Want to hear more from the actors and creators of your favorite shows and films? Subscribe to The Cinema Spot on YouTube for all of our upcoming interviews!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Following the previous episode of Jemaine Clement’s What We Do in the Shadows, our favorite vampire trio and their vampire familiar-turned-hunter-turned-bodyguard-turned-accountant are protecting the essence of Nadja’s nightclub by trying to put Child Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) to sleep for once.
The fifth episode of the fourth season is titled, “Private School”. It is written by consulting producer Ayo Edebiri and co-producer Shana Gohd and is directed by co-executive producer Kyle Newacheck.
In this review, I will be discussing What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 5. There will be spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Still, please read ahead at your own discretion.
Editor’s Note: In writing this review, I have seen the first seven episodes of the series’s fourth season to properly understand the wider context of the narrative.
What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 5 Logline
According to FX Networks, here is the logline for the What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 5 — “Private School”.
The vampires endure the private school admissions interview process.
FX Networks Press Room
Discussion
This new episode of What We Do in the Shadows does have hits and misses, with the latter being more prominent while the former are somewhat subtle. Montgomery gives us more fabulous costume designs for the characters we love, and as always, Milk and Harrod do so well in the hair and makeup departments.
After seeing this episode a few times, I felt the larger portion — that is, the subplot revolving around the housemates working to get Child Colin Robinson into their neighbor Sean’s (Anthony Atamanuik) former private school — failed in what it set out to do. Personally, it didn’t work for me as much as I expected when entering my first viewing. “Private School” does not end up bringing the child version of what was our favorite energy-draining vampire into a private school in the area. Rather, there are some underlying points in and around that that I must highlight.
All in the Family
Firstly, we begin the episode with Nadja of Antipaxos (Natasia Demetriou), Leslie “Laszlo” Cravensworth (Matt Berry), and Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak) telling the documentary crew how much they are losing sleep over the child’s activity at the vampire residence. Cravensworth, in particular, says that he himself is fine so long as the child doesn’t grow up to become a bore like the previous Colin Robinson was. This is a recurring concern of his throughout this season, and it is important to take note of that. More of that in a bit.
Second, it should be noted that there is a dynamic that is avoided in this episode. When asked who are the parent figures for the Child Colin Robinson, Nadja constantly makes arrangements to place two characters in the front seat across from Headmaster Warren (Peter Francis James). Here, we are taken through all the options of “unorthodox family structures”: Cravensworth and Nandor, Nadja and Nandor, Nadja and Cravensworth, the Doll possessed by the spirit of the human formerly known as Nadja… and Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), etc.
Only for a second or so in the montage are we given a glimpse at Guillermo and Nandor as a duo. While fans are hoping to “ship” these two together, I did note in last week’s episode that this week’s “Private School” episode as well as even next week’s “The Wedding” avoids that. I am sorry to say it, dear fans, but you may want to wait a little longer. Although, I will say that the seventh episode does acknowledge the potential for them to be together, so do not lose hope. A third point about the episode I want to make regards Nadja’s nightclub, which I will get to next.
The Crew of What We Do in the Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows is created for television by Jemaine Clement. The series is based on the feature-length film of the same name written by Clement and Taika Waititi.
Clement, Waititi, Paul Simms, Garrett Basch, Eli Bush, Stefani Robinson, and Sam Johnson serve as the executive producers of the show. Yana Gorskaya, Kyle Newacheck, and Marika Sawyer act as the co-executive producers. Ingrid Lageder, Sarah Naftalis, and Derek S. Rappaport are the producers. Zach Hagen, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn, Shana Gohd, and William Meny serve as the co-producers. Ayo Edebiri is the consulting producer.
Gayle Keller serves as the casting director; while Allison Jones and Ben Harris are credited as original casting directors. Jenny Lewis and Sara Kay are the Canadian casting directors. Briana Dunlay is the casting associate, while Krista Fraser is the extras casting director.
DJ Stipsen is the director of photography, while Michael Storey serves as the additional director of photography.
Gorskaya and Liza Cardinale serve as the editors, while Wally Baram and Aasia LaShay Bullock are the story editors. Hannah Anaya and Wendy Nomiyama serve as the assistant editors.
