What We Do in the Shadows: Sunrise, Sunset
September 8, 2022 11:51 AM - Season 4, Episode 10 - Subscribe
A fire starts burning, Gizmo hatches a plan, baby Colin reaches that awkward age, and this poster's heart is broken
I don't know what to say.
Poor Lazslo!
I don't know what to say.
Poor Lazslo!
When Colin told Laszlo that he didn't remember the last year and walked away, I thought we'd get a shot of Colin's eyes glowing as he feasted on Laszlo's hurt.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 7:20 PM on September 8, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by paper chromatographologist at 7:20 PM on September 8, 2022 [9 favorites]
Glad Colin is back to his full powers, although I would also have enjoyed a few more episodes of surly adolescent Colin. They grow up so fast!
posted by the primroses were over at 7:31 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by the primroses were over at 7:31 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]
kind of impressed at the ballsiness of making this season finale a commentary on the "nothing ever really changes" status quo of sitcoms, though with a big ol' cliffhanger at the end that will surely not pan out for, you know, some reason or other
posted by DoctorFedora at 8:02 PM on September 8, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by DoctorFedora at 8:02 PM on September 8, 2022 [9 favorites]
I loved this season so much, and it was a great ending episode with a total gut punch for poor Lazlo. You know Derek will mess it up for poor Gizmo, but it will be a wild ride. Can’t wait to see next season.
posted by gemmy at 8:14 PM on September 8, 2022
posted by gemmy at 8:14 PM on September 8, 2022
That was... underwhelming? Maybe I'm just salty about the last episode but that certainly was about 23 minutes of television.
I have questions about Colin Robinson and the lifestyle of an energy vampire, but I guess we're not meant to know.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:12 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have questions about Colin Robinson and the lifestyle of an energy vampire, but I guess we're not meant to know.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:12 PM on September 8, 2022 [2 favorites]
weird, they forgot to put any jokes in this episode
anyways I am all in for season five being about a new vampire house consisting of Derrick, Guillermo, and Jenna.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 11:21 AM on September 9, 2022 [7 favorites]
anyways I am all in for season five being about a new vampire house consisting of Derrick, Guillermo, and Jenna.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 11:21 AM on September 9, 2022 [7 favorites]
I found this entire season a bit under-whelming. Some good moments, but it just didn't hang together or have the punch bite of earlier seasons.
I was kind of hoping the subplot about all the celebrities being killed at Nadja's would come back in some form. We know from Season 1(?) that pretty much every famous actor who has played a vampire is, in fact, actually a high-ranking vampire, so I thought it'd be funny if Wesley Snipes, Tilda Swinton, & Robert Pattinson showed up to yell at Nadja for blowing up their spot. Maybe one of them was just cast in Sofia Coppola's next film, and now they have to find a new project!
posted by Saxon Kane at 2:09 PM on September 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
I was kind of hoping the subplot about all the celebrities being killed at Nadja's would come back in some form. We know from Season 1(?) that pretty much every famous actor who has played a vampire is, in fact, actually a high-ranking vampire, so I thought it'd be funny if Wesley Snipes, Tilda Swinton, & Robert Pattinson showed up to yell at Nadja for blowing up their spot. Maybe one of them was just cast in Sofia Coppola's next film, and now they have to find a new project!
posted by Saxon Kane at 2:09 PM on September 9, 2022 [3 favorites]
While not the best season, it had some moments I'd consider all-time favs. Basically the whole episode interviewing for the school. I enjoyed the Colin Robinson arc right up until the end, almost felt like they wrote into corner and rushed a return to old Colin Robinson. Although I think Colin Robinson does remember growing up with Lazlo and is just feeding on the pain of that lost bond... which is mostly just me trying to make bittersweet out of sour.
