Interview with the Vampire season 2 premiere recap: What do the damned say to the damned?

The interview continues in the highly anticipated second season of Interview with the Vampire, now with Armand revealed, though he remains off the record. Perhaps the funniest thing about season 2 is just how sick of all the vampire nonsense Daniel has become.

With Lestat out of commission, at least temporarily, Louis and Claudia head to a war-torn Europe in search of other vampires. It’s a little icy between them. Claudia still hasn’t forgiven Louis for his refusal to burn Lestat’s body. And we all know the older vampire won’t be that easy to get rid of.

Even if his presence isn’t physically there, Louis continues to be haunted by his former lover. Deep down he knows Lestat isn’t really dead. His Lestat hallucination taunts him, promising he will come to kill Louis when he’s finally happy again.

Claudia is persistent in her desire to find other vampires. She and Louis spend literal years combing through refugee camps and cities looking for signs of vampires. During that time, they pick up the local languages.

It’s not until they reach Romania that they have any luck. Claudia notices several soldiers and people wearing garlic and other cliché signs of warding off vampires. A woman named Emilia offers them a place to stay for the night. As Louis chats with Emilia and her partner, Claudia goes exploring and stumbles upon a terrifying vampire, an unintelligible creature that looks more like a zombie than a vampire, but she’s thrilled.

Louis doesn’t fully believe her until Emilia returns with bite marks on her neck and the superstitious crowd decapitates her.

Claudia and Louis leave the humans to their business and leave to find the other vampire, whom they cross paths with in the woods. A fight ensues, resulting in Claudia ripping out the creature’s eyes. That’s when they meet another proper vampire, Daciana. She emerges from the woods and puts the malformed vampire out of its misery.

Claudia and Louis follow her back to her house where she’s trying to create another vampire. Louis tells her his theory that this place is bad for their kind because of all the war. Human blood is entrenched with sadness and misery. It’s turning the blood bad and explains why the new vampires she’s been making aren’t turning out correctly.

Eager to finally have met another vampire, especially a woman vampire, Claudia appeals to Daciana. She could travel with them. Together they can return to America. But Daciana is too far gone by this point and instead throws herself into the fireplace, burning to a crisp.

Why did Daciana kill herself? I think she just went a little mad all these years alone, making vampires from bad blood who would all perish shortly after. Claudia’s promises sounded dream-like, a nice thing to remember on her way out. The idea of starting over was probably too much for Daciana. Or she just didn’t believe Claudia’s promises.

Understandably, Daciana’s death really upsets Claudia, leaving her feeling depressed and despondent. Louis promises her that they will keep looking, but even if Claudia were the last vampire on earth, he assures her that would be enough. The episode ends with the duo preparing for the next chapter of their adventure, in France.

In 2022, Armand and Louis discuss their ulterior motives regarding the interview. It’s still unclear what Armand wants from all of this, but he believes they are capable of manipulating Daniel. They need to turn him into the pliable, nervous guy Louis met in San Francisco all those years before.

Part of the plan entails letting Armand become a participant in the interview. Moving forward, Daniel will be chatting with them together. No more “off the record” for Armand.

New episodes of Interview with the Vampire air Sunday nights on AMC and also stream on AMC+. To stay up to date on thrillers, sci-fi, and horror, bookmark 1428 Elm and follow our Facebook page and Twitter account!