S04.E10: Sunrise, Sunset

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Baby Colin reaches that awkward age.

Season finale airing Tuesday, September 6, 2022.

[Galileo908]

Seeing The Sire sad that no one was scared of him honestly brought tears to my eye.

God, I loved Awkward Teen Colin Robinson, and Nandor trying to be Hello Fellow Youths to him. I saw too much of myself in Awkward Mixtape phase. Of course everyone realized Colin fed when he made them angry by being a regular shit teenager.

I was honestly surprised to see the soul collection, but I love what Nadja did with it: hold a comic con-like panel where none of the historical figures spoke the same language. And then turn it into a podcast! Genius. Their website making skills still haven't evolved past the Geocities era, I love it. And Gandhi reading an ad for Blue Apron. And goddamnit Nadja, you burned down the club without taking your embezzlement money out first?!

So, holy crap, we finally found out what's behind the wall that Colin was trying to hammer: a closet full of his memories. As soon as he talked about keeping receipts, I knew our favorite Energy Vampire was back. And putting him in charge of micromanaging the contractors was perfect, I missed him so much.

So...Nandor totally isn't heartbroken about Marwa leaving, the nightclub is gone, Laszlo is upset that Colin doesn't remember his childhood, and Guillermo leaves and goes to Derek to get turned?! Man, what a finale.

[SoMuchTV]

Is this the first time we’ve gotten an alternative version of the opening credits?

[sistermagpie]

5 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Is this the first time we’ve gotten an alternative version of the opening credits?

We got the opening in Persian when Nandor was in the cult, and Colin's pictures empty in the episode after he "died."

I'm so emotional after this ending! Poor Laszlo missing his boy--and Guillermo too. The idea of him being a vampire horrifies me at this point, just because I love him for who he is! But then, Derek is bound to run into some trouble trying to do it...

I gasped with delight when Colin finally found his secret lair of receipts. So glad to see him back, but I'm sure the show won't forget Laszlo being sad about it. Won't be surprised if that's a story next season. I mean, Guillermo was sad that nothing ever changed in the house, but that's basically because they're vampires, so this will not fix that problem.

Edited September 7, 2022 by sistermagpie

[peridot]

This was a good finale.  I loved that so many people had cups of tea throughout the episode.  I would not consume anything out of that filthy house!

The ideas that the Guide had for the club made me laugh, especially how a vampire told the acting troupe to suck each other off and added "in space" like that would fulfill their location requirement.

Laszlo certainly things highly of himself, he constantly brings up the fact that his penis is large, no matter the audience.

Exactly how big is the house, since Colin had a large secret storage space filled with clothes and notebooks??  I was not expecting for the group to have that much money at their disposal.  Seeing the looks the group gave at Colin made me laugh hard.  I liked seeing him micromanage the contractors.

[Cramps]

I haven’t loved this season the way I did previous ones, but I sure loved this finale. Did I start crying during Sunrise Sunset closing credits?  Um, yeah, I’m still sniffing! 
 

And the whole thing with “Are you there —- it’s me margaret?” And it not being helpful? My favorite reference of the season! 

Edited September 7, 2022 by Cramps

[voiceover]

What a depressing nosedive for an otherwise spectacular season.

First of all: I love the opening theme.  Don’t fuck with the theme.  Don’t even joke! about fucking with the theme.

I get it: burn it all down so they can start fresh next time!  But they did that *last season.  I’m bored of finales that end on cliffhangers.

At least they popped in NadjaDoll saying something bitchy to distract me.  And Ernest Hemingway forced to do the Casper mattress promo was an absolute diamond of a moment.

Curious re: the new set.  And how Gizmo’s Van Helsing blood will react to being vampir-ized (though I guess Mina got turned in some versions of the story, so there’s that).

