With the Sire taken care of, I can’t exactly see where the remainder of this season is going to go, bar the eventual discovery of Colin Robinson’s secrets. Let’s see what trouble our favorite bloodsuckers got themselves into this week. Just a forewarning that everything from here on out is loaded with *SPOILERS*, so read at your own risk!
Episode 7: “The Siren” (dir. Yana Gorskaya)
“I’m dealing with a woman who is having a heated debate with an identical version of her own mind.”
Being co-leaders of the Vampiric Council can be a real chore. Sometimes you mistakenly call Scott Bakula (“Quantum Leap”) because you thought he was a vampire called Count Bakula. To keep things running smoothly, Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Nandor (Kayvan Novak) have agreed to each run the Council on alternating days, which for sure doesn’t mean inevitable disarray. The Guide (Kristen Schaal) doesn’t see any good that can come from this, and I wholeheartedly agree. They’re already walking disasters. What’s a chaotic power dynamic added for good measure?
As Nadja and Nandor continue to bicker about keeping their human meals healthy, we’re reintroduced to Doll Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), which contains the soul of human Nadja. Ever since last season (“Ghosts”), she’s made a few appearances here and there, but hasn’t been a part of the action. Naturally, Doll Nadja feels neglected by her vampiric counterpart lately. There’s a wonderful montage that shows her interacting with the rest of the house via sing-alongs, repair sessions, and sword fights. Not only is the doll as cute as a button, it’s also extremely well-puppetered. She has quite the range of movement. The little leaps when she walks only makes me wish I had one of my own.
Doll Nadja makes the tough decision of leaving, as she doesn’t see herself as part of the family anymore. Vampire Nadja starts tearing up the house once she realizes that her porcelain counterpart has gone missing. You can hear the simultaneous worry/anger in her voice as she frantically sets out to find her. Nandor and Nadja tear up a toy store thinking she’ll want to be found by a child and brought home to be properly loved. After a tussle with Nandor, Doll Nadja transfers her spirit into the body of a mannequin and leaves the store in a huff.
Meanwhile, Laszlo (Matt Berry) and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) set their sights on a party boat, adorned with glow sticks, floating in the Harbor. After killing everyone onboard, the two get going on their journey to Plum Island, an animal disease research center that may hold the answer to Colin Robinson’s energy vampire origins. Along the way, they encounter a mysterious, heavenly voice coming from a different direction. They feel compelled by the song and take a detour to check it out, even though it has all the makings of a trap.
It would appear that Laszlo and Colin Robinson have been entranced to a trash island by a siren. We’re not talking about the stunningly beautiful, sensual lure of a mermaid-like creature out by the rocks. The siren that caught their attention is a half-woman, half-chicken creature named Sheila (Catherine Cohen) whose mouth becomes a massive beak whenever she devours her food. They try to escape her grasp, but, you know, her singing outweighs the whole chicken thing.
As it happens, Laszlo and Colin Robinson are captured in Sheila’s nest. Laszlo manages to escape, and promises to come back for his friend before he’s devoured by Sheila. Back in the city, Nandor, Nadja and Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) continue their search for Doll Nadja. Laszlo borrows Guillermo for a strange side mission that involves buying headphones to ward off Sheila’s lovely voice. It nearly turns into a giant advertisement for Best Buy, as Laszlo keeps getting more and more stuff, albeit without actually having to pay for any of it. And the best part? Having them skip over their whole signing up for a membership/credit card routine.
Laszlo returns to save the day, only to discover that in the time he’s been gone, Colin Robinson has supposedly fallen in love with Sheila. Seeing no other option, he puts a pair of headphones on him and takes off into the night, supposedly leaving some of the documentary crew members behind to satisfy Sheila’s appetite.
After channeling her spirit through a statue in the town square, Doll Nadja transfers her being into a giant inflatable diseased rat, which Nadja and Nandor corner down an alleyway. Doll Nadja starts to lose air after Nandor makes a hole in the rat. Seeing it as the end, Nadja apologizes to her porcelain friend for not being a bigger presence in her life as of late, and neglecting her emotional needs. Having the energy to do one more transfer, she reenters the body of the doll and agrees to come back home.
Doll Nadja is back where she belongs. Laszlo has all of the ingredients for a stellar home theater system. And Colin Robinson uses Sheila’s song, emitting from his radio, to masturbate. I’m glad the show also realized the lack of Doll Nadja since she was introduced last season. She makes a cute companion to her vampire counterpart, and much like the Baron, I’m looking forward to seeing her make more appearances.
You can catch “What We Do in the Shadows” on Thursday nights at 10/9c on FX. And you’ll find weekly recaps right here on Shuffle Online following each episode.
Featured Image: Natasia Demetriou in “What We Do in the Shadows” I FX
Matt graduated from Keene State College in 2017 with a Bachelor’s in Critical Film Studies. A few of his favorite films include “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Army of Darkness,” “Before Sunrise” and “Certain Women.” Having already contributed to Bloody Disgusting, ELF Magazine and The Simple Cinephile, Matt aspires to expand and continue writing with various outlets. If there’s any chance to talk about horror films and/or Twin Peaks, he’ll very much jump at the opportunity.