Season 4 of What We Do In The Shadows was a bit of a let-down coming off the heels of its pretty stellar first three seasons, but thankfully, its fifth season is a bit of a return to form. It doesn't quite reach the heights of WWDITS's best, but it's easily one of the most consistent seasons in the series.
Season 5 of WWDITS starts with Guillermo having Derek making a vampire only to learn that Nandor would have to kill him if he learned he was sired by someone other than them, so much of the season has Guillermo keep his being a vampire a secret as his powers slowly creep in and more members of the household slowly find out. I criticized Season 4 for being too heavy on the drama, but this is the perfect type of plot for the series. Guillermo having to spend more time with Lazslo and eventually Nadja is a nice change of pace for the series, and the constant secret-keeping brings to mind Season 5 of Friends. In general, WWDITS feels like it leans a lot more heavy on the comedy, and rediscovered a lot of what made the series so fun initially. This season has the most scenes with the vampires interacting with normal society since probably Season 1, and it's great! Among all the fantastical drama, it's easy to forget that the main hook of WWDITS was supposed to be the juxtaposition between the vampires and everyone else. The vampires spending all their time doing vampire-related stuff just isn't as compelling or funny. Colin not being a baby anymore was also a massive improvement, it's easy to take for granted how funny he is as a character and a he stole a lot of the episodes across this season.
However, Season 5 still isn't perfect, and there are some issues with the show that unfortunately carried over from last season. The biggest issue is probably Nadja, who it still feels like the series doesn't really know what to do with. Her storyline this season is a tad better than the nightclub one from Season 4. She learns she has a curse and reconnects with her home to figure out how to remove it. The joke of Little Antipaxos was definitely funny at first, but it got pretty played out as the season went on. The other issue I have is with The Guide, who I was never really a fan of. It feels like the writers keeps trying to force her as a part of the cast, but I'm just not really sold on her. Kristen Schaal is a good actress, but her accent as The Guide is really annoying, and as a character, The Guide just doesn't have any depth or personality outside of being slightly annoying (and we already have Colin for that). One other thing I found weird (not bad, just notable) about this season is just how gory it is. WWDITS was never averse to gore and blood splatter, but this season goes shockingly far with it. I'm fine with most of the excessive gore, though the whole subplot about Guillermo's animal hybrids was really uncomfortable and did not need an entire episode dedicated to it.
Highlights:
The Roast: Doug Jones is a treasure. Like, I already knew that he's a physical acting legend and fantastic at being scary, but now that Baron got his whole body back, Jones is able to carry an entire episode comedically and does so wonderfully. His line delivery is pitch perfect, every single movement and facial expression is perfectly calibrated, you can tell he had the time of his life here. This episode is also a densely-packed riot from start to finish. From the titular roast, to Baron chasing Guillermo around, to the plot ramifications of the vampire community knowing about Guillermo being a Van Helsing and everyone other than Nandor knowing about Guillermo being a vampire, to the hysterical payoff of the Baron getting burned again, The Roast is the whole package.
Exit Interview: This was a good finale that resolves everything on a pretty satisfying note. Guillermo ends up deciding that he doesn't want to be a vampire, and the way it gets resolved is fittingly funny. My favorite part of the episode, though, was most of the cast showing up to say goodbye to Guillermo throughout. Really gave it series finales vibes.
Overall, Season 5 of WWDITS was good. The core secret-keeping plot was fun, the comedy and mundane elements got more of a focus, and the second half was mostly really strong. It's not as consistently hilarious as the earlier seasons and still suffers from figuring out what to do with certain characters, but where Season 4 left me underwhelmed, this season left me quite satisfied and content.
3/5 Stars
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