(Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The vampire Lestat book on which Interview with the Vampire Season 3 will be based.)

There is a character Anne Rice The Vampire Chronicles who has never been integrated into any of the film adaptations: Gabrielle de Lioncourt, Lestat’s mother and his very first baby bird. This will change in AMCIt is Interview with the Vampire Season 3, currently being written. Next to Sam ReidAccording to Lestat, Gabrielle will be “the central character of season 3, the most important character”, showrunner Rolin Jones previously told TV Insider. Fans (and I) can’t wait to find out who will play her, but stronger than my desire for this casting announcement is my desire to see a particular scene from Gabrielle’s book come to life in this upcoming adaptation of The vampire Lestatwhich will mark the first time that the sequel to the bestselling novel has been adapted in depth.

Today, November 7, is Lestat’s birthday, so there is no better time to reflect on his origins, why he does what he does. There are few characters in The Vampire Chronicles that have such a profound impact on present-day Lestat as a mother, so let’s see why Gabrielle’s haircut scene is so important.

Taking place in the first half of the book, the scene in which Gabrielle tries to cut her hair after her transformation into a vampire is key to understanding the character. She says almost not a word, but Rice’s prose is so evocative that her feelings are palpable even when observed from Lestat’s point of view. This is the kind of scene that Interview with the Vampire the cast is uniquely equipped to prepare a meal, and this provides the series with a great opportunity to further explore gender identity, a topic that has mostly been approached through nuance thus far.

For those who have not read Rice’s books, The vampire Lestat may surprise you by the little time he spends talking about the events of Interview with the Vampire. Before this, Lestat recounts how he became a vampire and his life as an undead, beginning in the months before his transformation in 1700s Paris and extending into the 1980s (present day of the book). We already got a glimpse of Lestat’s origins in Season 2 Episode 3, “No Pain,” but that was narrated by Armand (Assad Zaman) perspective, and he intentionally excluded Gabrielle. Viewers will find out why in Season 3, Jones told us.

Lestat’s mother is an Italian noblewoman who married into a French family. Unfortunately married to the Marquis de Lioncourt, Gabrielle never really wanted to be a mother but gave birth to seven children. Only three of them lived to adulthood, Lestat being the youngest of these sons. They lived in Auvergne, France, and although Gabrielle was well educated, her sons were illiterate. Lestat eventually learned at a monastery where he thrived, but his cruel father and brothers cut it short and forced him to return home. Gabrielle hated the gender role assigned to her and the social limitations that came with it. She called Lestat the man she could never be, often calling him her “phallus” (their relationship gets much stranger, but that’s a topic for another day). Falling seriously ill, she encourages her favorite child to go to Paris with her love, Nicolas de Lenfent (played in the show by Joseph Potierseen below with Reid) to live the life he wanted. Although it was an act of love for Lestat, she also lived vicariously through him.

Sam Reid as Lestat and Joseph Potter as Nicki in Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Episode 3, “No Pain” (Larry Horricks / AMC)

Months later, Gabrielle went to see Lestat one last time before she died. He was already a vampire when she arrived there, having been transformed against his will by the evil vampire Magnus (his transformation was briefly touched upon in episode 6 of season 1). Lestat almost didn’t go to see his beloved mother in her final moments because he was so afraid that she would see him in his new form, but he turned her into a vampire to save her life. Gabrielle then uses vampirism to create the life she always wanted.

The first book and the first two seasons primarily explore homosexuality through sexual orientation, but Lestat’s line “I am she, she is me” in the Season 2 finale should have sparked curiosity about her gender identity. Claudia was traumatized by her body not aging with her mind, but she never expressed any specific discomfort with her gender (the 1994 film references the haircut scene in a moment memorable with Claudia). The vampire Lestat uses Gabrielle to show another side of the horror of being stuck in a body you desperately want to change but can’t, creating a parallel between Claudia and her de facto grandparent.

Lestat describes Gabrielle as having very feline features that were “too small, too kittenish” and “made her look like a girl.” She never explicitly says she wants to be a man, but she completely rejects femininity the second she is imbued with immortal power and behaves like a man from that point on (feminine pronouns are always used for the character). During their first hunt as a creator and a youngling (a change that forever blurs the lines between their mother-son dynamic, but again, that’s a different topic for another day), Lestat is shocked when his mother chooses to kill a man and steal his man. clothes to wear instead of putting on the extravagant dress he had found for her. She tucks her hair into her new hat and later cuts it to continue her masculine style.

The next morning, she screams in terror and discovers that everything has grown back. Gabrielle has a panic attack as she realizes that her physical appearance at the time of her transformation is what she will look like forever. Vampirism cured her illness and she can now live forever. She has the power to free herself from all social constraints, but she will never be free from femininity. One of Lestat’s most endearing moments comes next, when he tries to comfort Gabrielle by telling her that he will cut her hair every night if she asks him to. This is one of the first examples that Lestat is not the narcissistic, soulless monster that Louis previously portrayed. He would do anything to help those he loves be themselves without apologizing.

Gabrielle learns about vampirism and goes on to share powerful ideas about how the dark gift can be used to find the meaning of life. Adventure, exploration, and curiosity are his and Lestat’s compass, and they will not be beholden to any clan, no matter how much Armand insists that they conform. When Armand de Zaman said “you can’t write a hurricane”, there is no doubt in my mind that he was also thinking of Gabrielle. As time goes by, Gabrielle increasingly wishes to disconnect herself from any connection to her mortal life, including the fact that she has always been a mother. This puts a strain on the relationship between Gabrielle and Lestat, a relationship that leaves Lestat deeply emotionally wounded. This wound is still festering when he meets Louis.

Although Rice did not refer to Gabrielle as such in the books, it is clear that Gabrielle is trans. Whatever genre exploration the show depicts with Lestat in Season 3 would only be enriched if that haircut scene was part of its foundation. It’s also just a beautifully sad and tender moment that makes your heart bleed for Gabrielle more than any other scene in this novel. For me, there is no better moment with Gabrielle in The vampire Lestat. I can’t wait to (hopefully) see it on screen.

Interview with the VampireSeason 3, TBD, AMC