S02.E07: The Return

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

The vampires offer shelter to an old nemesis who’s down on his luck.

Airing Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

 

[HotRats2112]

Do we know who?  Maybe the Baron? Or Nick Kroll?  Or a new character?

[Mr. Sparkle]

Spoiler

Simon the Devious

 

[peridot]

Carol was creepy!  I was laughing at the staredowns between Nandor and Guillermo.
I wonder if Nandor is rethinking all the put-downs he's given Guillermo. 

Trolling by an actually troll (complete with a giant pixelated groin) was hilarious.  It's cool seeing all the different supernatural creatures.

I loved the little movement Guillermo made when Simon presented the garbage sculpture.

[sistermagpie]

7 minutes ago, peridot said:

I loved the little movement Guillermo made when Simon presented the garbage sculpture.

That cracked me up. I think he was discreetly holding his nose.

My recorder cut off the end! So now I'm waiting for the next showing to find out how they get out of that sewer...

[silversmith]

Nadja and Laszlo centric episodes are my favorite episode by far. No, wait, Guillermo centric episodes are my favorite. No, wait..I love them all. I was afraid this season wasn't going to match my love for the first season, but happily I was wrong. I wish more people were just as intrigued as I am because it would break my heart to not have season 3

 

[voiceover]

Nadja's back!!  "That is [gestures to the sewer bat]...so pathetic, and truly lovely." 

Colin Robinson, trolled by a troll whilst trolling.  I'm kicking myself for not seeing that subplot coming.  Perfection.

Carol looked like a dumped-out over-full vacuum bag.  Sweet that Nandor went right to "making a girlfriend"...but then it got tense.

So this is twice I've seen snow covering a front yard (tonight when Laszlo & Nadja returned from the movies; a few weeks ago as Guillermo escaped from the 70s house) in one scene, only to disappear in the next.  Continuity ish or Easter egg?

[LittleIggy]

Elvis! 😆

The troll cracked me up. Loved Colin Robinson bored him with bridge-story.

Every week this shows delivers laugh out loud moments. 

[Blakeston]

I loved the Colin Robinson subplot, but I didn't find the main plot as funny as some of the others from this season (like the superb owl party, and Colin Robinson's promotion).

That said, the line about how Guillermo is like the final remaining donut, and how you wonder what's wrong with it, was brilliant.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Blakeston

[LittleIggy]

I loved the moment when Colin Robinson typed “dumbass” then realized by his own criteria that the troll had gotten to him.

[Vermicious Knid]

I was hoping we'd get to keep Carol. She was so creepy, she even creeped out the other vampires. And now Nandor knows, even though it was an accident. Which happened with his first two kills. Also, Elvis. In the Sookie Stackhouse novels a fan turns Elvis after his overdose, so he's not quite right even for a vampire and likes to eat cats.

Just how big is that house? There were an awful lot of hallways and stairs. And we can add trolls to the other supernaturals that exist. Dude, not even a loincloth?

 

[cdnalor]

13 hours ago, peridot said:

Trolling by an actually troll (complete with a giant pixelated groin)

It's weird that as soon as he turned to stone, the pixelation stopped.  I guess it's only obscene when it dangles.

[iMonrey]

I could watch an entire half hour of nothing but Nadja turning to the camera and making a face. There's just something so hilarious about her reaction shots. Nandor has a tendency to do the same thing: look at the camera and grimace about something distasteful (like Carol) but it never fails to crack me up. 

I also got a kick out of the fact that Laszlo didn't think we could hear the voice coming out of the sewer grate because we don't have vampire hearing. 

Rapula. Enough said. 

I could take or leave Nick Kroll, frankly, but the return of the dreaded Witch's Hat was a welcome sight. 

Nandor is catching on. Slowly, but he's thinking about it. 

This show doesn't skimp on CGI does it? The visual of Laszlo bouncing off all those cars and a real troll all in one episode? Not to mention Carol. 

Ugh, I can't believe shows like this still live or die based on Nielsen ratings. Such an outmoded measuring tool in the streaming age. 

