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How to write without spoilers...
Hmm....
Armand is old and powerful and isn't used to anyone talking to him that way.... fearlessly.
And from what we saw of them in flashbacks... did something happen in the past we haven't seen?
Taking only the show into account, it's a bit difficult to explain, but I think it's Assad's micro expressions that really sold me on the pairing.
In S1, it's the most obvious in the scene where Daniel wonders what Rashid tastes like (and Armand's reaction to that conversation), plus when Louis offers Daniel the gift and it's clear Armand feels-some-sort-of-way about this (and Daniel's refusal).
As for the first episode, I love how amused Armand looks every time they're throwing jabs at each other, so far it's the most.. animated we've seen him? So even if I didn't know anything about the books, I think now I'd be able to pick up on the enemies-to-lovers potential regardless.
The Lana Del Rey song at the end tho 😭😭
Armandaniel getting amvs is amazing. I never thought I'd see the day when my ship would get the Lana Del Rey treatment. Now I need an edit with Ariana Grande's break up with ur girlfriend.
OH MY GOD 😭😭😭 Thank you so much for this! It cracked me for a solid couple of mins. Will immediately send it to my friend who's not only a show-only IWTV fan but also a rabid community fan.
It's the tension between them and the way Daniel dismisses him. The flirting not flirting. It's a classic trope. Daniel acting as though Armand is no one he fears, while low-key knowing this is pissing Armand off, meanwhile Armand has to act chill but his interest is peaked by the way Daniel treats him.
It's all tension baby because they wanna FUCK
I would say THIS! I haven’t read the books (though I plan to) but what I’ve gathered is that they have some sort of history (also basing this on the fact that Armand was in the flashback dream).
Aside from that I did see a lot of tension, especially in s2 ep1
As someone that hasn't read the books but knows a bit about their history in them (that I won't spoil), if you have that in mind whilst watching their interactions it's pretty clear.
I don't know how the show is going to portray their past, but from trailers and the way they've promoted the season I believe they aren't "queerbaiting" us, to put it mildly.
Having that in mind, every conversation takes a new (and way more flirty) vibe. Personally I love Daniel's general intrigue/caution towards Armand, whilst in Armand's eyes and general mannerisms you can see he is remembering something (that we still haven't seen) and laughing at his own private joke. Also, Assad Zaman's flirty smiles don't lie!
In order to see it, you have to bear in mind that this show does Not require chemistry to be the nice kind for it to go anywhere, lol. Love and hate and fear are very close together as long as there's intensity, and in s2e1, Daniel and Armand are definitely paying each other more thought than they were previously.
Daniel is hostile towards Armand because of the Rashid deception, and Armand seems to be annoyed that he has to put up with Daniel's presence. I don't see any flirting, but I think other people are seeing it because they know about their relationship in the book.
In S1 when he's still playing Rashid, and Armand realises he has revealed too much and Daniel found out he was originally from Crimea, the way Armand bites his lip is so flirty to me? Like 'oops daddy'? lmao it's moments like that. Mostly from Armand toward Daniel. However, Daniel is uncharacteristically flustered around Armand. He is afraid of him, of course, but he's also intrigued. According to Eric, Daniel is attracted to both Armand and Louis.
In the newest episode, the way Armand rests his chin on his hand and gazes at Daniel feels like blatant flirting or expressing obvious interest to me.
It could be us book readers projecting what we know happened in the books onto the show, but the show is also deliberately planting the seeds for when what happened in the books also happens in the show.
Chemistry is off the charts, Daniel’s annoyance and defiance seems to intrigue Armand. Of course there’s more to it but even then, I really like how the actors connect with each other so well and I think it translates well on screen
Even without book spoilers-there is massive undercurrent of sexual tension. If you’ve ever had something similar with someone you didn’t get along with, it might be easier to spot. I would pay more attention to Assad’s lingering reactions. They are telling.
Honestly, this only works if you ignore everything going on in the scenes. Most of Daniel's stares were because he was wondering who/what Rashid was. At the bar, I could buy that Armand was flirting with Daniel, but it also just seems like he was staking ownership in Louis. Same as when he was feeding Louis his blood in front of Daniel. He smiles bc he has Louis
I don’t agree, because of scenes like when Louis offers to turn Daniel, Armand looks devastated and has to excuse himself.
Also, even despite the bickering, there is a tenderness to the way Armand cares for Daniel’s health and medical issues which don’t fully make sense if he’s just a random stranger he doesn’t care about.
