What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5) Episodes 1 & 2: Jemaine Clement’s horror-comedy series ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ has always been a laugh riot. Over its four hilarious seasons, it took us through the absurd lives of four vampires along with a familiar. Its mockumentary format cleverly helped delve deeper into the minds of these supernatural human beings. The new episodes will come out on Thursdays on FX and will be available on Hulu from the next day.
In the previous season, many life-altering events happened in the lives of these supernatural beings. Colin lived an entire life to his adulthood and, in the end, returned to his usual form as a soul-sucking energy vampire. Laszlo spent a lot of his time taking care of baby Colin. Nandor brought back his past wives to life to realize that the one he loves is Marwa, whom he lost her due to his vices. Since he kept refusing to make Guillermo a vampire, this familiar met Derek to turn him into one. The season four finale ended on the same note.
*Spoilers Ahead*
What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5) Episodes 1 & 2 Recap
Episode 1: The Mall
Did Guillermo get turned into a vampire?
In the Vampire Residence, Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Nandor (Kavyan Novak), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) are concerned about Guillermo’s (Harvey Guillén) mental state. They all think that there is something off about him. While the director asks Guillermo about his meeting with Derek (Chris Sandiford), he tries to hide the details. He had paid Derek to turn him into a vampire, which begs the question. Anyhow, Laszlo is determined to get to the bottom of Guillermo’s discontent.
In the meantime, Nandor did some soul-searching and tried to improve himself since he learned the self-help talk and told Guillermo that he is okay. He, however, has no idea that it does not help Guillermo in any way. When the vampires directly ask him, Guillermo shifts the focus to talking about their recent mistakes. He wants Nandor to stop using his hypnotizing skills so frequently. They all keep making fun of his desire to be a vampire. Nandor even goes on to explain how they are laughing at him.
While the vampires are away, Guillermo starts to share his story with the camera crew. He met Derek at his store and asked to turn him into a vampire. Before he can proceed any further, Nandor interrupts his narration. He thinks Guillermo is mad because they forgot to wish him on his birthday. To make up for it, he decides to go out for dinner. He plans to go to the restaurant where Colin recently started working.
Turns out, Colin left his corporate job and started working as a server in a steakhouse. He believes he can competently use his soul-sucking skills this way. Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja arrive there at night. After they place their food order, we learn about Nadja’s doll’s tragic story (the doll with the spirit of the deceased human Nadja inhabiting it). During her time working at her nightclub, Nadja got so drunk on blood liquor that she accidentally crushed her doll’s lower body. The doll now finds Nadja’s mistake unforgivable. While their order is late, the vampires discuss how to cheer up their familiar’s spirit. They still make fun of Guillermo’s long-held desire to become a vampire.
Guillermo’s Meeting with Derek
Guillermo meets Derek, who hesitates to turn him into a vampire for a while. He asks why Guillermo did not ask his master, Nandor, instead. Guillermo mentions how Nandor had stalled the transformation for years but still spoke fondly of him. Eventually, Derek just bites into Guillermo’s neck before he is completely ready. The blood spatters all over the walls after that. In the present, he joins the vampires at the restaurant table.
Guillermo shares a hypothesis. If he met a vampire on the road and asked him to turn into one, that would be funny, right? No one laughs. Laszlo and Nadja mention how humiliating it would be for his master. Nandor threatens to kill Guillermo if that happens. So, Guillermo starts getting increasingly scared after that. After dinner, they all go visit a mall. Guillermo goes to check the power of his glasses and realizes he does not need them anymore. The ophthalmologist says that he now has a rare 20-20 vision, or even better than that. He sees it as a sign of a superpower.
However, Guillermo cannot understand why he cannot see any other changes. He can still eat human food, and the transformation is still incomplete. He wonders who he is anymore. Back at the residence, he questions Nandor whether he will really kill him in his hypothetical scenario. As usual, Nandor refuses to pay heed to Guillermo’s emotional well-being and treats him poorly. Guillermo thinks he can only try to blend in as he has for years, as a human.
Episode 2: A Night Out with the Guys
Laszlo and Nandor differ in their views of using hypnosis abilities. Laszlo thinks Nandor uses them very often and should rather try to be more creative. Meanwhile, Nadja laments the loss of her nightclub and the issue with her doll’s mangled body. She feels like no one stopped her when she succumbed to blood liquor. Nandor thinks he should use hypnosis for this problem, and Laszlo objects to it. The Guide (Kristen Schaal) soon appears there and tries to blend in with the gang. But the guys refuse to engage in a dialogue and go out.
Laszlo, Nandor & Hypnosis
Laszlo and Nandor join a few other men to have wine and dinner. Laszlo charms them with his poetic skills. Nandor tries to do the same but miserably fails at it. He ends up creeping them out. Seeing him embarrassing himself, Laszlo comes to the rescue. Nandor thinks that Guillermo is odd and distant because he is workless – which gives him too much time to contemplate his existence.
Meanwhile, other men start fighting among themselves. The ruckus gets police brought in. The police officer, Terry, happens to be the men’s friend. Their past issues resurface, and Terry starts getting angry. Laszlo smartly manages to charm him with his skills. But one of the men steals the cop’s car and drives it away. Nandor and Laszlo enter the car along with them. While Derek can easily turn into a bat, Guillermo cannot. They stop somewhere, and a man unloads the gun by firing every bullet.
Back at the residence, Nadja vents her sorrow, and The Guide lets her confide in her. Because of her efforts to be a part of their gang, she decides to help Nadja with her trouble. She thinks her issues are due to a hex and starts asking Nadja if she wronged someone in the past. The Guide looks around the room and finds a photo. Nadja sees it and calls the woman in the photo a shit-stirrer. Even if she tears the photos and throws them on fire, the photo keeps reappearing.
What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5) Episode 2 Ending Explained:
Does Guillermo tell the vampires about his truth?
After the shooting, Laszlo and Nandor get imprisoned along with other men. Laszlo finally confesses that he feels jealous of Nandor’s excellent hypnosis capabilities. He now requests Nandor to use them to get out. Nandor utilizes his skills to get them out and even makes the officers salute them. Back at the residence, Nadja realizes that she has been hexed. But since she cannot read the Antipaxon language, she asks Colin for help. He suggests going to Little Antipaxos to get it translated. Nadja gets surprised that it was right in their neighborhood. Visiting it makes her nostalgic. She visits and tries to blend in with other Antipaxons.
Guillermo meets Derek to ask why he has not yet turned into a vampire, even though it has been three weeks since he was a bit. They go to the home of Baron Afanas (Doug Jones) to ask about this. Baron suggests repeating the process with another vampire. They experiment with Baron’s neighbor, which results in him exploding into bits. It scares Guillermo to his wits. Later, Guillermo feels like Laszlo got a hint of what he did. So, he confesses that he asked Derek to make him a vampire. While Laszlo gets angry, he suggests that he persuade Nandor to turn him into a vampire. But, because of what he just witnessed, Guillermo fears that his fate would be just as terrible.