I suspect Guillermo's hellsing instincts will kick in and stop Derek from turning him one way or the other. If he does turn for real I'll be surprised since that seems kind of like something we probably wouldn't ever get, and if we did, only when show is ending.
posted by GoblinHoney at 4:17 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
I suspect Guillermo's hellsing instincts will kick in and stop Derek from turning him one way or the other. If he does turn for real I'll be surprised since that seems kind of like something we probably wouldn't ever get, and if we did, only when show is ending.
posted by GoblinHoney at 4:17 PM on September 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
I loved the whole bit where Laszlo had to have "the talk" with Colin. I might have to set up an audio ringtone for the first time in a decade just so I can listen to Matt Berry's overwrought "Well, them's the breaks" a dozen times a day.
I was hoping that grown-up Colin would let one last "guess what" slip, but I suppose that ship has sailed.
I agree with the show's self-estimation that it's growing long in the fang, and would love to see lefty lucky cat's idea implemented. Come on, they could even move to the Jersey shore and call it "WWDItS: Young Blood". It writes itself!
posted by phooky at 5:07 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
I was hoping that grown-up Colin would let one last "guess what" slip, but I suppose that ship has sailed.
I agree with the show's self-estimation that it's growing long in the fang, and would love to see lefty lucky cat's idea implemented. Come on, they could even move to the Jersey shore and call it "WWDItS: Young Blood". It writes itself!
posted by phooky at 5:07 PM on September 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
The lukewarm response to this episode (here and elsewhere) really drives home to me that I'm out of step with a lot of fans. I love character-based episodes like this, while fan faves like the Jackie Daytona thing, where the character stuff goes out the window and it's all about the gags, don't do much for me. I feel like the show gets really interesting when we dig a little deeper with these characters. I keep hearing people say this episode was light on jokes, while to me it had just as many jokes as it needed while we were getting all this juicy character stuff!
It's funny how we all went into this season waiting for Baby Colin to go away so the regular Colin would come back, and then the regular Colin finally comes back and it's like, "Wait, what about the little guy..?" I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for some sign that Colin actually remembered the last year, but we never got it. I have no idea where Laszlo and Colin go from here, as friends. Laszlo seemed kind of devastated by the loss of his boy, but then again epic mood changes are kind of Laszlo's whole deal and I can imagine him getting over all this in a hurry.
I can't be the only one who was like, "Wait, why is Guillermo bringing Derek a sack of cash to turn him into a vampire? They're friends and Derek seems desperate for company... he'd probably do it for free!" I find myself kind of hoping that Guillermo actually does become a vampire next season. I'd assumed the show would never actually go there, but it could be a really interesting development. But then seeing how Guillermo and Nandor would deal with a huge change like that is exactly the kind of heavier character conflict stuff that I love and a lot of other fans don't!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:52 PM on September 9, 2022 [12 favorites]
It's funny how we all went into this season waiting for Baby Colin to go away so the regular Colin would come back, and then the regular Colin finally comes back and it's like, "Wait, what about the little guy..?" I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for some sign that Colin actually remembered the last year, but we never got it. I have no idea where Laszlo and Colin go from here, as friends. Laszlo seemed kind of devastated by the loss of his boy, but then again epic mood changes are kind of Laszlo's whole deal and I can imagine him getting over all this in a hurry.
I can't be the only one who was like, "Wait, why is Guillermo bringing Derek a sack of cash to turn him into a vampire? They're friends and Derek seems desperate for company... he'd probably do it for free!" I find myself kind of hoping that Guillermo actually does become a vampire next season. I'd assumed the show would never actually go there, but it could be a really interesting development. But then seeing how Guillermo and Nandor would deal with a huge change like that is exactly the kind of heavier character conflict stuff that I love and a lot of other fans don't!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:52 PM on September 9, 2022 [12 favorites]
I could see Guillermo becoming a vampire and still behaving like a familiar around the house, but I hope that's not what happens. Guillermo is the only member of the house who can change, and I'd love to see him drag the rest of them toward something different.
Emotional Laszlo is my favorite, so the melancholy of this episode worked for me. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed having Baby Colin around until we returned to regular Colin. And even though we're back at status quo, I don't think we're done with finding out what emotional vampires are like. Colin had the clues all ready for his next iteration to find them?
