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I watched some of season one to see if I would feel differently about Bailey after watching Delainey and honestly…I don’t. I think she was stellar as Claudia and how Claudia was being remembered at that time. Claudia in season one is still so young, immature, a short fuse, and manic at times. Towards the end of the season though you can see the transition into the Claudia they had in mind for season 2.
I love Delainey Hayles and I will not disparage her portrayal because it was flawless.
I will say that a part of me still wonders how Bailey would have done it but I do believe she would have done the part justice. But it’s only a small part of me because Delainey really did fill my cup so to speak.
The fact that they were able to find two actors who encapsulated Claudia as well as they did deserves its own award.
I completely agree. Bailey did a great job, particularly towards the end of the season and her performance pretty flawlessly transitions into Delainey's performance in season 2.
I love both portrayals but I do wish we got to see Sam Reid interact with Delainey more. My only bias there is that we were able to see his chemistry on screen with Bailey in the first season, but their characters were already separated after the Season 2 recast. Maybe if Claudia haunts Lestat we'll get to witness their performances together in Season 3.
That’s my biggest complaint as well, I was going to say that I felt like Bailey had much better chemistry with Louis and Lestat, but then to be fair we never really got to see Sam Reid interact much with Delainey’s Claudia, but I just couldn’t help thinking that Lestat and Claudia’s shared look during her final moments would have had a lot more impact for me personally if it had been with the Claudia from the first season that we had actually seen him interact with and have a connection with, however messed up it ultimately became
Hopefully we will at least get some new flashbacks of Lestat and Delainey’s Claudia once we get into Lestat’s point of view more
And honestly even Louis and Claudia didn’t feel as close to me in season 2 either after everything that happened, not that that’s in any way the fault of the actress of course as most of the scenes that she was given with Louis in season 2 were ones of her arguing with him and getting frustrated over Armand, but that’s just my opinion of how the closeness of that relationship with Bailey’s Claudia never really felt the same with Delainey. In New Orleans there was more of a vibe there that he *would* choose Claudia over Lestat, that he would run away with her and put her over Lestat, but I don’t know if I ever felt that in the Paris scenes with Armand, it always felt to me like Bailey’s Claudia had a much stronger connection with Louis
Yeah, I can see that. I feel like Delainey Hayles really had her work cut out for her in taking this role. She portrayed a character whose relationship with the other characters was either hostile or falling apart. In the case of Louis, she had to show their relationship disintegrating without having been there in Season 1 when their relationship was building up.
Yeah I don’t fault Delainey for it as she was doing her best with what she was given, but there was definitely something missing for me chemistry wise compared to how I totally brought into Louis and Claudia’s closeness in the first season.
Some of those scenes with the Louis and Claudia conflict would have had a lot more emotional impact on me if they had kept the original actress, Delainey really drew the short straw unfortunately to just be thrown in there with scenes of her Claudia getting frustrated and screaming at Louis without any of the season 1 build-up of their close bond
In one of the interviews, Delainey said that the goal of Louis with Madeline was to remedy how he and Claudia had grown apart. I do believe what happened was on purpose, but it would have been nice to have some more father daughter scenes
I might be in the minority, but I preferred Bailey's Claudia (though I still loved Delainey's performance!).
I felt like Bailey had a more unhinged energy to her. Delainey's Claudia seemed extremely angry & frustrated at her situation, but I never really got the sense that she was *tormented* by it like I did with Bailey. I know that Claudia was deliberately written to be older in season 2, but she came across as a bit too well-adjusted: I never really believed Armand's insistence that she was probably going to go insane in a few decades. Whereas even when Bailey Bass was playing a mature & goal-orientated Claudia at the end of season 1, she still gave off this slightly unstable, deranged vibe.
Also, minor quibble, but I feel like Bailey Bass looks a bit younger than Delainey Hayles. I could believe that Bailey was a 14-yr-old, whereas Delainey just straight-up looks like a woman in her 20s.
I definitely agree that Bailey played a much more unhinged/deranged Claudia.
I actually felt Claudia came across very strongly as younger in season two than in season one. By the end of season one, she’s beginning to be quite cold and scheming. Like the delivery of lines like ‘Let me tell you something else, Louis, you want to kill him too.’ were chilling.
Claudia in season two had none of that edge. I felt like she had regressed. Her skipping around the theatre was strange. She was meant to be a 40+ year old woman at this point. I actually saw her as a kid when played by DH in season two. I found the change jarring.
I think DH would have fit early season one better but I think BB was much better at an older Claudia.
That’s not necessarily just the acting though but also script and direction.
Edit: expanded a little.
Also, I butchered the quote. It's actually "And I want to tell you something else now, a secret of all secrets... The secret is, Louis, you want to kill him too."
Agreed, she was cold and calculating at the end of s1, and I do think a lot of the regression was from the writing and direction in s2. S2 Claudia did not feel like Claudia from the end of s1
Right! Claudia plotted to kill Lestat for months. Outsmarted him. Killed her pseudo-father and maker. She was happy to burn his body to a crisp.
Season two, she's skipping around like a kid, begging to join the Coven and coming across as very naive. Even the stuff where she was getting angry at Louis for choosing Lestat or Armand, it felt like the dialogue and demeanour of a teenager getting angry. Her demeanour in particular just felt *a lot* younger. I also questioned the direction of that. Would a forty year old woman with her life experience feel that way about her dad/brother? Could I have envisioned Claudia from season one acting like that?
Some of Claudia in season two is DH but, I really agree that I think the majority of it was from the writing and direction DH got.
Thank you, I’ve been saying this all season! Even her begging to join the coven seemed very anti-Claudia to me. She hated being under Lestat’s thumb, said it made her feel like a slave. I dunno, I just feel like she would’ve looked at them and their rules and said …not for me. But Claudia secretly plotting to overtake the coven, I can see that. ( my own fantasy for her lol).
And agreed, her angry outbursts always seemed off to me! I don’t think the Claudia at the end of s1 would have behaved that way at all. Like I actually went back after ep 3 or 4 and watched s1 again and I was like ok, this is my Claudia plotting and scheming and working silently, sigh.
