Italian, that he has won nothing and it was all other men who claimed these victories. This draws ire from his brothers, who cite the great battles of days gone bye. 

When the monk says Lestat would find “consolation in philosophy” at the monastery, Gabriella asks about the course of study at Haute-Loire. He looks at the Marquis as he responds, which leads her to snap at him. “I asked the question,” she says. The monk, appropriately chastised, replies: Aristotle, Erasmus, Aquinas. Gabriella unfastens her brooch. “Cicero, Alberi, Bruno,” she tells him, tossing the brooch across the table as payment before returning to her book.

Several years pass and an older Lestat is back in his place at the table, focusing on his food while his father berates him for bringing actors to the local inn and buying them wine. He’s furious that the tenants want the Marquis to pay for it. His brother’s wife now joins them at the table with a baby.

Lestat’s narration continues as we see Gabriella still reading her book. Lestat says his mother never had a chance to leave and was stuck there after the marquis promised her “preservation” through marriage. 

The Marquis is furious that Lestat has been keeping company with actors. Lestat, whose stutter has improved a great deal, insists to his mother that he was moved by the actors. She gives him a little smile. Lestat, in narration, says Gabriella paid a midwife to make it so she could never have children anymore to save herself from the Marquis demanding more children. Lestat is her last child and there’s no mistaking that she favors him. 

As the Marquis rants about Lestat holding his hat like a beggar, Lestat says he was doing it to be like the actors, which infuriates his father. “Better an actor than a cabbage,” Gabriella says under her breath. Gregoire demands that she look up from her book when speaking to the Marquis, so she looks up and repeats “cabbage” with Lestat because it’s their inside joke. “The cabbage heads with cabbage brains and cabbage wives, all speaking cabbage,” he tells us.  The Marquis isn’t amused and challenges Lestat to say it one more time. He does, with a slight stutter, and then his brothers attack. During the fight, Lestat stabs Augustin as Gabriella returns to her reading and Lestat watches her as he passes out. 

Years go by and we return to the table and this time Reid’s Lestat is there and his mother is sitting beside him while Augustin is in her place. The people of the town have gathered to ask the aged Marquis for protection from the wolves. He says the wolves have been there for years and they will move on, but Gabriella knows better and says that they will do nothing because that’s all they ever do. Augustin says there’s nothing they can do, to which Gabriella yells out “But be men!”

Enraged, something clicks in Lestat’s mind. He sees it as a challenge from his mother, who wants to see if he will rise up and be better than his brothers and father. He rises from the table and storms out of the hall. We see him riding off, baiting the wolves. His dog is quickly killed and his horse shares the same fate, but Lestat remains steady, firing his gun. 

Next we see Gabriella enter Lestat’s room. He’s sitting on the ground, bloodied, and the maid says he’s refusing food and care. Gabriella says the town’s residents are outside hoping to pay homage to the man who killed five wolves. “Eight,” Lestat tells her. He’s got a deep gash in his chest and he’s in shock after losing his beloved dog and horse in the fight. Gabriella slowly applies a salve to her son’s wounds, telling him how she imagines a different life where she has the freedom to bathe naked in a stream and take every man in the village to bed if she so chooses. Lestat is rapt as he listens to her pouring her soul out to him. “In that moment, I belong to no one,” she says. “Except for me,” Lestat adds. She coughs and tells her son she’s dying and won’t survive the winter. When she finishes, she tells him to come down and meet the villagers. 

In the present, Lestat awakens in his coffin from a nightmare. Daniel (Eric Bogosian) is showering in the bus while Christine (Jeanine Serralles) is downstairs telling the band that they all signed unilateral NDAs and she controls them. Alex (Seamus Patterson) knows what he saw in the hotel but Christine shuts him down. When Lestat walks in, he asks where they are. “Buckeye State,” Christine replies. Salamander (Ryan Kattner), who is reading Interview with the Vampire, asks if he has the Fire Gift. His book suddenly catches on fire. 

