Cons:
The biggest con I have here is... well, if Guillermo was going to be made back into a human at the end of the season, I wish we'd gotten to see more of vampire Guillermo. I actually don't mind narratively this turn where he goes back to being human, but why couldn't we see a whole season of him getting to be a bat and go flying and do all the other vampire things, in full-swing? That way the fact that he's not ready would hit a little harder: he can't bring himself to drink human blood, which is the only way he can continue to be a vampire, even though he's experienced all the perks. I just think that would have been a more fun way to play it. Instead, we spent a whole season waiting and waiting to finally actually see vampire Guillermo, and we... never fully got that at all. He did look good with those fangs, though.
Pros:
The Morrigan Manor stuff was so charming and fresh and different. I truly had no idea where this episode was going to go, from the invitation, to the amazing fencing choreography with Lazlo and his large group of combatants... I even thought the Guide's role in the story added something fun.
All season I've been complaining that they haven't done enough with the whole vibe of her being an outsider, but in this episode, when she finally takes matters into her own hands, I did feel the weight of her relative insignificance all season, finally coming to bear. I realized pretty soon she had to be behind all the disappearances, but it was still fun to see it play out. And I like how she acts as a contrast to Guillermo, who now feels included in the group in various ways. One good moment is at the beginning, when the recording says "six of you" and they're confused about the number six, because they were forgetting to count the Guide. Which means they think of their family as being five people, and that includes Guillermo. So sweet!
And the moment of truth... everyone else trying to distract Nandor form realizing the big secret... Nadja: "I like this cage." That was so funny. The reason that a ridiculous show like this works is that when they want to play up something other than the laughs, they don't shy away from that. All season we've been told that once Nandor learned the truth about Guillermo, he'd kill him and then himself. And then he finds out, conveniently locked in a silver cage, and what does he say? That he's going to kill Guillermo. It's not funny, his rage is played 100% earnestly.
It's also cut up really humorously with Nandor instantly figuring out why Guillermo is only a half-baked vampire. His slayer blood from his Van Helsing family is interfering with his transformation. Everybody else is just like "ohhhhh" but I think this is such a great detail to include, that Nandor actually pays attention and knows enough about Guillermo, has given all of this enough thought, that he instantly knows what's going on.
Lazlo remembering the right tape to play to get the Guide to forgive them was also really funny. I knew instantly there would be a punchline where they undercut their kindness towards her right after Lazlo has the tape cut off, and I like that the Guide doesn't see the mid-credit bit like we do, where it turns out they're trying to get Colin to fall in love with the Guide so they become a couple and move out and leave the rest of them alone. Lazlo continues to get my season MVP award, for being clever enough to manipulate the Guide!
The second episode is full of so much great Guillermo goodness, I don't even know where to start. I think the big thesis of this season is that Guillermo is family with the other vampires in the house. He already achieved that closeness, and in fact it was sort of in spite of becoming a vampire, not because of it. We see it in the way that Nadja, Colin, and Lazlo all sneak off to say goodbye to Guillermo, as they believe he'll be dead soon at the hands of Nandor. The episode with the Guide reminded us that these vampires are never necessarily going to be open about their feelings; they'll care about each other on their own terms, and it doesn't mean they don't treasure those relationships. Guillermo has learned that now, and that being a vampire, something he still greatly wants, isn't the only way to connect with his chosen family.
I love that Nandor just straight-up murders Patton Oswalt, like, he's dead within the What We Do in the Shadows universe now and it's so fucking funny. Especially the fact that he gives good advice, Nandor kills him in punishment, and then is like "he has a good point, though..."
And again with this show knowing when to play something dead sincere, I love how Nandor's grief and anger is over-exaggerated but one hundred percent earnest, too. He says that he can't imagine anything more painful than having to kill his friend. And then he makes a promise to Guillermo, holding a stake to his own throat, in his original language of Persian, that he will spare his life. It was... well, it was charged, to say the least.
Also played entirely sincere was Guillermo's grief and discomfort over the thought of killing people. It's rendered comedic by the fact that he's killed so many vampires, and lured so many innocent humans to their deaths, but it makes sense that the actual drinking of innocent human blood would feel different to him. Nandor knows him well enough to understand that this isn't what Guillermo really wants.
There's something so narratively satisfying and also funny about Nandor being the one in the dark all season, having no idea what's going on, and then once he's in the know, he has sole custody of the only damn brain cell in the whole group. He figures out how to forgive Guillermo, he figures out what his friend really needs, and even guides him into discovering that for himself.
Even Derek gets a happy ending, hopefully to make friends with his new zombie brethren, where he might fit in the way he never did among vampires!
I've seen a lot of people online disappointed with this finale, calling it an anti-climax and a letdown that Guillermo and Nandor didn't kiss on the mouth or whatever. On some level I do understand that disappointment, in the sense that I wish we'd gotten to have more fun shenanigans with vampire!Guillermo while we had him, instead of this half-assed version of it all season. But at the same time, that's the nature of this kind of comedy show. If you divert from the status quo, the show kind of... ends. And we've seen such huge development this year for Guillermo, in the way he is now given the kind of respect from his chosen family that he's long pined for.
And that's that for season five! I really deeply love this show, all the crazy shenanigans of this bizarre cast of characters. I'm ready for season six whenever they have it prepared for us!
9/10
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