In episode 3x05 daniel is on the street interviewing passerbys and armand talks to him looking like a staranger. Then he reveals his face. He is clearly using mind gifts on daniel to look like a different person. Am I flipping? Is there another explanation?
Edit: coupled with the fact that he can walk in the sun, did Armand fund a bunch of vampire scientists to overcome unpleasant side effects of vampiric powers?
I think it is likely that show! Armand "betrayed" Marius to the Rome coven, helping them to burn down the studio. He then arrives in Paris as the leader. This can explain why Marius considers Armand a "Rotten boy", and why he never reaches out to him.
Also, the way Armand shuts Gabrielle down when she keeps asking about Marius made me think he was trying to cover it up.
Armand has a behaviour pattern he holds: He makes contact with Lestat in Paris, he provokes him, gets his children of satan "destroyed" by Lestat and/or turned into theatre funded by Lestat. His telling of the story excludes nicholas and gabriella and paints himself as a scorned lover, abondaned by Lestat. In reality, he keeps his coven, his power over them, literally moves up in the world and earns funds.
Then, when he meets Louis, he immediately knows they are escaping from Lestat. Gets close to him, plans to sacrifice him to keep control over the coven, and perhaps even to get Lestat in the process. When things go unpredictably, he reverses course and steps into a new life with Louis. While Claudia is dead and Lestat is grieving by living out his days eating rats, he plays happy marriage with his new companion.
Then he meets Daniel, does not trust him in the beginning and never turns him. 52 years later, he is there, as mindfucked Louis and Daniel try to figure out what the truth is. He allows it to happen. He allows Daniel to expose his lies, and then turns him into a vampire and leaves to plot his revenge against Louis.
His movements in his unlife is often based on some form betrayal, power grabs and hope for a better position in life. Now, let's remember how he tells his story to Louis: He was sold to slavery by his parents, worked in a brothel, was bought by his maker who stubbornly refused to turn him into a vampire until he was 27 and dying from a sickness.
Then, somehow, Rome coven managed to burn down his masters studio despite his power and riches, killing his master, brainwashing him and sending him to Paris as coven leader.
C'mon, you don't have to be Daniel to suspect this story sounds a lot like Armand's other bullshit. Sure, he was a slave, and he was turned late, as in best lies have some form of truth to them. But I highly doubt that Armand was eager to be controlled by his master after being turned, and would devote his life to pleasing him as would as a mortal. And why should he? He is now a vampire, not a pathetic mortal who can be bought, sold or donated. He is the top of the chain, except for his old maker, who is a much more powerful figure.
So in search of his autonomy as a vampire, he does what he is supposed to: plays competing factions against each other and gets a new life for himself out of it. This explains why Marius does not seek him even though he is alive. It explains how Armand regards safety and control. It explains why he never made a fledgling as well (till danny boy), since a fledgling is the one person who you can not adequately control.
Armand is well aware what Marius did to him was abuse. Armand knew relaying his history to Louis would change their relationship (he calls Louis maitre that very first night). And in s3, he only lets Louis go after Louis apologizes for avoiding Armand's truth regarding his past as a slave. Armand understands the importance of autonomy, but also its costs better than anyone in the show.
I understand the books give you another perspective but i think at this point it is clear that the show isn't afraid of stepping outside of book canon (which I like).
edit: Obviously I might be wrong, but I also disagree with the (book canon) premise that Armand was indoctrinated, brainwashed and so on. The show goes to lengths to show us Armand's " I'm not powerful enough to do anything" shtick with lestat and with Louis were lies. Armand uses his vulnerability to defend himself, to lure others into traps. And why shouldn't he? He managed to be turned into a vampire, despite his masters reluctance, he managed to lead a coven by himself, and than a theatre. He can easily gain acolytes, without even turning them into vampires. His powers are great, and he probably worked for them.
I will accept that he is heart broken. Brainwashed? Indocrinated? No, this man owns his mind.
second edit: since we are on the whole marius thing, here is another theory: when he speaks to lestat in the s3 he says "now you know why there are so few of us. I set us back ages" in reference to letting Akasha stay under the sun. and then he leaves to prevent a "small mistake from becoming a big mistake that will burn the tree of us." Not related to Armand but possibly related to great conversion.