From the first episode of “The Vampire Lestat” up to the emotionally catastrophic (literally) cliffhanger in the season finale, we learn in bits and pieces that both of his makers — Gabriella de Lioncourt (Jennifer Ehle), the mother who gave him mortal life, and the vampire Magnus (Damien Atkins), who birthed Lestat into immortality — put significant effort into both physically and psychologically messing him up to such a degree that he never really had a chance at peace, alive or dead. But we also learn that never stopped him from seeking it out, especially once he had eternity to do so, and even though he didn’t know how to handle it once he got close to it.
In Rice’s 1985 novel, “The Vampire Lestat,” which showrunner Rolin Jones does take creative liberties with, but in ways that still match the general vibe of the source material, Lestat repeatedly describes himself as possessing an irrepressible delight in life long before he became a vampire, which is in contrast to the bleakness of his family.