Edit: also, how can I forget the scene where Louis notices than Daniel is literally thinking about how Armand tastes?? And Daniel tells him to stay out of his head??
Armand doesn't look devastated in that scene imo, but shocked. Like Louis has gone beyond what they had agreed on.
And having health care in the house seems to be a prerequisite for Daniel staying around for the length of the interview. It's Louis who asks Rashid to cover Daniel with a blanket when he doses off mid-interview. Rashid seemed to be taking orders from Louis regarding Daniel's care, e.g. I'll inject him with abc to wake him up if you want.
Daniel wonders what Rashid tastes and then what he weighs because Louis had drank for an unusually long time from him, more than he did with Damek.
Completely ignoring the books, most fans are invested in the Lestat/Louis pairing and believe them to be endgame. Armand/Louis haven't had their time to shine yet - we only see them in a very cold environment where they are putting on a front for Daniel. The dynamic between Armand & Louis is tepid (thus far).
*MEANWHILE*, Daniel has crackling energy with everyone - and while we've seen Louis experience a range of emotions throughout the show, we've only seen Armand crack his calm veneer with Daniel. Daniel gets under his skin - we get to see Armand ruffled. It's a much more interesting dynamic than what we've seen between Armand & Louis, and it allows the audience to see glimpses of the "real" Armand. It's very easy for audiences to perceive this tension as *sexual* tension.
And (avoiding book spoilers) we know that they met up at some point when Daniel was young and...something happened.
I hate to be disrespectful, but it's one of those things that maybe you have to experience yourself to understand it. People give both subtle and loud cues to demonstrate affinity, disdain, and anger. This is even more so when you venture out off the typical hetero dynamic. The queer communities have always had to rely on the arts of communication to mingle without alerting the straights. The queer communities delight in the art of speech and art to sort of indirectly convey our humanity because of the risk brought to us historically if we outright just let ourselves be human. When you look at any media, it helps to account for any cultural and social differences to appreciate that humanity's never been linear nor brought out the same way. With that in mind (warning: I type fast):
The big tell is Daniel and Armand having TOO much friction and from the get-go. Tension is often malicious at first, your gut telling you of danger. Others get it as "electricity", when there's positive joy from the connection. In other words, it is what a lot of people call "chemistry". There's harmony in the energy between the pairing. Tension is the more malicious version, where there's push and pull out of someone in the pair trying to reject the electrcity. Think of when you pull a rope too tight, in order to hold on you have to put tension on both ends for it to line up. That's what's happening here. The push is coming from Daniel, Daniel's entirety is registering there's something to how Rashid/Armand's hanging around Daniel. Of all the possible disguises Armand could've picked, he chose that of the butler. Being the butler gives Armand plenty of excuses to be in everyone's business. He's using maidservice as a reason to interact indirectly with Daniel. If you saw S2E1, you know this is removed now. Armand's got no reason to interact with Daniel now if he's got an army of help to do so. We also see in the end that Armand's checking Daniel's life through the tablet.
Going back to S1 for a minute: The sexy sucking off at the table while Dan's interviewing. Ethically speaking, per etiquette, that was the wrong time to be doing that. Daniel looked visibly distressed, he's shaking and looked like he would've happily burried himself under the ground. Armand, instead of tuning out like the vamps normally do, is fixedly staring at Daniel the ENTIRE time Louis is on his neck. The dude looked like he was recalling/imagining Dan on his neck, not Louis. When they finish and Louis looks all cocky and satiated, Armand's looking "meh"; all senses focusing on Daniel until Louis voices out what Daniel was thinking about him. Armand looks thrown off by the info. Tries to sass at Daniel that he wouldn't be letting him near his neck despite Daniel not thinking that and saying he's a "savory" guy, thus humbling Armand by rejecting him (his offerings). Whatever glimpse of optimism Armand got from the whole interaction suddenly went up in smoke from Daniel's rejection.
End of S1 when Daniel's provoking Louis to remember, Armand removes the disguise, tells Daniel he might not save him from Louis' reacting and again...saves Daniel. Now, one would think Armand could've helped and used his powers to interfere wirhout dropping the act or removing the "costume", but he did. He's using the opportunity to trigger Dan's neurons. Armand's now procuring to use any opportunity to train Daniel into remembering Armand. Armand's realized he doesn't have the password to umlock what he did to Daniel's head. Armand's testing different cues. When Armand starts flying, you can see Daniel's eyes "computing". He's looks like he's about to have a small panic attack before Armand thinks of giving Daniel a book to help him register what he's seeing. Daniel has "seen" this before. We also register a few more facts: Louis is super sensitive and has no control of his emotion, in fact, his emotions make him dangerous, especially to someone in full control of them like Daniel. Two, if Armand didn't care whether Louis hurt anyone at all, he wouldn't be there, but he is. The place is huge, the vamps are fast. Armand knows Louis can go from 0 to 360 in seconds. Armand clearly tells us he's acting for Daniel. So yeah, while Daniel is oblivious, at this point, the audience has been told Armand's NOT. AT ALL.