I also chalked some of it up to the mental deterioration Armand spoke of earlier, so maybe that was a choice too.
Yes, I thought I was the only one who felt this! This is a no books spoilers post, but obviously the writers are somewhat tied to the main beats of the book. However, they've taken liberties with the journey and characters and how those main beats happen, and I think sometimes it's not fitting together as well because of the ripple effect of some of those changes.
Yes, her angry outbursts in season two just didn't seem right. They weren't unhinged like in season one, and by season two, they felt like a regression. I just found Claudia to be a lot less complex in season two.
I think Season 1 Claudia at the end was definitely giving Grown Woman vibes and I found it easier to believe Delaney was both a woman and a child. Bailey, toward the end, was so composed and beautiful that the girlishness was all gone.
>Also, minor quibble, but I feel like Bailey Bass looks a bit younger than Delainey Hayles. I could believe that Bailey was a 14-yr-old, whereas Delainey just straight-up looks like a woman in her 20s.
Yeah, Delainey looks like the grown ass woman that she is, especially in some scenes, like she has a little pucker between her eyebrows. 14 year-olds just don't have those signs of age on their faces and once you notices stuff like that it takes you right out.
I don't see that between her eyebrows. I think the most mature Delainey looked was when she was in that outfit with the shaved eyebrows when they told her she would have to wear the blue dress all the time
I love both equally, I think they were both meant to play Claudia exactly the way they did in their respective seasons. that said, I'm sad we never got to see Bailey and Assad Zaman in a scene together, I think they would be amazing. I hope to see them on some other project one day
Bailey s1 ep7, very specific I know lol. But when she turns to Lestat and says “ you must think me an idiot” I was on my feet, she still looked like a kid but acted like a 35 yo old woman. I loved Claudia so much in that moment. I didn’t click with Delainey’s Claudia like that, although I did love her defiance in the her “death” scenes but her accent was even worse than Bailey’s.
Bailey fan here. 😻
https://preview.redd.it/whkkpobu629d1.jpeg?width=447&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65418312c7174197890aaac27a545acd8a538cc9
I love her creepy doll look.
i'm team bailey all the way! her display of unhinged vitality is unmatched. i was gut-wrenched when she announced she was leaving. i look forward to seeing her in other projects.
and idk if i'm crazy for thinking this but she looks so much like sabrina carpenter to me! anyone else see it? lol
That's very hard for me as I loved everything about Baileys' Claudia and thought Bailey did a fantastic job; but I also loved Claudia's journey this season so Delainey gets points for that. But overall for me it's Bailey.
I feel like they were both great. The recast made sense to me in the story because Louie remembers New Orleans Claudia as his child, so she resembles him. She’s young and chaotic and energetic. Louie has also had his memory messed with by Armand which slowly unravels through S2. So it makes sense that he’d place Claudia as this young, chaotic, energetic daughter who bared a resemblance to him yet then remembers her as looking older and having no resemblance to him. She’s angry and wary of the world, yet still excited to meet more vampires. She’s not this little doll for Louis and Lestât to dress up and parade around. I would liked to have seen Bailey to some of Delainey)# scenes and vice versa. But that’s my own curiosity.
It's tough, they both brought great stuff to the character. I prefer Claudia in series 1 so it's hard for me to judge them, I just prefer seeing her with Louis and Lestat.
Literally rewatching s1e6 right now and Idk. I feel like Bailey could pull off the script for season 2. I love the way her Claudia felt more like a grown woman at the end of season 1 but still had brief moments where her child-like reactions still come through, like her squeal of excitement on the train when she knew she was finally on her way to getting away from New Orleans and Lestat, albeit short lived. But all her interactions with Lestat are scathing last two eps.
Loved Delainey's performance this season but I did miss Bailey a lot.
I genuinely like them both, with a slight edge to Bailey's Claudia because of the unhingedness but that's more because of a scripting issue, I think. They matured Delainey's Claudia off-screen too much (probably intentionally, as Louis didn't pay any attention to her by that point) but focused too little on her journals to back it up. Another journal episode but with Delainey would have been a handful.
I also love a fan "theory" (not a theory, but an "in-world explanation" if you would prefer) I saw somewhere that the recast works perfectly with the theme of "memory is a monster" as it basically shows enough time has passed that Louis genuinely doesn't remember how Claudia looks anymore. Given that Lestat and Armand stay in his life but she doesn't, that's brutal.
>They matured Delainey's Claudia off-screen too much (probably intentionally, as Louis didn't pay any attention to her by that point)
I think that's being very generous to the writers. I've noticed because the writers do this perspective/memory thing, a lot of viewers attribute almost every odd writing quirk to that. I'm very sceptical that's always the case.
For me, I think I preferred Bailey. The show has a tricky situation with a child (bodied) character dealing with very dark material, so I understand the need to age up the character and cast adult women in the role. I just thought Bailey read a little younger on camera so the illusion was easier to believe.
I also wasn’t as crazy about Claudia’s role in this season. I loved the Madeleine stuff, but I think it would have been more interesting if Claudia had reacted to the theatre group the way she did in the book. But Delainey couldn’t help that!
Overall, both great performances.
Bailey
I loved her take on Claudia. I absolutely believed she was a vicious little killer who could play a long game and coolly mastermind Lestat's death. Her accent was at least not distracting.
Delainey worked with the material given to her, and it's not her fault that I hated s2 Claudia. Screaming, tantrum throwing Claudia who blames Louis for absolutely everything no longer felt like Claudia to me, and it was hard to believe s2 Claudia was capable of masterminding anyone's death.
And her accent was distracting to the point of frustration. She definitely needs an accent coach.
I totally agree with that. Honestly I’m surprised at the number of comments I’ve come across now talking about Claudia supposedly coming across as more mature in season 2. I don’t know if it was because Delainey physically looks and sounds a little older than Bailey and they were trying to overcompensate for that, but if anything it felt at times to me like they were trying a little bit too hard with the screaming tantrums at Louis in the baby dresses and ringlets to convince the audience that Claudia was still a young girl really, but then hadn’t Bailey already magnificently handled the transition to Claudia growing into a woman who was far older mentally than her physical appearance?
