RECAP: ‘The Vampire Lestat’ Episode 4 — “The Devil’s Road”

“Why let the past stay in the past? I welcome the dead.” With these words, Lestat condemns himself (and the audience) in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4, “The Devil’s Road,” to some awkwardly executed forays into Lestat’s past, with the episode’s editing and screenplay transitions making an already eclectic journey clunkier to experience. The Devil’s Road, in question, speaks to Lestat’s and Gabriella’s experience in Europe prior to their separation, but the episode expands the meaning into its broadest context: the vampiric life.

The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 opens with Lestat’s (Sam Reid) voiceover discussing rock’s fixation on “The Devil’s Road.” Clips from the road in various towns, highways punctuate the experience before shifting to the chaotic interior of Lestat’s tour bus. “Cliches about the road can be concussive, but it doesn’t make them conclusive,” says Lestat. Yet his road is riddled with loneliness and the ghosts of the past, and Sofia/Gabriella’s (Jennifer Ehle) departure plunges him back down “The Devil’s Road” once more as past hurts between them resurface.

An encounter with a police officer, eager to search the tour bus for an easy cocaine find, sets up the stakes for the episode. Lestat’s exertion of power in front of his bandmates plants a seed for the future in case they are forced into a situation where they must convert. And a brief mention of a manifesto here before the opening credits roll sparks intrigue that is left to fester until it comes heavily into play by episode’s end.

Louis becomes entirely obsessed with Regina, Claudia’s doppleganger.

The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 pivots to Louis (Jacob Anderson), who has become entirely fixated on Claudia’s doppleganger in the modern world. Delainey Hayles returns to the series as Regina, a waitress working at Brick & Bacon, or as Lestat puts it, a liminal space where its occupants don’t realize they need to rest or service. Louis spends nights visiting the diner as his alias Thomas Pitt, and makes no secret that he’s just there to observe her. Very creepy and not too subtle, Louis. 

The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 then shifts back onto the bus, where the bus-life mediocrity is starting to weigh down on Lestat. That and his mother/lover’s absence. She is distant and coy in text messages—when she finally responds, that is. Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) picks up on her absence. Realizing that the topic of his mother is a sore subject, Daniel decides to focus on her, prompting Lestat to look back on those memories whilst crafting the lies needed to protect her privacy. In the background, the ghost of Nicky (Joseph Potter) is there, full of resentment.

The picture of Gabriella that Lestat paints for Daniel is different from the scenes we watch play out in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4. She is far from the despondent, lifeless fledgling he makes her out to be. In fact, every time we flash back to Gabriella in the past in this episode, she is full of life. By becoming a vampire, she has finally been given a chance to live the life she wants, free from her family name, titles, and gender. Unfortunately, her ties to Lestat hold her back, as we’ll see in flashbacks later on. 

The complexities of the parent/child relationship take focus in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4.

The exploration of the parent/child or maker/makee relationships in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 extends to Dr. Fareed Bhansali (Gopal Divan), a human doctor who has been assisting Lestat throughout the tour, Louis and his focus on Claudia, and Daniel’s lack of relationship with Armand (Assad Zaman). The focus on Fareed is brief, giving a moment to add a little more lore to the underserved character this season. However, it’s the episode’s shift to Daniel’s relationship with Armand that finally feels like we’re getting somewhere there.

Let’s face it. The writing this season has been edging us toward the inevitable confrontation between Armand and Daniel, and we get it in spades in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4. The location? In a bowling ball rink, in the midst of unwinding, Armand interrupts Daniel’s strike streak with a longstanding apology as part of his version of the Twelve Steps. Daniel turns it on its head, taking the Ninth Step and twisting it back at Armand to point out how he has literally ruined his life. Eric Bogosian plays this moment with the wry sarcasm and resentment it deserves. 

But then we shift back to Louis and Regina. As Regina, Delainey Hayles is quick and snappy with comebacks and retorts. Regina can go toe-for-toe with Louis, and with the vampire so vulnerable to the thought that Regina is Claudia reborn, he opens himself up for a trap. He moves too quickly in revealing his real identity, showing Regina the novel of his life before freezing up. Jacob Anderson plays this with great emotion, letting the mask drop before his Louis skedaddles out of the diner. 

As the ghosts of his past continue to emerge, the hold on Lestat’s sanity grows tenous. 

It is here in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 that we shoot back into the past without any real connective tissue to transition us there. There’s no documentary to be filmed, no witty self-aggrandizing voiceover from Lestat, or anything to guide us in the jump, and it’s frankly an odd choice. With how many quick cuts to past moments and footage, reflecting how quickly these moments jump in Lestat’s memory, the moment we cut back to Lestat and Gabriella in this episode, it’s jarring and not in a good sense. 

Even still, this moment with Lestat and Gabriella in an Italian inn may be one of the strongest peeks we see into her psyche in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4. The reminders of her past self rankle her, and the man who believes he recognizes her is left haunted when she uses her powers to push back. “I’m a fever that comes in the night and kills by morning,” she says, absolving herself of her human identifiers. She cannot be constrained, nor does she want to be. 

The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 cuts back to the present day with Lestat being interviewed once more by Daniel in the midst of a party. The two converse about the intricacies of love, or rather, the darkness it can be transformed into once obsessions kick in. As the scene grows more overwhelming, brilliantly punctuated by the sound design, Lestat keeps trying to reach out to Sofia. He feels abandoned, and a flashback to catching her sleeping with another man emphasizes the betrayal Lestat feels as his mother exercises her freedom. 