When he asks how he got there, she nods toward “Sophia” sitting in the corner. It’s Gabriella. Larry (Noah Reid) wants to know if they’re going to talk about Lestat being a vampire and keeping it a secret from them. TC (Sarah Swire) can’t believe he didn’t say he can fly or set things on fire with his mind. They have questions. Lestat, in narration, says he could have ended the tour there but they sounded so good in Detroit. As the questions pour in, like whether he plays baseball like the vamps in Twilight, Lestat begs them to ask one question at a time. 

Alex wants to know if Lestat kills people. Lestat says he doesn’t have to kill people, he can do the Little Drink. Fareed (Gopal Divan) says they get blood from a blood farm. Daniel walks in and sees “Sophia” and introduces himself, asking who her maker is. She changes the subject and asks about blood types. 

A band meeting is called because everyone needs answers. The bus stops and only the band remains onboard. Lestat says vampires have been around for thousands of years and he has protected the band on several occasions because their music is a crime in the vampire world. But they don’t need to worry because he has the blood of Akasha in him. TC asks if all their songs are about “that guy Lewis,” which puts Lestat on the spot. Alex wants to call the police, and he’s not going to stay put. But he’s the only one who wants to leave. Lestat reads their minds and gives Alex a taste of what his bandmates are thinking. It’s shocking to them. As Alex leaves the bus behind, Lestat tells him telepathically to take his time before coming back. 

The Failures, Album 12, Side B

Lestat and Gabriella are enjoying an evening together. They’re catching up. She teases him about their relationship and Lestat says they need to have a pact if she’s going to stay with the band. No more sex. They come up with a story about meeting in Italy. When he asks how long she’s going to stay after he only saw her twice in the last century, her response is “long enough” because she wants to see him sing. She terrorizes a food delivery robot while she tells him how she wants to understand this world that so fascinates her son. 

Lestat offers to take her to dinner. They prey upon a group of glass salesmen who were out celebrating a big sale. They use the Cloud Gift to travel around Toledo following the salesmen as they golf, eat seafood, go to the casino and then hit up a strip club. There were only three left by the time they reached the strip club. Lestat and Gabriella watch the salesmen while they’re being watched themselves, by Rashid (Bally Gill), who is working in the club. Lestat imagines that he sees his brother, Augustin, and wonders if the “oracle” Baby Jenks sent him. 

As Gabriella deals with one of the drunk salesmen, Lestat gets a call from Christine about meeting with Thomas Pitt, the owner of the hotel in Detroit that was damaged during the brawl with the Fang Gang. Mr. Pitt wants a fan experience, and Lestat asks if he’ll have to have sex with him. 

For the moment, Lestat just wants to focus on his time with Gabriella, who is a free spirit and much better company than anyone else. Gabriella suggests one of the strippers as a candidate for the “Great Conversion.” There’s one salesman left and they follow him to his hotel. They’re going to share the kill. Gabriella asks her son if he has a lot of sex, and whether he likes it as much as the blood. She cuts his neck and drinks from him. The salesman leaves the hotel room and calls his wife and kids. It stops them from killing him. 

The Failures, Album 15, Side B

Christine is arguing with Lemuel (Moses Sumney) about the damage at the hotel. He cites comparable damage, which she scoffs at considering there aren’t many vampire fights to compare anything to. Lestat looks furious as he gazes across the table. Lemuel says that according to Mr. Pitt, Lestat is the one who called the meeting. Christine denies it as Louis (Jacob Anderson) gives Lestat a little nod. 

Louis reminds Lestat that he stole his doctor and biographer and trashed his hotel. Lestat didn’t know it was Louis’ hotel. Louis thinks Lestat’s songs are a cry for help so he came to see him. Lestat reminds Louis about all of the insults in the book but Louis blames Daniel and the Talamasca. When Lestat asks about Louis employing Sam Barclay, Louis says he’s paying down his debts. “Bottom Line Louis,” Lestat says. 

They get into a fight about Armand, with Lestat asking about their home in Sausalito. Lestat asks Louis if he’s sleeping with his lawyer, and Louis says he is because Lemuel is emotionally unavailable. Louis asks the same of Lestat and Christine, to which Lestat says of course they are. Lestat asks if Louis is enjoying this exclusive fan experience and tells Christine to give Louis two tickets to the concert. Louis says he only needs one because Lemuel doesn’t like Lestat’s music — though he does love the merch. When Lemuel says he has healthy margins, Louis says he owns 45% of it and it makes Lestat walk out. 

