What We Do In The Shadows (Season 5)

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

What We Do In The Shadows (Season 4)

I adored the first three seasons of What We Do In The Shadows, especially the second and third. I was very happy to call it one of the funniest shows in years. Unfortunately, Season 4 didn't just hit the same for me. It's a big step down from prior WWDITS.

The previous season of WWDITS ended with a series of cliffhangers, Laszlo is left at home alone with a baby version of Colin, Guillermo is sent to London with Nadja, and Nandor is traveling the world alone. There was a lot of potential for a fun globe-trotting season that split up the cast, but then Season 4 starts with the cast immediately reuniting at home, wasting pretty much all of it. It's not like the storylines Season 4 did end up settling for were all that great either. Lazslo was the highlight as usual, as he spent the season taking care of Baby Colin. It's definitely the best storyline of Season 4, but it's dragged down by the (purposefully) ugly baby CGI and the fact that Baby Colin is just not as interesting as his adult counterpart. Nadja finally gets a storyline, which is nice, but it's just to start a nightclub that ends up failing by the end of the season. It feels really one-note. But worst of all is what's going on with Nandor. Having gotten 57 wishes from a genie, he decides to revive and remarry one of his dead wives, only to repeatedly make wishes to change her appearance. I get that Nandor's supposed to be a bad person and this is likely to be a big cornerstone in a character arc for the guy, but I'm sorry, this just crossed the line. The entire Marwa storyline was mean-spirited at best and borderline racist at worst (Nandor turns his Iranian wife into Guillermo's white boyfriend, how is that okay?!).

So the story didn't work for me this season, but how is the comedy? Well, thankfully, it's still as great. It's so easy for a mockumentary to start deviating from its origins and presenting more like a standard TV show, both The Office and Parks And Rec did this, so it's great to see WWDITS still has a lot of fantastic camera-related gags. The cast is also still on point, even in the weaker episodes, and Matt Berry in particular is probably at his absolute best. But probably the biggest thing, when WWDITS puts the plot in the background and focuses on comedy, it ended up giving us some of the best episodes in the whole show. Episodes like Private School and Go Flip Yourself show that WWDITS never really declined in quality because it's just as funny as it's ever been, if not even funnier. Instead, I'm left thinking that WWDITS would probably just be at its best if it focused less on telling a dramatic story and focused more on just being funny. But that's strange since I thought Season 3's story was really good, maybe the show just can't balance out those two sides of itself.

Highlights:

Private School: This is peak WWDITS. It takes a simple premise of the main group interviewing for a private school and cranks it up into complete and utter insanity when they decide to repeatedly hypnotize the headmaster until they get things just right. It also doubles as a hysterical commentary on crack shipping, with not a single pairing left unreferenced.

Go Flip Yourself: This is my favorite episode since On The Run, it captures that same unhinged energy, disconnected from the rest of the show. On top of that, it's a parody of reality shows (more specifically home improvement shows), which is something I can always get behind. I don't think anything topped the shock value of Nadja killing one of the hosts mere minutes into the episode, but Laszlo's fandom, the bleeped curse words, the "bad news" cut, and of course, that brilliantly ridiculous twist at the end came really close.

Overall, Season 4 of WWDITS isn't a bad season of television, not in the slightest. The writing, acting, and comedy is still on-point. Season 4 is just dragged down by a really lackluster story, which sucks since it ended up having some of the best episodes in the series whenever it put it off to the side and focused on the comedy.