The banter at the table of S2E1. Daniel alludes Armand to Bollywood's most popular and beloved actor in recent memory. Armand's some sort of South Asian here. This was rare praise in part of Daniel, he basically called either attractive but also called him a generic South Asian by naming a famous one instead of one whose looks align with Armand's. Throwing that line and seeing Armand's reaction means Armand DOES identify with the South Asian cultures is a huge confirmation to Daniel in trying to puzzle up Armand.
Then comes S2E1 and Daniel's acting like Dorothy on Golden Girls, his tongue throwing shade like they're an American troop shooting for oil. At some point in the table Armand's directly turning his entire self to Daniel, does the lash blinking thing with the big eyes (universally recognized as "heart eyes" or "peacocking" (when guys do it) and puts his hand on his cheek as Daniel looks busy then bothered and resumes to his shading Armand AGAIN. Armand mirrors Daniel's game by shading him about being unworthy in San Francisco, unworthy in Dubai but not as caustic as Daniel, even though he could. He's showing he doesn't want to humble Daniel, quite the opposite. Which Daniel's hating, he doesn't want to be "minimized" or treated with kid gloves, bjt it's what Armand's doing. Armand instead is only retorting back because Daniel requires it not because he wants to be unpleasant. As long as he gets ANY reaction from Daniel, Armand feels he's got relevance to Dan. Daniel bothering Real Rashid saying he's provoking him because Daniel can affect him manages to give Armand an opportunity to show Daniel that he's indeed affecting Armand enough to make Armand comply with Daniel's disdain and actually leave the room. Armand owns the place and yet Armand's deferring to Daniel.
In the end, the dashing duo awkwardly walk in holding hands. Daniel looks bewildered. At some point, he's talking at Louis, but his eyes trail Armand down to up. Armand slowly shifts his head from Louis' shoulder to Daniel and takes a deep inhale as if to process something unfamiliar: It feels like Daniel's wearing a cologne and Armand's liking it. That wasn't something that Armand noticed before because he's always been feet away from Daniel, now he's less than a foot away from this person. His eyes trail Daniel's person and ends staring at Daniel's eyes with his brows lifting a bit as if pleasantly surprised. When Daniel shuts him up again, Armand looks borderline gleeful at Daniel's defying.
Even if you didn't read the books, body language and intention are a thing. Armand's trying to get Daniel's attention. The little comment in the end about the more docile Daniel being in there further hints that Armand's wanting to connect, not just talk or be in the room. He connected with previous Daniel and is failing with the current one. Armand likes the brats, Daniel's thinking if he's unpleasant enough, that Armand will fall back, which seems to be doing the opposite. Armand's showing determination to crack Daniel's mental vault and that was his way of telling the audience that's his plan from here on out. He's just told us he's not ok with being of no "value" to Daniel and that Daniel is of importance to Armand.
>Then comes S2E1 and Daniel's acting like Dorothy on Golden Girls, his tongue throwing shade like they're an American troop shooting for oil.
You have a gift for similes, my friend.
Louis is totally Blanche, lbr.
I'll have to look up the post I made in the season 1 finale but I totally compared Louis to Blanche.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/InterviewVampire/s/VnS6Oqb0Zs](https://www.reddit.com/r/InterviewVampire/s/VnS6Oqb0Zs)
Considering this show takes place a couple decades after the initial interview I feel as if all the events of the books has happened and whatever is going on in Dubai is a whole new thing. If I were to hazard a guess, this is Armand vs. Lestat and they've battled each other by glamoring each other's lovers.
There is no 'vibe' that you're missing, people are just looking at it with shipping goggles on. Armand and Daniel are a beloved ship in the books and fans want them to get together on the show too, which sadly doesn't look like it's gonna happen. But I think fan interpret their blatant antagonism as flirting because of their history in the books.
I don't know if this counts as a spoiler, but AMC has been pairing Assad up for promotion primarily with Eric and Luke. I feel like that is very telling.
Interesting. From all the interviews and reviews I've seen, it sounds like their relationship will be mostly antagonistic, at least in the present day.