Season 2 really felt like a regression to me from how we had previously seen Claudia mature and come into her own. Her naivety with the coven as well just didn’t track with the cool and collected Claudia of late s1 who was outsmarting Lestat at chess and playing the long game
I agree that it wasn’t Delainey’s fault, but yeah I also found her accent extremely distracting when her Claudia would suddenly sound like someone from London in her more intense moments
TO ME, imho, I felt Bailey was entirely too theatrical both in her naivety and her accent, it felt very put on and like a little kid in a play. Which in a sense it was, I do imagine Louis very literally seeing her that way, so I don't think Bailey did a bad job, but I do think the nuances of Claudia's character were captured best by Delainey and I felt her accent was actually more consistent than Bailey's was.
Rewatching the scenes where Claudia is forced to interact with the (russian?) kids in early season 2– when she shoves the boy to the ground sticks out to me as being an incredibly juvenile move that portrays the emotions of someone who feels they're far above interacting with little kids, while still maintaining an air of believability (because what 14 year old would want to hang out with a 10 year old anyways?). Moving further into the season, Delainey had a very convincing way of swinging between feeling like a young teenager and feeling like a mature woman in her 30s/40s.
We didn't get to see Bailey outside of the perspective switch of Claudia's early diary entries and Louis's paternal feelings to "brotherly" feelings, so I can't judge much, but I find it hard to imagine Bailey fulfilling the role in the same way Delainey took it on. IMO, I'm glad they switched actresses, because I think the actress switch made sense for the way Claudia was portrayed by Louis vs the reality of the situation, so I think they both did a wonderful job in their respective roles and it's really difficult to compare them!
I am glad you brought up the accent because as a Southerner this stood out to me in both - neither were right for Louisiana and esp Nola. Bailey’s speech was so jarring sometimes it would take me out of the performance.
As a fellow southerner, i'm shocked that so many people thought Bailey's accent was so good, especially next to Jacob's astoundingly accurate NOLA accent, it's incredibly distracting to me. Maybe I would've liked her performance more if her accent were better. Delainey's accent is more generically southern, with some english influence, which to me is more excusable because she only speaks english with non-americans (aside from Louis) throughout season 2, and as a teenager, her accent is more likely to change than his.
That’s my only probably with her acting over all a stronger but in the really emotionally scenes clear she’s not American and especially not a NOLA accent.
I think I prefer Delainey overall, but at the same time I feel like she kinda has an advantage because imo Claudia's arc was stronger in season 2.
Unlike most people I actually think she looks a bit younger than Bailey, but her voice is a lot more mature, which actually fits very well for Claudia at this point where she's an adult woman in a younger body than her mind.
On the other hand I can't imagine her playing the young child-like Claudia from 1x04, where I thought Bailey did great. So in that sense I feel like they both fit well for what they were working with, almost like it was a planned recast lol.
I'm team Bailey, but I also just felt like the writing for Claudia was a little off this season. Idk some of her choices just felt incongruous to the character Claudia had become by the end of season 1. I just enjoyed her as a character more in season 1. Some of that is Bailey's portrayal, and some of that is the writing.
I’m personally grateful for both and extremely grateful for the fandom embracing both.
I respect those who had a favorite too but also didn’t make it impossible for either actress. As a whole, correct me if I’m wrong, the fandom has been respectful even if they preferred one or the other.
I’m so relieved the fandom was chill about the recast to start the season.
For me, I was very disappointed Bailey wasn’t coming back but learning the circumstances I understood. I was determined to keep an open mind about Delainey to start the season, then she won me over by the end of ep 1.
I also give credit to the show for how they handled this. The title card saying “the role of Claudia will now be played by Delainey Hayles” was perfect. Acknowledge the recast and plant your flag. Also how vocally supportive they were of her, and how they had her back. The audience will more often then not follow the shows lead.
I loved both! The recasting imo worked for the portrayal of Claudia. Although this is somewhat of a reach, since Claudia is frozen in her young age, different actors portraying her embodied different phases of her journey.
S1 Claudia was new to it all and starry eyed at first without real conscience until she cared about that guy and it went sideways. (The vague description is to avoid spoilers but people that saw it already know who I mean).Because of that incident and others, she was also just discovering the brutality of the life she's been pulled into without her consent. Lestat's cruel attacks, the vampire bond, her limitations in finding companionship, that she's always going to be a child...sheesh, that load took time to fully hit her. This was Claudia who was still an "innocent" in that she didn't know how bad that life could get, including her own part in that she didn't know how bad SHE could get.
Claudia's S1 monologue about what she might've been had Louis left her there to die--how she might've been saved, left to live as a scarred up woman with a menial job and maybe a husband and some kids, maybe not happy but a real life that welcomed her in it. I think that one cut deep. That was a Claudia aha moment that broke my heart for her.
S2 Claudia is more the version that's like the movie Network, "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!" This is a Claudia that's now got some hard bark on her and it shows in her eyes. Other vampires are sure she'll break down and kill herself eventually but her fight to live is remarkable all while they refuse to recognize it or respect her for it. Claudia is a survivor with an inner strength of the likes the other vampires may have never seen before. Lestat was her maker, a formidable source. Look how strong he is with the powerful maker he had. Imagine if Claudia was older when changed?? Man, watch out because she was strong as a kid!!! Had Claudia been really loved and trained after she was made she might've survived the tests of time.
The other vampires were always aiming that girl towards the grave no matter what she did. They hamstringed her repeatedly. Even in the end where that was evident as a gorgeous metaphor for her vampire life and her response to it.
I LOVE both Claudias and I'm so glad we got to see both these talented young actresses bring her startlingly to life for us all.
They are both excellent but Delainey’s accent keeps taking me out of her performance. I know it’s not really her fault since she was cast on such short notice, but it never sounded like she truly got the hang of it.
