Archive of Our Own ^beta

A few notes before we begin:

• Citations are formatted "season:episode," e.g., "1:01" for season 1, episode 1. If I ever get this bored again I may come back to include more specific timestamps, but rest assured, my sources are legit. 
• There are points at which the show contradicts itself, sometimes intentionally and other times, seemingly, not. I have occasionally had to make choices about which numbers I treat as definitive. I have done my best to explain these choices when they occur, but some may be controversial. Feel free to debate them (politely) in the comments, if the urge should strike you.
• I have included some historical events which I thought would provide useful context. Most of these are marked with the phrase "(Historical, unconfirmed)," which is only to say that the precise date of the event is not technically canon to the show, i.e., I had to google it. 

October 4, 768–January 28, 814 A.D.: (Historical, unconfirmed) Our coven has been here since the reign of Charlemagne. (-Armand, 2:02) The Paris coven is founded at some point in this period of time.

1493: An estimate for Armand's birth if he was 15 years old in 1508 (see, "1508").

1508: What's a mediocre star compared to a 514-year-old vampire? (–Armand, 1:07, counting from 2022) One of three things happens—Armand is born in Delhi; 15-year-old Arun is purchased by Marius and renamed Amadeo; Amadeo is turned into a vampire at roughly age 27.

(Note: The assumption that Armand counts his age from birth is the one which aligns most closely with the other information given. However, it should be noted that placing his turning in 1508 neatly aligns his birth year with the established canon of the books, sometime in 1480 or 1481.)

1520-1525: (Historical, unconfirmed) The real-world estimate for the painting of Adoration of the Shepherds with a Donor. Armand claims to have been 20 years old when he posed for it (2:04), though no possible estimate of his birth year aligns with this.

(Note: Placing his birth in 1481 places the painting in 1501; placing his birth in 1493 places the painting in 1513; placing his birth in 1508 places the painting in 1528.)

1520 or 1535: (Of the painting of Adoration) But then, this was seven years before I was stricken with illness—before I was turned. (–Armand, 2:04) If he was not turned in 1508, he was likely turned in one of these two years.

1556: It was 1556 when the Roman coven sent me to lead the shambolic Paris coven. (-Armand, 2:04) Armand—now officially named Armand—becomes the head of the Paris coven.

1653–1723: The dates on the plaque belonging to Zacharie Brun in the theater vault. (2:08)

Ca. 1744: His words had been my thoughts for half a century. (-Armand, 2:03, counting from ca. 1794) Armand begins to lose his faith.

November 1760: Lestat de Lioncourt. Born 1760…180 years old, this coming November. (-Lestat, 1:07) Lestat de Lioncourt is born.

1769: Nicolas de Lefent is born. (Shot of his plaque in the theater vault, 2:08)

May 5, 1789: (Historical, unconfirmed) The beginning of the French Revolution.

1794: I drank the waters in 1794. (-Lestat, 1:07) Lestat is turned into a vampire.

(Note: Contradictory reports regarding Lestat's age when he was turned. Louis claims "179 years in the Savage Garden; 148 years the blood-drinker," (1:07) which would place Lestat's turning in 1791 at the age of 31. I have chosen to consider Lestat's own report the definitive one.)

April 5, 1794: (Historical, unconfirmed) We only became a theater company after Danton was guillotined. (-Armand, 2:02) The execution of Georges Danton.

July 28, 1794: (Historical, unconfirmed) By the time Robespierre was beheaded I was, by any measure, failing. (-Armand, 2:03) Robespierre is executed; Armand loses control of the coven.

Ca. 1795: A theater company that had been in existence for 150 years. (-Armand, 2:02, counting from 1945) The founding of Le Théâtre Des Vampires.

(Note: Armand references two separate executions in relationship to the founding of the theater. He claims that the theater was founded after Danton's execution, but says only that his hold over the Children of Darkness was slipping by Robespierre's. When counting from 1945, the theater is always 150 years old, with no language implying that the number is being rounded up or down. Thus, the only certainty is that they transitioned into amateur community theater sometime between July of 1794 and the beginning of 1796.)

1796: Nicolas de Lefent dies. (Shot of his plaque in the theater vault, 2:08)

Ca. 1808: -I spent a century underground…-You awoke in 1908. (-Lestat and Santiago, 2:07) Lestat retreats underground.

