Jacob Anderson Explains Louis’ Reaction to Lestat and Gabriella Incest (Exclusive)

The truth about Lestat (Sam Reid) and Gabriella’s (Jennifer Ehle) relationship was bound to be revealed in The Vampire Lestat. It just came out in the most unexpected of ways in the penultimate episode of the season. No matter the troublesome medium of the exposé, the message disturbed Louis (Jacob Anderson) in the episode heavily focused on Anderson and Reid’s characters. But Louis quickly turned from disgust to compassion after a difficult conversation with his ex, one that reminded him of Armand’s (Assad Zaman) near century of lies at first. This comparison didn’t sit well with Lestat. He plunged into a panic attack, and Louis changed gears. Anderson explains this shift to TV Insider, sharing how it’s a sign of growth for his character. Warning: The Vampire Lestat Episode 6 spoilers ahead.

Lestat and his mother/vampire fledgling have been in an incestuous relationship for centuries of their vampiric existence, but the problematic dynamic began when they were a human mother and son. In The Vampire Lestat Episode 6, Armand helped Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) get the salacious scoop on Gabriella, who has been disguising herself as the vampire Sofia on Lestat’s tour. Armand guest-starred in Daniel’s TMZ-style video exposing the truth of their relationship, and Lemuel (Moses Sumney), Louis’ casual love interest, sent Louis the video.

This came after flickers of reconnection sparked between Louis and Lestat as the vampire rockstar serenaded his former immortal companion with a song called “Brutal Love” at his concert rehearsal. The love song was written by Lestat about Louis, composer Daniel Hart told TV Insider. And the track had a visible impact on Louis, who has been upset about the publication of Daniel’s memoir all season for layered reasons. Louis met Gabriella for the first time at that rehearsal. Later that night, Louis and Lestat would summon the ghost of their departed daughter, Claudia (Delainey Hayles), in a séance with Merrick Mayfair (Sarah Afful) in a scene that made both men realize the continued work they need to do on themselves.

Louis stormed out of their car when Lestat tried to explain his sexual relationship with his mother. He argued that vampires are “unnatural beings” to whom human morality doesn’t apply, but that logic crumbled quickly under Louis’ questioning, sending Lestat into a panic. When Lestat reminded Louis that he supported him through the Regina (Hayles) ordeal and did so without calling him broken, Louis realized he should make space to comfort Lestat. The following scene in a nearby bar gave the nuance of the incest topic some room to breathe.

Anderson tells TV Insider why it was important for Louis to have this moment where he really listens, noting that Louis has always been self-aware to an extent.

Sophie Giraud/AMC

“I feel like I’m defending Louis in talking about Episode 6. I’m defending him more than I’ve ever defended him before. I’m not sure why, but I think he’s always been reflective,” Anderson says. “I think Louis is willing to hear something about himself and entertain it. And sometimes he will hear something about himself and it will spiral. It’ll send him into a spiral and will send him into self-hatred. But sometimes I think he’s kind of open to being told that he was wrong.”

Lestat brought up Regina, a waitress with an Only Fans who looks exactly like Claudia. Louis hired Regina to pretend to be Claudia, and he also hired a lookalike of Claudia’s dead lover/Louis’ fledgling, Madeleine (Roxane Duran). It was an expression of Louis’ deep grief over Claudia’s death, which was compounded by the revelation that he was lied to about the nature of her death for decades. Anderson notes that Louis knows he was wrong to hire “Fraudia,” but it’s not an exact comparison to what’s happening between Lestat and Gabriella.

“I think it’s because what Lestat says back to him is true, but then I think there’s also my very human-centered brain going like, ‘What happened between Gabriella and Lestat outside of their vampiric existence is objectively wrong,’” Anderson says. “And so I think maybe that’s why I’m like, all right, what Louis did was super weird and uncomfortable and morally wrong, but it’s slightly different. But Louis is very… Yeah, he takes it very well.”

“It is a real moment of growth for him, how quickly he’s able to contain what has been happening to Lestat or what’s happening in his life,” Anderson adds.

The cracks in Louis’ growth showed in the Claudia séance, when he told Claudia’s ghost that she should be thankful for him killing Bruce (Damon Daunno), Claudia’s assailant, in her honor. He quickly learned how wrong that statement was.

What Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat have done so well is showing the very human truth that, for all of their characters, evolution is hard won even with eternity on your side, and that growth is never a steady incline. There will always be peaks and valleys, and even vampirism doesn’t erase the responsibility they have to themselves and each other to try to be better. Of course, that’s easier to do when your head’s on straight (literally). Armand and Daniel, care to comment?

Get more insights about The Vampire Lestat Episode 6 in our Backstage Pass video interview above.

— Additional Reporting by Damian Holbrook

The Vampire Lestat, Season Finale, Sunday, July 19, 9/8c, AMC, Streaming on AMC+

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.