Sam Reid says Paul’s finale return unlocks Lestat’s Louis problem

Paul de Pointe du Lac turns up at the worst possible moment for Lestat, and Sam Reid says that is exactly why the finale needs him.

In a post-finale interview with Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko, Reid explained the surprise appearance by Paul, played by Steven G. Norfleet, in episode 7 of The Vampire Lestat. The episode, titled “The Failures,” puts Lestat before the long table after he has confronted figures he has loved, harmed and despised.

The scene shifts into something like a performance, with Lestat facing what Mashable describes as a line of victims. Then, as Lestat appears to be nearing death, Paul arrives for a quieter exchange.

Paul is a charged presence in Lestat and Louis’ story. He is Louis de Pointe du Lac’s brother, and Mashable notes that Paul died by suicide rather than at Lestat’s hands. His arrival is not presented as another furious reckoning in Reid’s reading of the scene. Instead, Paul helps explain the emotional wall between Louis and Lestat.

Paul’s return changes what Lestat understands

Reid told Mashable that the people gathered at the concert represent those Lestat has either killed or traumatized. Paul, he said, has a different role.

“But Paul represents the reason why Louis can’t say ‘I love you’ to him,” Reid said.

That line gets to the heart of the finale’s emotional business. According to Reid, Lestat has spent years chasing a kind of confirmation from Louis that Louis has not been able to give. Paul’s appearance gives Lestat a new way to read that silence.

Reid explained to Mashable that Lestat cannot get the validation he wants most because “the last time Louis said ‘I love you’ to somebody, they killed themselves.” In Reid’s interpretation, Paul is there to tell Lestat that Louis does love him, even if he cannot say it in the way Lestat has demanded.

The moment is also framed as a kind of empathy that neither Paul nor Lestat had been able to fully reach before. Mashable describes Paul as appearing in a manner similar to Claudia’s earlier return, though without the same anger. In death, or in Lestat’s near-death state, Paul and Lestat are able to see Louis differently.

For Reid, that realization forces Lestat to stop pressing Louis for proof. He told Mashable that Lestat understands he has to stop needing Louis to provide that validation, because Louis has his own pain and still loves him.

Reid called the realization “heartbreaking” and “beautiful,” adding that it gives Lestat a kind of closure because he finally understands that he is loved.

From the brink back to Louis

Reid also said the epiphany is what pulls Lestat away from death. After that, Lestat wakes and asks where Louis is, according to Mashable.

The finale then moves into Lestat and Louis reuniting on the tour bus, both with each other and with their bodies. The closing reveal of a battered world, however, points to more trouble ahead for the pair.

Mashable reported that Reid also offered hints about what comes next for The Vampire Lestat. The series is streaming on AMC and AMC+.

This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.