I preferred Delainey’s Claudia, she was much more believable as a woman trapped in a child’s body. They’re both fantastic actresses though, that’s just my preference.
I too was team Delainey. Bailey for me was the weak link in season one. She just always felt a bit miscast for me. I like her in other things but she just didn’t click for me as Claudia. Delainey on the other hand absolutely destroyed me as Claudia.
I thought they were bought fantastic. As someone else on here put it, Bailey captured Claudia's youthful rage perfectly, while Delainey captured Claudia's more worn outmature nature perfectly.
Delainey. There were scenes where she said nothing and it was all there. A very nuanced performance.
Nothing against Bailey but Delainey edged her out for the powerhouse moments. I felt every bit of Claudia's existential frustration, anger, and agony during the trial.
I love Delainey. She kicked the door down and burned it. I have nothing against Bailey Bass as well, but I think the way Claudia is now, work perfectly. With the fact that Louis saw her as a little girl, daughter, sister, someone ultimately younger and shorter, below him at least in some ways, Claudia changing into a brilliant vampire who is being forced back into a cute mild, is done really well. She might never have been a little girl.
Both performances are valid and beautiful. I'm excuted for Delainey's mad and bitter ghost Claudia.
I also feel like some people prefer Bailey for her more conventially attractive appearance and that pains me. Both of them are gorgeous and both of them killed it.
I’d love to have access to alternate universes where I could see Delainey as bb Claudia and Bailey as middle aged Claudia. Not because I think one will do better than the other over all, but because I am greedy and they are phenomenal actresses and I want it all
I think both did a really good job, but Bass has a slight edge for me. Bass looked more youthful and was more believable as someone who was supposed to be 14 and while her accent wasn't perfect, she also was never British. What I really liked about Bass though is that her Claudia is unhinged, damaged, and tormented by her circumstances which supports both her anger and the questions about whether or not she can ever be truly independent and Louis and Lestat were right to make her.
Hayles doesn't bring those elements and I think that takes away from the narrative a bit.
Bailey, it's no fault of the new actress at all but the change really took me out of the story. Probably bc i binged watched season one right before starting season 2
I didn’t think I would like Delainey’s Claudia at first but ended up loving her. Both accents were atrocious to me— Bailey’s was just wrong and stuck out against Jacob’s amazing accent and Delainey’s British accent slips out often. I can’t believe some people think Bailey’s accent was accurate tbh.
I did not like Claudia (the character) in S1. So in that sense I think Bailey did brilliantly as the infuriating immature Claudia. There were times I hated her!
Delainey’s Claudia felt more nuanced but I think that’s more on the timeline and Claudia aging, not acting.
I do think Delainey’s ultimately has more chemistry with Louis but I would’ve liked to have seen her interact with Lestat more. I DO think Bailey is MUCH more convincing looks-wise as a child. Seeing Claudia with Madeleine, I can believe she’s not a teenager so it’s less striking, whereas Bailey looked much younger than Delainey. Even dressed in Baby Lu she didn’t look like a child imo.
I just wish James Cameron had been able to let BB shoot this season. She was sorely missed. Nothing wrong with Delaney, but she didn't have the gravitas or maniacal presence that BB had.
Maybe because I watched season 1 so long ago but Delainey for me. Her face when she explained to Louis how she wanted something of her own, and that was Madeleine. That moment was beautiful and made me love her forever.
Hayles by miles. Bailey Bass made an adorable manic Claudia but was kind of stiff doing cool, late season Claudia, her delivery on lines that were supposed to be delivered more subtly was frequently quite awkward. Her accent was also very hammy in comparison.
I think they both served their own Claudia well, and that it was actually a lovely coincidence that Bailey had to leave the show after Season 1, because I think there needed to be a change in the character of Claudia to coincide with the tonal shift between the two seasons.
I loved Bailey’s performance in S1, she represented the innocence and subsequent loss of innocence in Claudia, as well as the gradual spiral that Claudia undergoes mentally.
And then in S2, Delainey just knocks it out of the park. She delivers Claudia’s anger and resentment and her being slightly less believably 14 than Bailey actually works out because while we know that Claudia is supposed to be a child, Delainey brings a mature aura to the role that makes you understand how Claudia feels on the inside.
I couldn’t imagine Bailey delivering anger and strength the way Delainey does and I couldn’t imagine Delainey delivering naivety and hopelessness in the way that Bailey did.
I also loved the first Claudia but really loved the second Claudia's rage delivery of her lines. Even tho her accent slipped in a few I am here for it 💖
From the very first photos and clips I saw of Delaney I knew she was going to nail it. She has a ferocity and intensity that really came through. Her entire body language was on point. I liked Bailey as well, but to be honest I've sort of forgotten her. Not really in a bad way, the transition was nearly seamless to me. But I doubt Bailey could have done THIS season like Delaney did.
Anyway, I loved them both in their own ways. And the accents were both terrible, I just ignored it.
Bailey felt like baby lulu. I never had a problem with her character or performance in season 1, but it wasn't as nuanced as season 2 claudia. I'm not saying it needed to be at that part of claudia's development, but yea.
I think the change in actresses helped the character as a whole. It helped me personally conceptualize that while Claudia may not be maturing physically she was mentally.
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I watched some of season one to see if I would feel differently about Bailey after watching Delainey and honestly…I don’t. I think she was stellar as Claudia and how Claudia was being remembered at that time. Claudia in season one is still so young, immature, a short fuse, and manic at times. Towards the end of the season though you can see the transition into the Claudia they had in mind for season 2. I love Delainey Hayles and I will not disparage her portrayal because it was flawless. I will say that a part of me still wonders how Bailey would have done it but I do believe she would have done the part justice. But it’s only a small part of me because Delainey really did fill my cup so to speak. The fact that they were able to find two actors who encapsulated Claudia as well as they did deserves its own award.
I completely agree. Bailey did a great job, particularly towards the end of the season and her performance pretty flawlessly transitions into Delainey's performance in season 2.
