What We Do in the Shadows is in its sixth and final season, a reality that’s all the more crushing because of how good the episodes have been. Long-lost roommate Jerry’s return in the season premiere was a clever way to set a few ongoing arcs in motion—including inspiring Laszlo‘s return to weird science, and sparking Colin Robinson‘s yearning for an emotional connection with just about anyone.
Both those elements came into play in this week’s episode, “Laszlo’s Father,” which also highlighted a recurring theme that’s been at the heart of the show since its first season: the power of found family.
While the vampires first became roommates out of necessity (and Laszlo and Nadja are, obviously, married), they’ve stayed together because for all their ridiculous arguments—including that recent war over storage space in their Staten Island mansion—they need each other.
It definitely enters codependence territory; even token human Guillermo has remained living in the backyard shed despite a) deciding in season five he didn’t actually want to be a vampire, b) fumbling his way into an actual job on Wall Street, and c) the shed not having its own bathroom. Guillermo’s still part of the group dynamic, but even this small change in the status quo has made Colin Robinson uneasy. Colin, who keeps close tabs on the household “power rankings,” worries Nadja, Lazlo, and Nandor will decide it’s time to kick him out—and while he says he dreads apartment-hunting, it’s apparent he dreads the idea of being on his own even more.
While we’ve met the occasional What We Do in the Shadows family member across the show’s seasons—most notably Guillermo’s mother and other members of his Van Helsing-descended de la Cruz clan—we’ve never met anyone quite like Laszlo’s father. Played by a perfectly cast Steve Coogan, the dead but dapper Lord Roderick Cravensworth materializes back in his son’s life in ghostly form, and it’s not a happy reunion. “I am here to repair my long-troubled relationship with Laszlo,” he announces with seeming sincerity, but Laszlo is instantly suspicious of his motives.
Though “the Night Dog of Tresco” (among his many nicknames) amuses Nandor, charms Nadja, and dazzles Colin Robinson, Laszlo is all too familiar with his father’s deceptive ways. Still, Colin—who earlier in the season secretly completed Laszlo’s reanimated human experiment, viewing “Cravensworth’s Monster” as the built-in best buddy he’s always wanted—is thrilled to have a father figure hanging around, even after he’s reminded that Laszlo is sort of his father, having actually raised him from birth (a season-four arc that the current version of Colin has no memory of).
“With all due respect, Colin Robinson, you haven’t got a fucking clue who the shit you’re fucking with,” Laszlo explains with typical bluntness. However, he softens somewhat and tells his father he’s open to the idea of repairing their long-strained relationship. That is, of course, until Roderick shows his true colors and Laszlo learns the not-so-benevolent intentions behind his father’s visit. When Roderick is inevitably sent on his way, Colin Robinson takes it the hardest, even when Laszlo feeds him a line about how Roderick plans to return some day.
“Laszlo’s Father” offers a solid reminder that even though What We Do in the Shadows‘ characters may be constantly fighting and undermining each other, they’re bonded in a way that transcends blood, vampire and otherwise. They have each other’s backs, even when their actions don’t quite make sense or have completely selfish purposes—as seen with Nadja infiltrating Guillermo’s finance job, boosting his career while making sure his urge to slay vampires remains dormant. They can turn on each other in an instant, sling insults, and fly into a fury over the pettiest disagreement, but these guys can’t function without each other.
They’d never admit it, of course, but they’re a found family with ties even their own relatives can’t break. Their shared existence is no longer driven by their original goal of world domination—Jerry will no doubt have more to say about that—but stays strong due to their begrudging affection for each other, and their reliance on each other to navigate (or willfully ignore) modern life’s mundane conundrums.
As What We Do in the Shadows enters the back half of its final season, we’re really starting to see how much we’ll miss these vampire weirdos. They’ve become like family to us, too… a dysfunctional family, sure, but one we can’t imagine living without.
New episodes of What We Do in the Shadows arrive Mondays on FX, and stream Tuesdays on Hulu.
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