SPOILER ALERT: The following discussion contains spoilers from the Season 6, Episode 11 of “What We Do in the Shadows,” titled “The Finale,” which aired on Monday, Dec. 16 on FX.
The vampires of Staten Island, featured in “What We Do in the Shadows”, have finally retreated into their coffins.
The sixth season’s final episode marks the conclusion of the FX comedy series, an original spinoff from the 2014 mockumentary written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. Similar to numerous irreverent sitcoms, it ended without much character development but with the assurance of eternal silliness even after the cameras have stopped rolling.
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The episode kicks off with Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), the human assistant of the household, expressing his disappointment that the documentary team has gathered enough footage and will no longer need to visit the vampires’ residence. Despite the indifference of the eternal bloodsuckers — Guillermo’s master Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) and The Guide (Kristen Schaal) — towards the end of filming, Guillermo contemplates it might be time for him to move on from serving Nandor and maintaining the household without any reward. It is fascinating to see a mockumentary series address the age-old question of “What will they do with all of this footage?” much like the American “Office” did.
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In a surprising twist, it’s revealed to Guillermo that this isn’t the first documentary shot in the house. Cutting to a clip from the never-released 1958 series “Vampires,” which was supposedly shot by the renowned Maysles Brothers duo, the vampires are seen having a similar conversation about cleanliness as they had just minutes prior. Ultimately, that docuseries was never aired because, as per Colin Robinson, “They said, ‘It’s just a bunch of boring people doing the same old shit day after day, nothing changes, no one ever grows, it’s pointless, yada yada.’” This self-deprecating scene is reminiscent of the infamous “Seinfeld” finale, where the main characters are imprisoned, having the same old argument about button placement on a shirt as they had in the pilot, stuck in a sitcom purgatory. Ultimately, the vampires’ eternal lives will have them bickering about the same old things until the end of time.
A standout moment in the episode occurs when Nadja shatters the fourth wall to hypnotize the viewers to help them see the ending they prefer. The scene then transitions to an amusing, cinematically-shot parody of the finale of “The Usual Suspects,” where Schaal plays a detective and Proksch takes on the role of “Verbal” Kint, Kevin Spacey’s character who constructs a complex web of lies by fabricating fake names from objects scattered around the room.
However, the viewers are soon returned to reality to enjoy a few more moments with the housemates. In the end, Guillermo announces on camera his decision to leave the house to discover himself, and Nandor allows him to address him by his name instead of “master.” But Guillermo returns to see Nandor just seconds after the film crew starts to dismantle the set, stating he only “wanted to give the documentary an ending” and “just because we don’t work together doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
During the end credits, the vampires and Guillermo watch the first episode of the documentary. “So this is a rough cut, right? You’re open to notes?” asks Colin Robinson, as the housemates exit due to boredom, leaving Guillermo as the only one engaged with the footage. It’s a fine example of self-depreciation.
In a TV landscape filled with intricate plotlines, significant character development and serialized moments, “What We Do in the Shadows” both existed and concluded as a proudly absurd and irreverent hang-out comedy. Jackie Daytona would undoubtedly toast to that.
Credit: variety.com