Fer crissakes, at least rerun the season for those of us who don’t Hulu!  *sniffs*  I loved 80% of it so…

[sistermagpie]

4 minutes ago, Cramps said:

I haven’t loved this season the way I did previous ones, but I sure loved this finale. Did I start crying during Sunrise Sunset closing credits?  Um, yeah, I’m still sniffing! 
 

And the whole thing with “Are you there —- it’s me margaret?” And it not being helpful? My favorite reference of the season! 

Oh god, I forgot that was one of my favorite sight jokes, how the word God was scribbled out!

[Galileo908]

11 minutes ago, peridot said:

Exactly how big is the house, since Colin had a large secret storage space filled with clothes and notebooks??  I was not expecting for the group to have that much money at their disposal.  Seeing the looks the group gave at Colin made me laugh hard.  I liked seeing him micromanage the contractors.

Laszlo was absolutely right when he said Colin came with the house. Who knows how many times Colin "died" and reset his memories by now?

[Lantern7]

God. Damn it, Guillermo.

You've been Nandor's familiar for . . .  how long? Thirteen years? All that time existing has eroded the guy's brains. You saw the guy find a magic lamp, summon a djinn, proceed to waste most of the 52 wishes . .  most of which were dedicated to finding -- and changing -- the woman he loved. And then he saw your guy, and the bastard used a bonus wish to turn her into him, and your lost your guy . . . to your guy.

Is this the lifestyle you really want, man?!? I mean, you don't HAVE to be a vampire hunter, but that's so much better than immortality.

The fall of Club Nadja was sweet. I mean, Nadja isn't that bad as far as vampires go, but she had no clue how to run a nightclub. All she got out of that golden time were memories and ashes of money. And probably Sofia Coppola's severed head under glass, but we shouldn't think about that.

As for Lazlo . . .  at least he tried to mold Colin into a non-boring person, and it worked for a bit. He'll probably bounce back to his full pompous self next season, but he did grow a little.

I'm thinking WWDITS won't win Best Comedy next week, but the fourth season should clinch them a nomination in 2023. Here's hoping some of the actors involved get recognized as well.

[Galileo908]

Man, from hating Colin Robinson's guts, to becoming best friends with him, to becoming a father figure, to being a genuinely heartbroken empty nester when Colin forgot everything...Laszlo's come a long way, hasn't he?

8 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

You've been Nandor's familiar for . . .  how long? Thirteen years? All that time existing has eroded the guy's brains. You saw the guy find a magic lamp, summon a djinn, proceed to waste most of the 52 wishes . .  most of which were dedicated to finding -- and changing -- the woman he loved. And then he saw your guy, and the bastard used a bonus wish to turn her into him, and your lost your guy . . . to your guy.

Is this the lifestyle you really want, man?!? I mean, you don't HAVE to be a vampire hunter, but that's so much better than immortality.

Nandor still has two wishes left. He might use one to turn Guillermo back to human once Gizmo finds out the vamp life wasn't what he expected it to be.

9 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I'm thinking WWDITS won't win Best Comedy next week, but the fourth season should clinch them a nomination in 2023. Here's hoping some of the actors involved get recognized as well.

It already won an Emmy for best costuming, so that's definitely something.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Galileo908

[ItCouldBeWorse]

31 minutes ago, peridot said:

Exactly how big is the house, since Colin had a large secret storage space filled with clothes and notebooks??

21 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Laszlo was absolutely right when he said Colin came with the house. Who knows how many times Colin "died" and reset his memories by now?

I guess that's not the clothing he used before he "died" because he would have had no way of accessing it?  And at some point he had walled it off and set up the slide with the clues, even though he didn't seem to know what was going to happen when his stomach started to hurt?  I'm just not clear on how the whole thing worked.

[sistermagpie]

12 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I guess that's not the clothing he used before he "died" because he would have had no way of accessing it?  And at some point he had walled it off and set up the slide with the clues, even though he didn't seem to know what was going to happen when his stomach started to hurt?  I'm just not clear on how the whole thing worked.

