Back in 2018, when it was announced that FX was going to air a television series spinoff of the cult horror comedyWhat We Do in the Shadowsfilm, it was understandable to expect the worst. The mockumentary about the daily lives of modern vampires, written and directed byJemaine ClementandTaika Waititi, was filled with perfect outlandish characters and laughs. An American version would probably only mimic that, but wouldn’t be able to recapture the magic. Instead,What We Do in the Shadows, the TV series, worked by being familiar while also doing its own thing. The series follows a different group of vampires who are living in New York. The series gets better every season, evenearning an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. You could argue that the characters eclipse the ones from the movie, though one in particular doesn’t fit in.
Season 5 of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Is Its Best
Every season,What We Do in the Shadowsfinds new ways to top itself. Just as soon as you think you’ve seen it all and that the series has reached its peak, something new, even crazier, and funnier happens. It seemed like nothing could top the bizarre plot that sawenergy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) dying, only to come back to life as a baby who rapidly grows into a small child and beyond. It made for some great gags, but then came this season’s plot focal point ofGuillermo (Harvey Guillén) finally realizing his wish of becoming a vampire.
Human familiar Guillermo has begged his master, Nandor (Kayvan Novak), to turn him for years, only to be rejected. Realizing that the moment would never happen, he desperately turned to a vampire friend to make him a member of the undead. It hasn’t gone according to plan. Guillermo is turning very, very slowly, leading to hilarious moments of the poor guy sprouting the saddest of wings and falling when he tries to fly. Vampire husband and wifeLaszlo (Matt Berry) and Nadja (Natasia Demetriou)have discovered Guillermo’s secret, but if Nandor ever does, Guillermo will not just be undead, but for real dead. It’s not just Guillermo who is getting the best stories. Colin Robinson almost died in one episode after becoming too interesting to dull people and rob them of their life force, and before that, there was a wild episode involving the human ghost of Nadja, who lives in a doll, swapping bodies with vampire Nadja so that she can lose her virginity. Everything is clicking onWhat We Do in the Shadows, except for one oddly placed character.
The Guide Doesn’t Have Any Real Purpose
What We Do in the Shadowshas several recurring human and vampire characters that pop in from time to time. One of the latter is The Guide (Kristen Schaal), a vampire who has sat on the esteemed Vampiric Council for hundreds of years. She is a wealth of knowledge, a vampire much smarter than the dolts we follow from week to week. She’s also pretty powerful, able to turn into a vapor or even teleport. There’s only one problem with The Guide. As powerful and intelligent as she is, no one really notices her. She’s awkward, and bad at making friends, though she keeps trying.
The Guide onWhat We Do in the Shadowshas shown up for three seasons here and there, seen when the gang is summoned before the Vampiric Council for something they have done. In Season 3, after all of her invitations were ignored (the group too selfish to ever notice her) she shows up at the vampire house to let them know they’d been summoned to serve on the Vampiric Council. She was a fun character, enough so that in Season 4 Schaal was bumped up to the main cast. That was a high reward for the effort of a great comedian, though there was the worry that the added presence of The Guide would damage the chemistry between our other five leads. That worry has been without merit, as The Guide barely does enough to get in the way.
In Season 4,Nadja wants to open her own vampire nightclub. The Guide opposes, and when Nadja won’t listen, the two battle, with The Guide even sending wraiths to destroy the club. Eventually, the two end up working together, though the club doesn’t succeed. It was a decent subplot, giving The Guide something to do, but in Season 5, with The Guide not spending so much time with theVampiric Counciland the nightclub no longer existing, she has very little to do but stand around in the background. She’s not a formed character. There has been the running gag of her being in the house and no one paying attention to her. Nadja wants a friend, The Guide is desperate to be that person, but Nadja can’t even hear her because The Guide is deemed so unimportant and uninteresting. At one point, The Guide appears in front of everyone and enthusiastically says, “I’m back!” No one responds, except a bored Nadja, who says, “Were you even gone?” And there’s the problem. The Guide is treated as unimportant and uninteresting, therefore she is. She’s away so much that the other vampires don’t notice she’s gone, and neither do we.
RELATED:‘What We Do in the Shadows’: The Funniest Characters, Ranked
The Guide Shouldn’t Be a Main Character in ‘What We Do in the Shadows’
It’s kind of confusing as to why The Guide was made part of the main characters when she’s barely there. She’s not integral. She’s only around to push the plot forward where others can’t. With her knowledge, she’s there for exposition, but not much else. Need to find a way to haveNadja the dolland Nadja the vampire switch bodies? Have The Guide do it! It’s kind of funny when she confidently says, “The swapping of spirits and their corporal vessels, actually pretty easy.” That doesn’t go anywhere though, as everything that follows after is not about her.
In the latest episode ofWhat We Do in the Shadows, “Urgent Care,” Guillermo tries to fly and badly breaks his ankle. Nadja rushes him to a hospital for vampire familiars, and it’s there that she runs into The Guide, dressed as a nurse, feeding familiars in cages as if they were dogs. “You work here?” Nadja asks, confused. “Volunteer actually,” The Guide tells her. “It’s a way of giving back.” She looks at a stray familiar. “I mean, who rescued who?” She tells Nadja she hasn’t seen Guillermo and that’s it. She appears for twenty seconds. What’s even the point? It’s like they remembered after writing the episode that Kristen Schaal is a regular cast member now, showing up in the opening credits with everyone else, so they had to quickly put her in there. It feels forced. That’s the problem with The Guide. Her inclusion in the plots feels contrived.
Kristen Schaal’s Talents Are Being Wasted in Season 5
This criticism of The Guide is not a criticism of Kristen Schaal. She is a brilliant comedic actress, arguably more well-known than any of the other cast members. That’s what makes it all so frustrating.Schaal might be funnier than anyone, but she’s stuck with the most boring, inconsequential character, and she deserves more than that. Schaal has shown time after time how great she can be. From her appearances as a correspondent onThe Daily Show, to her underrated performance onThe Last Man on Earth, to her voicework onBob’s Burgers, Schaal has proven for two decades how talented she is. Her mannerisms and voice are perfect for comedy. Schaal is a bit unusual, and that’s meant as the best compliment possible. When she performs, you notice, but inWhat We Do in the Shadows, she’s stuck playing the opposite of what she excels at, handcuffed in the role of a character unnoticed.
What We Do in the Shadowshas a major gift in having Kristen Schaal as part of its cast, so the show needs to use her and appreciate her. The Guide doesn’t need to leave the series but needs to be revamped, pun intended. There needs to be a way to make the unnoticed noticeable. Now, giving her more attentiondoesthreaten to take away from everyone else, but there’s a way to do that if you include the other characters. Have The Guide do something that proves herself to them, or even more interesting, have her act out from being mistreated so often to the point that she retaliates and becomesa nemesis for the other vampires. A good antagonist is something the series could use. Just do something with The Guide!Anything! Make her more than a plot device. Make the audience care. Kristen Schaal is way too gifted to be squandered.
