What We Do in the Shadows: 10 Best Moments From Season 5

As 'What We Do in the Shadows' wraps its best season yet, we're looking back on the 10 best moments of the season.

In season 5 of the FX vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, they truly raised the stakes.

At the end of season 4, fed-up familiar Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillen) takes matters into his own hands and offers slow-witted vampire Derek (Chris Sandiford) a duffle bag of cash to turn him. This cliffhanger is resolved in the season 5 premiere, but, like an ominous cloud obscuring a full moon, its ramifications hang over the full season.

We’ll get into the specifics below, but the spoiler-free version is that this storyline instantly creates dramatic tension that has been absent (if not exactly lacking) from previous seasons of the show. That extra spice of worry is one of the many reasons that season 5 of What We Do in the Shadows feels like a high-point for a show already destined for classic status.

With the season wrapping up with back-to-back episodes on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 10pm ET, we put together this list of the 10 best moments from season 5. The full season will be available on-demand with FX through the end of September, giving you plenty of time to sink your teeth into it. To watch What We Do in the Shadows and more FX shows and movies, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Blue with FX.

SPOILERS Follow!

“Yes, Yes, Very Good, Thank Youuuuu”

One of the best things about WWDITS is that it’s a true ensemble, there is no main character or star. With that said, Matthew Barry as Laszlo Cravensworth has been on fire like The Baron this season (don’t worry, we’ll get to him later). Episode 8, "The Roast," finds him in a catatonic state, unable to summon any words or expression beyond the dismissive pronouncement above. The many permutations of this phrase provide some of his best line-readings of the season outside of “Too much of the Chilaquiles!”

Creature Features

The production values and visual effects have been at an all-time high in season 5, and the best illustration is episode 7, “Hybrid Creatures.” The mutants born from Laszlo’s experiments with Guillermo’s blood are repulsive and hilarious in equal parts, and were clearly inspired by the master of handmade special effects, Stan Winston. According to prosthetics designer Paul Jones, the creatures were a mix of animatronic puppets and humans in prosthetics. They look amazing, which is to say, absolutely abominable.

John Slattery

WWDITS has always had exceptional guest stars, and while Mark Hamill may never be dethroned from his place atop the list, John Slattery deserves an honorable mention (there’s another great cameo in the season finale, but we won’t spoil that one). Slattery plays himself in the sixth episode “Urgent Care,” one of the highlights of the season. The self-aware celebrity cameo is almost cliché at this point, but what makes this one stand out is Slattery’s willingness to go there (in this case, “there” is an obsession with accents that's so annoying, we wondered if he might also be an energy vampire).

Sean of the Braindead

In addition to upgrading Kristen Schaal to the main cast, the Staten Island setting is strarting to feel more like a community in season 5. The vampire's dimwitted neighbor Sean (a very convincing Anthony Atamanuik) plays a major role in both “A Night Out With the Guys” and “Pride Parade,” and his contributions to both the plot and the show's humor are a highlight of the season.

Good Direction

Yana Gorskaya has been a director on the show since the season 2 classic “On the Run,” but it feels like she too reached a new level this year. It’s hard to imagine the show attempting the ambitious set pieces in episodes like “Local News” and “Urgent Care” in past seasons, but they’re handled deftly, especially given the constraints of the show’s mockumentary style.

So Hypnotic

We’re calling our shot now: What We Do in the Shadows will end with the entire population of Staten Island reduced to blathering idiots thanks to all the hypnosis they’ve been unwittingly subjected to. Season 5 certainly explored the promise and perils of this technique, as the vampires fried the brains of countless police, neighbors, concerned citizens, and local news viewers. The premise of our undead heroes accidentally outing themselves on live TV is the perfect setup for an episode, and WWDITS blasts the pitch all the way to outer space.

A Damned and Evie

As emotional vampire Evie, Vanessa Bayer was a standout in season 1, and her return in “The Campaign” was nearly as good. However, the episode’s real highlight was Colin Robinson’s visit to the Supreme Council of Energy Vampires (season 4’s young Colin Robinson was fine, but this was a massive comeback year for Mark Proksch). Martha Kelly and Hannibal Buress were inspired casting choices and their excruciatingly uncomfortable introduction was one of the best scenes of the season.

Vampires in Space

For our money, Nandor’s trip to outer space was one of the funniest moments in the show's history. Not only was it perfectly shot in the style of an extreme sports clip, but the payoff connecting it to the "Pride Parade" of the main story was truly inspired. And a naked Kayvan Novak celebrating his accomplishment will certainly go down as one of his character’s best looks.

Emergency Exit

We’ve referenced it already, but “Urgent Care” is a perfect episode. Beyond the John Slattery cameo, there's a clever subplot about Colin Robinson losing his powers because he has genuinely interesting stories, the vampire vet who is eager to put down even mildly injured familiars is absolutely hilarious, and the escape from the urgent care is genuinely thrilling. More than any other episode, “Urgent Care” underscored the show’s ambition and growth in season 5.

The Baron’s Experiment

While “Urgent Care” may have been our favorite episode, The Baron (a brilliant Doug Jones) is the star of our favorite scene. Early in the season, when Guilllermo is still grasping to understand his new condition, he visits The Baron for insights. Now living in the suburbs, The Baron has turned his next-door-neighbor Jonathan into a vampire due to the unforgivable crime of mowing his lawn too late at night. Now the picture of congeniality, Jonathan all too happy to assist The Baron in his experiment, taking a drink of Derek’s blood the way you or I might sample a neighbor’s homemade cobbler. Then he explodes like a blood-filled balloon. At its core, the show’s comedy is derived from the juxtaposition of monstrosity and mundanity, and few scenes in the show’s history have done a better job of nailing this particular setup.

Following the finale, all of season 5 of What We Do in the Shadows will be on-demand with FX. Use the link below to subscribe to Sling Blue with FX!

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