It’s over. The coffins are closed, the Staten Island residence is officially a bit quieter, and we’re left staring at the credits of the last episode of What We Do in the Shadows. Honestly, it’s a weird feeling. For six seasons, we’ve watched Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja, and Colin Robinson bumble through immortality, but the finale, titled "Farewell," didn't just give us a bunch of jokes about dust and capes. It actually tried to say something about what it means to belong to a family, even if that family is technically dead and occasionally eats people.
Television finales are notoriously hard to stick. You either go the Sopranos route and cut to black, leaving everyone screaming at their routers, or you try to tie every single loose end until the plot feels strangled. The last episode of What We Do in the Shadows took a middle path that felt remarkably grounded for a show about energy vampires and ancient Persian warriors.
The Weight of Saying Goodbye to Staten Island
Everything in this final season felt like it was sprinting toward a specific kind of realization. We spent years watching Guillermo de la Cruz pine for the "gift" of vampirism, only to realize in season five that he actually hated it. That choice—to remain human—set the stage for the emotional stakes of the finale. When you look at the last episode of What We Do in the Shadows, the core tension isn't some massive supernatural battle. It’s the realization that Guillermo has outgrown the basement.
The writers, led by Paul Simms, didn't opt for a "happily ever after" where everyone stays in the house forever. That would’ve been cheap. Instead, the finale forces the vampires to confront their own stagnation. While Guillermo moves on to a life that actually involves sunlight and maybe a pulse, the vampires remain. They are frozen in time. That’s the tragedy of the show that most people miss because they're too busy laughing at Matt Berry’s incomparable delivery of the word "New York Cit-ah."
It’s bittersweet.
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What Actually Happened with Jerry the Vampire?
One of the smartest moves the show made leading into the last episode of What We Do in the Shadows was the introduction of Jerry. Remember Jerry? The "original" fifth roommate who had been in super-slumber since the mid-90s? His awakening served as a mirror. Jerry woke up expecting the vampires to have conquered the New World, or at least Manhattan. Instead, he found them watching The Big Bang Theory and arguing about the laundry.
Jerry’s presence highlighted how much our main cast had "softened." They aren't the cold-blooded killers they were in 1992. They’ve been humanized by Guillermo, and by each other. In the final moments, we see this play out not through grand speeches, but through small, awkward gestures. Nandor, usually the most ego-driven of the bunch, has to reckon with the fact that his familiar is gone.
The finale treats Guillermo’s departure with the gravity of a child leaving for college. Laszlo, of course, pretends not to care while being the one who arguably cared the most in his own twisted, scientific way. Nadja’s reaction is predictably dramatic, but there’s an undercurrent of genuine loss there. For a show that thrived on being a "mockumentary," the finality felt very, very real.
Why the Final Choice for Guillermo Mattered
There was a lot of online chatter before the finale aired. Fans were split. Some wanted Guillermo to eventually turn back into a vampire, finding a way to make it work. Others wanted him to go full Van Helsing and slay the house. The last episode of What We Do in the Shadows chose a third, more difficult path: growth.
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Guillermo choosing humanity is a rejection of the "cool" supernatural trope. It’s an admission that being a vampire actually sucks. You’re stuck in the same house, with the same people, wearing the same clothes, forever. By leaving, Guillermo becomes the only character with a future. The vampires just have a permanent present.
The Legacy of the Mockumentary Format
Let’s talk about the camera crew for a second. In the last episode of What We Do in the Shadows, the presence of the documentary team finally feels acknowledged in a way that goes beyond just looking at the lens after a bad joke. We’ve been watching these people through a lens for over sixty episodes.
The mockumentary style, popularized by the original Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement film, was always a gamble for a long-running sitcom. How many times can you do the "awkward silence" before it gets old? Somehow, it never did. The finale leans into the voyeuristic nature of the show, making us feel like we’re the ones being left behind in the dark house while Guillermo walks out the front door.
Breaking Down the "What Now?" Factor
So, what do we do now that the last episode of What We Do in the Shadows has aired? The show leaves a massive void in the "supernatural comedy" space. There isn't really anything else like it. Ghosts is great, but it lacks the filth and the bite. What We Do in the Shadows succeeded because it was unashamedly weird. It didn't care if you didn't get the reference to obscure 17th-century European history. It just wanted to show you a vampire turning into a bat and crashing into a window.
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Actionable Steps for Fans Feeling the Void:
If you’re mourning the end of the series, there are actually a few things you can do to keep the vibe alive without just hitting "play" on the pilot again for the tenth time:
- Track down the original 2014 film. If you haven't seen it, you're missing the DNA of the show. It’s tighter, darker, and features the original trio (Viago, Vladislav, and Deacon) who occasionally pop up in the series.
- Watch Wellington Paranormal. This is the spin-off set in New Zealand following the cops from the movie. It’s got the same dry, Kiwi humor and deals with the same ridiculous supernatural logic.
- Read the source material. Not that there’s a book, but the show draws heavily from the 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula film and Interview with the Vampire. Watching those through the lens of the show makes them hilarious in retrospect.
- Look into the cast’s next projects. Kayvan Novak (Nandor) and Natasia Demetriou (Nadja) have incredible bodies of work in UK comedy. Harvey Guillén is basically everywhere now, from Puss in Boots to Blue Beetle.
The last episode of What We Do in the Shadows wasn't just a finale; it was a graduation. It proved that you can take a silly premise about roommates and turn it into one of the most consistent character studies on television. We came for the "Bat!" shouts and stayed for the weird, bloody heart at the center of the Staten Island coven.
If you’re looking to revisit the best moments, start by re-watching the "Baron's Night Out" from Season 1. Compare that to the finale. The growth—even for dead people—is staggering. The show may be over, but its influence on how we blend horror and comedy is going to stick around for a very long time.