Presumably he'll rebuild the place now just the way it was without knowing why, just as he was hammering the walls without knowing why? He knows he has this place for his diaries, but he never remembers dying or growing up once he reads them so it sort of makes sense?

Edited September 7, 2022 by sistermagpie

[MrsKravitz]

I loved the finale. BUT if Guillermo is bored now, I don’t think being immortal will be any better. Sure, at first it might be fun, but then back to boredom. 

[Galileo908]

6 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I guess that's not the clothing he used before he "died" because he would have had no way of accessing it?  And at some point he had walled it off and set up the slide with the clues, even though he didn't seem to know what was going to happen when his stomach started to hurt?  I'm just not clear on how the whole thing worked.

I have a feeling Colin walls it back up once he gets his memories and wardrobe back. He also forgot about his "tummy trouble" in his new state.

[Vermicious Knid]

Wasn't expecting them to actually use Sunrise, Sunset, especially having Lazslo sing it as a lament. And the whole crew doing it over the closing credits. I had checked the first episode to see if they changed the pictures in the opening credits for Colin Robinson but they waited the whole season until he was back to himself. Sneaky. Also loved that Laszlo was holding the original 1970 edition of Are You There God?

Wow, I was actually right about Colin looking for something in the wall. So that's how he re-establishes himself after each cycle. Guillermo's tragically horrified face when he sees Colin back to his old self was perfect. Of course Nadja fails to understand the concept of human insurance before trying to torch the club. No insurance money, no stashed skimmed money either. Sean got to be in half the episodes this season, I hope it continues. Using him as the voice of (Staten Island) reason has been fun. Brief glimpse of the Sire but no Baron.

We are getting at least 20 more episodes, will they really Turn and then de-Vampify Guillermo?

[ItCouldBeWorse]

9 hours ago, MrsKravitz said:

I loved the finale. BUT if Guillermo is bored now, I don’t think being immortal will be any better. Sure, at first it might be fun, but then back to boredom. 

Has he really thought about how he's going to choose his victims for consumption? Maybe Derek will give him some insight into his existence.

[mammaM]

😂😂😂😂😂 I liked it.

And for next season.....Derek turns Guillermo, we get a season of "evil Gizmo" and Nandor uses his last genie wish to turn him back😂😂😎

[tennisgurl]

I have no idea how to handle actually feeling sorry for Lazslo, what a ride he has been on. From Colin's friend to surrogate father to empty nester, the ending where Colin tells Lazslo how he doesn't remember his "childhood" with him was actually quite sad, as happy as I am to see Colin Robinson back in his boring glory. Looks like with Colin back to normal, Marwa gone, Guillermo with no boyfriend again, and the vampire nightclub being a bust, things are back to the usual status quo...which has really hit Guillermo hard and he's now off to make his own changes. That's just how it is with vampires though, their nature is unchanging. Is Guillermo really sure he still wants to be one of these guys? Its what he's been hoping for for years, but being a vampire hunter sounds like more fun.

Turns out that baby Colin wasn't just hitting the wall for fun, he was actually subconsciously trying to get to a hidden room with all of Colin Robinsons memories! I wonder how many cycles Colin Robinson has had now? He did come with the house after all, he might have been doing this for centuries now. Maybe we get a painting of a colonial era Colin Robinson boring the founding fathers next season? 

I desperately want to hear Earnest Hemmingway try to sell me a Casper mattress. 

I like the idea of Nandor using his last wish to make Guillermo human again after he regrets becoming a vampire, but what if Nandor gets hit with another case of melancholy and he decides to turn himself human? Then he would a human while Guillermo is a vampire!

Great finale, great season, the next one cant come fast enough.

[iMonrey]

So back during The Wedding episode I wondered why Guillermo didn't ask Derek to make him a vampire, especially since Derek seemed so lonely and desperate for a hang. At the time I guess Guillermo had lost interest in becoming a vampire since he had a new boyfriend, but now that Freddie is out of the picture he's back on that kick and knows Nandor will never do it. Questions are, will Derek be able to do it? Will Guillermo's van Helsing blood prevent him from being turned? And did he take all the renovation money out of the bank to give Derek? Or just some of it?

