What We Do in the Shadows: March Madness (6x07)

Let's jump right in!

Cons:

So, if we're doing this Guide/Nandor thing, fine, I guess. It feels pretty unmotivated and lazy to me but okay! But then if we're going to do this, let's do this. The two characters haven't really interacted on screen, and in this episode it's just Nandor being encouraged to be brave and tell her how he feels, and then nothing comes of it? I guess I just think... if you want to use this idea as a vector for comedy, can we at least see some jokes being told about it?

With the knowledge that this show's ending is creeping up on us, I do wish I felt like this episode furthered Guillermo's plot a little more. It seems like it's just another episode reinforcing him as a loyal sycophant. The stuff with Colin was funny, but the episode ends with Guillermo happy and excited to be serving these new masters. I want him to like... foment a revolution, or quit, or something dramatic. Hopefully we'll get to see that soon.

Pros:

I love Sean as a character, and Lazlo's weird obsession/devotion to him is always a hoot. This is another sports-related misunderstanding, where the vampires think that Sean is undergoing something called "march madness" when in fact he's just... watching... March Madness. They summon a demon to help him, but it only causes him to have a minor heart attack, which of course ratchets up Lazlo's guilt and responsibility...

The reveal that Sean's wife believes that Nandor is mentally disabled and that's what the documentary about... I feel like in a worse show this would be a really icky joke where Nandor does a bunch of stuff that's interpreted a certain way, but instead it just became this kind of... sweet thing where this woman is being nice to Nandor and trying to help him since she thinks he might be struggling a little bit? I don't know. I thought it was charming. And I liked Lazlo trying to be Sean's helper. He's an utter mess at being there for people, but he wants to be there. It's nice!

In the Guillermo plot, I did love Nadja discovering a one-note gimmick where a banana is a phone, and then just running it into the ground. It was so funny to see how much everyone else's good will had been eroded, but Nadja was just blissfully ignorant that she was no longer being funny.

And Colin and Guillermo is a pairing that doesn't usually get a lot of play, so I liked seeing that! The long list of types of people one might find at the office really played to Colin's strengths as a character, leaning into the gimmick that he's an expert at being insufferably boring. I loved that there was somebody else at the office who was already the gay Mexican guy so Guillermo can't fill that niche. But by the end of the episode, after Colin kicks the shit out of him for seemingly no reason, he does get a role: he's going to be the shady guy who doesn't ask questions and gets shit done! Once again, back to the parallels with his job as a familiar...

That's all for this one! I'm really wondering what sort of status quo shifts or bigger plot developments we're going to see before it's time to say goodbye to this show forever...

8/10