1810: (Historical, unconfirmed) Because I was in his sitting room when he wrote it! (-Lestat, 2:03) The opera Don Pasquale is written; Lestat is a personal friend of Gaetano Donizetti and is in his sitting room as he writes it.

1821–1899: The dates on the plaque belonging to Charlotte Lavigne in the theater vault. (2:08)

1844: I saw the premiere at the Salle Ventadour 73 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. (-Lestat, 2:03, counting from 1917) Lestat attends the premier of Don Pasquale.

(Note: Yes, the events concerning Don Pasquale are impossible to reconcile with the idea that Lestat spent most of the 19th century listening exclusively to the "weed roots growing around [him]." No, I do not know which account is more trustworthy. For the sake of thoroughness, I have kept both.)

July 1, 1848: Florence de Pointe du Lac is born. (Shot of her tombstone, 1:05)

October 4, 1877: Louis de Pointe du Lac is born. (Shot of his tombstone, 1:05)

(Note: Louis claims, in one scene, to have been born in 1878 (1:07). However, 1877 is the year recorded on his tombstone and aligns with the claim that he was turned at 33 years old. (1:01))

Ca. Summer 1903: Claudia. Born 1903. (-Claudia, 1:07) The Vampire Claudia is born.

1905: It was the fifth autumn of my father's passing. (-Louis, 1:01, counting from 1910) Louis's father dies, Louis is appointed executor of his estate.

1908: Lestat emerges from his stint underground.

Fall 1910: Louis meets Lestat de Lioncourt.

Late Winter 1910: I drank of the water in 1910. (-Louis, 1:07) Grace de Pointe du Lac gets married; Paul commits suicide the following morning; Lestat turns Louis into a vampire the night of the funeral and they begin their companionship.

February 1911: Grace and Levi go on honeymoon to Europe. (Shot of their tickets, 1:01)

Ca. December 1912: Louis discovers that Grace is pregnant with twins; purchases the Fairplay Saloon and renames it the Azalea Hall.

July 28, 1914: (Historical, unconfirmed) The beginning of WWI.

Ca. January 1917: Louis almost eats his infant nephew, Benjamin; Lestat murders the tenor in a touring production of Don Pasquale.

February 1917: Antoinette Brown begins performing at the Azalea; Ordinance 4118 is proposed.

March 1, 1917: The city cuts the power to the Azalea. (Shot of the closure notice, 1:03)

April 6, 1917: (Historical, unconfirmed) The United States gets officially involved in WWI.

Ca. August 31, 1917: Louis murders Alderman Fenwick, incites a riot. (Shot of a newspaper report dated September 1, 1:03)

September 1, 1917: Claudia is turned into a vampire.

October 28, 1917: Claudia writes her first diary entry, describes her transformation. (Shot of the page, 1:04)

(Note: All of Claudia's diary entries are to be taken as definitive dates for the things they describe, unless a length of time between the event and the writing is stated, e.g., "It has been two weeks since…"

In this case, the discrepancy in the given date is retained because the date of her transformation, September 1st, is deliberately established via the shot of the newspaper, and because Lestat later claims that Claudia's account of her transformation was written "weeks after the fact." (2:07))

November 11, 1918: (Historical, unconfirmed) The end of WWI.

January 17, 1920: (Historical, unconfirmed) Prohibition begins in the United States.

May 13, 1921: Frances "Santiago" Naughton, not yet a vampire, plays as an understudy for Iago in a production of Othello at the York Theater Royal. (Shot of a newspaper clipping, 2:03)

August 6, 1921: The first entry in Claudia's second diary; she writes of finally getting her own bedroom.

January 19, 1923: Florence de Pointe du Lac dies (Shot of her tombstone, 1:05); Louis sells the family home to Grace and Levi.

Ca. 1923: Lestat takes Claudia hunting at a lovers' lane.

Ca. late 1923: 1923-ish—her date with Charlie. (-Daniel, 1:04) Claudia's brief courtship with Charlie.

(Note: Possibly a mistake here. Claudia is 14 years old during her turning on September 1, 1917, but claims to be 19 on her date with Charlie (1:04). However, assuming that her birthday falls before September 1, she should turn 19 in mid-1922 and be 20 years old by late 1923. Assuming it falls after September 1, she should turn 19 in late 1921 and be 21 years old in late 1923.)

