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| Raglan James in Talamasca Image: Yahoo/Nerdist |
I admit I am not as familiar with the Vampire Chronicles as I am with the Mayfair Witches. It's been several years since I read The Tale of the Body Thief. That meant I had to refresh my memory as to who Raglan James was.
From what I recall, Raglan James ended up with a rather unique connection to the Talamasca. It was in the form of David Talbot.
As I have been struggling with discomfort over Season 3 of Mayfair Witches being set in Salem, Massachusetts, I thought a lot about Taltos, the third and final novel in the Lives of the Mayfair Witches series. Thinking of this and then watching Talamasca, I recalled how Taltos was almost as much about the Talamasca as it was about the Mayfair Witches and the Taltos. It was in the form of a shakeup in the ranks of the Talamasca that occurred because of some rogue agents who had tried to gain access to Lasher in his once-again mortal form. Why?
There was a female Taltos in England.
While that was going on, Lestat crossed paths with a body thief. And so did David Talbot.
The body thief was Raglan James.
Now, Season 2 of Mayfair Witches--oh dear Gawd, I think I understand this particular change a lot better now--already had Lasher actually being caught by the Talamasca and taken not to England, but Scotland. Problem: the female Taltos Ian Mayfair and the Talamasca had there wasn't named Tessa. Probably because Tessa Mayfair had already died in Season 1. Okay, Emaleth, then.
In the novels, the rogue Talamasca agents failed to get Lasher. The older agent did get the chance to meet the real St. Ashlar of Donnelaith--right before Rowan Mayfair gave him a nice aneurysm.
Well, of COURSE Rowan was going to need a carpenter in the series! By the time she and Moira returned from Scotland to pull Olivia and JoJo out of the thrall, the Mayfair house had deteriorated significantly more than it had been before they went to Scotland to find Lasher.
Whatever happens next in Mayfair Witches, I have to wonder if the idea is to sort of "dove-tail" it with Talamasca. Let's hope so. Because I am going to be honest.
If the only thing happening in Season 3 of Mayfair Witches is that the story is plonked down in Salem, Massachusetts JUST to focus on witches and witchcraft in history and folklore with little or nothing of Anne Rice's story in it... Yes, that does come across as being a different story but with Anne Rice's name slapped on to sell it. If it's not a tale Anne Rice ever told, not even close, then it's not Anne Rice or Mayfair Witches.
When I see "Mayfair Witches" as the name of the show, I expect to see Mayfair Witches, not some unrelated tale with details loosely in common.
As for Talamasca, it's already been made clear that the show is not based upon a single novel Anne Rice wrote called Talamasca. It's about the order that is prevalent across both the Vampire Chronicles and the Lives of the Mayfair Witches novels. I have to wonder now if the witch in Talamasca and the appearance of Raglan James might actually be meant to connect this Immortal Universe of AMC shows based upon the Anne Rice novels they have the filming rights to.
Didn't we see Raglan James in a Season 2 episode of Interview With the Vampire? He was the one who warned Daniel that his laptop had been hacked into, wasn't he?
