Follow TV Tropes

Following

Recap / What We Do in the Shadows S3E1 "The Prisoner"

Go To

The vampires debate what to do about Guillermo now that they know that he's a vampire killer.

Tropes

  • Accidental Misnaming: Viago refers to Colin Robinson as Colin Rubenstein. Unlike the others where they all clearly acknowledge that they have been named, it's ambiguous as to whether "Rubenstein" is an actual last name of Colin or not.
  • Actor Allusion: Nandor bungling "VCR" into "visar" is probably a callback to Kayvan Novak's previous role as Mr. Doovde on Fonejacker, an ambiguously Middle Eastern man who prank called electronic stores, constantly mispronouncing the name of the product.
  • Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Viago acknowledges this rule's importance among vampires, but makes an exception since they (or rather their familiar) are responsible for the deaths of so many and creating an Evil Power Vacuum.
  • Call-Back: There are several to the episode where they were on trial, since they return to the same location.
    • The Vampiric Council tries to alert the main characters that they have Council business with ravens again, only for it to fail again. The council also tried phoning them, but failed, because they expect Guillermo to take all their calls for them.
    • Colin brings up how he's already been part of a Vampiric Council, albeit at the low end of the totem pole.
    • Nadja notes that they were in the Chamber of Judgement before, but it's a lot more fancy now. Nandor points out that Wesley Snipes was on a laptop when they first came in there.
    • When talking about hypnotizing Guillermo, they mention how a failed double hypnosis can cause brain scramblies and fear that a quadruple hypnosis could have even worse effects.
  • Cardboard Prison: Guillermo can just casually leave the cage and the room whenever he wants via loose bars and a secret passage respectively. He also gets wi-fi reception in the basement.
  • Creator Cameo: Taika Waititi appears once again as Viago to inform the four that they've been promoted.
  • The Dilbert Principle: Since Guillermo killed 70% of the elite vampires in the Tri-State Area, the Supreme Worldwide Vampiric Council decides to just look the other way and promote the four to being leaders of the Vampiric Council of the Eastern Seaboard of the New World for being "vampires that know how to get things done".
  • HA HA HA—No: The guide's rection to Nandor's question if there aren't thrones for all three of them, rather than just the one she stands next to.
  • Hopeless with Tech:
    • None of the vampires are particularly good with VCRs, as Viago spends half of his video distracted going off-topic with the cameraman and Nadja has no idea what to press on a remote. Meanwhile, Colin Robinson is very enthused about having a cattle prod, but is very bad with actually using it, and fails to notice that Guillermo swiped the batteries until he tries to use it again.
    • The tape ends with Viago telling the cameraman how to switch it off.
  • Immune to Mind Control: Guillermo has built up a resistance to vampire hypnosis after years of being exposed to it, which the others don't know, as he goes along with pretending to be hypnotized to make things easier.
  • Never My Fault: When The Guide reveals that they have been trying to call the Roommates on their phone, Nadja chastises Guillermo for not answering it, only to yell at him for "always making excuses" when he rightfully points out that they have been keeping him locked in their basement for weeks.
  • Non-Promotion: Guillermo is deemed the vampire's bodyguard, rather than full-fledged vampire, with mostly the same duties as before.
  • Retraux: To show how outdated the vampires are at times with tech, the Council sends their messages via pre-recorded VCR.
  • Stockholm Syndrome: Guillermo knows that he can flee, but chooses to continue to maintain the residence, acknowledging his codependency.
  • Toilet Humor: Colin Robinson is weirdly fixated on being in charge of emptying Guillermo's waste bucket, just so he can root through it in search of any secret messages.

Top