I love both portrayals but I do wish we got to see Sam Reid interact with Delainey more. My only bias there is that we were able to see his chemistry on screen with Bailey in the first season, but their characters were already separated after the Season 2 recast. Maybe if Claudia haunts Lestat we'll get to witness their performances together in Season 3.
That’s my biggest complaint as well, I was going to say that I felt like Bailey had much better chemistry with Louis and Lestat, but then to be fair we never really got to see Sam Reid interact much with Delainey’s Claudia, but I just couldn’t help thinking that Lestat and Claudia’s shared look during her final moments would have had a lot more impact for me personally if it had been with the Claudia from the first season that we had actually seen him interact with and have a connection with, however messed up it ultimately became Hopefully we will at least get some new flashbacks of Lestat and Delainey’s Claudia once we get into Lestat’s point of view more And honestly even Louis and Claudia didn’t feel as close to me in season 2 either after everything that happened, not that that’s in any way the fault of the actress of course as most of the scenes that she was given with Louis in season 2 were ones of her arguing with him and getting frustrated over Armand, but that’s just my opinion of how the closeness of that relationship with Bailey’s Claudia never really felt the same with Delainey. In New Orleans there was more of a vibe there that he *would* choose Claudia over Lestat, that he would run away with her and put her over Lestat, but I don’t know if I ever felt that in the Paris scenes with Armand, it always felt to me like Bailey’s Claudia had a much stronger connection with Louis
Yeah, I can see that. I feel like Delainey Hayles really had her work cut out for her in taking this role. She portrayed a character whose relationship with the other characters was either hostile or falling apart. In the case of Louis, she had to show their relationship disintegrating without having been there in Season 1 when their relationship was building up.
Yeah I don’t fault Delainey for it as she was doing her best with what she was given, but there was definitely something missing for me chemistry wise compared to how I totally brought into Louis and Claudia’s closeness in the first season. Some of those scenes with the Louis and Claudia conflict would have had a lot more emotional impact on me if they had kept the original actress, Delainey really drew the short straw unfortunately to just be thrown in there with scenes of her Claudia getting frustrated and screaming at Louis without any of the season 1 build-up of their close bond
In one of the interviews, Delainey said that the goal of Louis with Madeline was to remedy how he and Claudia had grown apart. I do believe what happened was on purpose, but it would have been nice to have some more father daughter scenes
Holding out hope we will see more of Delainey with Lestat's recollection. My heart will soar.
I might be in the minority, but I preferred Bailey's Claudia (though I still loved Delainey's performance!). I felt like Bailey had a more unhinged energy to her. Delainey's Claudia seemed extremely angry & frustrated at her situation, but I never really got the sense that she was *tormented* by it like I did with Bailey. I know that Claudia was deliberately written to be older in season 2, but she came across as a bit too well-adjusted: I never really believed Armand's insistence that she was probably going to go insane in a few decades. Whereas even when Bailey Bass was playing a mature & goal-orientated Claudia at the end of season 1, she still gave off this slightly unstable, deranged vibe. Also, minor quibble, but I feel like Bailey Bass looks a bit younger than Delainey Hayles. I could believe that Bailey was a 14-yr-old, whereas Delainey just straight-up looks like a woman in her 20s.
I definitely agree that Bailey played a much more unhinged/deranged Claudia. I actually felt Claudia came across very strongly as younger in season two than in season one. By the end of season one, she’s beginning to be quite cold and scheming. Like the delivery of lines like ‘Let me tell you something else, Louis, you want to kill him too.’ were chilling. Claudia in season two had none of that edge. I felt like she had regressed. Her skipping around the theatre was strange. She was meant to be a 40+ year old woman at this point. I actually saw her as a kid when played by DH in season two. I found the change jarring. I think DH would have fit early season one better but I think BB was much better at an older Claudia. That’s not necessarily just the acting though but also script and direction. Edit: expanded a little. Also, I butchered the quote. It's actually "And I want to tell you something else now, a secret of all secrets... The secret is, Louis, you want to kill him too."
Agreed, she was cold and calculating at the end of s1, and I do think a lot of the regression was from the writing and direction in s2. S2 Claudia did not feel like Claudia from the end of s1
Right! Claudia plotted to kill Lestat for months. Outsmarted him. Killed her pseudo-father and maker. She was happy to burn his body to a crisp. Season two, she's skipping around like a kid, begging to join the Coven and coming across as very naive. Even the stuff where she was getting angry at Louis for choosing Lestat or Armand, it felt like the dialogue and demeanour of a teenager getting angry. Her demeanour in particular just felt *a lot* younger. I also questioned the direction of that. Would a forty year old woman with her life experience feel that way about her dad/brother? Could I have envisioned Claudia from season one acting like that? Some of Claudia in season two is DH but, I really agree that I think the majority of it was from the writing and direction DH got.
Thank you, I’ve been saying this all season! Even her begging to join the coven seemed very anti-Claudia to me. She hated being under Lestat’s thumb, said it made her feel like a slave. I dunno, I just feel like she would’ve looked at them and their rules and said …not for me. But Claudia secretly plotting to overtake the coven, I can see that. ( my own fantasy for her lol). And agreed, her angry outbursts always seemed off to me! I don’t think the Claudia at the end of s1 would have behaved that way at all. Like I actually went back after ep 3 or 4 and watched s1 again and I was like ok, this is my Claudia plotting and scheming and working silently, sigh. I also chalked some of it up to the mental deterioration Armand spoke of earlier, so maybe that was a choice too.
Yes, I thought I was the only one who felt this! This is a no books spoilers post, but obviously the writers are somewhat tied to the main beats of the book. However, they've taken liberties with the journey and characters and how those main beats happen, and I think sometimes it's not fitting together as well because of the ripple effect of some of those changes. Yes, her angry outbursts in season two just didn't seem right. They weren't unhinged like in season one, and by season two, they felt like a regression. I just found Claudia to be a lot less complex in season two.
I think Season 1 Claudia at the end was definitely giving Grown Woman vibes and I found it easier to believe Delaney was both a woman and a child. Bailey, toward the end, was so composed and beautiful that the girlishness was all gone.
