What truly gets me most of the times I see a crossover in Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe shows is how the intention is never merely fan service. I’d even go as far as to say that we’re only starting to get Raglan James, the unbelievably wily Talamasca agent who knows the ins and outs of the immortal business much more than any mortal, vampire, witch, or even his own organization would like. Guy couldn’t have had a more random yet organic introduction to the world he far more comfortably fits in, to his dismay, of course. And while things have been chaotic from the get go, Guy could’ve done a lot worse in terms of the spooky people he’s met after his very recent, very dramatic move to London. Before he can get to the truth about his mother and the 752, he first needs to understand the key players and what each of them are seeking from this increasingly brutal war they’ve started. And for that, he needs to get out alive from most of the places that I’m sure he’ll visit in the coming days. Like the vampire-owned Westworth hotel in the 4th episode of Talamasca: The Secret Order. Although I’m pretty sure he’s not gonna have to go back there.
Spoiler Alert
Is Jasper lying about his backstory?
The Guy’s missed one drop! Big deal, Olive. But when she complains about Guy missing a drop and being a doozy of a spy to Helen, she doesn’t seem to acknowledge that as his handler, she should at least know a little more about his whereabouts. Guy’s lucky to wake up awake in the London motherhouse. But then, Jasper’s not an impolite host. Fresh coffee, and a whole lot of manipulative confidence that, at least physically, gives Jasper this major Robert California vibe–these are on order as Guy wakes up the morning after being kidnapped. Does he trust Jasper? No. Doesn’t Jasper trust him? Oh, hell no! But I don’t think Jasper needs to actually buy Guy’s story about how the Talamasca is the reason he’s grown up estranged from his mother. All he needs is Guy’s co-operation in the steps to come. For that, Guy could very well be making everything up. He isn’t, though. Although I’m pretty sure that Guy’s still in two minds about which side to take in the fight. He’s heard and seen too much about this supposedly helpful organization with its supposed goal to harmonize all the creatures of the world to trust Talamasca, that’s for sure. But considering just how powerful Jasper is, I don’t think he needs to worry about Guy playing for both sides. He doesn’t need to trust Guy. He needs Guy to trust him. It’s probably a completely real story that Jasper tells Guy on their way down to the basement, which he jokingly says is his “kill room,” but as Guy will soon find out, is actually his kill room. It’s a story about Vesel, the Romanian vampire who was banished by his coven in 1271 for rejecting human blood and feeding exclusively on chicken blood. No mercy for the compassionate, I guess. But while there was only silence from Vesel for centuries as he suffered the excruciating pain of existing without a place to call home, his fire came back in 1920. Vesel employed the help of a corrupt Talamasca agent to find the vampire who ratted him out to his coven centuries ago. And after Vesel found this Mergu guy’s coven in La Paz, he slaughtered everyone to avenge what had been done to him by Mergu. No, Jasper is neither Vesel, nor Mergu. In a moment of an acutely insincere show of pain, Jasper tells Guy his own sob story. Like Guy and his broken family, Jasper too is the victim of the Talamasca, their lies, and hypocrisy. Apparently, he was a mortal member of the mixed coven that Mergu ran in La Paz. Not unbelievable. We do know vampires in the Immortal Universe who keep humans around. But in Jasper’s story, he seems to be a mortal in 1920 when his entire family was massacred because a Talamasca agent had taken a bribe and stolen information about Mergu from the Amsterdam motherhouse. Now, this is a pretty solid story, heart rending even, if one wants to convince a person of the extent of coldness Talamasca is capable of. It’s not too far from the truth. Talamasca does worse things. But I got my reasons to doubt Jasper’s narrative about how he was this helpless mortal who then had to start from scratch in Texas, until he found the dark gift, that is. Jasper’s plenty powerful, alright. He certainly is more powerful than a vampire would be if they were only turned in 1920. We do know that in Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe, vampire powers are directly