#viago wwdits

[luciuscodedswedeboy]

[vlcimor]

Hello ladies~!

[playa-pariah]

The final Viago Vednesday, for a while at least

[celluloidbroomcloset]

Too many other things going, I will not get pulled into thoughts about Viago and Anton...

[kleinenarzisse]

The boys went out for a walk.

[loathsome-cowboy]

Stede + Viago crossover fanart (by @lydsirabella on IG)

[stal-ka]

vampire-bat

[liz-freemen]

3 idiot

[yunnd3]

>x3

[imyournelly]

making every project involving taika waititi my new personality trait for the next few weeks

timelapse!

[zevampirex]

The other silly vimpres🦇 (And the seasonal ship out of their ship🙃)

[barren-heart]

We already know the ending of What We Do In The Shadows the show. The movie told us.

Spoilers from both the movie (2014) and the show (2024)

I think it’s obvious when Taika and Jemaine set out to make an American version of their vampire comedy, they weaved a lot of the same storylines into the show. We have vampire roommates, werewolves (not swearwolves) , familiars, an ancient vampire, vampire hypnosis, and a camera crew.

All the same ideas exist from movie to show, just presented differently.

Guillermo, the familiar turned vampire hunter turned bodyguard turned vampire turned back to human, is a combination of the movie’s familiar and vampire Hunter roles. I believe he’s also the love interest, Katherine.

I think the show, while becoming it’s own thing entirely, has a deep connection to the movie. I think they’ve been trying to follow viago’s love interest storyline since the show switched hands from Taika and Jemaine to Paul Simms.

While probably not known to most, Paul was instrumental in bringing the show over to the States, having helped to fund it.

He was already in the world of Shadows, and while I haven’t agreed on the way he’s said things and some direction the show had taken (season 4 had some growing pains), I do believe he’s understood the heart of the show.

Which is why I think they took such a dramatic shift in season 4 to tell and show the audience that Nandor doesn’t want to just date, but to really have a life or afterlife partner. That season had two “coming outs”. Guillermo obviously coming out as gay, and Nandor coming out as pansexual before he was turned.

I think this distinction was really important to build their romantic dynamic. They wanted to show Nandor’s interest in Guillermo wasn’t attributed to just horny vampireness, but actual true love and affection for him.

And having Guillermo formally come out as gay was more than just the Freddie gag (or the purpose of Guillermo having a boyfriend so that Nandor sleeps with him causing Guillermo to get upset about it which encourages Guillermo to take vampire turning into his own hands, leading to the events in season 5), but to show the audience that Guillermo’s not just a hero worshipper of his boss. He could very well have a crush that could become something more.

And while Simms’ execution of Nandermo so far has not been executed perfectly, (mostly because I think his version of Shadows uses jokes to cover or masque serious moments whereas Jemaine’s comedy often highlights and exposes the truth about life in funny situations), I think Paul’s vision is headed in the right direction.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Guillermo has a far larger familiar role than the one in the movie. Storytelling wise, it’s expected that Guillermo’s ending will solve the lingering vampire question that was halfway resolved in season 5. Because the show is telling the audience, “Wait. There’s more.” There’s more change to be had. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that a part of Nandor’s arc is finding love. And part of his ending will have to be resolving this, as well.

And funny enough, Viago’s ending resolves both of these issues. He finds love with Katherine again and turns her into a vampire, but she got to have a full life first. There’s comedy there (he’s still older than her even though they don’t look it) but also there’s heart. She got to have a full life and agency of her own instead of being robbed of it.

I think Paul wants to set up this ending because it’s funny but also, to highlight his appreciation to the original. We expected from the jump that Nandor would turn Guillermo eventually and we can’t just have that without growth and change and conflict in between. It’s nice to get everything we want, but that’s not what sitcoms do. Sitcoms subvert expectations, and Paul is highly versed in sitcom structure. (Something that I think even Jemaine and Taika had to learn. )

Paul Simms’ isn’t just a writer in the room, he is a writer familiar (haha insert lame reference joke here) with the source material in a sitcom format. The movie wasn’t a sitcom. They could resolve Viago’s relationship because movies resolve arcs at the end of the movie.

Sitcoms don’t resolve anything at the end of an episode or even the end of a season. They resolve them at the end of the show. He knows Nandermo would end the show, because when characters get what they want (whatever their aspirations are) it completes the narrative. In sitcoms, the characters wants drive the purpose of the show.

And all good sitcoms don’t immediately give you (the audience) what you want until the end. And yes it can be frustrating, but when done right, the payoff is worth it. When the arcs are finished, the story ends. Even in sitcoms and comedy shows. So, Guillermo and Nandor being together and Nandor even eventually turning Guillermo, would have to be arc finishers. That would end the show. Which is why I think s6 is ending here, because the lead (Nandor) finished his arc.

Now whether that means Nandor will turn Guillermo on screen or not is yet to be seen. Maybe at some point down the road when Guillermo’s family is much older or have moved on from this earth and maybe when there is a new way to be a vampire without blood, Guillermo will be ready.

[playa-pariah]

Viago Vednesday pt 3 (oldie from the archive)

[celluloidbroomcloset]

Taika and Rhys just keep winding up in roles where they're the hot dads (who fuck each other) of their friend groups.

Viago and Anton are Ed and Stede with surprisingly less angst.

[thehappyfeminist-22]

Appreciation post for Viago because he's a cutie patootie!

Also appreciation for all the lovely people who made these gifs. You truly are a pillar of the community. 💖

[vampirictadpole]

Can I say that? Don’t have a clue ❤️‍🩹