u/whatifihateclouds

I love this show, I really do, and I’ve defended a lot of the bigger changes from the books in the past. But going into Season 3, something feels different to me and I want to know if I’m alone here.

The full rebrand to “The Vampire Lestat,” the rock-star tour framing, the mockumentary structure with Daniel following the band around, the much more explicit Lestat/Gabrielle dynamic, Louis getting pushed into a supporting role after two seasons of being the narrator… individually I can see the case for each choice. Rolin Jones has earned some trust. But stacked together it’s starting to feel less like “an adaptation of Rice’s book” and more like “what if I wrote my own vampire rock opera and borrowed the character names.”

Is that a fair read, or am I just having a hard time letting go of the Louis-centric version of the show? Curious whether others who’ve read The Vampire Lestat (the novel) think this season is actually hitting the spirit of the book, or if it’s drifted into “inspired by” territory.

Does the tonal swing (campy rockumentary vs. the slow-burn gothic horror of S1–2) work for you, or does it feel like a different show wearing the same name?
Is sidelining Louis this hard a betrayal of what made the first two seasons land, or a necessary cost of finally giving Lestat his own POV?
Where’s the line between “bold adaptation” and “fanfiction with the IP’s name on it”?

Not trying to start a flame war, genuinely want to hear the case for and against.

One thing I’ve never really understood is the tendency to treat Olivia Rodrigo as some kind of antidote to Taylor Swift when, musically, they’re basically doing the exact same thing.

Both make highly confessional, diary-entry pop songs built around relationship drama, insecurity, resentment, and self-mythologizing. Both have fanbases that treat lyrical details like the Bible. Both write songs that are designed less around musical innovation and more around making listeners feel like they’re reading someone’s journal.

And honestly, I don’t mean that as a compliment or an insult. It’s just what they do.

People talk about Olivia like she’s somehow edgier or more authentic, but if you strip away the pop-punk guitars and Gen Z references, she’s operating from the exact same playbook Taylor has been using for nearly twenty years. Every song is a highly detailed emotional autopsy where a personal grievance gets elevated into a grand statement about heartbreak and betrayal.

Even the songwriting tricks are the same. Big bridges. Conversational lyrics. Name-dropping little details to create the illusion of intimacy. Turning ordinary relationship problems into life-defining events. Songs that are less about interesting melodies or unusual arrangements and more about giving fans enough lore to obsess over.

Their fandoms are weirdly similar too. Both have cultivated audiences that are less interested in music as music and more interested in music as biography.

Which is why I’ve always found it funny when people who hate Taylor absolutely adore Olivia. To me, Olivia Rodrigo is basically Taylor Swift with different production choices and twenty years less baggage.

Am I crazy here, or are these two artists far more alike than either fandom wants to admit?