Late 1923–January 5, 1924: -What night is it? -January 5th. (Exchange between Claudia and a victim, 1:05) Claudia hunts while Louis believes she's starving herself. She keeps trophies, records their last words, and fails to properly dispose of the bodies; on January 5, Louis and Lestat read her diary.

Ca. Spring 1924: A storm washes up Claudia's dead; suspicion falls on Louis and Lestat; Claudia runs away from home.

October 1929: (Historical, unconfirmed) The Wall Street crash of 1929.

October 18, 1930: Louis de Pointe du Lac is declared dead. (Shot of his tombstone, 1:05)

November 11, 1930: The date on Claudia's diary entry describing her assault by Bruce. She later claims that he imprisoned her for a week (2:03), so that period of time likely began sometime in late October or early November 1930.

Ca. Early 1931: There would be no roaring twenties for us. We would be underground for seven years. (-Louis, 1:05, counting from 1924) Claudia comes home; Louis and Lestat fight and Louis is nearly killed.

1934: (Of the fight) Three years ago. That night three years ago, he means. (-Claudia, 1:06) Lestat makes overtures, gives Louis a car (among other things) by way of apology.

Spring 1937: But in the Spring of 1937, one broke through. (-Louis, 1:06) Lestat sends Louis the record of "Come to Me" with Antoinette's voice on it; Louis and Lestat get back together.

(Note: The slight discrepancy in Claudia's age continues. When negotiating the terms of Lestat reentering their lives, Louis says, "She's coming up on 33." (1:06) However, given that it makes exactly 20 years since she was turned, Claudia should be turning 34 in 1937.)

(Note²: The missing year aside, given that this conversation occurs in the Spring, Louis's phrasing bolsters the theory that Claudia's birthday is sometime in the Summer.)

March 3, 1938: Antoinette Brown's death is reported in the newspaper. Presumably, Lestat turned her shortly before this.

September 1, 1939: (Historical, unconfirmed) Germany invades Poland; Claudia attempts to run away and is dragged home by Lestat. (Radio broadcast about the invasion, 1:06)

September 3, 1939: (Historical, unconfirmed) Claudia beats Lestat at chess, convinces Louis to conspire with her to murder him. (Audio of a fireside chat playing over the scene, 1:06)

November 23, 1939: Claudia settles on a specific plan for Lestat's murder, gloats in her diary. (Dramatic reading by Santiago, 2:07)

November or December 1939: Lestat plans to leave New Orleans; Claudia convinces him to throw a party. (Louis decorates a Christmas tree in the background, 1:06)

December 31, 1939 or January 1, 1940: At a New Year's celebration, Claudia suggests taking over Mardi Gras.

February 5, 1940: Claudia writes a diary entry describing how she plans to kill Lestat. (Shot of the page, 2:06)

February 6, 1940: Mardi Gras is early this year. February 6. (-Claudia, 1:07) Lestat and Claudia host their party; Claudia and Louis attempt to murder Lestat and flee New Orleans together.

September 8, 1941: Claudia and Louis are in Ploesti, Claudia writes of feeding on POW's. (Shot of her diary, 1:04)

Ca. late 1942: (Historical, unconfirmed) I even had an aerobic evening with Tuan and Quang Pham in the back row of a cinema watching Now, Voyager. (-Armand, 2:02) Armand has a threesome with a father and son in the back of a movie theater, apparently.

(Note: Look, man, it's not my fault that he provided me with a reasonable benchmark for when this happened. It should be noted that Now, Voyager was never actually released in Europe.)

August 25, 1944: (Historical, unconfirmed) Nazi occupation of Paris ends. Madeleine Eparvier is likely subjected to trial by mob shortly thereafter.

Ca. Late 1944: Four years of grim wayfaring, and still no sign of the benevolent vampire. (-Louis's hallucination of Lestat, 2:01, counting from 1940) Louis and Claudia remain in (or return to) Romania, meet an old-world vampire, Daciana, who promptly kills herself.

(Note: The line "Maybe German soldiers who don't know war is over," (2:01) implies that most of this episode takes place sometime after September of 1944. Though the war was by no means over in other parts of Europe, that was when Romania announced its surrender to the Soviet Union.)

Later 1944: Louis and Claudia arrive in Paris.

(Note: Another case of conflicting dates. A shot of Claudia's diary in 1:04 would have us believe that she and Louis arrived in Paris on or shortly before November 14, 1945, but all other evidence suggests that they left for Paris directly from Romania and arrived there in late 1944.)