The jokes around Nadja's nightclub still got me: the blood sprinklers kicking in at just the wrong time, her pronunciation of "insuriance," and the total failure of the haunted house, despite a pretty game performance from the Sire.
I was hoping that grown-up Colin would let one last "guess what" slip, but I suppose that ship has sailed.
Sobs.
posted by gladly at 9:17 AM on September 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
Emotional Laszlo is my favorite, so the melancholy of this episode worked for me. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed having Baby Colin around until we returned to regular Colin. And even though we're back at status quo, I don't think we're done with finding out what emotional vampires are like. Colin had the clues all ready for his next iteration to find them?
The jokes around Nadja's nightclub still got me: the blood sprinklers kicking in at just the wrong time, her pronunciation of "insuriance," and the total failure of the haunted house, despite a pretty game performance from the Sire.
I was hoping that grown-up Colin would let one last "guess what" slip, but I suppose that ship has sailed.
Sobs.
posted by gladly at 9:17 AM on September 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
The lukewarm response to this episode (here and elsewhere) really drives home to me that I'm out of step with a lot of fans.
Seriously I don't know what's wrong with these grumps I was cackling all the way through this. This was my favorite Kristen Schall story of the entire series. I was like "Omg is that the Japanese lady inventor of the novel?? It is!!" And the podcast bits!! English major humor I suppose!
Some of my favorite jokes are when they tap into the historical realities of the characters lives, like having to motivate a bunch of cannon fodder teen boys.
I really liked how they took the time to update & refresh Colin Robinson's whole character and I really enjoyed how it played out. This show is so unique and always so thoughtfully done. I hope they keep it going a long time!
posted by bleep at 3:18 PM on September 10, 2022 [4 favorites]
Seriously I don't know what's wrong with these grumps I was cackling all the way through this. This was my favorite Kristen Schall story of the entire series. I was like "Omg is that the Japanese lady inventor of the novel?? It is!!" And the podcast bits!! English major humor I suppose!
Some of my favorite jokes are when they tap into the historical realities of the characters lives, like having to motivate a bunch of cannon fodder teen boys.
I really liked how they took the time to update & refresh Colin Robinson's whole character and I really enjoyed how it played out. This show is so unique and always so thoughtfully done. I hope they keep it going a long time!
posted by bleep at 3:18 PM on September 10, 2022 [4 favorites]
Unpleasant food for thought: what did adolescent Colin experience? Did original Colin feed on him, as he (re)possessed the body?
posted by Pronoiac at 10:38 PM on September 10, 2022
posted by Pronoiac at 10:38 PM on September 10, 2022
I generally feel like this show has outstayed its welcome—that's not a new feeling, most of season 3 felt that way for me too—but I've been in a melancholy mood recently and the ending of this episode had me weirdly, upsettingly moved.
Personally, I suspect that Colin Robinson does remember the last year, and only said he didn't as a kind of antagonism, but... who knows, right?
As for Guillermo turning into a vampire, it feels like it's... about time? idk, four seasons of the same stale gag was long enough. And Nandor's treatment of Guillermo is one of those, I get that the joke is how relentlessly cruel he is, but nothing breaks my suspension of disbelief more than how constantly Guillermo keeps coming back to him, or how he keeps trying to subtly hint that hey maybe now's a time to become a vampire. Season 1 was already delving into scenes with 90-year-old followers who never got vampire'd, and Guillermo isn't an idiot; it'll be nice to shift up the status quo a little bit.
posted by Tom Hanks Cannot Be Trusted at 4:55 AM on September 12, 2022
Personally, I suspect that Colin Robinson does remember the last year, and only said he didn't as a kind of antagonism, but... who knows, right?