They had her dressing more maturely and doing her hair differently at the end of season 1 as well
I agree completely!
I agree with this take! I too loved Delainey but Bailey has my heart as Claudia 💕
>Also, minor quibble, but I feel like Bailey Bass looks a bit younger than Delainey Hayles. I could believe that Bailey was a 14-yr-old, whereas Delainey just straight-up looks like a woman in her 20s. Yeah, Delainey looks like the grown ass woman that she is, especially in some scenes, like she has a little pucker between her eyebrows. 14 year-olds just don't have those signs of age on their faces and once you notices stuff like that it takes you right out.
I don't see that between her eyebrows. I think the most mature Delainey looked was when she was in that outfit with the shaved eyebrows when they told her she would have to wear the blue dress all the time
i agree
I mean both of them for me tbh
Yeah, I agree
I love both equally, I think they were both meant to play Claudia exactly the way they did in their respective seasons. that said, I'm sad we never got to see Bailey and Assad Zaman in a scene together, I think they would be amazing. I hope to see them on some other project one day
Bailey s1 ep7, very specific I know lol. But when she turns to Lestat and says “ you must think me an idiot” I was on my feet, she still looked like a kid but acted like a 35 yo old woman. I loved Claudia so much in that moment. I didn’t click with Delainey’s Claudia like that, although I did love her defiance in the her “death” scenes but her accent was even worse than Bailey’s.
Bailey fan here. 😻 https://preview.redd.it/whkkpobu629d1.jpeg?width=447&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65418312c7174197890aaac27a545acd8a538cc9 I love her creepy doll look.
She has really big and expressive eyes that really worked to her advantage as Claudia in season 1.
i'm team bailey all the way! her display of unhinged vitality is unmatched. i was gut-wrenched when she announced she was leaving. i look forward to seeing her in other projects. and idk if i'm crazy for thinking this but she looks so much like sabrina carpenter to me! anyone else see it? lol
That's very hard for me as I loved everything about Baileys' Claudia and thought Bailey did a fantastic job; but I also loved Claudia's journey this season so Delainey gets points for that. But overall for me it's Bailey.
I feel like they were both great. The recast made sense to me in the story because Louie remembers New Orleans Claudia as his child, so she resembles him. She’s young and chaotic and energetic. Louie has also had his memory messed with by Armand which slowly unravels through S2. So it makes sense that he’d place Claudia as this young, chaotic, energetic daughter who bared a resemblance to him yet then remembers her as looking older and having no resemblance to him. She’s angry and wary of the world, yet still excited to meet more vampires. She’s not this little doll for Louis and Lestât to dress up and parade around. I would liked to have seen Bailey to some of Delainey)# scenes and vice versa. But that’s my own curiosity.
It's tough, they both brought great stuff to the character. I prefer Claudia in series 1 so it's hard for me to judge them, I just prefer seeing her with Louis and Lestat.
Literally rewatching s1e6 right now and Idk. I feel like Bailey could pull off the script for season 2. I love the way her Claudia felt more like a grown woman at the end of season 1 but still had brief moments where her child-like reactions still come through, like her squeal of excitement on the train when she knew she was finally on her way to getting away from New Orleans and Lestat, albeit short lived. But all her interactions with Lestat are scathing last two eps. Loved Delainey's performance this season but I did miss Bailey a lot.
I genuinely like them both, with a slight edge to Bailey's Claudia because of the unhingedness but that's more because of a scripting issue, I think. They matured Delainey's Claudia off-screen too much (probably intentionally, as Louis didn't pay any attention to her by that point) but focused too little on her journals to back it up. Another journal episode but with Delainey would have been a handful. I also love a fan "theory" (not a theory, but an "in-world explanation" if you would prefer) I saw somewhere that the recast works perfectly with the theme of "memory is a monster" as it basically shows enough time has passed that Louis genuinely doesn't remember how Claudia looks anymore. Given that Lestat and Armand stay in his life but she doesn't, that's brutal.
>They matured Delainey's Claudia off-screen too much (probably intentionally, as Louis didn't pay any attention to her by that point) I think that's being very generous to the writers. I've noticed because the writers do this perspective/memory thing, a lot of viewers attribute almost every odd writing quirk to that. I'm very sceptical that's always the case.
For me, I think I preferred Bailey. The show has a tricky situation with a child (bodied) character dealing with very dark material, so I understand the need to age up the character and cast adult women in the role. I just thought Bailey read a little younger on camera so the illusion was easier to believe. I also wasn’t as crazy about Claudia’s role in this season. I loved the Madeleine stuff, but I think it would have been more interesting if Claudia had reacted to the theatre group the way she did in the book. But Delainey couldn’t help that! Overall, both great performances.
Bailey I loved her take on Claudia. I absolutely believed she was a vicious little killer who could play a long game and coolly mastermind Lestat's death. Her accent was at least not distracting. Delainey worked with the material given to her, and it's not her fault that I hated s2 Claudia. Screaming, tantrum throwing Claudia who blames Louis for absolutely everything no longer felt like Claudia to me, and it was hard to believe s2 Claudia was capable of masterminding anyone's death. And her accent was distracting to the point of frustration. She definitely needs an accent coach.
