It would have been easy to make What We Do in the Shadows a hangout sitcom. One of those pleasant, easy half-hours where the viewer checks in to see what wacky adventures the vampires get up to this week. They are, after all, immortal. There is plenty of guaranteed humor to be mined from placing a character like Nandor the Relentless or Laszlo Cravensworth in modern New York, and just, like, coasting. Play up some local humor about how Staten Island is a bit different from the other four boroughs of New York. Send the gang on a road trip, to a community board meeting, to a baseball game. Use Colin Robinson’s role as an energy vampire to do a slightly gothier take on The Office, week after week. Keep mining Guillermo for the nerdy frustration of being a familiar. After all, the show did variations on these ideas in their first seasons, and created some of the best horror comedy of recent years. If they had decided to be a hangout show, they would have made an incredible hangout show.
Instead, the writers have committed to some of the most subtle, gradual character growth I’ve seen on television.
Over the ten episodes of this season, we got Nadja and Nandor as co-leaders of the vampiric council, some fun side adventures with Laszlo and Colin Robinson, another year of plausible change for Guillermo, and then, somehow, miraculously, this ridiculous show made me feel things in its last two episodes. We got Nandor learning about the Big Bang Theory because of a casino game based on The Big Bang Theory. We got multiple examples of Laszlo being a surprisingly good friend to his human neighbor, Sean, who really needs to be in counseling of some kind. We got even more celebrity vampires, plus a possessed doll, plus a hellhound.
I’m going to get into spoiler territory in a second, so let me sum up by telling you that if you watched Season 2, Season 3 is even better? And if you haven’t watched any of it yet, you have an excellent 30 hours of TV ahead of you.
Spoilers ahead!
The season opens with Guillermo imprisoned in the basement, as the vampires weigh the fact that he’s a vampire hunter against the fact that his vampire staking skills saved their lives. The show immediately undercuts any concern by showing us that, naturally, the vampires have botched the prison, and Guillermo escapes each morning to clean the house and buy food while they’re asleep. But this absurd situation leads to the first dramatic change of the season: Nandor convinces his roommates to release Guillermo, to promote him from familiar to bodyguard, and to generally regard him as a member of the team. This highlights the fine balance WWDITS maintains through Season 3. Again and again, the show presents a scenario that, in a normal vampire story, would be quite serious, only to immediately make said scenario silly, only to then twist the silliness back into a serious consequence.
Nadja’s haunted doll runs away with a bindle over her shoulder, and her spirit jumps from host to host until she’s inside one of those huge inflatable protest rats. Ridiculous! But then Nandor punctures the rat, and Ghost!Nadja announces she doesn’t have the strength to make another jump. Is she going to have to leave Nadja and move on to another realm? But then it turns out she can go back to her original doll! But then the argument she and Nadja have been having throughout the episode results in both women realizing they need to confront their emotions and process their stress better, which sets up the season finale. Serious!
Or, in another instance, Nandor plays a Big Bang Theory-themed game at a casino, which leads to Colin Robinson explaining the actual Big Bang Theory, which in turn forces Nandor to question everything he’s ever believed about the universe, and his place in it, for the first time in 700 years. Seriously. This seeds the late-season existential crisis that results in Nandor joining a cult, attempting to go into a coma-like Super Slumber, and, finally, deciding to leave Staten Island in the season finale. The Nandor who chooses to set out on a global tour is a far cry from the childish vampire who wanted to decorate the house with “creepy paper” two seasons ago—or even the one who couldn’t navigate Atlantic City.