2/5 Stars

Episode Rankings: What We Do In The Shadows

What We Do In The Shadows is a fantastic comedy. It's consistently funny, the characters are likable, and as of its third season, it really feels like it's evolving in terms of its plot. It's a great show that you definitely should be watching, here's my ranking of the episodes:

1. On The Run (S2.06) - Matt Berry is so damn funny
2. Go Flip Yourself (S4.08)
3. The Portrait (S3.10)
4. The Roast (S5.08)
5. The Trial (S1.07)
6. Private School (S4.05)
7. The Casino (S3.04)
8. A Farewell (S3.09)
9. Baron's Night Out (S1.06)
10. Nouveau Theatre Des Vampires (S2.10)
11. The Curse (S2.04)
12. Exit Interview (S5.10)
13. The Escape (S3.06)
14. Urgent Care (S5.06)
15. The Wellness Center (S3.08)
16. Ancestry (S1.10)
17. The Campaign (S5.04)
18. Pine Barrens (S4.07)
19. A Weekend At Morrigan Manor (S5.09)
20. Collaboration (S2.08)
21. Colin's Promotion (S2.05) - One of the most bizarre episodes of TV I've ever seen
22. Citizenship (S1.08)
23. Brain Scrambles (S2.03)
24. The Prisoner (S3.01)
25. Pride Parade (S5.03)
26. Werewolf Feud (S1.03)
27. Sunrise, Sunset (S4.10)
28. Pilot (S1.01)
29. The Siren (S3.07)
30. The Wedding (S4.06)
31. Resurrection (S2.01)
32. Local News (S5.05)
33. The Mall (S5.01)
34. Manhattan Night Club (S1.04)
35. The Night Market (S4.04)
36. The Orgy (S1.09)
37. The Return (S2.07)
38. Gail (S3.03)
39. City Council (S1.02)
40. Reunited (S4.01)
41. The Chamber Of Judgement (S3.05)
42. Ghosts (S2.02)
43. Animal Control (S1.05)
44. A Night Out with The Guys (S5.02)
45. The Grand Opening (S4.03)
46. Witches (S2.09)
47. The Cloak Of Duplication (S3.02)
48. The Lamp (S4.02)
49. Hybrid Creatures (S5.07)
50. Freddie (S4.09)

What We Do In The Shadows (Season 3)

Season 3 of What We Do In The Shadows takes some big risks by trading some of its laughs for more drama and character development, and what ensues is not just the most uneven season so far, but possibly the best?

Season 3 starts with a pretty massive status quo shift. Now that most of the vampires in the Tri-State Area have been killed off thanks to Guillermo, the only people left who can run the Tribunal are the main cast. Thus, a lot of this season focuses on Nandor and Nadja trying to lead the Council, to predictably mixed results. It's a really cool storyline that slightly expands the scope of the series, and culminates in the reveal that the Baron is actually alive. I always thought he was wasted so it's nice to see him back. Meanwhile, Laszlo and Colin spend the season hanging out. It initially seems like they're just paired together because everyone else is busy with the Council, but we eventually learn it's all because Colin is dying, which leads to a really emotional last two episodes. And just like Season 1, each character has their own arc or subplot that leads to a surprising amount of development, like Guillermo's feelings for Nandor, Nandor having a mid-"unlife" crisis, and Nadja wanting to be a leader of the Council and not just a co-leader.

But while this was easily the best season to date in terms of its story, it's a lot more hit and miss in terms of its comedy. On one hand, this season allows the characters to get out of the mansion a lot more often, with the highlight being their trip to Atlantic City. Once again, I really feel like the series's scope is being expanded here. And at its best, this season is as funny as any prior What We Do In The Shadows season, with more high points as well. However, Season 3 did get to a pretty rough start, with The Cloak Of Duplication being easily my least favorite episode in the show to date, but even at its best, it felt like there were a few more jokes than usual that just didn't work for me (Colin's poop jokes from the premiere especially). It also doesn't help that with a lot more drama and character work, this season as a whole had a lot less comedic moments than the last two, so outside of some especially funny episodes, this season just wasn't as laugh-out-loud as the others for me.

Still, at its best, Season 3 had some of my favorite episodes so far:

The Casino: This was easily one of the funniest episodes of the show, from Nandor's obsession with the Big Bang Theory, to the vampires essentially getting drunk, to Sean wasting all of his money, to Nadja thinking a Rat Pack tribute band is the real thing. But what really made it is the fact that all the plotlines are resolved in an Ocean's Eleven style heist.