Agreed 100%
I totally agree with that. Honestly I’m surprised at the number of comments I’ve come across now talking about Claudia supposedly coming across as more mature in season 2. I don’t know if it was because Delainey physically looks and sounds a little older than Bailey and they were trying to overcompensate for that, but if anything it felt at times to me like they were trying a little bit too hard with the screaming tantrums at Louis in the baby dresses and ringlets to convince the audience that Claudia was still a young girl really, but then hadn’t Bailey already magnificently handled the transition to Claudia growing into a woman who was far older mentally than her physical appearance? Season 2 really felt like a regression to me from how we had previously seen Claudia mature and come into her own. Her naivety with the coven as well just didn’t track with the cool and collected Claudia of late s1 who was outsmarting Lestat at chess and playing the long game I agree that it wasn’t Delainey’s fault, but yeah I also found her accent extremely distracting when her Claudia would suddenly sound like someone from London in her more intense moments
TO ME, imho, I felt Bailey was entirely too theatrical both in her naivety and her accent, it felt very put on and like a little kid in a play. Which in a sense it was, I do imagine Louis very literally seeing her that way, so I don't think Bailey did a bad job, but I do think the nuances of Claudia's character were captured best by Delainey and I felt her accent was actually more consistent than Bailey's was. Rewatching the scenes where Claudia is forced to interact with the (russian?) kids in early season 2– when she shoves the boy to the ground sticks out to me as being an incredibly juvenile move that portrays the emotions of someone who feels they're far above interacting with little kids, while still maintaining an air of believability (because what 14 year old would want to hang out with a 10 year old anyways?). Moving further into the season, Delainey had a very convincing way of swinging between feeling like a young teenager and feeling like a mature woman in her 30s/40s. We didn't get to see Bailey outside of the perspective switch of Claudia's early diary entries and Louis's paternal feelings to "brotherly" feelings, so I can't judge much, but I find it hard to imagine Bailey fulfilling the role in the same way Delainey took it on. IMO, I'm glad they switched actresses, because I think the actress switch made sense for the way Claudia was portrayed by Louis vs the reality of the situation, so I think they both did a wonderful job in their respective roles and it's really difficult to compare them!
I am glad you brought up the accent because as a Southerner this stood out to me in both - neither were right for Louisiana and esp Nola. Bailey’s speech was so jarring sometimes it would take me out of the performance.
As a fellow southerner, i'm shocked that so many people thought Bailey's accent was so good, especially next to Jacob's astoundingly accurate NOLA accent, it's incredibly distracting to me. Maybe I would've liked her performance more if her accent were better. Delainey's accent is more generically southern, with some english influence, which to me is more excusable because she only speaks english with non-americans (aside from Louis) throughout season 2, and as a teenager, her accent is more likely to change than his.
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They both struggled with the accent though. Delainey's British accent just came out very clearly at times and Delainey rarely sounded southern to me.
That’s my only probably with her acting over all a stronger but in the really emotionally scenes clear she’s not American and especially not a NOLA accent.
I figured she "got" the accent from traveling Europe for so long
I’ll still choose Bailey, but Delainey has really won me over.
I think I prefer Delainey overall, but at the same time I feel like she kinda has an advantage because imo Claudia's arc was stronger in season 2. Unlike most people I actually think she looks a bit younger than Bailey, but her voice is a lot more mature, which actually fits very well for Claudia at this point where she's an adult woman in a younger body than her mind. On the other hand I can't imagine her playing the young child-like Claudia from 1x04, where I thought Bailey did great. So in that sense I feel like they both fit well for what they were working with, almost like it was a planned recast lol.
I'm team Bailey, but I also just felt like the writing for Claudia was a little off this season. Idk some of her choices just felt incongruous to the character Claudia had become by the end of season 1. I just enjoyed her as a character more in season 1. Some of that is Bailey's portrayal, and some of that is the writing.
I’m personally grateful for both and extremely grateful for the fandom embracing both. I respect those who had a favorite too but also didn’t make it impossible for either actress. As a whole, correct me if I’m wrong, the fandom has been respectful even if they preferred one or the other.
I’m so relieved the fandom was chill about the recast to start the season. For me, I was very disappointed Bailey wasn’t coming back but learning the circumstances I understood. I was determined to keep an open mind about Delainey to start the season, then she won me over by the end of ep 1. I also give credit to the show for how they handled this. The title card saying “the role of Claudia will now be played by Delainey Hayles” was perfect. Acknowledge the recast and plant your flag. Also how vocally supportive they were of her, and how they had her back. The audience will more often then not follow the shows lead.
💯 I loved how the show handled to recast too! Kept with the theater vibe 🎭
I loved both! The recasting imo worked for the portrayal of Claudia. Although this is somewhat of a reach, since Claudia is frozen in her young age, different actors portraying her embodied different phases of her journey. S1 Claudia was new to it all and starry eyed at first without real conscience until she cared about that guy and it went sideways. (The vague description is to avoid spoilers but people that saw it already know who I mean).Because of that incident and others, she was also just discovering the brutality of the life she's been pulled into without her consent. Lestat's cruel attacks, the vampire bond, her limitations in finding companionship, that she's always going to be a child...sheesh, that load took time to fully hit her. This was Claudia who was still an "innocent" in that she didn't know how bad that life could get, including her own part in that she didn't know how bad SHE could get. Claudia's S1 monologue about what she might've been had Louis left her there to die--how she might've been saved, left to live as a scarred up woman with a menial job and maybe a husband and some kids, maybe not happy but a real life that welcomed her in it. I think that one cut deep. That was a Claudia aha moment that broke my heart for her. S2 Claudia is more the version that's like the movie Network, "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!" This is a Claudia that's now got some hard bark on her and it shows in her eyes. Other vampires are sure she'll break down and kill herself eventually but her fight to live is remarkable all while they refuse to recognize it or respect her for it. Claudia is a survivor with an inner strength of the likes the other vampires may have never seen before. Lestat was her maker, a formidable source. Look how strong he is with the powerful maker he had. Imagine if Claudia was older when changed?? Man, watch out because she was strong as a kid!!! Had Claudia been really loved and trained after she was made she might've survived the tests of time. The other vampires were always aiming that girl towards the grave no matter what she did. They hamstringed her repeatedly. Even in the end where that was evident as a gorgeous metaphor for her vampire life and her response to it. I LOVE both Claudias and I'm so glad we got to see both these talented young actresses bring her startlingly to life for us all.
They are both excellent but Delainey’s accent keeps taking me out of her performance. I know it’s not really her fault since she was cast on such short notice, but it never sounded like she truly got the hang of it.
delainey’s accent did not sound creole at all like she was trying way too hard💀 i HATED the way she said vampire with that stupid try hard accent
I preferred Delainey’s Claudia, she was much more believable as a woman trapped in a child’s body. They’re both fantastic actresses though, that’s just my preference.
