This episode is the “What We Do in the Shadows” equivalent of a dick and fart joke episode. Literally in the former’s case—the episode’s about a coven of witches kidnapping Laszlo (Matt Berry) because they want his immortal seed. Turns out they use vampire semen to stay young. Witches, I mean. The show hasn’t gotten to what the vampires use it for.
Anyway.
It’s an all-action episode, opening with Harvey Guillén check-in; while he’s appreciating getting breaks and a day off, he’s not thrilled with his life as a familiar anymore. He’s floundering (weird how the vampire hunter stuff has been dropped). But then we get right into the witches. Berry’s out tending his topiary garden when a goat appears and then he gets zoomed up. When the rest of the house goes looking for him, they realize what’s happened—because Berry’s wife, Natasia Demetriou, is constantly on guard for witches to be causing mischief and now she’s finally validated—there are witches about causing trouble.
Once the gang’s all together—they bring along Mark Proksch because the show’s realized more Colin Robinson, less vampire hunting (not a bad conclusion)—but Kayvan Novak finds himself similarly captured just as easily as Berry. So while they’re tied to racks with the witches getting them ready for the extraction, Demetriou, Guillén, and Proksch are trying to escape their imprisonment in the witches’ den. An incense shop is a front for the witches’ den. It’s a good bit.
There’s a lot of funny jokes in the episode, right up until the end, and it covers for it being something of a blah storyline with the witches. It’s very tidy, which is fine (because it’s so funny), but it also feels a lot like the episode’s just relying on the cast to sell whatever even without much of a plot. And the cast can do it, because it’s “Shadows.”
And it’s better than the previous episode, though similarly lost.
But they had an amazing run of winners this season, so even with Witches as the penultimate season two episode… the show’s in great shape. Also, Lucy Punch as the main witch… I mean, she’s fine… but she’s not good enough they shouldn’t have stunt cast.
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