1) It is possible to view Merteuil as a femme fatale; however, the series does not merely reproduce this archetype and instead gives it genuine social and psychological depth. Was this approach a conscious intention on your part?

That is an interesting question—one I have never been asked before, and one I had not really asked myself either. Perhaps because the femme fatale, in the world of film noir, is almost always observed from the outside, through a male point of view, whereas the series is conceived from Merteuil’s own perspective.

2) The series offers a clearly feminist reinterpretation. At what moments do you think you deliberately moved away from the classical text in order to develop this perspective?

I am fully aware of this dimension and I embrace it, at least in part. It is not something I actively sought, out of fear of becoming heavy-handed or overtly militant. Above all, I believe it would be a misunderstanding to see Merteuil herself as a feminist (which does not prevent the series—and even the book—from being so). She has only one cause: her own. She uses women just as she uses men. It is also this radical selfishness (which is not a pose, but a matter of survival) that makes her fascinating to me, and sometimes even amusing.

3) By transposing the ruthless power struggles of the original work to a contemporary audience, which elements did you choose to modernize as a priority?

The book is a masterpiece that has aged remarkably well. However, there is one element in particular—also present in the film adaptations—that I chose to sacrifice: Valmont’s rape of Cécile. Not so long ago, it was still possible to see this passage as ambiguous and almost amusing. Thankfully, this is no longer the case today, and I did not want to destroy Valmont in the eyes of the viewer, especially since I tried to make it possible to believe—or at least to desire—that a love story could emerge between him and Merteuil.

4) We know that The Seduction is not a faithful adaptation of Les Liaisons dangereuses. How would you define the series: a prequel, a rewrite, a free adaptation, or an entirely new work?

A free adaptation based on the characters, drawing on and reinventing elements of the plot in the second half of the season, and shifting the center of gravity of the action from Valmont to Merteuil.

5) The relationship between Valmont and Merteuil does not follow a classic romantic trajectory; it resembles more a dangerous bond in which each discovers the other’s darker sides. Which psychological themes did you particularly want to explore through this transformation?

The idea that power (over others, and therefore first over oneself and one’s emotions) is achieved at the expense of love, which then exists only as a fantasy, and nothing more. There can be no reconciliation. This, it seems to me, is the spirit of the book, which ultimately tips into tragedy.