The Escape: This episode felt so big to me. It was a madcap chase across the city to track down the Sire, the first vampire ever, with the high stakes of every single vampire potentially dying if he isn't found. I wouldn't call this one of the show's funnier episodes, but it's definitely impressive.

A Farewell: This was a fantastic bait-and-switch in so many ways. Nandor going into Super-Slumber, Laszlo trying to give Colin attention, it all led to the incredible reveal that Colin is dying. But even more, this was just one of the season's funnier episodes, from the guest stars from the Supreme Tribunal, to Guillermo continuously waking up Nandor, to the ending where Colin accidentally gets his head destroyed.

The Portrait: While the first two season finales were alright, The Portrait was absolutely insane, completely fracturing the cast by sending Nadja to London with Guillermo, Nandor on a world tour alone, and keeping Laszlo home to take care of a reincarnated Colin. Laszlo sending Guillermo off to London stung the most, since he missed out on the one chance he got to become a vampire, and now Nandor thinks he ditched him.

Overall, while a bit uneven and not as funny as the prior two seasons, Season 3 of WWDITS manages to expand the scope of the series with a compelling main storyline, great character work, and some of the best episodes to date.

4/5 Stars

What We Do In The Shadows (Season 2)

For a show's second season, there are two routes the writers can take. They can expand on the show's world and take the characters to entirely new places, or they can just keep doing more of what they do well. Season 2 of WWDITS is very much the latter, which isn't entirely a bad thing.

Plot-wise, Season 2 of What We Do In The Shadows is pretty heavily focused on Guillermo. After learning that he has Van Helsing DNA, Guillermo spends the season dealing the fact that he might be destined to kill the vampires, as well as becoming more aware of how mistreated he is as a familiar. Most of this season's episodes have some sort of subplot relating to this storyline, as Guillermo joins a vampire hunter's club, briefly switches masters, and in the finale, leaves Nandor for good. It's a really strong throughline for the season and gave the show a bunch of great emotional moments. However, the heavy focus on Guillermo means the rest of the cast doesn't quite have the same balance of screentime, as the season lacks the many subplots that the first season had. The finale does bring back the Tribunal, but that's pretty much it.

Thankfully, in terms of the comedy, Season 2 is far and away an improvement on the first. For starters, it doesn't have the slow start that most sitcom first seasons do, managing to maintain a high standard right from the premiere. Once again, I think the best episodes are around the middle, but the overall level of quality is just a little bit better than Season 1. In addition, I think this season does a better job of experimenting, from having episodes focused on characters like Colin and Laszlo, to introducing a bunch of new species like ghosts, zombies, and witches. I wouldn't exactly call it world-building since many of the species are one-offs, but it does add a nice level of variety to the show that I really enjoyed. I also think this season had a lot less gross-out humor than the first, no projectile vomiting sequences this time around. 

Once again, most of the episodes are great, but there are some highlights:

The Curse: This episode really just had two great storylines that it managed to balance between incredibly well. On one side, there's the vampires receiving one of those "you're cursed" emails and thinking they're actually cursed, with a genius premise executed very well. But even better is Guillermo spending time with the vampire hunters club only for them to end up having gone on a disastrous mission that leaves half of them killed.

On The Run: This episode was absolutely hysterical, by far the best in the series. It's a showcase of Matt Berry's brilliant comedic timing that's so bizarre you can't help but love it, from the toothpick gag, to Mark Hamill as the bad guy, to the bar fight, On The Run is just nonstop hilarity. But my favorite thing about it is how it feels like the best unintentional Ted Lasso parody you could possibly make.

