[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers through the series finale of What We Do in the Shadows, “The Finale.”]
Endings are difficult in general, and few endings are more difficult to craft in a satisfying way than the conclusion to a long-running TV show. For its series finale, What We Do in the Shadows explored that idea in a way where the subtext was pretty textual, but didn’t detract from its ultimate goal: Saying farewell to our beloved Staten Island vampires in a way that felt authentic to their journey on every level.
The episode begins with a nice bit of misdirection, as Laszlo (Matt Berry) and Colin (Mark Proskch) explain their current dilemma — Cravenworth’s Monster (Andy Assaf) has now evolved to the point of being, to use the technical term, “horny” and so they’re creating a Bride for him that just needs a head (and, um, some other bits) to be complete. The most likely candidate for head donation is The Guide (Kristen Schaal), but before Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) can get around to asking Nandor (Kayvan Novak) how he might feel about the idea… Show’s over.
Specifically, the vampires get told by the documentary crew that after six years, the crew has gotten enough footage for their project, and so they’re shutting down production. The news catches everyone by surprise, but almost everyone takes it in stride except for Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) — for no shortage of potential reasons, most of which are explored in detail by Nadja (now feeling really feeling herself as an authority on “human psychologies.”
As the show’s enduring audience surrogate, Guillermo’s emotional response to the abrupt ending gives us plenty to hook onto, even while the other characters remain unphased, spouting platitudes about good things coming to an end while musing on past situations that would have maybe led to better endings. (Guillermo becoming a vampire, it’s pointed out, would have been a good ending… Except they already did it last year. What did they learn from that experience? “Don’t turn Guillermo into a fucking vampire,” Nandor says.)
What “The Finale” captures so brilliantly is that when it comes to finales, in many situations audiences don’t really want too much in the way of closure. Instead, what we want is emotional closure, but also the sense that these characters will continue to live on in some way. This is something the episode addresses quite directly, with Nadja talking to the camera about how “we will keep doing what we’re doing — these cameras will no longer be around to film it.” As we learn, this isn’t even the first time the Staten Island vamps have been followed by a documentary crew. It’s no big deal to them.
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
In addition, Shadows tries out a few different endings. First, there are a few attempts at big speeches meant to wrap things up thematically (The Guide maybe strikes out the hardest with her “Make America Great for Vampires Again” angle). Then, Nadja uses some extra special hypnotism (strong enough to drop the viewer’s IQ “10-20 points, due to brain scramblies”) to deliver “the most perfect ending you could possibly imagine with your simple human minds.”
This ending, it turns out, is a detail-rich cinematic homage to The Usual Suspects (why not), featuring Schaal and Anthony Atamanuik as stand-ins for Chazz Palminteri and Dan Hedaya, while Colin Robinson narrates the story of the series, drawn from bulletin board details. “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he was just too boring to listen to,” Colin concludes, before getting into Laszlo’s jalopy. It is glorious nonsense, executed in such a way to deflate any remaining expectations about how things will ultimately wrap up. (I might just be saying that because of the brain scramblies.)
After the mass hypnosis comes the real conclusion, as Guillermo finds resolution, ultimately, in coming up with an ending for himself, on his own terms. His heartfelt coffin-side farewell to Nandor gives us the perfect amount of closure for their relationship, which has always been central to the show’s undead heart… And maybe that would have been a good enough ending on its own (especially considering that we’ve already gotten at least one fakeout so far).
Then, as the credits roll and the production crew come in to start breaking down their equipment, Guillermo returns, because he just wanted to give the documentary its ending; he has no intention of leaving Nandor’s side. That leads to a new level of intimacy between master and familiar: Nandor inviting Guillermo into his coffin, which he’s secretly rigged to drop them down to his new lair for crime-fighting. Will Nandor and Guillermo take to the streets as The Phantom Menace and Kid Cowboy? Or will they come up with something better, superhero-identity-wise? That’s a mystery we can let live on in our imaginations. All we really need is the thrill of knowing that their adventures will continue.
Some of the finale’s meta-commentary, as mentioned, isn’t all that subtle, with characters pointing out that after so many years, “nothing changes — no one ever grows.” Yet that’s not really true, at least in the case of Nandor and Guillermo, who we have watched evolve over the years. (Maybe Nandor to a lesser degree, but hey, progress is progress when you’ve been alive for centuries already.) This has never been a show that indulged too often in sap. Yet this moment felt earned.
In its final moments, What We Do in the Shadows didn’t aim for feel-good, but landed there anyway. Plus, it did so in a way befitting its characters, because an ending that’s not really an ending is a lot like living forever. Not in the depressing way, where the future of television looks a lot like an unending cycle of Dexters returning to life and Frasiers flinging bon mots that will outlive us all. Instead, the series finale lets us linger in that beautiful nebulous dream space where characters never die and stories feel infinite and flawless…
Though Colin Robinson will have some notes.
What We Do in the Shadows is streaming on Hulu.