People really love the moment Armand looked at Daniel kinda evil smiling and I am unfortunately not seeing it. I loved the ship in the books but I just don't see it here. IMO Armand's actor is not showing a sexual appetite, he is honestly just pissed at Daniel.
He really is quite pissed, and it's definitely bc he didn't want Louis doing the interview in the first place, not because he secretly wants to bend the old man over the table but can't because his bf is around
I think I see it, & I think there's room to see more. Especially in flashbacks to when they first met because based on the trailer for this season, Daniel is going to be confronted more with what happened the last time he interacted with Louis & Armand. That old friend who tells me to be afraid of Louis more than Armand may bring some things up.
I don't know, maybe it is the actor but I don't see chemistry between them. Like there isn't any interest to build up on.
I hope they'll add somethings that I can also see because I adore the ship.
If Armand was frustrated with Daniel I could see how that would turn into infatuation but he seems disinterested. Like he doesn't care about Daniel's personality. It could be another man Louis was opening his soul to and Armand would react with the same bored hostility.
Sorry I just dunked all this here.
I agree with you. Armand is mildly entertained by the jabs Daniel throws his way, not ruffled or agitated. He smiles very slowly when he responds to I'm, not flirtatiously, but more in a predator smiling at prey kind of way. Like, oh ill love tearing you limb from limb.
And tbh, I want Armand to be madly into Louis and Louis alone.
I know it's in the books, but I really don't want the show to bring them together. I don't even think what Armand is doing is flirting, more like annoyance and amusement bc he knows if he wanted to, he could kill him in a flash.
Armand would kill anyone a thousand times over if they ever said the things Daniel said to him. It's obvious he's restraining himself not for Louis (he doesn't want this interview taking place anyway) he's restraining himself BECAUSE it's Daniel.
I read them and I agree with you. I don't think >!DM happened in the 70s!< or is currently happening in season two. Armand is obsessed with Louis (for 77 years!) and views Daniel as a threat to their relationship. That's the source of his smug cruelty. Unfortunately the shipper goggles are glued onto people's heads right now so I'm expecting a meltdown after the finale.
If you look at how AMC promotes the show with the actors in interviews and at events, they have basically been promoting one of these pairings and not the other and Loumand isn't the one they have been promoting.
AMC is promoting Loustat too and they're not a primary ship of this season. I do think DM will happen if the show gets more seasons, but it's not this season.
Louis and Lestat might not be together in the real sense on screen this season, but Loustat is absolutely still there throughout all of it. They wouldn't be promoting DM the way they have if this season isn't including it in some way and laying the ground works for it. I don't think Armand and Daniel are going to hook up in the Dubai penthouse this season, but that isn't needed for there to be DM.
Laying the groundwork, sure. But the general assumption seems to be that >!DM happened in the 1970s!< and Armand is treating Daniel like an ex. I don't think that's happening in the show.
They have had Assad and Luke doing promotion together too. Assad has done more one on one promotion with Luke than Jacob. I just think these things are deliberate and telling.
I understand the promo pairings are very significant to you, but I don't agree. I don't think Armand in either the book or the show >!would leave Louis for Daniel, especially less than 20 years after he killed Claudia to keep Louis exclusively to himself.!< But we aren't going to convince each other right now. Maybe we can table this conversation until after the finale (or even episode 5)?
Oh thank fuck. I thought it was canon. I want Armand obsessed with Louis, which he is. I want an Armand-Louis-Lestat endgame. I like Daniel the way he is. I also don't want that beautiful man's beauty wasted on Daniel
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Unfortunately you've said no book spoilers so it's a bit hard to answer
How to write without spoilers... Hmm.... Armand is old and powerful and isn't used to anyone talking to him that way.... fearlessly. And from what we saw of them in flashbacks... did something happen in the past we haven't seen?
Let’s just say that they have a history…
Taking only the show into account, it's a bit difficult to explain, but I think it's Assad's micro expressions that really sold me on the pairing. In S1, it's the most obvious in the scene where Daniel wonders what Rashid tastes like (and Armand's reaction to that conversation), plus when Louis offers Daniel the gift and it's clear Armand feels-some-sort-of-way about this (and Daniel's refusal). As for the first episode, I love how amused Armand looks every time they're throwing jabs at each other, so far it's the most.. animated we've seen him? So even if I didn't know anything about the books, I think now I'd be able to pick up on the enemies-to-lovers potential regardless.