Nouveau Theatre Des Vampires: While not one of the show's funniest episodes, this was a great finale that changes the status quo in some pretty massive ways. The vampires know pretty much all of the secrets Guillermo has been hiding from them all season. They know about the assassins, all of Guillermo's kills, and after watching him slaughter most of the Vampiric Council in the course of a few minutes, they know he's a vampire hunter. Granted, they don't really seem to care, but I doubt they're going to let it slide. 

Overall, while its overall plot is still a bit lacking, Season 2 of What We Do In The Shadows is just as fun as its predecessor, with even stronger writing, funnier comedy, and a finale that shows a lot of potential.

4/5 Stars

What We Do In The Shadows (Season 1)

What We Do In The Shadows is an adaptation of the Taika Waititi film of the same name, which I haven't actually seen. However, the series manages to do a great job of taking the film's premise of a vampire documentary and expand on it.

What We Do In The Shadows is a mockumentary about a bunch of vampires (Nandor, Nadja, and Laszlo), who are tasked in taking over Staten Island... or the world... Well, actually they're not all that sure, but they have to do it before a Baron sleeping in their house wakes up. The series pokes fun at how out of place the vampires feel in our modern world, meaning that the main cast tends to fail at actually making any headway. While this feels like a good plot to sustain an entire series, the Baron actually wakes up six episodes in and manages to get himself killed. It's a hilarious comedic twist, but leaves the season's actual story feeling a bit aimless for the last few episodes. Thankfully, there are still a lot of great subplots, like a college student named Jenna learning to be a vampire, Nadja reuniting with her reincarnated love Gregor, and the familiar Guillermo trying to get himself turned into a vampire, only for the finale to completely wreck those dreams in the best way possible.

Right from the first episode, WWDITS is a very funny show, partially because of its poking fun at vampire tropes and partially because of its pitch-perfect cast, with the highlight being Matt Berry (Laszlo), whose comedic timing is just fantastic. There are a lot of great instances of irony, subversion, and anti-climax, and the show hardly actually takes anything seriously. However, being a comedy about vampires, WWDITS does also have quite a bit of gross-out and toilet humor, which I've never been a fan of. Those are definitely the weakest comedic moments for me, but the sharp writing and great acting even manage to elevate those parts a bit. Like most comedies, WWDITS does have a bit of a slow start, with the first half of the season definitely being weaker than the second, but the show is still really consistent in its quality to the point where even the weakest episode (Animal Control) isn't all that bad.

While the whole season was great, there are some especially great episodes particularly around the middle:

Baron's Night Out: While the Baron being killed off was a bit of a disappointment plot-wise, it led to a fantastic episode comedy-wise. While the show is already a bit of a fish-out-of-water story, the Baron feels so out of place in Staten Island that he makes the main cast feel like... well.. normal people. I love how Baron almost dies in nearly every other scene, but it only happens when Guillermo (foreshadowing?) opens the door on him.

The Trial: What a lineup of guest stars! Aside from the cast of the original WWDITS film (which includes Taika Waititi), we got Dave Bautista, Tilda Swinton, Danny Trejo, Paul Reubens, and Wesley goddamn Snipes! But even outside of the guest stars, The Trial resolves a pretty massive storyline as the vampires manage to get out of having killed the Baron, and Guillermo accidentally killing two vampires in the course of a day is both great and hilarious foreshadowing for the big finale twist. Unfortunately, this episode is so good that the rest of the season kinda suffers in comparison.

Ancestry: While not as large in scale as The Trail, this finale did have two pretty great twists. First is the reveal that Guillermo has Van Helsing DNA, a brilliant bit of irony and an exciting hook for next season. Second is the reveal that Laszlo is responsible for all of Gregor's deaths, another great twist that ends his storyline on a funny and satisfying note.

Overall, What We Do In The Shadows is great and its first season is a lot of fun. While it has a bit of a slow start and The Trial is a bit of a tough act to follow, the writing is great, the casting is fantastic, and all of the characters are very lovable. 

3/5 Stars