connected to the length of their immortal existence. So is Jasper making this backstory up to seem more relatable to Guy? It’s possible. He makes revenant vampires left and right in the London motherhouse’s dingy basement. The clickers who tore Soledad apart on a snap of Jasper’s fingers, as he now explains to Guy, are revenant vampires. We’ve seen revenant vampires in Interview with the Vampire. They’re kind of deformed, kind of this ancient version of vampires who act like rabid hounds and can be tamed. They’re pretty submissive. Much like our friend Checkers here. We saw Jasper put him through the extremely painful process of turning into a revenant. If they’re drained to near-death, and buried before they completely turn, they come out submissive and hungry. Jasper doesn’t want Checkers to hurt Guy. This again is his fun little way of terrifying and reassuring Guy at the same time. There’s duality in everything Jasper says and does. I think it’d be unfair to expect any less from a vamp of his flair. So when he lovingly tends to the cut Guy got on his forehead from the very scary introduction to Checkers, you can see that he’s sweet and manipulative at the same time. He wants Guy to see his might when he heals his cut with a touch of his blood. Very cool bribe, I must say. What Jasper needs to realize, however, is that Guy’s not too different from him in his intentions. Because what Jasper isn’t lying about is why he is after the 752. The Talamasca has been holding and controlling a weapon as powerful as information for as long as it’s existed. But observing isn’t the only thing they do. Oh no. If you remember some of the senior Talamasca agents’ roles in Mayfair Witches, you’d know what I mean when I say that they should be trusted only when that’s the last resort. Jasper’s got the respectable desire to get his hands on the 752, the book that records the identities of the handful of vampires all around the world, and remove the Talamasca from its position of a toxic amount of power once and for all.
Who Is Raglan James?
I gotta say that Guy’s new boss is much better at delegation than his former. Jasper’s already got a pretty huge assignment for his new apprentice. But while Jasper’s intentions are noble, I doubt that he’s entirely sure about Checkers’ ability to protect Guy when he goes into the Westcroft, owned, run, and patronized by the only coven in town which is made of, get this, underground thugs. SMH. How’s Guy even the right person for this job? And what does the coven in Westcroft have to do with the 752? Well, you see, Jasper wasn’t kidding when he said that he knew who killed Archie and stole the book from Keves’ bag? There were bite marks on Archie’s neck. Clearly the work of a vampire. Now, Guy’s supposed to walk right into the Westcroft and try to use his gift to sniff out the location of the book. Highsmith will be waiting outside in a van containing a very hungry Checkers. But don’t worry, the iron muzzle, as Highsmith reassures Guy, will keep him subdued. Though I’m again not certain if he’s kidding or not, because Rice’s vampires aren’t usually vulnerable to iron. Maybe it’s because Checkers is a revenant? Speaking of vampires, Harris and Gabriel of the Westcroft coven are particularly potent with thoughts that are useful for Guy. They’re waiting for a deal with someone who’s late. Sounds like Guy’s cue to stick around. But not so fast. The man Harris and Gabriel are meeting with is Raglan James. We first met him in Interview with the Vampire, season 2. He was a Talamasca agent tasked with helping (read: tricking) Daniel Molloy figure out Louis, Armand, and their wildly convoluted centuries worth of lies, betrayal, and heartbreak. Now that we’re actually seeing a little more of him thanks to Talamasca: The Secret Order, Raglan is just who you’d expect him to be. Cunning, decisive, utterly selfish, yet not without a moral code. His job title as a Talamasca agent is merely his pathway into the underbelly of all this immortal mumbo jumbo. He wears the suit and speaks the words the Talamasca expects him to speak. But when no one is looking, Raglan only works for himself. And since he’s at the Westcroft, this has to be about the book, right? That’s why he’s so wary of Guy sticking out. Like Raglan says. A spy can sniff out a spy a mile away. But Raglan threatening to expose his identity in a place as dangerous as the Westcroft doesn’t really deter Guy. If anything, it tells him that Raglan must be just that desperate to keep the deal for