Empathy is Powerful 

I've read the work of Catholic film director Sam Hendrian. He went to John Paul the Great University. While he was a student there, he was a writer for the university's blog, Impacting Culture. Among his blog posts was a review of Casino Royale, the 2006 James Bond film. He even had a very Christian interpretation of it, especially when it came to Bond's relationship with Vesper Lynd. I was surprised. James Bond is not a Christian character, but that should be obvious, given his habit of sleeping around outside of marriage. Now as a film director out of college, Sam Hendrian's mission is to spread empathy. But not the twisted kind of empathy Lestat de Lioncourt shows Louis De Pointe Du Lac in order to seduce him into accepting his gift of vampirism in AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Now don't get me wrong: Just because Lestat shows a twisted version of empathy doesn't mean it's not real. I think Lestat does really care for Louis deep down. He sees that Louis is suffering. He sees that being a second-class citizen due to race is hard for Louis. He sees that being a closeted gay man is taking its toll on Louis. And this isn't just because Louis's Catholicism encourages him to remain chaste instead of acting on his homosexual desires. Being gay was dangerous in 1910 America. Now, the Church does not forbid gay, lesbian, and bisexual Catholics from disclosing their sexuality. As someone who is not LGTBQ+, I can only imagine the relief LGBTQ+ people experience when they disclose their sexuality or gender identity. Lestat saw Louis' suffering and wanted to relieve it. Wanting to relieve someone else's pain is natural. But Lestat's empathy isn't just telling Louis, "I see you," and "you are loved." His empathy comes with an offer of vampirism. An offer that comes with the promise of eternity together and the chance for Louis to love another person of his own gender romantically without guilt or shame. 

But even as vampires, Lestat and Louis can't go public with their relationship. So they are as close as two queer men can be in 1910 America. They are as close as a white person and a person of color can be in 1910 Louisiana. In place of vows and rings, the exchange of blood that results in Louis' transformation into a vampire also seals the bond between Lestat and Louis for all eternity. They are married as much as the time period will allow, and this is confirmed when Lestat carries Louis bridal style up the stairs of his townhouse in the second episode of Season 1. 

And given how Lestat spends the entire first episode eliminating Louis's social circle, audiences know that Louis and Lestat's relationship isn't going to be any healthier after Louis becomes a vampire. Lestat promises Louis an eternity of love, but it's a warped version of what love should be. The mere intensity of Lestat's love for Louis is unhealthy. Here are a couple clips featuring Lestat's warped empathy and an idea of how toxic their relationship is.

So the first clip ends before Lestat gives Louis some of his blood, and the episode ends after that. Louis' transformation continues into the second episode, and from the look and sound of things, it's a very painful experience. And Lestat's possessiveness in the second clip is tame compared to other instances of toxicity in the relationship. Later on in the first season, the toxicity rises to the level of physical abuse and Louis takes a while to recover from the beating Lestat gave him. You'd think vampires are so durable that they wouldn't get bruises, but you'd be gravely mistaken. 

Sam Hendrian's empathy is not a twisted version. It is empathy rooted in his Catholic faith. When Sam wears T-shirts that say, "You matter to me," and tells people "you are loved," he is not doing so with an ulterior motive of controlling them. He wants to lift people up.