Armand catches both strays and direct hits all throughout the episode.

The next night, Armand visits Lestat to share his apology. Lestat takes the moment to emotionally manipulate him, taking his time to undress and shower in front of the elder vampire, knowing that it’d make him uncomfortable. Lestat also refutes Armand’s turn of phrase and attempts at flattery, pointing out that he intentionally chose to torture Armand and Louis by not reaching out in the first place. Lestat also reminds him that this apology tour is not in Armand’s nature, and he should stick to what he knows.

And therein lies more of the catch for why Armand is there and the growing plot of the Great Conversion. As Lestat continues to perform, the more vampires covet. This means more vampires are being made daily, which is causing the food supply to dwindle. As an allegory for sustainability, it’s on the nose. And it will eventually tie into the future plot involving Akasha and Enkil, since their existence ensures the prolonged survival of the vampiric race. 

Before we can dive deeper into that, The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 pivots back to Louis and Regina, where the two finally have the conversation about Regina looking like Claudia. Regina is rightfully freaked out. Who could blame her? Not helping matters is that Louis looked into her background, going full-on stalker mode. He wants to help her, give the girl who looks so much like his daughter a new life, but she wants none of it. But don’t worry, she’ll come around. 

You know who won’t come around? Lestat with Armand’s apology. Lestat embarrasses his former lover (and subsequently reveals to the recently returned Alex (Seamus Patterson) that his sponsor is a vampire) with arguably the most gay (positive) song he’s done so far. Armand storms out, only to be followed by Daniel, which leads to an iteration of the Great Conversion conversation but also drops a hint at Armand’s feelings for Daniel.

The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 is having fun wading into the wells of abandonment issues, and after another fruitless attempt to contact his mother, Lestat gets ready to depart. Remember the manifesto mentioned at the beginning of the episode? Well, it comes to fruition with the return of one of Lestat’s hardcore fans, shooting up Lestat, his lawyer, and the rest of the band in an attempt to prove vampires are real. Arguably, this is the most realistic scenario to have evolved from this revelation.

Similarly, the brush against death projects Lestat back to the final moments he had with his mother on their “Devil’s Road” journey before she abandoned him. She wonders what will be left of their journey as the years pass. They wax poetic about evil, with his mother desiring to decimate the world. Until their darkness rules over all, but Lestat is not his mother. He does not relish in evil—not really. And this fact alone may be what truly pushes her away from him in the end. Well, at least in the past. 

A manifesto so casually dismissed at the beginning could be a bigger catalyst than thought.

Before The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 lets these moments linger, the episode shifts back to Louis and Regina. Louis is not escaping the stalker boy allegations, sitting outside the dinner in his car, watching Regina. She beckons him in, where they negotiate a fee for her to pretend to be Claudia. Yep, that’s happening. And hey, who can blame someone for finding a way to financially exploit a vampire that has money to burn? Even if he can kill her in seconds.

The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 ends with a video recording of the would-be vampire assassin from earlier reading his manifesto. It’s clear that Lestat’s rejection of the guy back in Episode 1 has turned his adoration sour. Bringing it back around to the Great Conversion, the guy points out that while humans are their fuel, they are also the source of vampiric strength. That humanity is what keeps the vampires tethered, but also haunts them.

And for Lestat, the haunting goes deeper as he is left alone on the bus. Everyone appears to have left him. It’s not particularly shocking due to, well, the threats to their lives. But there are now no more distractions to keep the ghosts of his past at bay. Instead, memories linger. What The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 has hinted at all episode long, with cuts of a beach shore growing larger and larger until the end, where Lestat finds his mother has left him, and for a brief moment, he believes she is dead.

One thing is clear by the end of The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 – the ghosts of the past aren’t leaving anytime soon.

Cut back to the present day, and Sofia is back as mocking as ever. Lestat reveals he’s thinking of quitting, and Sofia is not having it. That’s not at the root of Lestat’s distress, however, in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4, and he calls her out on her leaving him. She is dismissive, telling him to grow up, but he’s hurt. This is not the first instance, and she knows it. They both know it, but she distracts him with the truth. She’s been with the voices, i.e. other vampires.

There’s been a push-and-pull all season long over the vampiric reaction to Lestat being out and proud. The voiceover of these varying voices emphasizes this, but as the conversation goes on, we see an acquiescence towards Lestat’s efforts. They want to hear him. His voice, his pride, they motivate them. They fuel them. However, as the camera starts panning backward, Lestat’s various regrets, manifested in the lives he’s touched and broken with his actions, appear arranged around the tour bus.

His music seems poised to break him. The ghosts of his past have accepted his welcome and are not keen on leaving him anytime soon, as we’ve seen in The Vampire Lestat Episode 4. Despite a rather uneven, choppy episode, it’s in the resounding final voiceover that everything comes home. This is all so much bigger than Lestat. It’s bigger than anyone’s wants, hurts, and traumas. Whatever is coming is going to hit hard. And whoever ends up surviving? Well, the world they inherit won’t be the same.

The Vampire Lestat Episode 4 is streaming now on AMC+ with new episodes airing every Sunday on AMC.

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