‘What We Do in the Shadows’ is a show telling the story of four vampires and a familiar turned bodyguard in Staten Island, all trying to live through modern times and learning to adapt to the life around them. With season four being fully released, it left a lasting impression on lots of viewers. Various reactions to reveals, cliffhangers and character arcs left viewers confused, angry or excited for the new season that just began filming. Season four may be one of the greatest seasons of the show and opens the door for a lot of potential in the fifth season. Spoilers ahead!

The character development in season four was unmeasurable. We see characters grow and address their flaws. Nandor the Relentless spent the last three seasons treating his human familiar, Guillermo, unfairly. But after everyone gets separated for a year, he realizes he misses Guillermo and addresses some of his mistreatment. He is far from fully being forgiven, as he is still acting incredibly selfishly by messing up various things for others. But he did grow in comparison to previous seasons. 

We also see the pasts of characters and get new characters. We learn more about the character The Guide, an unnamed vampire who is a part of The Vampiric Council of Staten Island. We learn that she has a past with Van Helsing, a famous vampire hunter, and can’t die because of that. We also get a new creature, The Djinn. Someone who can grant 52 wishes. He adds commentary through facial expressions and pushes the story forward. Marwa is someone The Djinn brings back to life from Nandor’s past and whom Nandor later married. Her character was heavily mistreated by Nandor, as he used his wishes to slowly change her completely. It was almost haunting watching Marwa slowly lose herself and it made it that much more tragic when we lost her.

And the Colin Robinson arc had me in its grip. Colin Robinson is an energy vampire who has a hundred-year lifespan and dies at the end of season three. But he is reborn as a child, his life restarting and as a result he lost all his memories from his years prior. Laszlo Cravensworth decided to raise Colin, feeling it was his responsibility to watch him. Colin was growing at an alarming rate and his rebirth changed the dynamics of everyone’s relationship with him. He was no longer one of their annoying roommates and would never be seen that way again. He was now someone they had raised as a child and was someone they now had to consider family. 

It ends with a cliffhanger, as most shows do. But this is an oddly satisfying ending to the season. The season three finale left me in tears, with the death of Colin Robinson and the sudden separation of everyone, it left me confused and torn. But season four ends with Laszlo having to deal with Colin forgetting everything, Nadja losing the nightclub she had worked so hard to make a reality and Guillermo making a major move. He takes thousands of dollars he had embezzled from the club to bribe a vampire to turn him into one too. It was a well-done cliffhanger, even if it didn’t make me grip my pillow sobbing, I really like the potential and all the various directions the next season could go in.

Senior Jae Wallis says, “The beginning (of season four) was a bit…rough. Not really the right word but the time jump was conflicting at first.” He goes on to say, “I adore the Colin plot line and seeing Laszlo actually have responsibilities and do a good job for his abilities was amazing.”

Sometimes, it feels like this show can be hard to follow. All the various storylines, plots and characters can be hard to keep up with. But what really makes the show worth coming back for is the relationships between everyone, the humor and the love that they have for each other. It’s a story about a group of people who have been playing the game of life for a long time and who have been fighting for even longer. Even if they’re vastly different from you, you find yourself relating to them in some way. The need to fit in, protect people and to be loved. It’s a beautiful story about family while also being a comedy with crude humor and ridiculous creatures.