Mid season recap- On the use of lights and some bits about the score
So I got to rewatch all 4 episodes so far and noticed a couple things I´d like to share here. I wanted to speak about the incredible work in two different aspects of the show: the use of lights/colors and the use of music (I mean, duh for the second one, but not just the Lestat center songs, I'm talking about the rest of the score here).
I´m not mentioning much about the wardrobe other than by colours or general production design a lot because Andres Cubillán and Wing Lee are doing the best job ever in their own Insta accounts to bring those aspects to light (and I´m enjoying it tremendously, please check them out, I´ve been sharing a few here but do go and show them some love too!). Plus we got the Encore from Andrés Cubillan and very recently Lex Wood which have been super informative in that sense, so make sure to check them out (aaand apparently be very attentive to outfits this season because some fabrics might be hiding easter eggs for the season finale?)
Golden Moments with Andres Cubillan | The Encore: Behind the Curtain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=lJKUbz1D4sI
Now starting with the lightning of the show we are seeing the full mental state of Lestat and company constantly through the season. It´s telling us about the relationship between characters, their mental/emotional states and their general character (plus how Lestat sees everything around him).
If you look closely, every time Lestat is singing in the first episode, we see him engulfed in a very warm light while on stage, similar to the moments when every vampire is feeding or the flashback with Louis (warm tones are very much the palette for Louis during the whole season, with a couple interesting variations through the episodes).
There is also the black and white scenes of the documentary, the “real” shots inside the whole show so to speak, since Daniel´s documentary is still happening and might be the only other available source of these events (or whatever version of it exists for the public). All the hallways backstage and particularly Daniel are constantly in very cold lights or very little lights. Lestat of course being the one with the most obvious contrasts during the full season (and a very pointed use of the color of his eyes being put to the front of every scene, a big departure from previous seasons where the dilating pupils effect was the more obvious focus). We also see a lot of purple/violet tones for the more emotional/sad/provocative songs, the only repetition of the full warm tone for Lestat is when he sings to Louis in episode 2
We can also see that when he´s high out of his mind, Lestats full color palette goes to very shiny purple and lilac tones, this repeats a little in the rest of the season whenever he´s under the influence of drug blood or in very specific, let´s say, manic moments. My guess is a vulnerable state is always going to go to those colors, the intensity of the light or warmth would indicate if it´s a frantic moment or a more profound one.
The cold corridor where he fights the Fang Gang is a perfect contrast to the warm tones in the elevator after the sex montage, as a bit of a fall into a serious situation and the reality of it once in the suite where we end up in a documentary footage of the reality of the situation right after his drug addled trip during the episode.
On episode 2 we see an interesting use of colors, usually everything that has to do with the family shows up in very unsaturated and dim colour, except for Lestat in Blue, during his childhood and adolescence, and then Gabriella in Golden tones. When Lestat goes for the wolves he´s in a more similar color attire to her (as his she to him in green) which is then replaced by the Red Cloak in Paris. He says so himself in the scene where his wardrobe changes colors, “She had a cold beauty and I grew hard by example” (terrible pun as well dude). Which means that he was in a way being swayed by her ways, very specifically in the scene where he follows her taunts into almost dying.
Right after the wolves we see the difference between the 2 of them again, this time Gabrielle in very cold colors and Lestat in the warm light of the fire.
While on the present times we have the scene of Alex leaving the band after the whole vampire revea, which includes leaving the warm environment of the Tour bus (grossly warm tones one might say, except for the vampire areas, Lestat is a mix with warm tones and cold edges, while Daniel as seen in the episode 4 is once more in a very cold space).
In this episode we see now a pattern for the purple lights, Lestat is now “under the influence” of Gabriella, or in a vulnerable state once more. We can see the same while on stage where we are now evolving into a mix between different lights depending on the moment.
Going to the scene in the management room we have all cold lights and sharp corners, Louis particularly is using his usual warm tones but underneath we see a shiver of cold blue which goes very well with his whole vibe in the scene, outwardly worried and caring but always that sharpness underneath (which in this case is very poignant on his taunting of Lestat constantly)
When on stage we see the big difference between episode one and 2 in the sort of song he´s singing and the way the light hits hiis audience as well. Daniel and Louis are cold but the side of the face that points to each other also has a shadow of warm color, as a bit of a recognition or caring for each other. Of course none of that compares to the full explosion of light when Lestat approaches Louis with his part of the song.
The diner scene also uses the warm tones in both the present and the flashback when the family is gathered for dinner time. The absolute contrast with the light of the morning and Lestats regret to the reality is once more very easy to see from both the acting, score and lightning alone.
And let us take this moment to listen to that song, remember the melody Lestat was using for composing Louis a song in the first flashback of the season? It´s the same one he uses for “La fontaine de sang” on this episode as we see the flashback to his own family massacre.
My only strange addition to this is the editing on that scene, for some reason if you watch it again notice how many cuts there are in this specific moment when he stops singing, the angle of the camera, the actual light from the background not being quite the same, the dimensions of the room are very odd at all times when the song stops, maybe for the purpose of showing turmoil or disorientation or maybe some theory still unfolding there.
