The back-and-forth discussion of Nandor’s condition is roundly covered, and squarely pegged. It is a continuation of the arguments he and Guillermo had after the escape/kidnapping. Each of the players have legitimate beefs, but are really only there to tear into Nandor’s beliefs. When the former warlord goes on the offensive, however, he really is relentless. He calls and appreciative Laszlo “the laziest vampire he’s ever met.” Admits to real hurt feelings when addressing Nadja, and shuts down the neediest sucker in the room.
“I would not even remember your name if it was not written on a piece of paper I keep in my pocket at all times,” Nandor says to Colin, and the entire room says ouch. This goes to the heart of the secondary story, Colin Robinson’s 100th birthday. The season has been building to it gradually, but so insidiously and covertly it has remained all but a faint whiff in the air.
Colin mentioned his upcoming centennial celebration in the opening episode, and continued researching the nature of energy vampires for a few more installments, then his interest petered out into less and less satisfying means of attaining energy. He was really hitting rock bottom with some of his ideas, which were more of an annoyance to him than those around him. From sifting through buckets of shit to marking his territory in a room only he would enter, his choices of sustenance have been off. Colin ran from Nandor when the elder bloodsucking vampire was oozing despair and humiliation. Colin should have been all over that. But it appears he must have been distracted by forces beyond his control, and it was something Laszlo (Matt Berry) picked up on.
Laszlo has become quite a fully realized character this season. The arc of his emotional growth has been subtle but just as wide as Nandor’s mid-eternal-life crisis. But Laszlo has been keeping it a secret. Hidden behind the masturbatory self-indulgent front he portrays to the world is a deeply committed, and loyal friend who will never betray a comrade, even though he may personally be unable to abide his very existence. Such is the love Laszlo has for Colin Robinson, whose secret he’s kept even from Colin Robinson.
What We Do in the Shadows has been having a ball with foreshadowing this season, and tonight the payoffs keep coming. Laszlo has been telegraphing the episode’s big surprise from the moment he pulled a page from an ancient, irreplaceable and priceless book early in the season. That particular “wank-yanking” moment was over in an instant, but it made such an impact this reviewer admitted to gasping at the sound or torn pages. It was apparently intentional, even though it worked as a standalone gag. This is just brilliant. The entire sequence which shows how Laszlo has been empathically connected with Colin is extraordinarily satisfying.
To the naked eye, Laszlo has been the shallowest character in the house. But his inexplicable bond with Colin is touching, it isn’t reciprocated, which makes it even more impressive. Colin, Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Nandor are all self-centered and self-serving. Laszlo services himself as well, but has made it clear that service is up for grabs. Colin, Nadja and Nandor want recognition Laszlo has no interest in. Therefore, his interest in his housemates is all the more profound. But notice, he’s got a whole speech worked out for Colin’s birthday party, but only writes one word for Nandor, and it’s his name, when the time comes for the former Persian Warlord to plunge into the Vampire Super-Slumber.
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