What We Do in the Shadows – Hybrid Creatures

By: Gladys Luna

Laszlo and Guillermo Go Mad Scientist Style

Since Laszlo (Matt Berry) found out about Guillermo’s (Harvey Guillén) transformation he has been relentlessly looking for a way to help him reverse the effects but with no luck so far. He has tried all sorts of tricks and methods that have just backfired; however, recently he has been so invested with just one more attempt in which he has decided to make a mix with Guillermo’s and some stray animals’ blood. Unfortunately for the pair the results have not only been unsuccessful as the prior ones but are worse since the animals can now walk on two feet, have grown a lot of hair, acquired their own personalities and all have a certain resemblance to Guillermo. Given this turn of events, Laszlo decides to give up on doing more experiments and instead he makes a special request from the former familiar – to take the matter into his own hands and get rid of all the abominations, as he decides to call them. Guillermo thinks of all the possible ways to turn this around, but nothing seems to be the best idea. He tries to take the abominations back to their cages while speaking out loud to himself until he hears a deep voice coming from behind replying to his comments. When he turns back, he is surprised to see that said voice comes from the dog (Raeanna Guitard) standing there; however, before he can process all of it he faints. When he recovers the dog explains that their elders used to say there was a prophecy to be fulfilled about some “Guillermo” guy that would show up and save them and he believes he might be the one. The dog is able to convince him to find the way to bring the prophecy full circle but before Guillermo does it he needs to find the last one of the abominations that seem to be at the pond outside the residence. Guillermo goes in search of it, but before he can locate it Laszlo sees him and questions him about the task that he was given saying that if he does not have the nerve to kill them, he will do it himself. Although Guillermo is not willing to let him interfere any longer.

Laszlo takes Guillermo to the back of the residence along with all the animals to make sure he ends them, but as soon as he turns his back Guillermo shoots aimlessly to the air and pretends to have killed them leaving the vampire satisfied. Afterwards, he takes all of the abominations to a retirement home where they can give company to the residents there, giving them a safe place to live.

Nadja, Nandor and Colin Robinson Go Back to School

Back when she was a child Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) used to be an easy target for bullies which made her seek revenge by setting her school on fire. This now has her believing that is because of this, among other misdemeanors, that her life has been a train wreck and the reason why she has been hexed. Therefore, as a way to reverse the effects of it she has made the choice to give back to the community of Little Antipaxos by enrolling as a professor in a night adult class and teaching them all about America. She takes them through simulated driving lessons, the most important festivities and everyday tasks like opening a bank account. Nandor (Kayvan Novak) and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) are there to support, although now she has no idea about how to get rid of them. Nandor agreed to be there under the impression that he would learn about raw history while Colin Robinson thought he would learn about arts and literature, but this could not be farther from the truth.

It appears that teaching is not exactly Nadja’s strong suit as she often gets exasperated by her students what makes her to drop out her lessons briefly and go to the hallway to take a break. Once she is there, she meets a strange woman that introduces herself as Helen “The Magic Woman” (Kerri Kenney-Silver) who taking advantage of the vampire’s desperation, claims to know the perfect way to help her eliminate the hex. Nadja takes her word for it and goes back to her class saying that she has something important to attend leaving Nandor and Colin Robinson in charge of the class. It seems that this is about to go wild based on the different approaches these two have.

Nandor has been trying hard to teach the class everything he can about his old country Al-Quolanudar, but he is interrupted by Colin Robinson who is certain that the best way to drain people’s energy is by playing the “cool teacher.” It seems to be working wonderfully, in fact, leaving Nandor completely out of the equation. Colin Robinson decides to take the class outside, but everyone is freezing so Nandor takes the opportunity to suggest visiting the History Museum of Staten Island. The class agrees to join him since it would mean that at least they will be warm inside. At the museum Nandor is fascinated by “The Immigrant Experience” hall where his own story, old garments and even his diary are on display. Everything seems to go smoothly until Colin Robinson starts reading some of the displays that share false information about Nandor, making him so mad that he ends up destroying everything in his way. After the disgraceful experience at the museum, Nandor returns to the mansion looking all sad and defeated but the mood shifts as soon as Colin Robinson appears letting him know that he rearranged everything he destroyed and changed a little bit his story so now he is displayed as a true hero.

Time to Make the Donuts

On the other hand, Nadja happens upon a woman named Helen the Magic Woman (Kerri Kenney-Silver. Helen gives her a list of requirements in order to help her remove her hex, but the funny thing is that among all of the ingredients one stands out in particular: a box of donuts from Dunkin. Although the vampire is confused by this last request, she obeys and takes the first step towards a hopeful future. When she returns with all the ingredients, Helen gets mad at her upon realizing Nadja has gotten the wrong donuts. She then asks her to go find the ones she ordered. Nadja runs back outside in search of the right kind of donuts for her although she has started to grow suspicious about the woman’s veracity. After some time Nadja returns carrying some more of the treats she was asked for but once again Helen is not pleased with her service. Again she sends her out to gather the ones she wants and pretends to lose strength from the power of the hex making her unsure to be able to help her anymore. This makes Nadja panic and comply to her wishes one more time. When the vampire is ready to pay for the new order of Munchkin donuts, she sees a warning plastered on the counter with Helen’s face that advises not to let her in. When she asks about this Nadja is told the reason why she has been banned from the shop. Nadja goes back to confront Helen. Despite the confrontation, Nadja ends up empathizing with her when the woman claims how big of a torture it is not to be able to return to the place she loves the most. Nadja forgives her and finds a way to work her “magic” on the staff of Dunkin Donuts to continue to serve Helen as many donuts as she wants.