From the very beginning of What We Do in the Shadows, one of the best characters has been Guillermo (Harvey Guillén). At first, he seemed like a trope, a weak and timid human living as a familiar for vampire Nandor (Kayvan Novak). Quickly, however, we learned that there was more going on with Guillermo than any sidekick could contain. Over four seasons, Guillermo has grown more than any other character in the series, with him now a master vampire hunter due to his lineage to Van Helsing. One thing hasn’t changed in four seasons, though. Guillermo has desperately wanted to be a vampire and join in the blood-sucking fun with Nandor, Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Laszlo (Matt Berry), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch). Nandor, however, constantly rejects him or makes promises that he’ll turn him “some other time.” At the end of Season 4, it appeared that Guillermo’s dream to be a member of the undead was about to happen. While it would make for an interesting storyline, it isn’t the right direction for this character.
Guillermo Has Wanted To Be a Vampire Since Day One
What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary following the lives of four very odd vampires in Staten Island. There’s Nandor, who sees himself as the leader, though he’s anything but. There’s also horny husband and wife Laszlo and Nadja, and the hilariously dull energy vampire, Colin Robinson, who had quite the Season 4. The real leader, maybe the real star of the whole show, is Guillermo. He does everything for his undead companions from finding them human food to keeping their home maintained, but they barely notice him and usually don’t care to. Sometimes he’s even called “Gizmo,” because remembering his real name is too much of a bother.
All Guillermo asks in return is for Nandor, the vampire he directly serves, to turn him into a vampire. Nandor always comes up with an excuse not to do it right at that moment, promising to do it later… and then inevitably failing to do so. Nandor needs someone to take care of him and Guillermo is great at it. If Nandor turns him, then he loses Guillermo as a servant. Over four seasons, Guillermo takes and takes the abuse, going from naive, to angry, to begrudgingly accepting that his vampire dreams just might not happen. Then something life-changing happens that alters Guillermo’s fate: He finds out that he’s a descendant of famed vampire hunter Van Helsing.
Guillermo Is More Interesting as a Human
Guillermo as the familiar begging to be turned had run its course as a storyline. What We Do in the Shadows needed to shake things up, and boy did they ever. It was perfectly ironic to see Guillermo, who wanted so badly to be a vampire, to now be such a master at killing them. He was like Blade with the way he could swiftly dispatch any undead enemy who dared harm his friends. It almost came easy to him. It made his home life a bit awkward, living with vampires while killing them and all, but he was accepted because he was protecting them. Laszlo even went so far as to force Guillermo to accompany Nadja to London at the end of Season 3 because he knew he could protect her.
Still, Guillermo wants to be a vampire. That hasn’t changed, no matter what. At the end of Season 4 he tells the camera crew, “Nothing is going to change unless I change it.” He tells the crew they can use his room for storage because he won’t be needing it anymore. We then see him go to a convenience store where his friend-turned-vampire Derek (Chris Sandiford) works. Guillermo plops down a huge suitcase full of money and tells Derek, “You’re going to make me a vampire.” Guillermo smiles at the camera, ready for what comes next.
It would admittedly be fun to see Guillermo as a vampire, with the possibilities that could open up for new storylines and hilarious moments. What would Guillermo do as a vampire? Would it be as glorious and satisfying as he thought it would be? How will his vampire friends react? But then what? It’s a bold commitment. If you turn Guillermo, there’s no undoing it. This isn’t like when a sitcom puts two people together knowing they can break them up if it doesn’t work. There’s no way out of this. More important than a twist to shake things up is the long-term direction of What We Do in the Shadows if Guillermo becomes a vampire. He, as the only lead human character, stands out from the rest for being so different.
To turn him because Guillermo wants to be like everyone else does just that: makes him like everyone else. Guillermo as a vampire loses his uniqueness. The showrunners may be aware of this as well, for the trailer for Season 5 of What We Do in the Shadows shows Guillermo having been bitten by Derek, but not able to successfully turn. One clip shows Guillermo telling the documentary crew, “I thought the transformation would be overnight, but it’s been sixteen days.” He then tries to turn into a bat by saying the word and spreading his arms, but nothing happens. Now this is an interesting direction to go.
Becoming a Vampire Would Betray Guillermo’s Growth
Hidden not so far under the surface of the silliness of What We Do in the Shadows are other, more realistic themes, like identity struggles, sexuality, and an overall feeling of isolation. Guillermo has come out on the show, though his sexuality has not always been a defining character detail. Nandor has been married to both men and women during his very long life, and Laszlo and Nadja have both been with the opposite sex as well. It was a powerful moment when Guillermo tells his vampire family that he’s gay. A cousin responds by telling him, “We don’t give a shit about you being gay. We’ve known that forever,” while the rest of his family expresses their love for him. In an interview with the Advocate last year, Guillén said, “That was interesting to think that you’d [Guillermo] be willing to risk a secret that could potentially disown you from a family, a very religious family with his upbringing — that he’d be willing to let that go just to save the chosen family that he was living with.”
Guillermo is growing. He’s a warrior. There is a man in his life. He’s come out to everyone he loves about who he truly is. To have him give that up to become a vampire betrays that growth. It would be akin to giving up or conforming rather instead of accepting who he is and living his best life. And that life might be leading him to Nandor, someone who is always on the prowl for true love. He even brought back one of his wives, Marwa (Parisa Fakhri), from the dead and married her again, but believe it or not, he still isn’t happy. Marwa even told Guillermo in Season 4 that Nandor has said he wants to hug and kiss Guillermo. Did he mean that as a friend, or something more?
There is intrigue and laughs to be found in Guillermo becoming a vampire, that’s for sure, but there’s more to be found in keeping Guillermo human. Yes, there’s the will-they-won’t-they between Guillermo and Nandor, but beyond that, it’s the continuing struggle of the only human among near immortals trying to find his place and meaning in his life. Much more interesting than a Guillermo with fangs who sleeps in a coffin is a Guillermo accepting who he is, master vampire hunter and all. And in the journey, maybe he can one day find more than just a little respect from the vampires who depend on him.
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