“What is our current dark purpose?”
Each What We Do in the Shadows season has been interested in the unique growing pains experienced by Staten Island’s favorite misanthropic vampires, but there’s a sense of catharsis and closure in the series’ sixth and final season. It’d be very easy for What We Do in the Shadows to coast on what’s worked in the previous five seasons without rocking the boat. However, this farewell season channels the appropriate energy as it prepares the audience — and the characters — to say goodbye. There’s heavy awareness and reflection as What We Do in the Shadows’ vampires take stock of what they’ve accomplished throughout their lengthy lives and what they have to show for it all. There’s a lot more that could be done with these characters and What We Do in the Shadows as a whole, but it’s appreciated to see the series go out on a triumphant high note, rather than grow complacent and rot away in a tomb.
What We Do in the Shadows cultivates a powerful angle for its final season that naturally facilitates epiphanies and growth, albeit in a manner that always feels authentic to the series and these heightened characters. What We Do in the Shadows even begins to fold in on itself as the documentary crew becomes active characters in this story and evolve into much more than a structural device. It’s a tactic that’s not dissimilar to the approach that The Office took during its final season, yet What We Do in the Shadows gets much more playful on this front. This has always been an extremely silly series, but this season is full of rewarding meta moments for those who have been watching from the start and keyed into the series’ production and creative crew.
What We Do in the Shadows is careful to give its entire cast plenty to do — both as a group and as individuals — but one of the season’s most exciting elements involves the power vacuum that’s caused by Guillermo turning his back on familiar life and his exodus from the Vampire Residence (sort of). This understandably ushers in some drastic changes for Guillermo and a whole new style of subservience for his character, the likes of which Harvey Guillén truly relishes and tackles with aplomb. However, some of the season’s most interesting material — at least through the first several episodes — involves how the rest of the vampires handle the subsequent changes that come out of Guillermo’s departure, whether it’s what they do with his old room or the emergence of a new roommate (Mike O’Brien) who used to be a vital member of their macabre clique.
O’Brien’s Jerry the Vampire is the type of change that would feel cloying in the middle of a show’s run or if What We Do in the Shadows was running for several more seasons and looking for a way to breathe new life into itself. Jerry works much better as a final season wild card who is more about prompting introspection in these characters than trying to properly integrate himself with the cast. It’s a simple, yet effective detail that starts this season off on the right note and helps usher in the end.
There’s plenty of soul searching this season as characters are pushed outside their comfort zones in delightful ways. What We Do in the Shadows continues to capitalize on the electric odd couple chemistry between Laszlo and Colin, which has become a thoroughly fulfilling dynamic during the past few seasons. They’re given plenty of strong storylines this year, especially once Laszlo enters his Frankenstein era. This season also thankfully delivers more Nadja doll madness. It’s so nice that this porcelain companion has become a main character and not just a recurring gag that disappeared over the course of a season or two. It’s honestly become one of the most rewarding and entertaining aspects of Nadja’s character. An early episode this season even indulges in an amusing exercise in mass hypnosis that reduces everyone to blank slates. It’s a beautiful way to highlight how these characters are endlessly, hopelessly destined to spend the rest of their lives with each other.
Season six of What We Do in the Shadows is rich in changes that are satisfying on a narrative level, but it’s also still an extremely silly show that never takes itself too seriously. These new episodes hilariously expand upon vampire and supernatural lore. The series remains as sharp as ever when it comes to these characters’ attempts to engage in the simplest and most ordinary of tasks, such as making new friends, getting a job, or father-son bonding, admittedly all with paranormal spins. It’s never a dull moment when these vampires interact with the outside world and their abrasive personalities clash with society (which includes several successful guest stars, like Tim Heidecker and Alyssa Limperis). That being said, their petty squabbles and shorthand amongst each other are still at the top of their game and sharper than ever. What We Do in the Shadows features big and outrageous set-pieces this season that do not disappoint. However, it also understands that an extended group argument between the entire cast is the show’s secret weapon and more powerful than any stake or clove of garlic. It’s these lovable bloodsuckers that are what the audience cares about.
There’s a lot to love in this final season and it’s comforting to see such a committed comedy take some big swings as it goes out instead of just playing it safe. This season is such a celebration of everything that fans love about What We Do in the Shadows; and while it may not be perfect, it does recover from some of the growing pains that held the series back during its fourth season. The series concludes with some touching symmetry as the Staten Island vampires spend a lot of time absorbed over the healthiest way to end a relationship, all while attempting to gracefully answer the same question as it closes the door on this silly, supernatural saga. ”What is our current dark purpose?” is a question that’s innocuously posed in What We Do in the Shadows’ premiere. After six successful seasons, the answer seems to be to live, laugh, and love as friends, family, monsters, and misfits.
The sixth and final season of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ premieres October 21st on FX, with next-day streaming on Hulu.
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