“What We Do in the Shadows” might be done with the last episode’s A-plot, but it’s not done with the B-plot, which was Kayvan Novak being sick of being a vampire. This episode continues that subplot, which doesn’t resolve here either, making it one of the show’s longest-running subplots.
Novak has decided he will go into a super-slumber—if vampires get too mopey, they go to sleep for a hundred years. Except there’s immediately a problem involving the Vampiric Council, so Harvey Guillén keeps having to wake Novak up. An international delegation is visiting, and Natasia Demetriou doesn’t want to tell them Novak’s quit the vampire life, so there are all sorts of hijinks to not appear suspicious.
Khandi Alexander, David Cross, and Donal Logue all guest star as the delegation. Cross is in a bunch of makeup, while the gag with Logue is he’s actor Donal Logue who decided to become a vampire after starring in Blade. Presumably, Wesley Snipes could’ve turned him, based on his cameo last season, but it’s not addressed. They’re all just there for the hijinks’ laughs. They all do a fine job of it.
In the meantime, Matt Berry’s trying to get some interest going for Mark Proksch’s one-hundredth birthday. They’d already planned it, but the delegates’ visit means Berry is trying to do a joint celebration, but Demetriou isn’t interested. So the Proksch stuff ends up being the B-plot, leading into next episode with a big reveal in the last few minutes then a cliffhanger.
Lots of good acting from the main cast—Guillén, Berry, Demetriou—with Proksch getting oddly very little to do. Being an energy vampire, he really doesn’t get in on the visitor hijinks and all his birthday stuff is more material for Berry. We’ll see if Proksch gets to do anything with all the material they push to next time. Similarly, Novak’s also got a reduced presence. He’s hilarious when he’s got a punchline, and he’s very little but punchlines.
It’s often very funny, but there’s too much plot (because it’s the penultimate episode of the season).
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