himself. But wait, when did Doris come in? I guess she’s been following Guy around ever since Ridge showed her a picture of Guy’s shoes from the surveillance footage they dug up to investigate Keves’ death. It’s weird, but despite all the signs that she’s a good person who only wants to protect Guy, I’m not totally ready to believe that her actions are entirely unselfish. Again, if she cared so much about Keves and knew how dangerous it can be for her to follow a Talamasca agent, why did she allow that? She’s at the Westcroft now to warn Guy before he gets himself into further danger. I really don’t think Guy should’ve just blurted out all the information about the reason he’s here–his mother, the 752, Jasper, all of it. Doris may seem protective of Guy when she insists that he leaves–she also sounds sincere when she claims that the 752 is just a myth–but like I said, I’m not ready to believe her yet. For all I know, Doris might just be trying to throw Guy off the scent so that she can nab the 752. She could be just as invested in saving witches from the Talamasca as Jasper is about protecting his kind. I like how Guy switches between smart and dumb moves. You never know what he’s gonna do next. For instance, I would’ve never expected him to dismiss Raglan’s threat and pay a random woman to menacingly stare at them while he plays the more experienced player. It works! Raglan totally buys that that woman is big brass from Amsterdam, and he even lets Guy tag along with him on the meeting because apparently, Talamasca vans are waiting right outside, and Raglan really doesn’t want to be a rat in one of their rooms, if you catch my drift. Doris conveniently joins them in the elevator, but while she does get down on the same floor as them, and steals a cab from the room service cart, she doesn’t go in with Guy and Raglan. Even Guy’s lucky that the towering vampire who opens the door to the most exclusive suite in the hotel. He’s convincing as Raglan’s assistant, “Mr. Salera.” But it looks like Guy made a terrible mistake coming here. So he’s lucky that Doris has had the bell boy hand a note to Highsmith. “Your Guy’s in trouble.” Cute. This is the worst possible way Guy could find out that he can never trust Raglan. When it’s time to go over the transaction, Raglan quickly betrays Guy and offers him up to the vampires on a platter. No, not for food. But as their pet telepath. Now, Guy tries as hard as he can to convince them that he’s not gifted at all. But how does that help you? I swear to God! The vampires running the Westcroft sure do like to wave their guns around. When Raglan is shot in his shoulder, and he reminds Guy that if he doesn’t want to become their food, he should show them how powerful he is, that’s the first time Guy actually has to make a crucial, time-sensitive decision. He absolutely makes the right move by revealing his gift to Harris. It’s a bittersweet moment of genuine warmth when he reiterates Harris’ memory after looking through his mind. Harris was thinking about who he’d been when he’d been a mortal–a 12 year old kid learning to ride a horse and feeling alive for the first and the last time. Harris hasn’t felt this for as long as he can remember. So the deal’s done. Lucky for Guy, this whole thing is going down while a silent but deadly Checkers is ripping vampire limbs apart in the other room. Even a coven full of thugs is no match against a revenant. So Guy lets this play out until Checkers’ gets through the entire coven and wipes them clean. But wait, now that we know that Guy and Raglan are safe thanks to Doris’ note, let’s back up and reassess some stuff. Raglan mentioned a rival coven when he was talking to Harris. But when Jasper told Guy about the Westworth coven, he said they were the only coven in town. But why would Jasper lie about that? Unless, he’s been lying about bigger things too. The deal was never about the 752. It was about ancient vampire blood. Crazy expensive stuff. Raglan was here to buy the ancient vampire blood that we’ve seen them harvest from a frail old vampire. They barely keep him alive so that they can harvest his blood and sell it on the black market. What a way for Guy to learn a truth or two about the world he lives in! But if you think about it, meeting Raglan has been a major point of growth for Guy. Would Raglan have let Guy get hurt? Maybe. But he didn’t, though. Who can say for certain that he’s a bad guy? Maybe he just likes money much like anyone else.
Is Helen any closer to finding her sister?
