Creating a television series out of the indie cult hit What We Do in the Shadows was not obviously going to work. While the movie mines a great deal of comedy out of its portrayal of a bunch of dorky, out-of-touch but nevertheless deadly vampires, it wasn't clear if it was the premise or the particular characters - two of whom were played by the film's creators - that made the movie so fun.
The show takes place in the same fictional world, and indeed we eventually see Viago, Vladislav, and Deacon pop up in a late-season episode to confirm this fact, but instead we follow three other vampires (actually four, counting energy vampire Colin Robinson, who's operating on entirely different rules but is still a vampire) whose dynamics and personalities are entirely different from the three of the movie. Yes, they deal with similar issues like rivalries with werewolves and the baggage of being centuries old in a modern world, as well as, you know, finding people to murder and drink their blood.
To a large extent, I think that the show does manage to replicate the charm of the original film, though its episodic nature means that sometimes it lands perfectly while at other times it comes up a little short.
But the developments of the finale, "Ancestry," promise exciting things moving forward in the next season.
I don't know that I'd really consider this a spoiler-heavy show, but just in case you feel that way, here's a spoiler cut.
First off, there's the ever-present question of whether there's any good within our vampiric subjects. Largely because of their goofiness, we tend to like these creatures even though they are blood-sucking undead fiends. But we do see glimmers of humanity shine through.
Most notable here is in Nandor's story. Guillermo, perhaps merely out of curiosity, has decided to test the genetics of his master and his master's vampiric associates. While Laszlo and Nadja dismiss this as a plot by witches to steal semen (or in Nadja's case, presumably some other bodily fluid they might use) and are thus emphatically apathetic, we discover that Nandor actually has around 200,000 living descendants. (Colin Robinson discovers that his ancestry is 100% white, which of course it is.) Given that he was a tyrannical warlord in an era when polygamy was pretty standard, he and his 37 wives had many children, and Nandor laments that when he became a vampire, his moodiness and brooding drove all of his wives away, taking his children with them or leaving them to be raised by wolves. Naively, Nandor glumly laments that his children are "probably" dead by now.
And so, when Nandor discovers that one of his great-times-30 granddaughters actually lives in Staten Island, he excitedly goes to visit her with gifts appropriate for a small child, despite the fact that she's in her mid-90s. Appearing at her window, he accidentally gives her a heart attack and she dies. Nandor forces Laszlo and Nadja to accompany him to the funeral, which is being held in a church, and naturally the vampires all start bleeding from the eyes and catching fire, but Nandor really puts in an effort to be there to pay respects for his descendant, even as doing so literally threatens to destroy him.
So it seems that the natural immorality of being a vampire - vampires are inherently serial killers, after all - is sort of compartmentalized, and they do retain some real human emotions from their former lives. While the manner in which Nandor's actions lead to his descendant's death are silly, his devotion to her is actually pretty touching, even braving the church with its pictures of the "Jeepers Man" on the windows.
We also get the inevitable end to "Jesk," the latest incarnation of Nadja's death-prone paramour Gregor. It is revealed that the person who keeps decapitating him is actually a jealous Laszlo, though this is played off more as just one of their weird kinks than anything Nadja would consider treacherous. Jeff/Jesk/Gregor, having been accidentally called psychically from his mental institution (and killing an orderly, I believe - remember, this is a dark comedy,) gets permission from Laszlo to leave unharmed if he gives up on Nadja, but naturally, the razor-wire that Laszlo has decided to use to prop up his latest piece of topiary - this time a sculpture of Nadja - winds up slicing Jeff's head off. So, you know, the cycle continues, and Laszlo has once again beheaded this poor, doomed soul, albeit accidentally this time.
The best plot of the episode, though, is the result of Guillermo's own DNA test. He is not shocked to discover that he's mostly the typical mestizo Mexican genes, but is amused to discover that he's actually part Dutch. Looking further into it, he finds that he's descended from a Dutch family called... Van Helsing.
Like, that Van Helsing. Abraham Van Helsing, famed vampire killer.
And the weird thing is that it kind of makes sense. Guillermo has been obsessed with vampires, which is why he wanted to become one. But he also has a habit of killing them - first the Baron, and then one of the vampiric guards at the trial. And over the course of this episode, we watch as first he shows up with a bunch of garden stakes, freaking Laszlo out, then thoughtlessly dumps holy water on Nandor's lap to put out the fires that have started since he entered the church. At the end of the night, Guillermo looks at the garden stakes he'd bought and seems to ponder them murderously before, terrified at the thought, he tosses them away - only for them to land like expertly-launched throwing knives in a pair of painted portraits of Nandor and Nadja with Laszlo, all striking directly at their hearts.
Guillermo's preternatural vampire-killing abilities horrify him, given his status as a vampire fanboy, but there's also been this undercurrent of resentment about which he seems to be in denial. We've seen vampire familiars are universally strung along by their masters - Guillermo has been working for Nandor for a full decade without any clear promise that he'll be transformed. Deacon's familiar from the movie only becomes a vampire after she finds someone else to do it, and Nadja impulsively decides to turn Jenna in the name of female empowerment after seeing her only briefly. Perhaps it is the very subservience of the familiars that makes the vampires hesitant to turn them - or more simply, it's just a racket.
But Guillermo must know that by now, and while he is still devoted to his master, angry outbursts have erupted on occasion at the ungrateful treatment he has received. You really have to wonder if all of this bubbling resentment under the surface will one day erupt into a vampiric massacre. Indeed, Guillermo might even discover a new nerdy ambition - if the vampires won't make him one of their own, he could become a badass of a different sort.
But on the other hand, one wonders if he is truly talented at vampire-slaying, or if an actual attempt to become such a figure would be doomed to failure. Like, can you be cool if you're really trying to be cool?
I think a big question for this show is to what extent the characters will be permitted to develop over time. On one hand, it's a heightened, silly comedy, which often have a cartoon-like continuity when it comes to character development. Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement have mined an additional season of television out of the concept for their feature film, and the well does not seem to be dry yet. But what is the best way forward? I'll be very excited to see how things go in the second season, which they have been renewed for.
Thoughts on the future of the show:
I really hope Jenna can become a more regular character. As a modern, awkwardly nerdy vampire, she brings a real charm to the show. I'm curious how she'll adapt to her new un-life, and whether the taste of that first Ska-band frontman will mean the death of her moral qualms.
Alas, poor Jesk. Well, given that his next reincarnation will presumably take at least eighteen years before he's on Nadja's radar again, I suspect we're not going to see much more of Gregor.
Laszlo is funny, but I sort of wish we'd gotten more of a season plot for him. I suppose Nandor didn't really have a full arc, exactly, but his relationship with Guillermo has been a treat. In some ways I feel like Laszlo has been independently funny rather than feeling integrated with the cast, and I'd like to see a bit more from him - I loved the stuff with the disgusting cursed witch hat, and could see his arrogance getting him into lots of hilarious trouble.
Nadja is probably my favorite of the vampires, and if Jenna can be a bigger presence in season two, I'd like to see a bit more of Nadja's cool big sister dynamic with her.
Colin Robinson... is great, but he might be best kept sort of dickishly separate from the various problems the other vampires are dealing with. So, great so far!
I think we've also gotten a pretty good mix of the vampires dealing with the mundane world and the insanity that is the greater vampiric world. I don't think they'll need to rely on celebrity cameos, but stuff like the Trial (particularly the very, very silly dance bit at the beginning) is a great window into the vampire culture, which like all subcultures, often comes off as profoundly dorky.
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