What We Do In the Shadows is one of the most underrated shows on TV today. Created by Jermaine Clement and Taiki Waititi, the story follows a group of vampires during their everyday lives in modern America. The franchise started with a small film in 2014, and it has slowly gained a cult following since. It branched out into the spin-off show you see today on FX, which has grown more popular with its second season. The show has even been nominated for an Emmy, so we can expect it to become even more popular during the next season. With that in mind, let’s look at the Top 10 List for the Best Episodes of What We Do In the Shadows.
(Spoilers Ahead!)
10. City Council
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6572mQQU5e0
While the pilot was a great start for the series, it wasn’t until the second episode that it made a lasting impression. When the vampires begin their plan to take over the New World, they start with Staten Island. They decide to go to the city council to get them to surrender, and they end up sitting through one of their boring meetings. Of course, they liven things up with their vampiric threats and demonic brainwashing. It’s outstanding to see vampires out of their element and create chaos. We even get to see Nadja’s human side when she pities an awkward college girl. She does make things worse by turning her into a vampire, but it’s the thought that counts. Right?
9. Citizenship
FX
After Nandor learns his home country no longer exists, Guillermo tries to cheer him up by helping him become an American citizen. You already how that turns out, right? The show takes the immigrant experience to the next level as Nandor fumbles to prove himself to the government, yet he can hardly convince them that he’s from the same era. At the same time, Laszlo and Nadja teach a young vampire how to use her new powers, and we get to see the more nurturing part of their characters. These heartwarming moments harken back to the pathos of the original film as they grow closer to humanity, even if they involve killing frat guys at a college party.
8. Werewolf Feud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O-OatifPFQ
Werewolves were some of the best characters in the original film, and the show’s version of them is just as funny. When a werewolf urinates in Laszlo’s topiary garden, this starts a feud that ends with a duel. The way the vampires and werewolves mock and mess with each other is comedy gold, but the episode’s real laughs come with Colin Robinson. At his job, he encounters Evie, and emotional vampire that feeds on pity, and their climactic battle is one of the show’s funniest moments.
7. Animal Control
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC3pxWkTKR8&t=45s
Laszlo ends captured by animal control while he’s a bat, so the gang plans a jailbreak. Of course, they’re all too stupid to do it without Nadja, who is secretly out on a date with her old lover, Gregor, reincarnated as a man named Jeth. Jesp? Jeff. It’s a strange affair as she struggles to have fun with the modern man, especially when she can’t even say his name right. It’s episodes like these that stand out, as they put the vampires in unfamiliar territory with hilarious consequences.
6. Manhattan Night Club
FX
The gang goes to “Manahatta,” as Laszlo says it, to get a nightclub owner to join them in their invasion of the New World, and things don’t go quite as planned. Laszlo wears a witch’s cursed hat, and no matter how much his wife warns him or how much it jinxes him, he insists on wearing it. They also see how their friend, played by the ever-funny Nick Kroll, has succeeded far more than them with his nightclub. On top of meeting some hilariously quirky characters, the episode explores the relationship between Nandor and Guillermo, capping it off with a tender moment between the two.
5. The Curse
FX
When Nandor checks his email from the past ten years, he finds one that says he is “cursed,” and everyone freaks out. The vampires are at their most gullible, and you can’t help but love it. Meanwhile, Guillermo reluctantly joins a group of vampire hunters on their first patrol. Seeing him freak out over it is good enough, but we get to see his skills in action as he goes Van Helsing on a bunch of vampires. From there, you can’t wait to see what Guillermo will do next as the show progresses.
4. On the Run
FX
In this episode, Laszlo encounters a vampire he ripped off in the past, and he goes into hiding. He poses as a bartender somewhere in Pennsylvania, and he becomes somewhat of a celebrity among the townspeople. The premise is like a parody of classic sitcoms, as he tries to raise money for the town’s volleyball team. It’s so sweet to see Laszlo try to help the people he. We also get to see the outstanding Mark Hamill star as Laszlo’s pursuer. How often can you say that you got in a bar fight with Luke Skywalker while you were both vampires?
3. The Trial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDfMgqjkJng
This is the show’s most star-studded episode. After being accused of murdering a vampire, the vampire trio is summoned by the Vampire Council to stand trial. The Council is made up of numerous celebrities who have played vampires in the past, including the cast of the original film. There’s even some hilarious cameos from Dave Bautista and Wesley Snipes. Excellent. The way the cast bounces off each other makes every scene in this episode enjoyable to watch.
2. Colin’s Promotion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDKtUIc09I0
Colin Robinson boring people out of their energy is one of the show’s most inventively funny aspects. But when he gets a job promotion in this episode, he becomes all-powerful and all-hilarious. Colin becomes so strong that he can knock people out cold with a single word, leaving a path of destructive boredom in his wake. He basically turns into Dr. Manhattan, and it is just too perfect. At the same time, Nadja finds out Nandor destroyed her village before she was born, and he hilariously tries to brush it off as a drunken mistake. This fight eventually makes them victims of Colin’s power, and they’re nearly bored literally to death.
1. Baron’s Night Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBH48aGQHCM
The Baron is probably the show’s funniest side character, and this episode proves why. He and the vampires go out on a night on the town, and he goes nuts. Together, they hang out at bars, go to a rave, and do karaoke. They even get drunk and or high on human blood, which leads to some hilarious hijinks. Seeing the vampires dance around, mollied out of their minds, is totally ridiculous, and you can tell the cast is having the time of their lives. This episode also has one of the show’s most shocking twist endings, changing all their lives forever.
