What We Do in the Shadows: A Farewell
October 22, 2021 8:44 PM - Season 3, Episode 9 - Subscribe
Colin has a birthday and a vampire says goodbye.
AV Club review - One coffin closes and another one opens on a momentous What We Do In The Shadows: "Vampires are familiar with death, in the sense that they cause a lot of it. But when it’s an immortal’s turn to face the unknowable void, they don’t handle the situation any better than their human prey."
Nandor tries to slip away into a super slumber, even Colin Robinson's 100th birthday won't delay him. But a surprise arrival from the Vampiric World Council throws the household into putting on a blood banquet and an orgy. Only Laszlo knows that Colin Robinson needs to make the most of his birthday on this night.
AV Club review - One coffin closes and another one opens on a momentous What We Do In The Shadows: "Vampires are familiar with death, in the sense that they cause a lot of it. But when it’s an immortal’s turn to face the unknowable void, they don’t handle the situation any better than their human prey."
Nandor tries to slip away into a super slumber, even Colin Robinson's 100th birthday won't delay him. But a surprise arrival from the Vampiric World Council throws the household into putting on a blood banquet and an orgy. Only Laszlo knows that Colin Robinson needs to make the most of his birthday on this night.
I just can't quite believe it. There has to be another part to this.
posted by gladly at 9:03 PM on October 22, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by gladly at 9:03 PM on October 22, 2021 [6 favorites]
I adored the final scene for the way it was so unexpected and GROSS. And Nandor waking up from "the unwakeable slumber" because it's his Guillermo summoning him!
Lazlo was somehow so genuinely sweet. I find Matt Berry a LOT to take (yes, yes Lazlo, double entendre) but this made his slightly odd behaviour over the past few episodes snap into sense as really quite lovely and meaningful. They are a family.
The comments on tumblr are that Colin's mother is mentioned earlier as still around, and she's got to be technically over a hundred, so perhaps he is metamorphising into something new. I would miss the actor though!
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 12:04 AM on October 23, 2021 [14 favorites]
Lazlo was somehow so genuinely sweet. I find Matt Berry a LOT to take (yes, yes Lazlo, double entendre) but this made his slightly odd behaviour over the past few episodes snap into sense as really quite lovely and meaningful. They are a family.
The comments on tumblr are that Colin's mother is mentioned earlier as still around, and she's got to be technically over a hundred, so perhaps he is metamorphising into something new. I would miss the actor though!
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 12:04 AM on October 23, 2021 [14 favorites]
Laszlo was genuinely sweet to Colin Robinson, and I loved the flashback to him tearing a page from the archive collection to spare him the news.
Guillermo's many wakings of Nandor got me every time. And, I loved the vampiric council members wanting to view Nandor's body, even if it deteriorated into a long dick joke. I think Donal Logue just being part of it made it even more absurdist.
posted by gladly at 10:30 AM on October 23, 2021 [10 favorites]
Guillermo's many wakings of Nandor got me every time. And, I loved the vampiric council members wanting to view Nandor's body, even if it deteriorated into a long dick joke. I think Donal Logue just being part of it made it even more absurdist.
posted by gladly at 10:30 AM on October 23, 2021 [10 favorites]
Yeah, it was a very funny episode but now I'm so surprised/gutted by that ending? But maybe there's something to Colin never finding out where he was from and the use of the word "expire" -- like another copy will be spawned somewhere with an expiry date 100 years hence? I'm trying to keep hope alive because I find Mark Proksch hilarious, and I would really miss him from the show.
posted by grandiloquiet at 9:21 PM on October 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by grandiloquiet at 9:21 PM on October 23, 2021 [4 favorites]
I thought during the toast that Lazlo had been turned to an energy vampire himself. It was delightful and I love his character so much. It's so nice to see these magical idiots commit idiot violence on other magical idiots.
posted by rebent at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by rebent at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
That ending was upsetting, but I'd be really surprised if Colin never comes back. Unless Mark Proskch is desperate to get off the show or he's a nightmare to work with or something, neither of which seems to be the case, they're not going to get rid of a core character who is working that well. It seems like the writers have been having a lot of fun with Colin, he doesn't feel played out at all. The fact that energy vampires are so poorly understood (within the world of the show) means that the writers can easily come up with some way for Colin to not be dead-dead.
So much was going on that it's easy to miss a major development with Guillermo here: He says he doesn't really care about becoming a vampire anymore. This season they've dropped a bunch of hints that Guillermo's devotion to Nandor has a weird sexual component (like the stuff about him having tasted vampire pee somehow, and his declaration in this episode that Nandor has a big dong) and I think he's probably in love with Nandor and that's what keeps him sticking around. If so that makes their dynamic even sadder. Nandor cares for Guillermo but at best seems to regard him kind of like a loyal dog, worthy of affection but certainly not an equal. Guillermo's not even in the "friend zone"; he's in the pet zone.
