What We Do in the Shadows: The Promotion (6x10)

Aww! This was so great!

Cons:

This show doesn't have a lot of consistency/follow-through from earlier elements, and I do find myself wishing that there would be an acknowledgment of Laszlo raising Colin Robinson from a baby. There's this whole thread with Cravensworth's Monster this season, where the two of them are basically co-parenting, and it would be funny to tie back that earlier father/son dynamic to what's happening now. But there's never any mention of it, which I just think is a missed opportunity!

This isn't really a complaint about this episode, but rather a fervent hope for the finale next week... I hope that the documentary gets a proper payoff, even in some small way. The moment where Jordan is trying to call "cut" at the end felt like it needed a punch-up, a bit more of a grand reveal about the documentary that's been in progress for such a long time. I guess we'll see if they have a good final bit about this next week!

Pros:

This was a great culmination of the Cannon Capital plot thread from this season! We've got the whole big office set, and our entire vampire gang coming along to a party that's supposedly in part to honor Guillermo as he gets a big promotion. What worked so well about this plot thread was that it managed to fit the predicted beats, but then have real emotional catharsis too.

Because of course Jordan is a jerk who is just stringing Guillermo along. Of course the gang is going to come to the party and cause shenanigans, escalating into more and more ridiculous scenarios. Of course, Guillermo is going to get disappointed once more.

But... Guillermo decides he's done with the cycle. He says no. He stands up for himself. And then, even more astonishing, Nandor stands up for him! It's so funny that Nandor hears someone describing the basic dynamic he had with Guillermo for years, but suddenly sees it for the injustice that it is. It was, not gonna lie, pretty sexy to see Nandor slam Jordan up against the wall, and even sexier to hear Guillermo say "drop him" with such command in his voice. And Nandor obeys! Oof! My favorite small moment was when Guillermo says, looking over his shoulder at Nandor, "it's his documentary." There was something so sweet and intimate about his tone. The shared inside joke. The shared victory over this asshole who mistreated Guillermo and got Nandor fired.

And then we get Nandor telling Guillermo that they are destined to have this unbreakable alliance together. That Guillermo doesn't belong with the humans, he belongs with vampires. When Guillermo says "I'm not a vampire" and Nandor says "no, you're something even cooler," you expect there to be some sort of goofy punchline. But Nandor says "you're a warrior." Which is just perfect and sincere and everything! Of course, their hand-clasp of camaraderie and dedication is broke up by Nandor telling Guillermo his hands are too clammy. Very typical of this show to mix the oddly emotionally affecting with another instance of Nandor being dismissive of Guillermo in some way.

In subplot news, I like that Colin took a stand against Laszlo and stood up for the Monster, who then declares himself to be "Robinson's Monster" instead of "Cravensworth's." Of course, in the end it turns out he thinks of both of these men has his fathers, and wants them to kiss in the elevator. And Nadja gets scammed, thinking she's got a new job, and all she had to do was send $10,000 and feet pictures to her new "employer"! This is the kind of ridiculous shenanigans I tune into this show to see. Just in general, the fact that they all turned up to support Guillermo, even if they'd never admit that's what they were doing, was heartwarming. And Nadja even got to take a souvenir in the form of the severed head of one of her favorite and most annoying former co-workers. It's the little things, really.

I'm genuinely a little weepy about this show coming to an end next week. It's the perfect kind of cozy sitcom where wild stuff can happen at any moment and yet you always know a general status quo will reassert itself. Sometimes that can be frustrating as you want things to be pushed a little further, but usually at the end of the day it's nice to know what you're going to get.

9/10