[LittleIggy]

I started laughing just thinking of Laszlo being repeatedly hit by those cars! 😆

[iMonrey]

We didn't get a "fucking guy" from Nandor this week. ☹️

[tennisgurl]

Elvis sighting! 

The return of Simon the Devious and his crew, including Rapula and new guys Neil, Patrick, and Harris! And even worse, the return of the cursed hat. "Its too big for your face, and also has a huge curse on it!" That was hilarious, I will need to watch the whole episode again to really appreciate all of the jokes. 

I especially loved Nadors attempts at hiding that Guillermo killed Carol, and increasingly creeped out reactions to Guillermo The Vampire Slayer. "Carol is somewhere being alive." "Guillermo certainly didn't kill her!" "See how I took suspicion off you?" "Master, I think you put more suspicion on me." "...Damn it." 

Energy vampires using the internet to drain people explains so much. I think I guessed the Troll trolling joke right before the troll showed up, that seriously cracked me up. I am loving seeing more creatures this season. 

[Linderhill]

5 hours ago, cdnalor said:

It's weird that as soon as he turned to stone, the pixelation stopped.  I guess it's only obscene when it dangles.

my second time viewing I noticed there was strategic leg placement so we couldn't see the dangly bits.

[libgirl2]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I could watch an entire half hour of nothing but Nadja turning to the camera and making a face. There's just something so hilarious about her reaction shots. Nandor has a tendency to do the same thing: look at the camera and grimace about something distasteful (like Carol) but it never fails to crack me up. 

 

Her reaction shots are my favorite. I like how she grimaces and shows her teeth. Nandor has great reactions but I love the way he phrases things. 

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

I especially loved Nadors attempts at hiding that Guillermo killed Carol, and increasingly creeped out reactions to Guillermo The Vampire Slayer. "Carol is somewhere being alive." "Guillermo certainly didn't kill her!" "See how I took suspicion off you?" "Master, I think you put more suspicion on me." "...Damn it." 

 

That was hysterical! That is what I mean by the way he phrases or says things. 

Edited May 21, 2020 by libgirl2

[Bruinsfan]

After Colin Robinson made such a big deal about being able to drain people's energy over the internet and then got his own personal nemesis thwarting him across multiple online identities, I was sure that when he showed up in person it was going to be Evie.

[libgirl2]

4 minutes ago, Bruinsfan said:

After Colin Robinson made such a big deal about being able to drain people's energy over the internet and then got his own personal nemesis thwarting him across multiple online identities, I was sure that when he showed up in person it was going to be Evie.

I was thinking it would be her too. I didn't expect a real troll! 

[TexasGal]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

Energy vampires using the internet to drain people explains so much. I think I guessed the Troll trolling joke right before the troll showed up, that seriously cracked me up. I am loving seeing more creatures this season. 

I did too!  I was like, oh he’s being trolled - OMG IT’S GOING TO BE A TROLL.

Why exactly did they leave Guillermo to collect the cursed hat?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I want to see that hat again but wouldn’t they want to be rid of it?

[sistermagpie]

2 hours ago, TexasGal said:

Why exactly did they leave Guillermo to collect the cursed hat?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I want to see that hat again but wouldn’t they want to be rid of it?

Lazslo seems to think it's worth it -- it's that awesome a hat!

Edited May 22, 2020 by sistermagpie

[Vermicious Knid]

The second funniest thing to a real troll would have been another energy vampire. They would have tried to bore each other to death, but I guess they kind of already did that with the three Colins.

They really were on a roll with the names. Neil, Patrick, and Harris. Then, how brilliant is it to have an eldritch horror who is so prosaically named...Carol. Not exactly something to strike dread into the heart.  Oh no, it's Carol! Ahhhhhh!!

[LittleIggy]

Colin Robinson draining his Uber driver while he is driving! 😂😂😂

[Catfi9ht]

  

On 5/20/2020 at 10:42 PM, peridot said:

I was laughing at the staredowns between Nandor and Guillermo.

