What we did in the shadows
Don't wait too long, and don't let go.
What We Do In The Shadows wrapped up its sixth and final season this week, after consistently being one of the best shows on television since 2019. The show, spun off from/based on the 2014 film of the same name, shared its mockumentary premise about a group of vampire roommates and their put-upon human familiar.
Beginning as a vital American Matt Berry delivery advice (for those who were unfortunate enough to have never seen Toast of London, The IT Crowd, or Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace), WWDITS quickly began leaning into the standard contemporary television device of serialization. The magic trick it pulled off was that (until arguably this final season, or with some season premieres and finales) any individual episode could freely be watched based on that week’s standalone comedy premise (perhaps epitomized in this final season with an episode guest starring Jon “Councilman Jamm” Glaser’s March Madness-obsessed demon) without feeling like the long-running story arcs were impenetrable.
And other than callbacks to traits or Season 4’s rapidly aging baby version of Colin Robinson, the main storyline that grew and evolved and was the backbone of the series (if anything was) was the relationship between the dimwitted Nandor the Relentless and his familiar, Guillermo, whom most of the household insisted on calling “Gizmo,” since his name wasn’t worth them taking the trouble to remember.
Nandor and Guillermo inspired a million fan fictions and Tumblr posts from pretty much Day 1, as their relationship was both intensely dom/sub coded and steeped in the language of unrequited love: Guillermo served his “master” Nandor as his familiar, putting in the work and paying his dues with the promise of his greatest wish being fulfilled at the end of his service — being sired by Nandor to become a vampire himself.
What followed was frustration, bitterness, revenge, betrayal, tragedy, and reversals of fortune … all of it hilarious and bittersweet. At the end of the day and at the end of the series, Nandor and Guillermo found themselves as peers and friends, but when it was time for the show to say goodbye, Guillermo found himself unable to.
I can relate.
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