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Recap / What We Do in the Shadows S3E5 "The Chamber of Judgement"

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Nandor and Nadja conduct the trial and sentencing of some other vampire screw-ups, while Laszlo and Colin Robinson go to Sean's house to watch a hockey game.


Tropes:

  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Among Derek's various crimes, like stealing blood from bloodbanks, using his powers to frighten teenagers and biting people in public, Nadja is most angry at his poor sense of fashion.
  • Bait-and-Switch: Colin Robinson derails the hockey party with a tedious board game, which is in turn derailed by Sean trying to drag everyone into the Ponzi scheme behind his latest financial disaster (he has hundreds of unsold "Guy Pillows" in his garage and owes about $12,000).
  • Bavarian Fire Drill: Derek the would-be vampire hunter was turned instead of killed, but with no training, he proceeded to screw up a lot. Guillermo quoted a nonexistent vampire law to buy time, stating to the Confession Cam that no one would bother looking it up.
  • The Bus Came Back: This episode also sees the return of Derek, a member of the Mosquito Club of amateur vampire hunters who was turned into a vampire during the group's first hunt.
  • Kangaroo Court: Nadja and Nandor decide accused vampires' punishment on a whim, with no actual trial.
  • Know-Nothing Know-It-All: As an attorney, Laszlo is (a) a few centuries out of practice and (b) mostly had himself for a client, on top of his general idiocy. Tries and fails twice, with Sean (later resorting to hypnosis to get some people to buy Sean's merch) and later with Derek (Guillermo only saves him by talking everyone into putting Laszlo on the hook as his teacher).
  • Hellhound: One of Derek's crimes is owning one. The vampires are terrified of it, but when Guillermo lets it out of its cage, it turns out to look and act just like a normal dog, which he easily keeps under control.
    • Although, it does have the ability to breathe fire, as we see in the next episode.
  • The Man Behind the Man: Guillermo tries to be this by whispering suggestions to both Nandor and Nadja. It works at first, but later they casually blow him off.
  • Playing Both Sides: Guillermo talks Nandor into letting Nadja to take the throne, convincing him that he will be the Dragon-in-Chief... while confessing to the camera crew that he will be the real Dragon-in-Chief.
    Guillermo: I mean, who wields the ultimate power? The one who sits on the throne, or the one who challenges the throne-sitter? Or perhaps it's the person who whispers into both their ears.
  • Ponzi: Sean tries getting his friends to buy a bunch of his pillows so that they could sell them to their friends.
  • Shoddy Knockoff Product: Sean tries hawking a new pillow called "The Guy Pillow." His friends compare it to MyPillow, but he insists that it's totally different.
  • Shout-Out: The vampire in the HR video Hazel shows Nandor and Nadja wears a hat resembling that of notorious occultist Aleister Crowley and quotes his famous Law of Thelema of "Do what thou wilt, that is the whole of the law."
  • Spiked Blood: Laszlo gets drunk after feeding on some drunk businessmen.
  • Take a Third Option: After Nandor and Nadja fuss about the throne making them seem shorter than each other, Guillermo suggests that he sit on the throne. Yeah, he's not even a vampire, but it's not like some random vampire off the street would know that, plus he keeps his face hooded part of the time.
  • Traveling Salesman: By the end of the episode, Derek, on orders of Laszlo, becomes one, using his hypnotism to sell the "Guy Pillows" so Sean can pay off his debt.

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