Recap / What We Do In The Shadows S 1 E 6 Barons Night Out

Season 1, Episode 6

Baron's Night Out

The Baron spends a night on the town with the main trio.

Tropes That Appear In This Episode:

• Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Basically the entire episode.
• Bat Out of Hell: Unlike the other vampires, who can shape-shift into normal, inconspicuous bats, the Baron's bat form is about the size of a vulture. The other vampires remark that it would draw too much attention.
• Big Entrance: Discussed. Nandor tries to insist that the Baron does not need to make a grand entrance when exiting his coffin, but when lightning strikes he shuts up.
• Chekhov's Gun: The roses.
• Even Evil Has Standards: While they might casually feed upon and kill humans whenever it suits them, Laszlo, Nadja, and Nandor are taken aback by the Baron's behavior at multiple points:
  • At the start, he casually drains one of the documentary crew despite being under their protection, prompting them to reassure the rest of the crew that they'll try to keep them safe.
  • They also quickly object when the Baron nearly kills their neighbor, Sean, upon bumping into him in the middle of their night on the town.
• Fake Aristocrat: Despite being called "the Baron", the Baron admits that he isn't actually a baron and that the title is a mutation of being called "Barren" as an insult for his lack of genitalia.
• Fantastic Aesop: Don't drink excess amounts of blood from people who have been drinking or using drugs, because your inhibited judgement can and will result in you getting caught in the sunlight.
• Fantastic Drug: Apparently vampires are affected by any drugs in the bloodstream of their victims. Hilariously so for Nandor.
  Nandor: We drank the blood of some people, but the people were on drugs, and now I am a wizard!
• The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Before the vampires take the Baron out on the town, he helps himself to one of the film crew.
• Friendly Enemy: It may just be the high BAC of their recent victims, but the Baron and the trio end up casually revealing that they were plotting to murder each other, which, after a few tense moments, they both end up laughing off.
• Hidden Depths: The Baron admits that he had always wanted children, but could not due to his lack of genitalia. Not only that, but he admits that even he is not entirely convinced on the whole "killing and enslavement for the supremacy of vampires" thing, having sobered up after being Drunk on the Dark Side for a long time. He was even considering killing Nandor, Nadja, and Laszlo just for the hell of it, even though it would not have given him satisfaction.
• Lampshade Wearing: Nandor's traffic cone "wizard hat" mid-drug blood binge.
• Mood Whiplash: The episode ends with the Baron's death. This transitions immediately to "Let's Go Sunning" playing over the end credits.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Colin Robinson does not try to feed off of the Baron, showing how intimidating the Baron is, and later knows that something's wrong when the other vampires wax affectionate about how much they missed him.
• Our Vampires Are Different: The Baron is slightly burned by the garlic in the pizza, and what follows next is typical of vampires eating food, but he doesn't die of it. In fact, the Baron thinks that it was worth it.
• Painting the Medium: When the Baron attacks one of the sound guys, the episode's audio suffers for awhile.
• Regal Ruff: The Baron's idea or normal, blending-in clothes was an ornate padded doublet and not one but two ruffs. Apparently the two ruffs triggered Laszlo's gaydar because "Where I come from, two ruffs means you're up for anything!"
• Soundtrack Dissonance: See Mood Whiplash above.
• Spoof Aesop: The underlying message that excessive alcohol and drug consumption can injure and even kill you (if not through overdose, then through misadventure) is applicable to humans, but the fantastic way in which it is presented is... less so.
  • The series' official Twitter account claims that the moral of the episode was "about the perils of staying up late". They lampshade how hypocritical that message is, given that their show airs at 10 at night.
• This Is Gonna Suck: The vampires are already cringing in anticipation at the inevitable result of the Baron taking a bite of pizza well before he even lifts it to his mouth.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight:
  • The man at the dumpster isn't exceptionally fazed by the Baron's reaction to pizza.
  • One of the passersby seems to take more offense to the Baron's New Jersey Devils hat than his horrifying facial features.
• Upper-Class Twit: Despite being one of the most esteemed vampires in the world, the Baron is incredibly out of touch. He states that they are all vampires out loud with no comprehension of subtlety, he thinks that a stress doll is a talisman, he openly discusses how the people around them will be slaves or food in the new world order, and on a whim, he decides to drink the blood of a drunk man and winds up drunk himself.
• Villains Out Shopping: The whole episode revolves around the Baron and the vampires (sans Guillermo and Colin Robinson) having a night out.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Exaggerated during the pizza scene. Previous episodes (and the original movie) established that eating human food will cause a vampire to vomit blood profusely... but when the Baron does it, he's propelled through the air by the force of his own vomit for about thirty seconds before crash-landing. This may have been due to garlic in the pizza pie...'?
• Wham Shot: Guilermo burning the Baron to a crisp by accident. Everyone is stunned speechless.
• Women Are Wiser: Nadja is the only vampire to think that plotting to kill the Baron is a bad idea, and that disclosing said plot to the Baron is also a bad idea. The Baron thinks that it's hilarious, though.
  • Averted when Nadja suggests that the main trio "could do shots" off of drunk humans. Granted, she did so reluctantly (the Baron was already "doing shots"), but it proved to be an unwise decision in the end.
• Worth It: The Baron says this after being sent flying by his own vomit from trying pizza.