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Laszlo was absolutely right when he said Colin came with the house. Who knows how many times Colin "died" and reset his memories by now?

I'd forgotten about that. I'm glad we got some resolution to the season-long hammering of the walls but this is a really confusing process because apparently Colin did a lot of work either asleep or subconsciously without being aware of it before he died.

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And Gandhi reading an ad for Blue Apron.

LOL where else will you ever see Mahatma Gandhi doing an ad read for Blue Apron?

[sistermagpie]

Just now, iMonrey said:

And did he take all the renovation money out of the bank to give Derek? Or just some of it?

I figured he was giving him the last of the money he'd embezzled from the club and didn't touch the money in the bank account for renovation.

[One Imaginary Girl]

14 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Is this the first time we’ve gotten an alternative version of the opening credits?

I'm pretty sure that the Atlantic City episode was different, too.  I need to go back and watch that one again, because it was pretty darn good.

[thuganomics85]

I had a feeling there was going to more to Young Colin breaking walls in his room than just "letting out his aggression!"  So, it turns out there is a hidden room where all of his journals and diaries are, and after reading them, Young Colin is no more and "Colin Robinson" returns!  While I enjoyed this arc, it was great seeing Mark Proksch slip back into that classic boring monotone and seeing everyone else react to it.  But poor Lazslo though!  He really did seem hurt that Colin forgot about everything that happened this past year.  Lazslo really did seem to enjoy being a father-like figure to him and I wonder if this will change him a little going forward (but not too much!)  Credit as always to Matt Berry for making Lazslo more than just a hilarious, pompous, arrogant, sex-crazed vamp (even if he is that 90% of the time!)

The Guide's idea to use souls of famous historical figures to save the club had potential, but of course Nadja would mess it up by not thinking things through and doing things like holding a panel with a group who don't speak English and there are no translators in sight.  And then try to do a podcast which includes making Gandhi of all people shill for Blue Apron (got to appease those sponsors!)  Can't even burn down the club correctly since the blood sprinklers finally decided to work.  Oh, and there isn't even any insurance money since Nadja wasn't familiar with the whole thing (loved how she/Natasia Demetriou butchered that word!)

Guillermo is back to wanting to be a vampire again and he might finally get it thanks to Ricky!  We will see, I guess.  I do think it's possible he will get turned finally, but might not enjoy it as much as he thought he would.

Have to imagine Nandor's final two wishes will come into play at some point.

Pretty great season!  Can't wait for the next one!

[Ohiopirate02]

16 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

The Guide's idea to use souls of famous historical figures to save the club had potential, but of course Nadja would mess it up by not thinking things through and doing things like holding a panel with a group who don't speak English and there are no translators in sight.  And then try to do a podcast which includes making Gandhi of all people shill for Blue Apron (got to appease those sponsors!)  Can't even burn down the club correctly since the blood sprinklers finally decided to work.  Oh, and there isn't even any insurance money since Nadja wasn't familiar with the whole thing (loved how she/Natasia Demetriou butchered that word!)

And yet somehow, Nadja asked all of her questions in English without issue.  

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I desperately want to hear Earnest Hemmingway try to sell me a Casper mattress. 

There must have been something extra in that spell that made Ernest and the rest of the panelists docile.  I am a bit disappointed that we did not get to see Ernest meet Laszlo.  

[possibilities]

I loved this. 

Judy Blume and Fiddler! I wonder how Lazlo even knew about those. Did Sean introduce them?

Guillermo ought to try Derek as a boyfriend. Why is he so uninterested in even his friendship? G was hilarious as the co-parent of Colin, though. 

[sistermagpie]

44 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

And yet somehow, Nadja asked all of her questions in English without issue.  

Without issue for who, though?

