The first three episodes to season 4 of What We Do in the Shadows kept the laughs coming at a relentless pace over the last couple of weeks, so this week was a pleasant (somewhat) break from the chaos. A much slower and deliberate pace to the fourth episode, “The Night Market” still provides plenty of laughs (Natasia Demetriou is in the episode, after all, and she always brings the laughter), but ultimately the episode takes its time to build up to its central event … Guillermo finally beating the shit out of Nandor. If you’re worried you missed a detail or two, check out our recap of the episode below!
Hostile Work Environment
While Nadja’s club got off to a rocky start, things are actually going very well — its main act is a creepy tap-dancing energy vampire child and only four out of five club fatalities are human! The workplace relationship between Nadja, The Guide, and the wraiths continues to present challenges to the club owner, as the wraiths are really doing all of the work and as we all know … Nadja isn’t always the most respectful. The show simply doesn’t have enough time to dive into the commentary on this budding wraith union, and we quickly move past this to Nadja deciding a trip to the Night Market is in order to find a bribe for the lead wraith.
The Night Market
The Staten Island crew enters a subway train car with a random guy who is carrying a speaker. He starts the music and farts into a microphone, creating a smell unbearable to humans, who exit the car at the next stop. Everyone who is left, except Guillermo, is supernatural. With that established, the train car is on its way to the Night Market.
The supernatural don’t have currency, which means the Night Market is run on bartering. How could anyone not be entertained by Demetriou bartering in a supernatural marketplace? Nadja spends the majority of the episode maneuvering and trading her way to the perfect bribe for the lead wraith, Xerxes — first trading some of Nandor’s old treasures to a pair of Valkyries engrained with IKEA jokes for Swedish meatballs they give out for free to trade for a rude t-shirt. A series of trades come together to form the ultimate trade: the waterlily of the Nile, which is the perfect drug for the wraiths.
Laszlo’s Third Week of Dick Jokes (they’ll never stop being funny)
Laszlo is still dealing with the struggles his fatherly duties toward “that little tap-dancing freak that crawled its way out of the abdominal cavity of dead Colin Robinson” brings. This week, he is struggling with The Boy’s newfound interest in fairytales. This leads the pair to explore the most boring parts of the Night Market, but there are funny reveals (of course) — Pinocchio-ism is a medical condition, that “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was about a “common German nudist,” and above all the dark, dick-related way Rumpelstiltskin got his name. Matt Berry is delightfully bizarre as always, and The Boy’s growth spurts have finally caught up to allow Mark Proksch fully back into the ensemble.
Familiar Fights
Marwa is still around and story-wise it doesn’t seem like she has much of a purpose, as she is once again left behind, Nandor using yet another wish to make this happen. I’ve honestly lost track, but one has to wonder when the Djinn is going to put an end to all of this. Guillermo’s secret friend from the season premiere is back, once again on FaceTime for a rushed goodbye caught by the cameras, making Guillermo once again insist that he wants to keep it a secret.
At the Night Market, Guillermo and Nandor discover the Familiar Fights — literally familiars fighting one another for vampire’s entertainment. Guillermo obviously expresses his rightful disgust at the fights and Nandor agrees, saying he knows his familiar could kill them all. The pair are overheard and soon Guillermo is facing other familiars as a contender, though he refuses to kill them. Eventually he is the last standing (he is a Van Helsing descendent, after all) and is due to face a vampire next. Nandor steps in to prevent the slaughtering about to happen before him and says his familiar should have to face him.
Nandor the Relentless vs. Guillermo de la Cruz
We’ve all been wondering what would happen in a Nandor versus Guillermo fight since the season 3 finale, and those questions have finally been answered. Nandor and Guillermo insult one another to the point of actually fighting, and let’s be honest … this is a cool fight scene. With the pair entering a sword fight at one point, how could it not be? Guillermo kicks Nandor’s ass which was some of the best television I’ll ever see, but the pair ultimately carry out a fake death for Guillermo so they can escape with both of their lives.
Coping
The waterlily of the Nile is a medicinal drug that is the only substance capable of taking away the pain of being a wraith, and while Nadja doesn’t have enough for all of the wraiths, she does have enough to bribe Xerxes. Her efforts end up being for nothing, as when Xerxes instructs the wraiths to listen to Nadja the wraiths kill their former leader. Nadja tells the wraiths she will give them Mondays off with pay and build more space for them to sleep in, which is apparently a happy compromise.
As Laszlo tucks The Boy into bed, he asks if he wants him to read a fairy tale. Now having fairy tales ruined by his father figure as well, The Boy says he is over those stories and wants a real story with real people. As such, Laszlo reads In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.
Our coverage for season 4 of What We Do in the Shadows, including recaps for each episode, can be found here. Episodes air weekly on Tuesdays on FX and are available to stream on Hulu.