Laszlo's behavior this season had seemed a little off, but this episode made everything snap into place. I don't think I've ever seen Matt Berry play a dramatic moment before, I didn't even know he had a range beyond "comedic, aristocratic pervert" (it could describe pretty much every role he's ever played) but he really nailed it in the scene where he revealed that Colin was dying.
Nandor's snarky bitterness here kind of reminded me of Nadja's behavior in season one. I guess when you live forever, it's natural that you'd have times when you get dissatisfied and question everything. It's easy to forget that these characters have known each other for centuries, and you can get sick of anybody in that time. But watching the characters mope around isn't much fun, and I'll be glad when Nandor gets over his existential ennui. I'm guessing the season finale ends on a cliffhanger of Nandor splitting town and Colin dead, and things will basically reset by episode two or three of next season. But this show keeps you guessing!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:31 PM on October 24, 2021 [9 favorites]
So much was going on that it's easy to miss a major development with Guillermo here: He says he doesn't really care about becoming a vampire anymore. This season they've dropped a bunch of hints that Guillermo's devotion to Nandor has a weird sexual component (like the stuff about him having tasted vampire pee somehow, and his declaration in this episode that Nandor has a big dong) and I think he's probably in love with Nandor and that's what keeps him sticking around. If so that makes their dynamic even sadder. Nandor cares for Guillermo but at best seems to regard him kind of like a loyal dog, worthy of affection but certainly not an equal. Guillermo's not even in the "friend zone"; he's in the pet zone.
Laszlo's behavior this season had seemed a little off, but this episode made everything snap into place. I don't think I've ever seen Matt Berry play a dramatic moment before, I didn't even know he had a range beyond "comedic, aristocratic pervert" (it could describe pretty much every role he's ever played) but he really nailed it in the scene where he revealed that Colin was dying.
Nandor's snarky bitterness here kind of reminded me of Nadja's behavior in season one. I guess when you live forever, it's natural that you'd have times when you get dissatisfied and question everything. It's easy to forget that these characters have known each other for centuries, and you can get sick of anybody in that time. But watching the characters mope around isn't much fun, and I'll be glad when Nandor gets over his existential ennui. I'm guessing the season finale ends on a cliffhanger of Nandor splitting town and Colin dead, and things will basically reset by episode two or three of next season. But this show keeps you guessing!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:31 PM on October 24, 2021 [9 favorites]
I usually enjoy the weird Vampiric Council formalities, but not when Nandor is still sad and doing a super slumber, and not when Colin Robinson is dying. The balance of this episode didn't really work for me, but I'm hoping the season finale focuses in on our gang (and resolves some of the ennui and nonexistence issues).
posted by the primroses were over at 8:26 PM on October 24, 2021
posted by the primroses were over at 8:26 PM on October 24, 2021
Considering how vague everything we know about Colin Robinson is, I was surprised they actually knew his real birthday and age.
I had been expecting the Laszlo and Colin subplot to be building to a reveal about the origin of energy vampires so this is a bit of a swerve from that. I had found it odd they had been spending so much time together, but chalked it up to Laszlo getting bored while Nadja was distracted with council business.
I was a bit surprised there weren't any questions about how Nandor died, especially since his body showed no apparent cause of death (redeath?). Though it probably was for the best that Guillermo woke him and told him to play dead, because I have my doubts he would've remained slumbering through the inspection he ended up being subjected to.
Obviously the show could still surprise me, but I still doubt that this is the end of Colin Robinson's story, or that Nandor will be slumbering for a century.
posted by ckape at 9:26 PM on October 24, 2021
I had been expecting the Laszlo and Colin subplot to be building to a reveal about the origin of energy vampires so this is a bit of a swerve from that. I had found it odd they had been spending so much time together, but chalked it up to Laszlo getting bored while Nadja was distracted with council business.
I was a bit surprised there weren't any questions about how Nandor died, especially since his body showed no apparent cause of death (redeath?). Though it probably was for the best that Guillermo woke him and told him to play dead, because I have my doubts he would've remained slumbering through the inspection he ended up being subjected to.
Obviously the show could still surprise me, but I still doubt that this is the end of Colin Robinson's story, or that Nandor will be slumbering for a century.
posted by ckape at 9:26 PM on October 24, 2021
I could be wrong but I 100% do not believe Colin Robinson is permanently, out-of-the-narrative dead. That's... just not how this show works.
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:04 PM on October 27, 2021
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:04 PM on October 27, 2021
Good grief that ending shocked me. I loved it.
posted by harriet vane at 7:30 AM on April 11, 2023
posted by harriet vane at 7:30 AM on April 11, 2023
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by Acari at 8:55 PM on October 22, 2021 [12 favorites]