I agree! The music choice for those moments only made me laugh harder! 😅

In addition to the Nandor/Guillermo stares and the online troll being an actual troll, these were my favorite things this episode:

1. The prosthetics on both Simon and Carol were really good. Simon's skull structure was understated and looked natural. Carol's prosthetic was creepy and her bulging eyes blinked! I'd love to know how they accomplished that effect, practically or CGI?
2. The Laszlo/Simon fight scene was creative. The crazy fast fight scene has been done before, but the bat vs bat and bat vs human fights were new to me. I love how they smacked down each other's bats to force them to change back to human form and how creatively they stole the hat from each other.
3. All of Nadja's reaction shots are perfect as always.

Edited May 22, 2020 by Catfi9ht
Added Nandor/Guillermo stares as a fav moment.

[Ohiopirate02]

I got a kick out of Laszlo as a bat yelling out "Human Form" before changing back.  I wonder if that was scripted or if Matt Berry just made it up.

[iMonrey]

1 hour ago, Catfi9ht said:

Carol's prosthetic was creepy and her bulging eyes blinked! I'd love to know how they accomplished that effect, practically or CGI?

I wondered that too, and I watched it a second time and still couldn't figure it out. Either way it's damned impressive.

[Bruinsfan]

When Simon swatted Laslo's bat form into that junction box and he popped back to human form being electrocuted I lost it!

 

I didn't get what happened to Simon at the end, though. How did he sink into the drain if his foot was merged into the grating over it?

[MisterGlass]

Agree will everyone on how great Carol's make-up was.  I'm not a fan of Simon and his crew, but she was interesting. 

I knew what Carol's fate was going to be, but didn't see the Nandor and Guillermo confrontation coming.  It was so tense there when Guillermo whipped the wooden 'stakes' up quickly and had them pressed against Nandor's chest.

For me Nandor isn't a likeable character but he's incredibly entertaining.  For example when Nadja and Lazslo got back to the house, Nandor said "We have guests.  Which is nice." with dripping passive-agressiveness.  Then the donut comment, and the attempts to lie about Carol.  He's a subtle scene stealer.

I laughed way too hard when bat Lazslo got flicked into the electrical box and was arcing.  And when they just through in vampire Elvis as an aside.  And all things Colin.

[Lantern7]

Another fun episode,. We got Simon the Devious back, AND he had new members of his crew! If Nick Kroll pops up every season and the introduction of his crew is the WWDITS equivalent of Bill Hader doing Stefan? Wouldn't be the worst thing.

"This . . . this thief!" "Thief? Chop his hands off! Don't embarrass him!" Nandor, ladies and gentlemen! Later: "The good news is that you get to keep your hands." Also, spot on in describing Guillermo as the last doughnut on display.

ETA: I think the above makes up for the lack of "fuck you, guyee" from Nandor.

Edited May 25, 2020 by Lantern7

[iMonrey]

Quote

Also, spot on in describing Guillermo as the last doughnut on display.

In the display cab-eee-net. Heh. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding what Nandor is saying because of his accent. 

I loved all the trolling messages Colin Robinson was leaving: "Women are getting too tall." "Childhood obesity? LMFO." "Actually, Jesus hated horses." 

[Orbert]

I didn't remember Simon the Fucking Devious specifically, but I remember the episode from the first season with the hat, and the club exploding.  Laszlo bouncing off the cars in the street was silly hilarious.  I took it as something of a rip on the scene from Meet Joe Black where Brad Pitt's character was suddenly a rag doll bouncing off of a few cars.  Laszlo just kept bouncing for a while, long enough for Nadja to start yelling at him to stop it.

The tension builds between Guillermo the Slayer and Nandor!  A couple of tense moments there.  I'm not sure where it's going to end up, but I'm sure it will be crazy fun.  Probably the season finale and/or cliffhanger.  I usually don't like cliffhangers, but now that Season Three is confirmed, that gives them options they wouldn't otherwise have.