The Shah Rukh Khan interaction. Daniel picked a total hottie to refer to Armand. And Armand's response!
https://i.redd.it/os9sop9lqm0d1.gif
okay I just googled Shah Rukh Khan and that's absolutely the look I would give if someone compared me to someone that hot hahaha
https://preview.redd.it/zjhbfehnqm0d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=735adbc28bf8479e20185425f5278bb797f677ff
where's that "what daniel/armand amvs look like to non book readers" community edit
That sounds HILARIOUS. I NEED TO SEE IT PLEASE 😭
Ok I really had to dig deep [but here it is](https://www.tumblr.com/jurisffiction/745736745304358912?source=share) as hilarious as I remember it being
The Lana Del Rey song at the end tho 😭😭 Armandaniel getting amvs is amazing. I never thought I'd see the day when my ship would get the Lana Del Rey treatment. Now I need an edit with Ariana Grande's break up with ur girlfriend.
OH MY GOD 😭😭😭 Thank you so much for this! It cracked me for a solid couple of mins. Will immediately send it to my friend who's not only a show-only IWTV fan but also a rabid community fan.
Thank you for sharing this. Oh lord
It's the tension between them and the way Daniel dismisses him. The flirting not flirting. It's a classic trope. Daniel acting as though Armand is no one he fears, while low-key knowing this is pissing Armand off, meanwhile Armand has to act chill but his interest is peaked by the way Daniel treats him. It's all tension baby because they wanna FUCK
I would say THIS! I haven’t read the books (though I plan to) but what I’ve gathered is that they have some sort of history (also basing this on the fact that Armand was in the flashback dream). Aside from that I did see a lot of tension, especially in s2 ep1
Assad Zaman is KILLING IT as Armand. OMG, the composure and subtle/visible tension. His micro expressions were sending me!
As someone that hasn't read the books but knows a bit about their history in them (that I won't spoil), if you have that in mind whilst watching their interactions it's pretty clear. I don't know how the show is going to portray their past, but from trailers and the way they've promoted the season I believe they aren't "queerbaiting" us, to put it mildly. Having that in mind, every conversation takes a new (and way more flirty) vibe. Personally I love Daniel's general intrigue/caution towards Armand, whilst in Armand's eyes and general mannerisms you can see he is remembering something (that we still haven't seen) and laughing at his own private joke. Also, Assad Zaman's flirty smiles don't lie!
In order to see it, you have to bear in mind that this show does Not require chemistry to be the nice kind for it to go anywhere, lol. Love and hate and fear are very close together as long as there's intensity, and in s2e1, Daniel and Armand are definitely paying each other more thought than they were previously.
Daniel is hostile towards Armand because of the Rashid deception, and Armand seems to be annoyed that he has to put up with Daniel's presence. I don't see any flirting, but I think other people are seeing it because they know about their relationship in the book.
In S1 when he's still playing Rashid, and Armand realises he has revealed too much and Daniel found out he was originally from Crimea, the way Armand bites his lip is so flirty to me? Like 'oops daddy'? lmao it's moments like that. Mostly from Armand toward Daniel. However, Daniel is uncharacteristically flustered around Armand. He is afraid of him, of course, but he's also intrigued. According to Eric, Daniel is attracted to both Armand and Louis. In the newest episode, the way Armand rests his chin on his hand and gazes at Daniel feels like blatant flirting or expressing obvious interest to me. It could be us book readers projecting what we know happened in the books onto the show, but the show is also deliberately planting the seeds for when what happened in the books also happens in the show.
Chemistry is off the charts, Daniel’s annoyance and defiance seems to intrigue Armand. Of course there’s more to it but even then, I really like how the actors connect with each other so well and I think it translates well on screen
Even without book spoilers-there is massive undercurrent of sexual tension. If you’ve ever had something similar with someone you didn’t get along with, it might be easier to spot. I would pay more attention to Assad’s lingering reactions. They are telling.
Without going into any S2 or book spoilers, I feel like this video could help you see it - https://youtu.be/_s5kgzMFZhA?si=fue21QI9pHDer4ug
Honestly, this only works if you ignore everything going on in the scenes. Most of Daniel's stares were because he was wondering who/what Rashid was. At the bar, I could buy that Armand was flirting with Daniel, but it also just seems like he was staking ownership in Louis. Same as when he was feeding Louis his blood in front of Daniel. He smiles bc he has Louis
I don’t agree, because of scenes like when Louis offers to turn Daniel, Armand looks devastated and has to excuse himself. Also, even despite the bickering, there is a tenderness to the way Armand cares for Daniel’s health and medical issues which don’t fully make sense if he’s just a random stranger he doesn’t care about. Edit: also, how can I forget the scene where Louis notices than Daniel is literally thinking about how Armand tastes?? And Daniel tells him to stay out of his head??
