What We Do in the Shadows Recap: Like Father, Like Son
No DNA test will be necessary to prove that Lord Roderick Cravensworth is, in fact, Laszlo Cravensworth’s father. Sure, Steve Coogan — who guest-stars as the old bat in this week’s episode — and Matt Berry don’t look anything alike. However, there are two key things that, in my mind, point toward an authentic father-son bond between the characters: First, their relationship is strained. Like, really strained. And second, the ghostly Cravensworth is just as much of a horndog as the vampire one. They also both get along with Colin Robinson, but that’s less psychosexual. (Or is it?)
After the major disruptions and heart-to-heart conversations of the past two weeks, episode six is something of a pause for What We Do in the Shadows’s final season, indulging in silly stand-alone antics that only nod to the current dynamics of the vampire household. By this, I mostly mean Guillermo being way over it: There was a time when he would have absolutely been roped into Nandor’s shape-shifting scheme, but at this point he’s just walking by and shaking his head to presumably prioritize his next superrich master (sorry, “client”) at Cannon Capital instead.
Another member of the household who just happens to be passing by in one of the residence’s many hallways is Nadja, whose attraction to randy Englishmen seems to cross generational boundaries as well. At first, I thought she was just trying to ingratiate herself with her dead father-in-law — she was Laszlo’s “ethnic mistress” the last time they met, so being accepted as part of the family would presumably be important to her. But she practically purred when Roderick propositioned her like a common street harlot, so there may be more going on there.
It’s been indicated in previous seasons that Laszlo’s aristocratic family did not approve of his relationship with Antipaxan peasant girl Nadja and he, in fact, left England to be with her. But that’s all stinking water under London Bridge, now that Daddy Cravensworth needs a favor. The fact that he’s being civil to Laszlo’s lady wife is probably one of the things that’s making the younger Cravensworth so suspicious! Roderick — a.k.a. the Whispering Swordsman, a.k.a. the Scurrilous Bob, a.k.a. the Nightdog of Cresco, and so on — is also judgmental in that casually cutting way only a parent can be, refusing his son’s cuddliness (aw, c’mon) and passing judgment on his living situation. And that’s while he’s trying to be nice!
However, Laszlo has since channeled his daddy issues into consensual spanking sessions with Nadja and is able to overcome his need to maintain appearances and foil Daddy’s fiendish plan to take over his body and experience physical release for the first time in centuries. (I’m somewhat sympathetic to Roderick’s plight — 200 years is a long time to be secks-seeeww-ally frustrated.) Or has he? “Laszlo’s Father” keeps the resolution of the Cravensworth conflict offscreen, simply showing Laszlo (or is it??) giving Colin an hourglass with Roderick’s spirit (or is it??) inside. Craven trickery (pun intended) may be afoot. We’ll find out next week, I imagine.
Laszlo isn’t the only one with daddy issues in this week’s episode. He may be the only member of the vampire household to have a dad, as we discover this week that Colin and Guillermo grew up without father figures. (Aside from Laszlo hand-raising Colin from rebirth back in season four, of course.) Part of Nadja’s lore is that she was rejected by her family and driven from her village after she became a vampire, which leaves Nandor’s father as the only question mark. Nandor is a father — he had many children during his human life owing to the whole “37 brides” situation. But he has never talked about his own dad.
Nandor’s kids have been dead for centuries, anyway, freeing him up to do one of my favorite things on What We Do in the Shadows: act like the doddering 800-year-old man he technically is. (The season-two episode “The Curse,” in which the vampires encounter the horror of electronic-mail communications, is the classic example of this comedic thread on the show.) This week, he and Nadja are on a neighborhood-watch kind of kick, peeking through the newly discovered window on the other side of the house like so many nosy neighbors before them.
And as happens to many boggle-brained suburbanites, peeping at the neighbors — whom they assume are shape-shifters but are just Airbnb guests — leads to escalating paranoia among the vampires. This conflict ends rather happily, actually, thanks to New York’s stringent laws on short-term rentals, which leads to a nice vacation next door with fuzzy robes and muffins for the vampires and Guillermo once a month. And they get a possum as their short-term landlord! Nandor has been single for a minute now …
Craven Mirth
• It’s difficult to compete in a Cravensworth-centered episode when it comes to line readings. Kayvan Novak’s “Shape-shifters are … extremely freaky” would have won any other week, but “bare back-SIDE!” has to take it.
• This can’t be the world’s first steampunk proton pack. Ghostbusters fans, weigh in?
• “I haven’t heard that since my penultimate visit to the Cunny Pot!” Pure poetry.
• I feel like I’ve heard the phrase “My rotten little soldier” on this show before Roderick says it in this week’s episode, though I can’t quite place where.
• Vampire-lore update: A welcome mat counts as an invitation into a house. Update your thresholds accordingly.
• The historical timeline doesn’t quite add up for Rasputin being Laszlo’s babysitter, but hearing Matt Berry roll the R makes it all okay.
• We’ve seen riffs on “Live, Laugh, Love” types of signage on WWDITS before, but “Bye, Felicia, and take Karen with you” is a new level.
• Laszlo is still parenting Colin, as we see when he tells him his new Funko Pop! buddy has gone on a “ghost mission,” maybe to a farm upstate.