Jacob Anderson & Delainey Hayles Say Goodbye To Claudia

Warning: SPOILERS for Interview with the Vampire season 2, episode 8!

Interview with the Vampire officially comes to a close in the season 2 finale — Anne Rice’s eponymously titled novel does, that is. AMC has already renewed the show for season 3, which is set to adapt the events of The Vampire Lestat, and the network has even expanded the Immortal Universe further by greenlighting a Talamasca spin-off. Thankfully, creator Rolin Jones has repeatedly emphasized that Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Lestat’s (Sam Reid) love is the heart of the story, meaning fans won’t have to say farewell to the brooding vampire even if his storyline fades out in the source material.

Claudia (Delainey Hayles), however, is a different story. While Hayles could certainly return as a ghost, as well as in visions or flashbacks, Interview with the Vampire season 2 definitely concluded her arc by executing her and her companion Madeleine via sunlight. Season 2, episode 8 saw Louis get his well-earned vengeance against the Théâtre des Vampires in her honor, though it took him several more decades to learn that Armand (Assad Zaman) was the true architect of her demise. The discovery resulted in Daniel (Eric Bogosian) being turned into a vampire while Louis and Lestat embraced once more, but time will tell how either plot will develop.

Screen Rant interviewed Anderson and Hayles about the end of Claudia’s Interview with the Vampire arc and Louis’ choice upon learning the truth about Paris. The actors discussed how it felt to bring Claudia’s final moments to life, Louis’ complicated feelings about Lestat, and what he might do as the show moves into the next books in Anne Rice’s series.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow For Interview With The Vampire’s Delainey Hayles

Screen Rant: The last two episodes were gut-wrenching to watch and overall a wild ride, especially the trial. What was the atmosphere like on set during the trial sequences? How did you prepare yourselves to say goodbye?

Delainey Hayles: Yeah, it was a lot. It was very sad filming it, but I had a lot of fun. I felt very fulfilled afterward, in a way. I think everybody put a lot of hard work into it.

Jacob Anderson: Is it bad to say that it was actually quite a lot of fun? To be honest, I love acting, but my favorite thing about it is that it’s playful. When you’re shooting the scene, obviously, all that s–t comes up in your body and your brain, so you’re screaming internally and feeling all of these things. But it was still really lovely.

The whole gang was there, and I got to sit next to Delainey and Roxane, who are just delightful human beings. Sam was there, and Ben Daniels was there making jokes, though the content of the episode and the scenes were devastating As soon as they said action? Yeah, it was a lot. It was a lot to see and to hear as a sensorial thing, which was pretty overwhelming. But I think because of that, we had a really nice time.

Delainey Hayles: It was really lovely. It really was, and I have so many memories. I feel quite nostalgic right now. We were all on this mission together, and it’s out now.

You did an incredible job with Claudia all season long, but there’s one moment in episode 7 that was my absolute favorite, which is Madeleine saying Claudia is her coven. What goes through your mind at that moment? What are Claudia’s last moments with Madeleine like?

Delainey Hayles: When Madeline says that, I think it’s a shock to Claudia. I think she feels deep happiness inside because it’s something that she’s always wanted. Madeleine calling Claudia her coven is like saying she’s enough out of all the vampires. She doesn’t need a coven because she’s a coven by herself.

I think that’s all that Claudia really needed to hear before she… went somewhere.

Lestat May Be Off The Hook, But Interview With The Vampire With The Vampire Has A Lot to Resolve

What is going through Louis’ mind, on the other hand, when he sees Lestat?

Jacob Anderson: For Louis, I think it’s a really complex mix of emotions. I think an aspect of it is just pure dread and fear and horror, and it really comes down to, “This is where we are. He’s going to kill us.” But then I think the other part of it is a bit of excitement and a little bit of relief to see him walking across that stage and looking so well.

It is f–ked up, but that’s Louis. Louis is this big mix of contradictions at all times, and I really find those moments fun to play because the way that Louis responds in extreme situations is always a little bit surprising and complex.

Claudia has that moment of looking at Lestat, like she’s looking at her father, and that moment haunts him 70 years later. How does it feel to have that power?

Delainey Hayles: Yeah, I think that’s what Claudia wanted as well. She is his daughter, so even in death, she’s giving a performance. But I think, at that moment, she was looking to a parent for help. If she could look back on it now, she’d be like, “Yeah, okay, I did that.” But in that moment, it was turning to a parent out of pure panic and pure pain.

Louis Is Ready For The “Single Vampire” Phase Of His Undead Life

In the final episode, Armand’s last lies are unveiled and the wool is taken off Louis’ eyes. How do you process 70 years of that relationship almost down the drain?

Jacob Anderson: I don’t think he’s ever really trusted that relationship fully. And, really, it’s based on an act of spite. You learn also in episode 8 that part of the conceit of that relationship is, “We are going to be together for as long as Lestat can imagine. We’re going to endure this relationship together, and it’s going to hurt you. It’s going to destroy you.”

So, I think a lot of it is based on spite, but there still is a part of that relationship that is built on tenderness. There’s got to be something between them, otherwise they wouldn’t have done it. I also think they spend a huge amount of time apart. Louis f–ks off fairly regularly when they’re in America; I think he would just disappear and do his own thing, leaving Armand to whatever he was doing.

He’s always had suspicions that there was something else going on there, and that’s why he called Daniel Malloy because Daniel’s the one person who can draw it out of them. He’s the only person that knows them both and has that particular set of skills.

After Louis goes to New Orleans and sees Lestat again, we next see him alone in Dubai saying, “I own the night.” Was the reunion only a temporary reprise for Lestat and Louis, or do we see a romance blossoming again in Interview with the Vampire season 3?

Jacob Anderson: I don’t know. I really don’t. I feel really comfortable with where this season ends; where Interview with the Vampire ends at least. That moment between them is about their shared grief; acknowledging it and finding some reconciliation in the love that they have for each other. A lot of that love was based on tragedy and darkness, so this is now a really lovely place for them to be.

Also, I think Louis is accepting that Vampirism is a gift. That’s one of the final steps and part of his journey to becoming the Vampire Louis, and proudly so. But I think it’s as Louis says, “I’m companion enough for myself.” That’s where he’s at by the end of the season. I don’t think he’s looking for a man. He’s not looking to catch a match. He’s thinking about things and meditating.

About Interview With The Vampire Season 2

The interview continues in season 2. In the year 2022, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) recounts his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Picking up from the bloody events in New Orleans in 1940 when Louis and teen fledgling Claudia (Delainey Hayles) conspired to kill the Vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), Louis tells of his adventures in Europe, a quest to discover Old World Vampires and the Theatre Des Vampires in Paris, with Claudia. It is in Paris that Louis first meets the Vampire Armand (Assad Zaman). Their courtship and love affair will prove to have devastating consequences both in the past and in the future, and Molloy will probe to get to the truths buried within the memories.

Check out our other Interview With The Vampire season 2 chats here:

Interview with the Vampire

Based on Anne Rice’s novel series that began in 1976, Interview with the Vampire is a gothic horror fantasy series that explores the life of Louis de Pointe du Lac through an interview with a journalist. Told through flashbacks of Louis’ life during the interview, the series examines Louis’ relationship with the vampire that turned him, Lestat de Lioncourt, and a teenage girl named Claudia, whom he turns. The series is the first of Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe media franchise.

Cast

Jacob Anderson , Sam Reid , Eric Bogosian , Bailey Bass

Release Date

October 2, 2022

Seasons

2

Streaming Service(s)

AMC Plus

Writers

Rolin Jones

Showrunner

Mark Johnson

Expand