I don't know what the woman in the middle was saying at all, but she could be just trying to say something because she can tell Nadja is asking her something. She seemed to be questioning Nadja. DaVinci was clearly saying something about speaking Italian--like probably asking if there wasn't somebody there who spoke Italian. And the part of what Tchaikovsky was saying that we could hear was basically him saying "I get the sense you don't understand me." So before that, for all we know, they could all have been asking for help rather than answering her question.

[Vermicious Knid]

I automatically assumed the money in the bag was from Guillermo's embezzlement of the club. Somebody in the comment section of one of the reviews also thought the Van Helsing blood would prevent him from being vamped.

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I wonder how many cycles Colin Robinson has had now? He did come with the house after all, he might have been doing this for centuries now. Maybe we get a painting of a colonial era Colin Robinson boring the founding fathers next season? 

I was wondering this myself. There is at least one picture in the opening credit where he appears to be wearing 19th century clothes. But that whole setup seems to be a plot hole. If Colin deposits each diary in the hidden room he would have to break it down and brick it back up each time. He also seems to have his clothing and the final diary before he 'died' so he would have to have done that even though he wasn't aware of the impending deadline. He must also go in there and re-write the older diaries into composition notebooks if they're very old.

[possibilities]

Where did the money in the bank account come from? None of them work at paying jobs other than Colin, and I doubt his job paid well enough to save like that. 

[ShelleySue]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

Where did the money in the bank account come from? None of them work at paying jobs other than Colin, and I doubt his job paid well enough to save like that. 

Maybe they've been hypnotizing people to give them money. When they kill people do they take money or valuables from them before Guillermo buries the bodies in the yard?

[sistermagpie]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

Where did the money in the bank account come from? None of them work at paying jobs other than Colin, and I doubt his job paid well enough to save like that. 

If he's been working for hundreds of years, he could have a lot of money with interest--add to that any money they gather through whatever way they might, that would add up.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Where did the money in the bank account come from? None of them work at paying jobs other than Colin, and I doubt his job paid well enough to save like that. 

Colin took care of everything that had to do with the house, like utility bills and so forth. There was an earlier episode this season where they were trying to ascertain what the bank account PIN was and couldn't get it out of Young Colin. I don't know how Colin managed to accumulate that much in the household account but it had been there all along and the other vamps just couldn't access it.

The question now is whether Laszlo will tell Colin what happened to him. Colin himself had no idea "what his deal was" before he died or that he would only live 100 years or that he'd be reborn or duplicated or whatever the hell happened with the baby that crawled out of him. And Laszlo hid the information he'd found from him. Now they all know. Which is weird, because haven't they all been living there (in Staten Island) for more than 100 years? Shouldn't they have already experienced at least one previous Colin death and rebirth?

[sistermagpie]

25 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

The question now is whether Laszlo will tell Colin what happened to him. Colin himself had no idea "what his deal was" before he died or that he would only live 100 years or that he'd be reborn or duplicated or whatever the hell happened with the baby that crawled out of him. And Laszlo hid the information he'd found from him. Now they all know. Which is weird, because haven't they all been living there (in Staten Island) for more than 100 years? Shouldn't they have already experienced at least one previous Colin death and rebirth?

Given these three, they may just honestly not have noticed. They wouldn't have known him long, and if he died in his room and was a baby on his own for a while, they may have just thought he'd gone somewhere. It doesn't seem like he necessarily needed a parent to care for him. Laszlo took that on trying to make him interesting.

It seems like they did tell him what happened, since Laszlo was asking him if he remembered his childhood and the past year. Seems like he probably just goes through a phase every 100 years where he starts thinking about where he's come from (because unconsciously he knows he's going to die) just like he has the impulse to find his hiding place. He forgets every time because nothing ever changes. Even death doesn't make a difference.

[Gobi]

While they have been in America for over 100 years, they may not have been in that house that long.

If all else fails, I repeat the MST3K mantra: It’s just a show, I should really just relax.