No mid-credits or post-credits scene.  Disappointing, but I was still somehow impressed.  I mean, theoretically the idea is to keep viewers watching, so even if none of it registers, the credits are seen.  What better way to keep viewers watching to the very end of the credits than to not have a post-credits scene sometimes?  That way, you always *have* to watch all the credits, just in case.

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I usually don't like cliffhangers, but now that Season Three is confirmed

It is? 😃

I was worried, ratings are pretty mediocre.

Why don't more people watch shows I like?? 😣

[Orbert]

Yep.  'Twas in the Media thread.

https://deadline.com/2020/05/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-renewed-season-3-fx-1202942010/

[Vermicious Knid]

The as-aired ratings aren't that great, but more people are watching on delay or streaming. As per this article:

Quote

Season two has averaged 462,000 viewers for initial airings, essentially even with the 467,000 viewers who watched first-season episodes the night they aired. That initial figure, however, represents only about 15 percent of the show's full audience, as delayed and multiplatform viewing brings the total to 3.2 million, according to FX. That's a 25 percent increase over season one.

I do watch the initial airing, delayed by 10-15 minutes just to zip through the commercials. 3.2 million by the way, is what the likes of Black-ish pull in.

[Gobi]

I always watch it after the initial airing.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Speaking from my own, completely non-scientific anecdotal survey, I see a lot more mentions of the show on my facebook feed than I did last season. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 5/21/2020 at 12:01 PM, cdnalor said:

It's weird that as soon as he turned to stone, the pixelation stopped.  I guess it's only obscene when it dangles.

Now he's a sculpture.

On 5/21/2020 at 10:18 PM, sistermagpie said:

On 5/21/2020 at 9:15 PM, TexasGal said:

Why exactly did they leave Guillermo to collect the cursed hat?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I want to see that hat again but wouldn’t they want to be rid of it?

Lazslo seems to think it's worth it -- it's that awesome a hat!

Edited Thursday at 11:39 PM by sistermagpie

Yes, but a member of Simon's former crew might decide to eat the last doughnut.

[thuganomics85]

Yep, I imagine energy vampires would totally take advantage of the internet and annoy/outrage everyone with some good old-fashioned trolling!  They truly are the most dangerous vampires out there!  Loved Colin's story and how he ended up falling for some trolling himself.  And it ended up being an actual troll!  Hee!  I also loved how they pixelated the troll's dick, but once he turned into stone, it was find to let it hang out.  Just made all of that funnier for some reason.

So, Simon the Devious is back and still is out for Laszlo's silly, cursed hat!  I can take or leave Nick Kroll, but I think he works well enough here, and I love how ridiculous Simon's crew keeps becoming, which now includes Neal, Patrick, Harris, and, of course, Elvis Presley, who was turned by Laszlo back in the 70s!  Of course, it didn't last for very long since he drove them all a way, thanks to his attitude and, of course, that damn cursed hat!

Guillermo is forced to kill another vampire, but this time Nandor actually finds out about it.  For now, he thinks it was just an isolated incident, but there is clearly some tension mounting between the two of them.  Also loved Nandor's horrible attempts at trying to "throw suspicion away" from Guillermo over killing Carol.

Nadja's reactions to everything really were the highlights.

[Orbert]

I love how Guillermo's secret is safe (for now), because Nandor's familiar turning out to be a slayer would reflect badly on him, Nandor.

[Catfi9ht]

On 5/22/2020 at 12:14 PM, iMonrey said:

I wondered that too, and I watched it a second time and still couldn't figure it out. Either way it's damned impressive.

I'm normally not a social media person but I messaged the prosthetics designer on the show, Paul Jones, twitter handle jonesfx. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0428993/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2

He replied and said the blink was added digitally. Mystery solved!

[HotRats2112]

On 6/12/2020 at 8:14 AM, Catfi9ht said:

I'm normally not a social media person but I messaged the prosthetics designer on the show, Paul Jones, twitter handle jonesfx. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0428993/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2

He replied and said the blink was added digitally. Mystery solved!

Which is odd because they try not to use CGI.  But I guess when you're trying to make bulging eyes blink you have no choice.