Armand doesn't look devastated in that scene imo, but shocked. Like Louis has gone beyond what they had agreed on. And having health care in the house seems to be a prerequisite for Daniel staying around for the length of the interview. It's Louis who asks Rashid to cover Daniel with a blanket when he doses off mid-interview. Rashid seemed to be taking orders from Louis regarding Daniel's care, e.g. I'll inject him with abc to wake him up if you want. Daniel wonders what Rashid tastes and then what he weighs because Louis had drank for an unusually long time from him, more than he did with Damek.
Completely ignoring the books, most fans are invested in the Lestat/Louis pairing and believe them to be endgame. Armand/Louis haven't had their time to shine yet - we only see them in a very cold environment where they are putting on a front for Daniel. The dynamic between Armand & Louis is tepid (thus far). *MEANWHILE*, Daniel has crackling energy with everyone - and while we've seen Louis experience a range of emotions throughout the show, we've only seen Armand crack his calm veneer with Daniel. Daniel gets under his skin - we get to see Armand ruffled. It's a much more interesting dynamic than what we've seen between Armand & Louis, and it allows the audience to see glimpses of the "real" Armand. It's very easy for audiences to perceive this tension as *sexual* tension. And (avoiding book spoilers) we know that they met up at some point when Daniel was young and...something happened.
I hate to be disrespectful, but it's one of those things that maybe you have to experience yourself to understand it. People give both subtle and loud cues to demonstrate affinity, disdain, and anger. This is even more so when you venture out off the typical hetero dynamic. The queer communities have always had to rely on the arts of communication to mingle without alerting the straights. The queer communities delight in the art of speech and art to sort of indirectly convey our humanity because of the risk brought to us historically if we outright just let ourselves be human. When you look at any media, it helps to account for any cultural and social differences to appreciate that humanity's never been linear nor brought out the same way. With that in mind (warning: I type fast): The big tell is Daniel and Armand having TOO much friction and from the get-go. Tension is often malicious at first, your gut telling you of danger. Others get it as "electricity", when there's positive joy from the connection. In other words, it is what a lot of people call "chemistry". There's harmony in the energy between the pairing. Tension is the more malicious version, where there's push and pull out of someone in the pair trying to reject the electrcity. Think of when you pull a rope too tight, in order to hold on you have to put tension on both ends for it to line up. That's what's happening here. The push is coming from Daniel, Daniel's entirety is registering there's something to how Rashid/Armand's hanging around Daniel. Of all the possible disguises Armand could've picked, he chose that of the butler. Being the butler gives Armand plenty of excuses to be in everyone's business. He's using maidservice as a reason to interact indirectly with Daniel. If you saw S2E1, you know this is removed now. Armand's got no reason to interact with Daniel now if he's got an army of help to do so. We also see in the end that Armand's checking Daniel's life through the tablet. Going back to S1 for a minute: The sexy sucking off at the table while Dan's interviewing. Ethically speaking, per etiquette, that was the wrong time to be doing that. Daniel looked visibly distressed, he's shaking and looked like he would've happily burried himself under the ground. Armand, instead of tuning out like the vamps normally do, is fixedly staring at Daniel the ENTIRE time Louis is on his neck. The dude looked like he was recalling/imagining Dan on his neck, not Louis. When they finish and Louis looks all cocky and satiated, Armand's looking "meh"; all senses focusing on Daniel until Louis voices out what Daniel was thinking about him. Armand looks thrown off by the info. Tries to sass at Daniel that he wouldn't be letting him near his neck despite Daniel not thinking that and saying he's a "savory" guy, thus humbling Armand by rejecting him (his offerings). Whatever glimpse of optimism Armand got from the whole interaction suddenly went up in smoke from Daniel's rejection. End of S1 when Daniel's provoking Louis to remember, Armand removes the disguise, tells Daniel he might not save him from Louis' reacting and again...saves Daniel. Now, one would think Armand could've helped and used his powers to interfere wirhout dropping the act or removing the "costume", but he did. He's using the opportunity to trigger Dan's neurons. Armand's now procuring to use any opportunity to train Daniel into remembering Armand. Armand's realized he doesn't have the password to umlock what he did to Daniel's head. Armand's testing different cues. When Armand starts flying, you can see Daniel's eyes "computing". He's looks like he's about to have a small panic attack before Armand thinks of giving Daniel a