But maybe the biggest change comes for Colin Robinson. I’ll admit I was a little confused at Laszlo’s sudden willingness to hang out with the energy vampire. Maybe more astute viewers noticed the tiny clues that something was amiss, but I was so delighted by their buddy comedy pairing that I didn’t question it, and Laszlo’s announcement of Colin Robinson’s impending death was an actual shock. If you don’t mind me breaking this rollercoaster down to its individual cars: Laszlo announces that Colin Robinson will be dead by the end of his 100th birthday, i.e., that very day—I assume this is yet another ruse on CR’s part; Laszlo explains that he found the truth in the archives, hid it from Colin, and has spent most of the season trying to give him a good last few months—I begin to suspect this is real; Colin Robinson announces his tummy is upset—fuck this is real; the vampires and Guillermo sit with Colin Robinson on his depressing, gassy deathbed—this is hilarious, but real; Guillermo runs to get Nandor, but they come back too late, and Colin Robinson is dead—this is weirdly effective? I’m sad, somehow (???); Nandor insists it’s another ruse—haha, I was right! This isn’t real! Nandor’s going to shake him awake after all!; Nandor accidentally punches a hole into Colin Robinson’s head, and goo spurts out everywhere—this is real, Colin Robinson is definitively dead, and I’m sad, but this is the grossest, funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time, and I love it.
Why this ridiculously long play-by-play? Because the next episode opens with the vampires getting a new portrait painted without Colin Robinson—a vampiric tradition for processing loss. Seeing the credits sequence zip by with all instances of Colin pointedly removed was, again, weirdly, unexpectedly, emotional? I felt like Jackie Daytona watching a girls’ volleyball match or something.
Given that, it would make sense that, when the show reverses the loss in the finale, revealing that a baby has burst from Colin Robinson’s chest who looks just like a small Colin Robinson, maybe it would feel like a cheat. Instead, because the writers have been so careful with their balancing act throughout the season, and so respectful of their viewers’ intelligence, that the only thing I felt was glee at the prospect of watching Laszlo of all undead people try to cope with a baby energy vampire. The reversals of both Nandor’s Super Slumber and Colin Robinson’s death felt emotionally true. The shock of seeing Nandor accidentally put his fist through Colin’s face worked beautifully as a reset button. It was funny and gross and deeply awkward, but it also pushed Nandor to change. And it meant that when it’s finally revealed that Colin has been reborn as a baby, rather than feeling cheap, it was a relief that we got a sequel to his smushed head.
The finale did the exact thing you want: It was the culmination of a lot of threads, but it also promises three new plotlines that would have been impossible to imagine at the beginning of Season 3. Are we going to follow Nandor on a solo global adventure? Will Nadja and Guillermo work out as colleagues in London? How the hell is Laszlo going to act as a father to a baby energy vampire?
The fantastic thing is that I’ve come to trust this show so much—I won’t even mind if the writers handwave all of these plot points and go in different directions entirely. They’ve made these characters real and layered enough that I’ll follow them anywhere, even if it’s just back to Staten Island.
I mean, on the show. I’m not going to Staten Island in real life.
That’s all fine. I just wish it had still been funny this season.
@1
“I just wish it had still been funny this season”
?? It was funny. I laughed out loud more this season than ever before.
Well, then you had your obviously mortal jeans and toothpick, yes? If they were not enough, then perhaps a singing bass would cheer you up?
This series just gets better. My favourite so far (I’m savouring the episodes) was the one where Lazlo had written loads of songs that became famous with other singers (Cum on Eileen etc) and N and L do a musical set at a stand up evening. We were crying with laughter
Guillermo yelling “Plancha” as his battle cry before pulling some wrestling moves on Nador was hilarious. There are many funny moments this season. But that doesn’t need to exclude character development: initially I thought Laszlo’s character was being underwritten and he was just doing a bunch of random stuff, but he turned out to be more compassionate than any of his housemates know. It was almost a Sixth Sense reveal when they went back and showed what we missed in his behavior.
Nandor may indeed be somewhat absent from next season, or so goes the internet speculation since Kayvan Novak is off to do movies; Cruella 2 specifically. Haven’t seen the first, so don’t know if this is a good tradeoff, but he will be missed.
Looking forward to season 4.
Season three was great. Lazlo shoving Guillermo into the box was a hilarious surprise but still very much a Lazlo move. I liked his sense of wonder at Little CR as “a new thing”. I will miss Nandor on the show but hope to see Kayvan in more stuff soon.