It’s funny how when one thing gets said to us over and over again, and we start listening with a fair amount of faith in it, the nuances that can make us question that faith slowly blur into the background. The Talamasca is a very questionable organization, sure. But that doesn’t mean that everyone working there is corrupt. In fact, even with all the lies she tells, or needs to tell, I think Helen is a genuinely good person who’s hoping to change things up about the very place that did things to her and her twin sister when they were kids. Helen’s search for her sister has even brought her to their parents’ grave. And it looks like she’s searching in the right places. There’s an old bouquet on her mother’s grave that has the same flowers that she’s brought–clearly their mother’s favorites. But if Helen’s twin sister did come here to visit their parents’ grave, wouldn’t the groundsman who claims to be here everyday remember seeing her? He says that he’s never seen “Helen” here before. Of course, Helen pretended to have a muddled head and asked him if he’s seen her before. But then again, we don’t know what Helen’s sister’s powers are. I’m pretty certain they’re witches, one more powerful than the other. Maybe that’s why the Talamasca captured them and ran tests on them when they were kids. But Helen hasn’t seen her sister since. And her search has now taken her back to someone she knew when they were kids. It’s evident that Abigail and Rose were also a set of twins that Dr. Jameson at the Talamasca pediatric research facility abused in the name of research. Abigail also claims to be estranged from her sister. But when Helen pushes her, although she does so especially gently because Abigail seems to have a nervous disposition, the light behind her shatters. Abigail was lying about not knowing where her sister, Rose is. They live in the same house, but they keep a low profile so the Talamasca doesn’t get to them again. Rose and Helen’s sister’s powers attracted the exploitative organization to them, and even after they were put through hell when they were kids, Talamasca isn’t finished with them. That’s why Rose has changed her name. And maybe Helen’s sister is in hiding for the same reason. You can see why Rose would be absolutely disgusted by the fact that Helen now works for the same organization that did unthinkable things to them. But more than her wish to infiltrate and change from within, Helen’s there to find her sister. She’s all she has. So it’s sweet of Abigail to slip a note into her coat pocket unbeknownst to Rose. The note probably suggests that Dr. Jameson now goes by the name Melville. But it could mean something else too. You never know with codes.
What Does Doris Want From Guy?
The reason you seem to understand Jasper less with every bit of information you find out about him should really set your expectations from this vampire. We don’t know much about him. But do know that he absolutely feels the hatred that he claims to feel for Talamasca. That doesn’t mean you should trust him prematurely. I don’t think even Jasper always understands the things he does. When he meets Guy after the mayhem at the Westcroft hotel, he seems strangely unbothered by the fact that the transaction had nothing to do with 752. That can mean one of two things. Maybe Jasper is patient and cool headed. He knows that getting to something as important as the 752 won’t be easy. And failure will be far more common than wins. But also, it’s entirely possible that he knew exactly what he was sending Guy into. He knew about the ancient vampire blood business and he wanted Guy to be there so that he could destroy the coven. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Harris and his coven might’ve made things difficult for Jasper. And maybe this was his way of taking care of that problem. If Jasper does mean all the things that he says when he and Guy walk into the room where they kept the old vampire in a crazy amount of pain–barely alive so that they could still draw his blood–why didn’t he save his life. He could easily nick his wrist and bring that poor old fanged friend back to life. But instead, he rips his head off. Technically, he’s given the old vampire what he has been begging for for a long time–death. But something’s off about Jasper. Even if you can’t put your finger on it yet, maybe you should trust your instincts about him.
I also think he’s totally lying when, on the way back, Jasper pretends that he doesn’t know who sent the note to Highsmith. In the ending of the 4th episode of Talamasca: The Secret Order, Doris got into the trunk of Jasper’s van. She’s going back with them. Where? I’m not sure. But it’s unlikely that Jasper doesn’t know that she’s there. Maybe he is waiting for the reveal to get spicier. Or maybe he’s waiting to see what Doris wants from Guy, as we all are. But all of their secrets are at a risk of being exposed kind of comically now that Ridge is really into the investigation. She’s already checked out the pictures of Soledad and Archie’s post-mortem, figured out the common link of the holes in their necks, and checked the footage and found out that Soledad had a file on her on the night of her death. Ridge is persistent. Even at the risk of being reprimanded by her superiors, she follows her instincts and finds the file that Soledad dropped off before she died. The Talamasca never got to know about it. But now, Ridge and her fellow detective, Loren, are trying to understand the encrypted gibberish in the pen drive Ridge found in Soledad’s envelope. Is there any way Ridge will find out and believe that immortals exist? How’s she even going to process that?
