What We Do In The Shadows (Season 5) Episode 5: The fifth season of ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ has till now shown the vampires trying to make sense of their identities. There is, of course, an ongoing conflict in Guillermo’s life to understand whether he is a vampire or not. Nadja discovers her Antipaxon roots and tries to get closer to that part of her identity. Laszlo tried to be a good partner and be a part of this new family. Meanwhile, Nandor struggled to find joy in Guillermo’s absence.
Now, the 5th episode shows the vampires facing difficulties because Nandor ended up revealing some of their secrets on the local news broadcast. This unwanted attention makes the gang go into full chaos mode.
*Spoilers Ahead*
What We Do In The Shadows (Season 5) Episode 5 “Local News” Recap:
Nandor’s Goof-up
The episode begins with a local news broadcast from Staten Island, New York. This is with regard to the excessive flooding in the West New Brighton neighborhood. It happens to be the place with the Vampire Residence. The ground correspondent, Joanna Roscoe (Jamie Linn Watson), talks about the efforts by the local authorities to put it under control. As a direct witness, she brings Nandor the Relentless (Kavyan Novak) to talk about it. Instead, he tries to impress her with his outdated tactics and, predictably, fails! Later on, he ends up casually mentioning a flood in 1892 as something that he personally experienced. Then, he tries to clear up his goof-up by saying that it was in 1992 since it fits right in a ‘human lifespan.’
Joanna jokingly says that she has found ‘the secret to eternal life.’ Only then Nandor understands his mistake and runs away. Back in the vampire residence, he tells others about an unforgivable and irreversible blunder he committed. He says that they have been living in the residence for centuries. Since Joanna and all the viewers will know that they are vampires, they start panicking in their peculiar ways. Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) even goes on to throw a chair away, calling this situation their ‘last dance.’ Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry) thinks they should kill Joanna to get rid of the problem. In his own state of panic, Nandor calls his former familiar, who is nowhere to be found.
Guillermo’s Family Visit
Guillermo (Harvey Guillen) goes to visit his family to tell them about his eventual transformation into a vampire. Since his family members are descendants of a known vampire killer, he believes it is high time he did this. After all, either they will end up killing him, or he will end up killing them. He keeps trying to find an opportunity to bring this subject up. That’s when he sees the Channel 8 news where Nandor speaks with Joanna. He tries to cast a spell on all the viewers – to forget what they heard from him. Suddenly, breaking news comes up about a possible thunderstorm. So now, Guillermo has yet another thing to worry about.
The vampires, meanwhile, try to leave the Staten Island residence with all their essentials. Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) mentions how vampires are known for such quick departures. She decides to call herself Sally afterwards. Laszlo still insists that they should trust his plan. Suddenly, someone starts breaking the tightly packed door. Turns out, it was Nandor who wanted to talk about his spell. Anyhow, Laszlo feels they should kidnap Joanna as the first step of their work. Guillermo calls their neighbor to tell Nadja and Laszlo to stay put. But the neighbor cannot help in that regard.
Guillermo keeps getting increasingly restless. He bails from the dinner, which does not go well with his family members. Miguel (Frankie Quinones) is upset because Guillermo often prioritizes his work over spending time with his family. Guillermo directly calls the residence. But Laszlo insults him and then cuts the call as per his habit. He goes to his mother’s room to have an honest conversation with her. But all he can say is that ‘things are going to change for the worse.’ He gets emotional and says that he will not be able to see them afterward.
Guillermo’s mother has no idea about his vampiric inclination. So, she thinks he is talking about a significant life change and tries to relieve his stress. As a gesture, she offers him a pendant to wear that his grandmother used to have. She blesses him and makes him feel good about himself. However, she knows his behavioral pattern and thinks he will return just as emotionally within days. Afterward, he goes back to the vampire residence to notice the change inside. Nandor claims that the day made them realize that they do not know Guillermo anymore. So, he decides to leave the house, depressed.
What We Do In The Shadows (Season 5) Episode 5 Ending Explained:
Vampires on Tape
Joanna comes back to the vampires’ residence to talk about the improved situation about the flooding situation. While she tries to inform the viewers about it, Nandor and Laszlo approach to kidnap her. Right then, they see their strange-looking vehicle crash into a sinkhole. So the duo returns, and then Colin creates a diversion by starting a fire in the van. While the news cannot show live footage, Joanna notices the vampires flying and catches it on tape. The Guide (Kristen Schaal) realizes this and brings it to the other vampires’ notice.
The vampires reach the news station and cast a spell on the news anchors. Nadja and Nandor replace them and start reading out the text from the teleprompter. Colin and Laszlo also join them to make the broadcast appear as seamless as possible. They try to put on the façade of normalcy and mostly succeed. Back at the residence, Guillermo starts walking out of the house and gets attacked by fire, sparks, and whatnot. He had no idea that the vampires had put these threats in place.