I hope Season 4 centers on Nadia as she’s my favorite
You’re mistaking them breaking character for character development. All the characters just did out-of-character things all season, with no progression. The episodes didn’t go anywhere, you could literally watch them in any order with the exception of maybe two episodes.
It makes no sense for laslo to trick Guillermo because Nadia didn’t need protection and doesn’t even want him around. Also, laslo knows that Guillermo will just try to catch up with Nandor so he can become a vampire. So it’s literally pointless. Just a cheap trick to try and appear surprising.
They literally repeated stuff they did the previous season, showing that the writers have no vision for the characters. They were too focused on “doing funny stuff” and world building instead of giving the characters any heart.
@Paul: all that sounds too harsh. There was definitely progression: that’s what Nandor’s awareness of his loneliness was all about. Guillermo’s is probably in love with Nandor, beyond just wanting to be turned into a vampire. That was the point of the scene with him wearing Nandor as an illusion on his “date” with the gym girl.
You “literally” cannot watch them in any order. They “literally” did not repeat beats from last season. All the characters were explored more. Laszlo’s actions in the final episode, and the ones prior where he was spending time with Colin, literally showed his empathy (heart).
@7:
Honestly, my reaction was the opposite — all this season, I was struck by how the characters’ storylines progressed very naturally from previously established character traits. Nandor’s loneliness and melancholy over the realities of eternal life, Nadja’s desire for accomplishment and recognition, all of these were seen in earlier episodes and this season just developed them further. Laszlo scheming in secret and having a weirdly sentimental streak? It’s like when he turned out to be the one beheading Nadja’s reincarnated lover every time, or when he became really invested in a high school volleyball team. Colin Robinson established before that he doesn’t really know what his deal is as an energy vampire. Guillermo’s greater self-assurance and changing relationship with the vampires is obviously continuing his arc from the first two seasons.
It doesn’t seem that illogical to think that Nadja might actually need a bodyguard where she’s going. Last season the Vampiric Council lured them into a trap by sending them an invitation to a fancy and exclusive vampire event, and they only survived the trap because of Guillermo. And killing one’s rivals seems to be an accepted and even encouraged way of advancing one’s rank in the council, so it’s probably a fairly cutthroat environment.
Nandor just kills me FUNNIEST SHOW ON AIR
I feel that Atlantic City and the Wellness Center were two of the best hours of comedy on television period. The rest of the season was take it or leave it but those two justified the series as a whole.
Kristen Shaal as the Guide also just needs to be made a permanent cast member. Possibly to date Nandor and make Gizmo jealous.
:)
I can’t believe this show is already on its third season –and I still haven’t watched it! I HAVE to!
The biggest disappointment to me is how obvious it is the show is not filmed on Staten Island; the street signs/bus signs alone make it clear the show isn’t filmed anywhere in NYC. It would be great if the production crew could do some exterior shots for some authenticity next season. Also, someone behind the show should do research into what is actually on Staten Island and not make stuff up. For example, there isn’t a Staten Island Community College, although maybe there was some licensing/legal issue as to why they couldn’t use the real college name in the show. I love the show, but knowing full well that Toronto doesn’t even come close to looking like suburban NYC takes me out of the show sometimes.
For those of you who didn’t notice it, when Laszlo is playing the piano, he was playing the theme tune from a comedy horror show he did in the early 2000s (based on a terrible show in the 80s). You can find it on Amazon Prime.
A baby energy vampire, huh?
But all babies are energy vampires.
@15. Purple: true enough.
Tangent: from actual biographical descriptions of Emily Dickinson, there’s a chance she was an energy vampire. Some people said they would leave a room feeling drained after spending time with her.
I’m anticipating the pay-off of Nadja’s misinterpreting the Leader’s ‘[…] join us in London, in England, where you will take a position that ranks among the highest world-wide Vampire Council positions’ as ‘I‘m on the Worldwide Vampire Council!’, when I think him likely instead to give her a title that comes with no power and quite possibly the expectation of sex with him.