The next night, Lestat sings a song to Louis. Daniel is directing his documentary from offstage. He wants them to film Sophia and Louis. “He is the story,” Daniel tells his cameraman. 

Daniel asks Louis what brings him to Toledo. When Louis says he’s still upset, Daniel offers to fight it out after the show. Louis agrees. Louis focuses in on the music as Daniel gets a visit from Rashid. 

Suddenly, time stands still and Lestat flies up to sing to Louis as Gabriella watches from below. Lestat hands him the copy of Interview with the Vampire that has all of his notes in it before returning to the stage to finish the song. 

Later, at a hotel lounge, Daniel gives Louis the story about how the documentary came together. Lestat explains in narration that this is his story and he’s speaking for them even though he wasn’t there, because this is his story about how he “woke the Queen and unleashed her wrath upon the world.” He’s everywhere. 

Louis asks how Daniel is adapting to being a vampire. He says he’s taken up bowling and he has a “weird thing” that happens where people disappear around him and he feels Armand’s presence. Louis says it sounds weird. Daniel apologizes for publishing the book, but he can’t fly or start fires so he wanted to get something out of it. When Daniel mentions Louis’ alter ego and all of his business ventures, Louis says he “saw money on the table” and went after it. 

Louis says he didn’t like himself in Daniel’s book. He praises the writing but says it was a “hard read.” When Daniel laughs about Lestat not liking the part on the train with Claudia, Louis says that he and Lestat were getting close and the book hurt him. Daniel reveals that he called his daughters after becoming a vampire and ended up hanging up. Louis reveals that he saw Claudia in New York, but it wasn’t her. It’s a woman in her 20s who works in a diner. He followed her and ordered coffee and a donut just to watch her. “It’s not her. She’s not there,” he says. 

Daniel tells Louis not to hate him, but his producers want to meet him. Raglan James (Justin Kirk) walks up with Rashid. Louis is stunned to see Rashid again as Raglan says they worked together in Dubai. Daniel says the Talamasca has him on retainer and he said he would introduce them. “Not cool, Daniel,” Louis says as Daniel gets up to leave. 

Back at an Italian restaurant, Gabriella looks at pictures of Louis and wants to know what Louis knows about her. He told her she died. Gabriella recalls what Lestat looked like after Louis and Claudia tried to kill him in New Orleans. But she can see why Lestat gave Louis a daughter. She understands the pull Louis must have on him. 

When Lestat starts singing in French, Gabriella says it’s his father’s tongue but he reminds her it’s his language, too. As he sings we see the night Lestat returned to Gabriella’s deathbed and made her into a vampire. They return to the estate and kill Lestat’s brothers and fathers, leaving them for their families to find the next day. They hear their screams as they sleep in one of the crypts nearby. The memory bothers Lestat a great deal. 

In narration, Lestat says that everyone has some kind of incest in their family tree. It’s different for vampires, he says. 

Louis is listening to Raglan James recount all of the crimes being committed by the Fang Gang. They’re operating an illegal blood farm from their home and they were behind the power outage in Detroit. Louis can’t get past Real Rashid’s name actually being Rashid, to which Raglan questions the actual pronunciation of the name. Rashid doesn’t have a preference. 

Louis doesn’t care about the Fang Gang, and wants to know what they want from him. Raglan says the Talamasca is understaffed and the growth in vampire numbers isn’t helping. They’re limited by rules — they clean up but don’t make the mess. Raglan reminds Louis of his track record at dispatching vampires in Paris and Dubai, along with the death of Agent Talbot (whom no one liked anyway). Louis insists he only kills people who come for him first. 

Raglan James says the Fang Gang’s leader is Killer. They’ve been tracking him since 1925. When they reveal his name was Bruce and that Claudia spent some time with him, Louis’ eyes harden. Suddenly they have his full attention. 

The Vampire Lestat airs Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on AMC and streams the same day on AMC+. Check out my episode guide with information about upcoming episodes, recaps and the release schedule.