book to help him register what he's seeing. Daniel has "seen" this before. We also register a few more facts: Louis is super sensitive and has no control of his emotion, in fact, his emotions make him dangerous, especially to someone in full control of them like Daniel. Two, if Armand didn't care whether Louis hurt anyone at all, he wouldn't be there, but he is. The place is huge, the vamps are fast. Armand knows Louis can go from 0 to 360 in seconds. Armand clearly tells us he's acting for Daniel. So yeah, while Daniel is oblivious, at this point, the audience has been told Armand's NOT. AT ALL. The banter at the table of S2E1. Daniel alludes Armand to Bollywood's most popular and beloved actor in recent memory. Armand's some sort of South Asian here. This was rare praise in part of Daniel, he basically called either attractive but also called him a generic South Asian by naming a famous one instead of one whose looks align with Armand's. Throwing that line and seeing Armand's reaction means Armand DOES identify with the South Asian cultures is a huge confirmation to Daniel in trying to puzzle up Armand. Then comes S2E1 and Daniel's acting like Dorothy on Golden Girls, his tongue throwing shade like they're an American troop shooting for oil. At some point in the table Armand's directly turning his entire self to Daniel, does the lash blinking thing with the big eyes (universally recognized as "heart eyes" or "peacocking" (when guys do it) and puts his hand on his cheek as Daniel looks busy then bothered and resumes to his shading Armand AGAIN. Armand mirrors Daniel's game by shading him about being unworthy in San Francisco, unworthy in Dubai but not as caustic as Daniel, even though he could. He's showing he doesn't want to humble Daniel, quite the opposite. Which Daniel's hating, he doesn't want to be "minimized" or treated with kid gloves, bjt it's what Armand's doing. Armand instead is only retorting back because Daniel requires it not because he wants to be unpleasant. As long as he gets ANY reaction from Daniel, Armand feels he's got relevance to Dan. Daniel bothering Real Rashid saying he's provoking him because Daniel can affect him manages to give Armand an opportunity to show Daniel that he's indeed affecting Armand enough to make Armand comply with Daniel's disdain and actually leave the room. Armand owns the place and yet Armand's deferring to Daniel. In the end, the dashing duo awkwardly walk in holding hands. Daniel looks bewildered. At some point, he's talking at Louis, but his eyes trail Armand down to up. Armand slowly shifts his head from Louis' shoulder to Daniel and takes a deep inhale as if to process something unfamiliar: It feels like Daniel's wearing a cologne and Armand's liking it. That wasn't something that Armand noticed before because he's always been feet away from Daniel, now he's less than a foot away from this person. His eyes trail Daniel's person and ends staring at Daniel's eyes with his brows lifting a bit as if pleasantly surprised. When Daniel shuts him up again, Armand looks borderline gleeful at Daniel's defying. Even if you didn't read the books, body language and intention are a thing. Armand's trying to get Daniel's attention. The little comment in the end about the more docile Daniel being in there further hints that Armand's wanting to connect, not just talk or be in the room. He connected with previous Daniel and is failing with the current one. Armand likes the brats, Daniel's thinking if he's unpleasant enough, that Armand will fall back, which seems to be doing the opposite. Armand's showing determination to crack Daniel's mental vault and that was his way of telling the audience that's his plan from here on out. He's just told us he's not ok with being of no "value" to Daniel and that Daniel is of importance to Armand.
>Then comes S2E1 and Daniel's acting like Dorothy on Golden Girls, his tongue throwing shade like they're an American troop shooting for oil. You have a gift for similes, my friend. Louis is totally Blanche, lbr.
I'll have to look up the post I made in the season 1 finale but I totally compared Louis to Blanche. [https://www.reddit.com/r/InterviewVampire/s/VnS6Oqb0Zs](https://www.reddit.com/r/InterviewVampire/s/VnS6Oqb0Zs)
Thank you my dear! Your compliment made me happy. 💋 Yes, Louis is Blanche. Chaotic.
Considering this show takes place a couple decades after the initial interview I feel as if all the events of the books has happened and whatever is going on in Dubai is a whole new thing. If I were to hazard a guess, this is Armand vs. Lestat and they've battled each other by glamoring each other's lovers.
i thought everyone was delusional until i read the books. 🤐 to avoid spoilers though!
I’m not seeing it either but I’m also not sold on the show and the book being one to one. Still enjoying this season though.
There is no 'vibe' that you're missing, people are just looking at it with shipping goggles on. Armand and Daniel are a beloved ship in the books and fans want them to get together on the show too, which sadly doesn't look like it's gonna happen. But I think fan interpret their blatant antagonism as flirting because of their history in the books.