To my tinfoil hat self, something is missing on that scene, let´s hope I don´t have to eat my words by the end of the season.
Now episode 3 is absolutely cool with how the cameras are used both for the actual theme of the episode and the nature of the narration happening. We have Daniel and Lestat speaking through a lens, mostly with a dark background and muted tones until of course, Lestat is confronted with the tale of his maker and decides to tell it in his own way. Sharp colors, contrasts and a lot of warm lights, a very exageratedly romantic setting the way he tells it.
The whole setting is particularly good to tell us about the reality, the perceived reality on the screens and the colourful tale being told. Daniel says something like that himself, we use the colour camera for this one and the rest of the documentary in black and white, because this might be a performance to a screen. Gabriella cannot help but to be in the background between the shadows taunting Lestat almost as much as Daniel
While on the tale of Nicky's relationship with Lestat, Lestat shows up in a very dreary old Paris in a very bright red cloak, and meets Nicky, who´s almost constantly dressed in black and white tones with a very prominent blue background as his introduction.
Once more, the intimate moments between the two are seen in very warm lights and dark shadows as most in the other episodes. When the final scenes are happening between them Lestat remarks on how he remembers Nicky, with the golden light on his face. The only one in that scene against a colder background is Armand, as an indication of his harsher involvement in this part of the story.
On Louis side we see him shrouded in the dark and attacking the Fang Gang on their house, most o the actual revenge and killing takes place behind curtains in a very clear similarity with season 2 where the Theatre des Vampires does the same in that oldmansion, but we see a very clear shift to cold tones when he enters the basement and is once more confronted with the reality of what´s going on on that place beyond what he himself went here to do.
All the scenes in the basement and latter confrontation with Bruce are under the same cold harsh tones, reflecting the reality of what he´s reading in Claudia´s diary.
The contrast with Lestat scenes in the car and flashbacks where he´s in extremely muted colours and the difference in tones from what his previous tale of his turning was, gives us as well a more realistic and less idealized version of that tale.
At the ending of the episode Lestat wears some blue strikes on his hair and is covered mostly in bluetones along with his audience for “The Loneliness”, the most notable other tones are Magnus in a cold but bright light and Gabriella leaving amongst blue and dark tones. Nicky shows up smiling in the audience on the reddish and warmer tones that also are seen on Lestat as the song progresses.
At the end of the episode Louis approaches a dinner (full of red lights, almost like a flag if you ask me) and meets the mysterious Regina, dressed in a pale yellow dress reminiscent of Claudia's dress for her trial.
Our other final Red flag shows up approaching behind Alex on his AA meeting, where the mysterious Arun shows up as well on his very demure earthly tones contrasted by that intense gaze.
Episode 4 starts talking about the road, and as we approach the phrase about the Devil´s road we see the bus driving into the dark dreary future (ok it´s an industrial zone, but you get the point).
We also see Alex return onto the bus, and if you catch it now, check out his fun little copper bracelet and try to locate who else seems to have a similar one in the episode.
On the Armand and Daniel´s initial meeting we can´t help but notice the blue and cold tones behind Daniel ( we had seen him speaking about the vampire loneliness previously, so now we are catching unto one of the main causes of it). He´s also on the bright side of the bowling alley, while Armand seems hardly visible in the slightly darker background, always in very muted tones and moving in the shadows (wonder what he´s doing nowadays right?)
The flashbacks with Gabriella and Lestat once more show them mostly in candlelight and warm tones, very similar outfits as well in the past in color terms.
As the story unfolds and Lestat is confronted by Armand in the bus and later one of his shows we see the high contrast between both of them, one with high ly saturated colours all the time and the other with a more uniform appearance throughout both scenes. Once more the purple and reds make an appearance as Lestat seems to be falling into a vulnerable state once more, accentuated buy the looks reminiscing of Baby Lulu´s play/Harlequin Lestat against the Armand that also seems very much like the old Coven leader from Paris on the crowd.
When Lestat is having another breakdown on the middle of the party scene we can tell the similarities with the old village that he and Gabriella were in on the flashback, which culminates on him going directly into that scene. Notice here that the music in the background of the flashback is at the beginning the exact same as the one in modern times, it hasn´t changed while Lestat is submerged on that memory.
As he speaks to Gabriella about their future plans on the beach we can hear the same tune as when Louis was turned in the first episode of the show. In the ending moments of the episode, after the shootout and into the following flashback we see the scene in the dark where Gabriella and Lestat are separated once more, the lake and lilac/purple natural lights of the twilight once more accentuating a very vulnerable and emotional moment of Lestat´s life.
I´ve also just noticed that the diss tracks are blue and yellow light
As the episode ends we see an interesting light pattern behind the characters, firstly Lestat singing the same song as he was in front of the window of the first episode as he spoke to Gabrielle on the phone. He has a blue background as seen through the door, and Gabriella enters the bus with a big red light behind her. During the conversation there is a very noticeable flickering light behind Lestat with a lot of different colours being displayed, while Gabriella has a very still and never changing lava lamp behind her in the following shot.
All of this can mean a lot of things, but for me it means the brainrot is fucking unreal :D, have a nice evening everyone!!
Posted Jul 2, 2026, 3:40 AM UTC