Early 1945: Claudia buys a dress from Madeleine.

Spring 1945: Five months of anxiety-producing choices, and not one "bonjour?" (-Louis, 2:02) Armand approaches Louis for the first time. Louis and Claudia attend their first performance at the theater shortly afterwards.

One month later: Claudia had attended a month of performances. (-Armand, 2:02) Louis and Claudia begin hunting with the coven.

June 1945: -77 years. -Almost to the day. (-Louis and Armand, 2:08, counting from June 2022) Louis tells Armand about Lestat; kills a mortal boy in the park. Three days later, Claudia is inducted into the coven; Armand chooses not to kill Louis; the two of them begin seeing each other.

Ca. Summer 1945: The premier of My Baby Loves Windows.

September 2, 1945: (Historical, unconfirmed) The official end of WWII.

(Note: More confusing timestamps. Rashid says that the Paris albums are from "1946 to 1949," (2:02) but they include photographs taken in this period of time.)

1947: (Of the first dress Claudia bought) You don't have more than you did two years ago. (-Madeleine, 2:04) The 500th performance of My Baby Loves Windows; Santiago begins planning his coup; Madeleine attends a performance at the theater; Armand takes Louis to an art gallery; Louis and Armand make their companionship official.

May 12, 1949: (Historical, unconfirmed) The end of the Berlin Blockade (referenced 2:06).

July, 1949: July, 1949. The reading room. (-Armand, 2:05) All seems well. Louis and Armand break into the same library every night for a month.

August 12, 1949: (Historical, unconfirmed) The signing of the Geneva Conventions (referenced 2:06).

Late Summer or early Fall 1949: The beginning of the relationship between Claudia and Madeline Eparvier; Madeleine's subsequent turning; Armand is ousted as leader of the coven and becomes complicit in the plot to kill Louis and Claudia.

Spring 1950: Flowers are starting to pop up out of the ground. Lavender, sweet iris, peony. (-Claudia, 2:06) The trial and subsequent fire; Claudia and Madeleine are executed; Louis takes revenge on the coven; he and Armand flee Paris together.

(Note: There are several points at which the fire at the theater is stated or implied to have occurred in 1949. However, the talk of flowers "growing from the dead; cold things becoming warm" (-Madeleine, 2:06), the sense of elapsed time, and Claudia's iconic yellow dress—bright color, light fabric, short sleeves—all imply that these events occurred in the Spring of the following year. Armand's line in 2:05, "The name [Lestat], unuttered in our home for 23 years…" (counting from 1973) corroborates this.)

(Note²: There is one reference to the trial having been 74 years ago as of 2022 (2:07), which would place it in 1948. This is patently ridiculous.)

Ca. 1953: (Of an event occurring in 1973) In the eyes of a 20-year-old, you were wasting the Gift. (-Daniel, 1:01) Daniel Molloy is born.

September 4-5, 1973: Louis has his first interview with Daniel. (Tapes dated September 4, 1973, 1:01)

September 5, 1973: Louis tries to kill Daniel; attempts suicide sometime in the early hours of the morning; Armand tortures Daniel.

September 8, 1973: September 8th, 1973. It was 11:07 here. It would have been 9:07 in San Francisco. (-Lestat, 2:08) Armand contacts Lestat, Lestat and Louis briefly communicate through Armand.

September 10, 1973: -Drugs did far more damage to your mind than five nights in San Francisco. -It was six. (Exchange between Armand and Daniel, 2:06) Armand wipes Daniel's memory of most of the encounter and releases him.

September 13, 1973: Three days after we abandoned [Daniel]. (-Armand, 2:06) Louis asks Armand to erase his memory of the events following his attempt to drain Daniel, and Armand does.

(Note: As we have only Armand's word to go on, and his track record with this sort of thing is less than stellar, September 13 may be entirely apocryphal.)

1985: It's 1985. You and Alice are at a brasserie, talking past each other. (-Louis, 2:02) Alice tells Daniel she's pregnant.

6–9 Months later: Alice is in her third trimester. (-Louis, 2:02) Daniel proposes and Alice says "no."

2000: My last victim was in the year 2000. (-Louis, 1:02) Louis gives up killing humans for undisclosed reasons.

Ca. June 7, 2022: One week from now, in a place of my choosing… (-Louis, 1:01) Louis sends Daniel a letter requesting a repeat interview.

June 14, 2022: The second interview commences at 10:08 in the morning.