Looks coquettish to me. https://i.redd.it/ebaq56uznn0d1.gif
I don't know if this counts as a spoiler, but AMC has been pairing Assad up for promotion primarily with Eric and Luke. I feel like that is very telling.
Interesting. From all the interviews and reviews I've seen, it sounds like their relationship will be mostly antagonistic, at least in the present day.
It looks like it's going to be 50/50, with the conflict coming from Daniel, not Armand.
"which sadly doesn't look like it's gonna happen" I couldn't disagree more, haha.
Did you not see the promos? It's happening.
I misread 'promos' as 'pornos' 😩
People really love the moment Armand looked at Daniel kinda evil smiling and I am unfortunately not seeing it. I loved the ship in the books but I just don't see it here. IMO Armand's actor is not showing a sexual appetite, he is honestly just pissed at Daniel.
He really is quite pissed, and it's definitely bc he didn't want Louis doing the interview in the first place, not because he secretly wants to bend the old man over the table but can't because his bf is around
Honestly OP I'm also not seeing anything between them and I am upset. I wanted to see something between them. I read the books.
I think I see it, & I think there's room to see more. Especially in flashbacks to when they first met because based on the trailer for this season, Daniel is going to be confronted more with what happened the last time he interacted with Louis & Armand. That old friend who tells me to be afraid of Louis more than Armand may bring some things up.
I don't know, maybe it is the actor but I don't see chemistry between them. Like there isn't any interest to build up on. I hope they'll add somethings that I can also see because I adore the ship. If Armand was frustrated with Daniel I could see how that would turn into infatuation but he seems disinterested. Like he doesn't care about Daniel's personality. It could be another man Louis was opening his soul to and Armand would react with the same bored hostility. Sorry I just dunked all this here.
I agree with you. Armand is mildly entertained by the jabs Daniel throws his way, not ruffled or agitated. He smiles very slowly when he responds to I'm, not flirtatiously, but more in a predator smiling at prey kind of way. Like, oh ill love tearing you limb from limb. And tbh, I want Armand to be madly into Louis and Louis alone.
I know it's in the books, but I really don't want the show to bring them together. I don't even think what Armand is doing is flirting, more like annoyance and amusement bc he knows if he wanted to, he could kill him in a flash.
Armand would kill anyone a thousand times over if they ever said the things Daniel said to him. It's obvious he's restraining himself not for Louis (he doesn't want this interview taking place anyway) he's restraining himself BECAUSE it's Daniel.
I don't get that feeling, and I'm sure nobody would if they hadn't read the books
I've read the books. All of them. Many times, for years now. Armand is obviously restraining himself.
Bc he wants to fcuk Daniel? Or bc he wants him dead but he's useful for Louis rn
I read them and I agree with you. I don't think >!DM happened in the 70s!< or is currently happening in season two. Armand is obsessed with Louis (for 77 years!) and views Daniel as a threat to their relationship. That's the source of his smug cruelty. Unfortunately the shipper goggles are glued onto people's heads right now so I'm expecting a meltdown after the finale.
If you look at how AMC promotes the show with the actors in interviews and at events, they have basically been promoting one of these pairings and not the other and Loumand isn't the one they have been promoting.
AMC is promoting Loustat too and they're not a primary ship of this season. I do think DM will happen if the show gets more seasons, but it's not this season.
Louis and Lestat might not be together in the real sense on screen this season, but Loustat is absolutely still there throughout all of it. They wouldn't be promoting DM the way they have if this season isn't including it in some way and laying the ground works for it. I don't think Armand and Daniel are going to hook up in the Dubai penthouse this season, but that isn't needed for there to be DM.
Laying the groundwork, sure. But the general assumption seems to be that >!DM happened in the 1970s!< and Armand is treating Daniel like an ex. I don't think that's happening in the show.
They have had Assad and Luke doing promotion together too. Assad has done more one on one promotion with Luke than Jacob. I just think these things are deliberate and telling.
I understand the promo pairings are very significant to you, but I don't agree. I don't think Armand in either the book or the show >!would leave Louis for Daniel, especially less than 20 years after he killed Claudia to keep Louis exclusively to himself.!< But we aren't going to convince each other right now. Maybe we can table this conversation until after the finale (or even episode 5)?
Oh thank fuck. I thought it was canon. I want Armand obsessed with Louis, which he is. I want an Armand-Louis-Lestat endgame. I like Daniel the way he is. I also don't want that beautiful man's beauty wasted on Daniel