As for Guillermo turning into a vampire, it feels like it's... about time? idk, four seasons of the same stale gag was long enough. And Nandor's treatment of Guillermo is one of those, I get that the joke is how relentlessly cruel he is, but nothing breaks my suspension of disbelief more than how constantly Guillermo keeps coming back to him, or how he keeps trying to subtly hint that hey maybe now's a time to become a vampire. Season 1 was already delving into scenes with 90-year-old followers who never got vampire'd, and Guillermo isn't an idiot; it'll be nice to shift up the status quo a little bit.
posted by Tom Hanks Cannot Be Trusted at 4:55 AM on September 12, 2022
I feel exactly the opposite way, THCBT... I felt like this show's first season was really uneven and since then it's gotten much better! I don't think this season was quite as strong as the last, but it was still pretty good stuff.
Personally, I suspect that Colin Robinson does remember the last year, and only said he didn't as a kind of antagonism, but... who knows, right?
Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Colin's eyes were glowing as he walked away from breaking Laszlo's heart. These characters are a weird mix of sweet and chillingly evil, after all, and in some ways Colin is the cruelest of them all. That would've been an awful thing to do, even for Colin, but it wouldn't be totally out of character.
I was thinking that Nandor didn't have the biggest role in the finale, especially compared to last year, and then I remembered his exchange with Guillermo about the passage of time. Guillermo was complaining about how years go by before you know it and nothing changes, and Nandor smiled and said something like, "Yes, isn't it wonderful?" That's actually a big change for his character. This is the guy who spent last season in a big mid-afterlife crisis, even trying to un-vamp himself. Either he's over all that and he's found contentment, or he's in a funk of denial after the loss of Marwa/Freddie and he's shutting Guillermo out.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:59 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Personally, I suspect that Colin Robinson does remember the last year, and only said he didn't as a kind of antagonism, but... who knows, right?
Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Colin's eyes were glowing as he walked away from breaking Laszlo's heart. These characters are a weird mix of sweet and chillingly evil, after all, and in some ways Colin is the cruelest of them all. That would've been an awful thing to do, even for Colin, but it wouldn't be totally out of character.
I was thinking that Nandor didn't have the biggest role in the finale, especially compared to last year, and then I remembered his exchange with Guillermo about the passage of time. Guillermo was complaining about how years go by before you know it and nothing changes, and Nandor smiled and said something like, "Yes, isn't it wonderful?" That's actually a big change for his character. This is the guy who spent last season in a big mid-afterlife crisis, even trying to un-vamp himself. Either he's over all that and he's found contentment, or he's in a funk of denial after the loss of Marwa/Freddie and he's shutting Guillermo out.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:59 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I loved this episode, so upsetting in so many ways. Laslo loses his son, gradually and then suddenly. The hope that CR could turn out differently is obliterated, his last words to his father, "Well why didn't you do something? You shoulda oughta done something about it." Guillermo at last gives up trying to win his vampirism with love, and instead resorts to a meaningless sack of cash. Nandor's depression returns in the form of endless, undifferentiated novels.
The only one they didn't land was Nadja, who finishes up unconnected to any of the other characters in an unfunny and pathosless wail over her burnt money. Can't win em all, but 4/5 tragedies is pretty good for a sitcom.
posted by chortly at 11:01 PM on September 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
The only one they didn't land was Nadja, who finishes up unconnected to any of the other characters in an unfunny and pathosless wail over her burnt money. Can't win em all, but 4/5 tragedies is pretty good for a sitcom.
posted by chortly at 11:01 PM on September 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
I also thought this episode was hilarious and cackled through it. Maybe I have juvenile humour, but the pin code for the bank card sent me - 42069247! - and the relentless pursuit of having things go back to basically exactly how they were in a pretty contrived fashion was itself pretty amusing. It basically means that things can start fresh next season.
I enjoyed this and last season immensely. My only complaint is that Kristen Schaal is in basically every episode now because I find her very un-funny in this and most other shows (as Louise in Bob's Burgers is the one exception).
posted by urbanlenny at 9:37 AM on August 1, 2023
I enjoyed this and last season immensely. My only complaint is that Kristen Schaal is in basically every episode now because I find her very un-funny in this and most other shows (as Louise in Bob's Burgers is the one exception).
posted by urbanlenny at 9:37 AM on August 1, 2023
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posted by porpoise at 5:30 PM on September 8, 2022 [3 favorites]