I too was team Delainey. Bailey for me was the weak link in season one. She just always felt a bit miscast for me. I like her in other things but she just didn’t click for me as Claudia. Delainey on the other hand absolutely destroyed me as Claudia.
this
they were both fantastic but i do wish if Bailey was able to continue with s2. i miss the chemistry between the 3 leads in s1.
I thought they were bought fantastic. As someone else on here put it, Bailey captured Claudia's youthful rage perfectly, while Delainey captured Claudia's more worn outmature nature perfectly.
Delainey. There were scenes where she said nothing and it was all there. A very nuanced performance. Nothing against Bailey but Delainey edged her out for the powerhouse moments. I felt every bit of Claudia's existential frustration, anger, and agony during the trial.
I preferred both! They honestly have their own spin on Claudia and that’s what makes it great! 👍🏽
I feel like Claudia changes so much between seasons 1and2 that the change in actresses works.
I love Delainey. She kicked the door down and burned it. I have nothing against Bailey Bass as well, but I think the way Claudia is now, work perfectly. With the fact that Louis saw her as a little girl, daughter, sister, someone ultimately younger and shorter, below him at least in some ways, Claudia changing into a brilliant vampire who is being forced back into a cute mild, is done really well. She might never have been a little girl. Both performances are valid and beautiful. I'm excuted for Delainey's mad and bitter ghost Claudia. I also feel like some people prefer Bailey for her more conventially attractive appearance and that pains me. Both of them are gorgeous and both of them killed it.
Bailey for me.
Delainey’s accent slips were easy to forgive because she acted her mother flipping ass off.
I’d love to have access to alternate universes where I could see Delainey as bb Claudia and Bailey as middle aged Claudia. Not because I think one will do better than the other over all, but because I am greedy and they are phenomenal actresses and I want it all
I think both did a really good job, but Bass has a slight edge for me. Bass looked more youthful and was more believable as someone who was supposed to be 14 and while her accent wasn't perfect, she also was never British. What I really liked about Bass though is that her Claudia is unhinged, damaged, and tormented by her circumstances which supports both her anger and the questions about whether or not she can ever be truly independent and Louis and Lestat were right to make her. Hayles doesn't bring those elements and I think that takes away from the narrative a bit.
Bailey, it's no fault of the new actress at all but the change really took me out of the story. Probably bc i binged watched season one right before starting season 2
I didn’t think I would like Delainey’s Claudia at first but ended up loving her. Both accents were atrocious to me— Bailey’s was just wrong and stuck out against Jacob’s amazing accent and Delainey’s British accent slips out often. I can’t believe some people think Bailey’s accent was accurate tbh. I did not like Claudia (the character) in S1. So in that sense I think Bailey did brilliantly as the infuriating immature Claudia. There were times I hated her! Delainey’s Claudia felt more nuanced but I think that’s more on the timeline and Claudia aging, not acting. I do think Delainey’s ultimately has more chemistry with Louis but I would’ve liked to have seen her interact with Lestat more. I DO think Bailey is MUCH more convincing looks-wise as a child. Seeing Claudia with Madeleine, I can believe she’s not a teenager so it’s less striking, whereas Bailey looked much younger than Delainey. Even dressed in Baby Lu she didn’t look like a child imo.
Rewatching season 1, and while Delainey does amazing work as well, I prefer Bailey.
Bailey's accent annoyed me, tbh. I liked both of their acting, beyond that, and thought they both brought good things to the table.
I just wish James Cameron had been able to let BB shoot this season. She was sorely missed. Nothing wrong with Delaney, but she didn't have the gravitas or maniacal presence that BB had.
Both!!
Maybe because I watched season 1 so long ago but Delainey for me. Her face when she explained to Louis how she wanted something of her own, and that was Madeleine. That moment was beautiful and made me love her forever.
I've said ur multiple times before I love them both. I wouldn't be able to choose; they embodied Claudia perfectly at different stages in her life.
Kirsten Dunst* .but that's not fair, they're completely different characters. Honestly the two TV Claudia's were pretty even for me.
You mean dunst?
Jesus christ yes I do. How embarrassing.
Hayles by miles. Bailey Bass made an adorable manic Claudia but was kind of stiff doing cool, late season Claudia, her delivery on lines that were supposed to be delivered more subtly was frequently quite awkward. Her accent was also very hammy in comparison.
I think they both served their own Claudia well, and that it was actually a lovely coincidence that Bailey had to leave the show after Season 1, because I think there needed to be a change in the character of Claudia to coincide with the tonal shift between the two seasons. I loved Bailey’s performance in S1, she represented the innocence and subsequent loss of innocence in Claudia, as well as the gradual spiral that Claudia undergoes mentally. And then in S2, Delainey just knocks it out of the park. She delivers Claudia’s anger and resentment and her being slightly less believably 14 than Bailey actually works out because while we know that Claudia is supposed to be a child, Delainey brings a mature aura to the role that makes you understand how Claudia feels on the inside. I couldn’t imagine Bailey delivering anger and strength the way Delainey does and I couldn’t imagine Delainey delivering naivety and hopelessness in the way that Bailey did.
I also loved the first Claudia but really loved the second Claudia's rage delivery of her lines. Even tho her accent slipped in a few I am here for it 💖
From the very first photos and clips I saw of Delaney I knew she was going to nail it. She has a ferocity and intensity that really came through. Her entire body language was on point. I liked Bailey as well, but to be honest I've sort of forgotten her. Not really in a bad way, the transition was nearly seamless to me. But I doubt Bailey could have done THIS season like Delaney did. Anyway, I loved them both in their own ways. And the accents were both terrible, I just ignored it.
I’m sorry but it’s Delaney for me by a mile. That accent in season 1 was not it!
Bailey felt like baby lulu. I never had a problem with her character or performance in season 1, but it wasn't as nuanced as season 2 claudia. I'm not saying it needed to be at that part of claudia's development, but yea.
I think the change in actresses helped the character as a whole. It helped me personally conceptualize that while Claudia may not be maturing physically she was mentally.