[tennisgurl]

Lazlo has really come full circle this season. Went from being disgusted by musical theater at the start to mournfully singing a song from a musical at the end. 

Edited September 9, 2022 by tennisgurl

[Vermicious Knid]

AV Club interview with Mark Proksch, talking about playing Baby Colin in green screen and the season.
 

Quote

AVC: In terms of just physical process, what was filming this season like for you?

MP: It was a challenge. When we’re on set, we all improvise quite a bit, and that wasn’t an option for me this year. Everything was filmed, and then I did all my performance afterwards, a couple of months after, in front of a green screen. And so you have the constraint of, “Okay, you need to hold your head right here, so your eye lines are right. Don’t move, because the lighting can’t change. If you’re going to improvise, it has to work within this line and the line that comes right after yours, and be funny.” But it was exciting. I’ve played this character for three seasons, which is, in these days, an eternity for TV. So it was fun to kind of blow dust off of the character and find some new well of enthusiasm for me....

AVC: What was your favorite Baby Colin moment from the season?

MP: Any of the singing and dancing was fun to do, because I can’t do that in real life. Especially when we’re at the club and I’m in my 40-something body that I have, and I’m trying to sing and dance like I remember as a child. That was really fun for me, and what you see in the final version is just a snippet of how long I had to sing and dance in front of these strangers who thought I was, you know, absolutely disgusting and insane, which is good for comedy.

AVC: How long were you up there?

MP: Oh, a good hour. Yeah, we filmed a bunch of takes on that. You know, you want to look ugly. You don’t want to look attractive. Nothing drives me up the wall more than a comedic actor trying to look good. Comedic actors who won’t take off their shirts or they give a shit about their hair. Any of that drives me nuts. How is that funny? Pretty’s never funny.

[edhopper]

Colinrobinson is an energy vampire. So my guess is he is lying to Laslo about not remembering to feed off his feelings of disappointment and loss.

[MisterGlass]

I'm kind of glad they led with Sunrise, Sunset, because that gave a heads up to what this episode would be.  It was surprisingly touching.  I will miss baby Colin.

I wonder if Colin Robinson had discovered his energy vampire batcave sooner, would he have grown up faster?  Perhaps his nth childhood would have been quite short.  They've said Colin Robinson doesn't sleep.  Maybe when he's alone he goes into instinctual trances, and sleepwalks his way into preparing for his next transition. 

I wouldn't be surprised if he is hiding some memories from Laszlo.  When Laszlo asked if he remembered doing an annoying voice at Sean's, he did.

And I can't imagine how Guillermo will react to actually being a vampire.  When Jenna turned, there was a transition period.  I wonder if we'll start with that.

As always, I guess we'll see next year.

[sistermagpie]

This is totally random, but I just rewatched Sunrise, Sunset where I could hear Tchaikovsky more in the beginning. He's basically saying, "I always thought that someday I would totally return to the symphony in E-flat..."

So it seems like he's just saying he's glad to be alive again so he can finish his symphony...but he gets the feeling Nadja isn't understanding what he's saying. LOL. Now I really wish I could understand Lady Murasaki Shikibu.

ETA: Also just read this great Easter Egg--in Colin's diary he's telling the story of being thrown up on on the subway. That's from Se7en. In John Doe's diary he talks about a guy on the subway telling him a story so banal it made him vomit on him. Colin's diary is telling the same story from the banal storyteller perspective. LOL! We're in the same universe as Se7en.

Edited September 23, 2022 by sistermagpie

[Milburn Stone]

On 9/22/2022 at 10:10 PM, sistermagpie said:

This is totally random, but I just rewatched Sunrise, Sunset where I could hear Tchaikovsky more in the beginning. He's basically saying, "I always thought that someday I would totally return to the symphony in E-flat..."

Thank you for this! I'm so glad they were saying real things, and not just "words that sound like Russian/Japanese/Italian." And further, that those real things made actual comedic sense!