What We Do in the Shadows: Pride Parade (5x03)

What an episode, holy shit.

Cons:

I can't think of anything I'd change about this one! I guess I'll repeat my comment that the Guide doesn't have a ton to do. The joke seems to be that she's superfluous and ignored, but she does feel superfluous to me, so it's just not that funny.

Pros:

Where to start? The Nadja plot thread was hilarious. All of the physical comedy of the doll inside vampire-Nadja's body was a delight, I was laughing out loud at so much of this. And then the grotesqueness of Colin and Doll-Nadja both inhabiting vampire-Nadja's body? The duet they sang at the pride event? I don't even have anything coherent to say about any of this, it was just hilarious all the way through. The ending gag of Lazlo deflowering doll-Nadja who is possessing vampire-Nadja, along with Colin, with vampire-Nadja inside doll-Nadja egging them all on... I mean, what other show can you think of that would ever do something as batshit insane as this? It's incredible.

The main plot is about Sean running for comptroller, and planning a Staten Island Pride Parade to try and help get more support from the LGBTQ community. He comes to the gang because he knows they're all part of that community and he wants their advice and to get them involved. Lazlo takes things to the next level and volunteers to make the float and help to host, clearly jazzed about the idea. I love that we've gone from implied queerness early on to just full-throated, "yes, everyone in this house is super gay". We even have Nadja saying that "we all fuck each other" which seemingly canonizes the implication that has been made at several earlier points in the show. There's even that ending moment where Nandor and Guillermo walk in on the rest of them having sex, and Guillermo turns to leave, and Nandor says "are you sure?" as he seemingly prepares to join in as well. My goodness.

I've always said Guillermo is my favorite character on this show, and he remains that, but Lazlo really does take a close second. I loved his enthusiasm for the parade, his silly costume, and most of all I love the experimenting with Guillermo. Now that he knows his big secret about being bitten by a vampire, he's determined to find out all he can about his condition. They run all sorts of tests together, which prove that Guillermo is certainly a vampire of some sort, but seems to have a lot of limitations in that regard. He's not compelled to count all the spilled rice the way Nandor and Lazlo both are, he is able to go out in the sun, but he does successfully levitate something, and he can grow bat ears and small wings, even if they are useless. And his sweat is vampire sunscreen, meaning Lazlo is able to enjoy the daylight for a while!

It's... charming, the way Lazlo seems to be invested in Guillermo, wanting to discover this mystery and also potentially protect him (and Nandor) from the pain that would come if the truth came out. He could just tell Guillermo's secret and let Nandor deal with it however he likes, but he legitimately seems to care.

Which, of course, drives Nandor crazy. The fact that Nandor is openly jealous when Guillermo seems to be spending so much time with Lazlo is hilarious to me. We've come so far from season one, when Nandor admitting that Guillermo meant anything to him would have been absurd. He plans to fly into space to prove that he can, and when Guillermo asks if he's doing it to impress him, we see Nandor being interviewed, seeming to scoff at the suggestion, before ultimately admitting: "yes."

And of course he does succeed, before falling immediately back to Earth in a fiery crater, thus showing up naked to the Pride Parade, triumphant at last. I loved Guillermo's shock as he rushes to wrap Nandor up to cover his nudity.

And then we get the final little parade bit at the end, everybody dancing and enjoying the music. The shot of Guillermo holding up his little sign, and seeming to get into it despite himself, was the cutest fucking thing. We'd heard earlier that he'd never been to Pride before, so seeing him be able to celebrate who he is actually warmed my heart quite a bit!

I honestly have no idea where we go from here, this show is so insane that I can't predict whatever craziness they'll come up with next. I'm ready for more shenanigans between Nandor, Guillermo, and Lazlo, and I'm eager to see how things will go when Nandor learns the truth!

9/10