Emmy Catch-Up: What We Do in the Shadows

Every year, I watch the six submitted episodes of every series I don’t regularly watch that’s up for one of the Emmy series prizes. This year, I’m watching the entire season of every series nominated in the top category.

What We Do in the Shadows: Season 2, Episode 7 “The Return” (B)

Coming into this show late, I always have to wonder if a character who appears has previously been featured. I had a feeling that Simon the Devious, played by Nick Kroll, a great comedic part of “Parks and Recreation” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” with a more serious and worthwhile role in the film “Olympic Dreams,” wasn’t making his first appearance, and it turns out that’s true – he was indeed in one episode of the first season. I was happy to recognize him by his voice and enjoyed his performance, which fit perfectly with the tone of the show. Nadja was very well aware that Laszlo was just having her walk ahead so that she’d be the one in danger, and he didn’t do a good job of hiding how he actually felt about Simon. He and his crew beat them back to the house by going through the sewers, which was an amusing concept, and his lengthy stay came to an end after he complained about his crew and managed to alienate them instead of rally them against our vampires. Colin getting agitated by another troll who turned out to be a literal troll was funny, and it’s good to see him doing something a little bit different for once. My favorite part of the episode was Nandor’s reaction to finding out that Guillermo killed a vampire, doing a very poor job of keeping it quiet but ultimately being supportive and protective of his familiar, who everyone acknowledged could easily have been eaten many times during the episode.