Mark Mothersbaugh, John Enroth, and Albert Fox score the music for the series. Nora Felder is the music supervisor. Steve Griffen is the music editor.
Shayne Fox is the production designer. Kerri Wylie is the set decorator. Aaron Noel and Andrea Raymond serve as the art directors for the episode.
Laura Montgomery is the costume designer. Sarah Milk is the makeup department head, while Tamara Harrod is the hair department head.
Mohammad Ghorbankarimi and Stephen W. Pugh are the visual effects supervisors, while Amanda Lariviere and Malorie Moriana are the VFX producers. Thomas Calderón is the VFX editor, while Vince Filippone is the VFX assistant editor.
The Cast of What We Do in the Shadows
Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, and Natasia Demetriou portray the series’ three primary traditional vampires, Nandor the Relentless, Leslie “Laszlo” Cravensworth, and Nadja of Antipaxos, respectively.
Harvey Guillén portrays Guillermo de la Cruz, Nandor’s familiar-turned-vampire hunter-turned bodyguard. Mark Proksch portrays Baby Colin Robinson, an infant version of the series’ energy vampire.
Anthony Atamanuik guest stars as Sean, the vampires’ human next-door neighbor. Peter Francis James plays Headmaster Warren.
Anoop Desai co-stars as Djinn. David Boyce appears as Guillermo’s former guidance counselor, while Myrna Cabello appears as Silvia, Guillermo’s mother. Sal Vulcano appears as himself.
Sam M. Duncan, Violet Tinnirello, Liam McKenna, and Joseph Franco portray Child Colin. Jael Obasi and Evie Loiselle play two 143-year-old vampire kids.
Performances and Character Developments
This episode mark’s Atamanuik’s first appearance in the season as Sean, and he is perfect. First of all, I appreciate that he gets mad at Guillermo for what he (Sean) believes is homophobia against Laszlo and Nandor’s fake relationship as a fake couple. (The writers subtly call Guillermo jealous, but we shall see if he can beat those allegations.) Sean is one of the only humans besides Guillermo that the vampires get along so well with, and I know fans will love his appearances in the next two episodes.
He serves the role of the neighbor fantastically, that is, someone who is friendly and helpful. As we see in this episode, he sees Child Colin Robinson as a rascal of an adolescent and just wants to help his friends get him into a school. As for the Headmaster suffering from a stroke due to Nadja’s overuse of hypnoses, I wonder how Sean is affected since he was affected nearly as much. Surely, this could be acknowledged later in the series.
Returning to the topic of Laszlo and Child Colin, I believe there is some deeper reasoning as to why the need for concern. Such an idea came forth when the Child Colin character was introduced in the season premiere and then we see Cravensworth guiding him towards a new purpose in the third episode. While he does state in “The Grand Opening” that he is sure Colin will grow up to be a greater man than he, I cannot help but think he has some doubts in that statement. When you do get into the seventh episode, Colin has a brief conversation with Sean that might hit home. Laszlo does seem to play the role of father very well despite him being harsh at it. That only shows how much he loves his “son”, and that he only wants the best for him.
Novak’s Nandor has a hilarious physical change in this episode, with other characters initially giving him “WTF” faces. To be honest, I had no idea what was going on either until he spoke about it on-camera himself. This makeover is done so that Marwa (not in the episode) will love him for who he is, but he realizes that he doesn’t need to change for somebody and only himself. What is important is that you improve in character and that appearance can be detrimental if not taken care of properly.
Lastly, I do want to acknowledge the fact that both Guillermo and Nadja have been stealing profits from the nightclub. Now we know that Nadja’s is a success, do they really know how to run the joint? Are taxes an issue right now? We see that Guillermo uses the money to buy a new car and get his mother, Silvia (Myrna Cabello), into a new home. It almost seems as if he has taken the role of a mafia member, albeit with no one in particular as the head of the family. What does the money mean for Nadja, then? We will have to wait and see…
Final Thoughts on What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 5
This fifth episode of What We Do in the Shadows does fail in the narrative drive, but the smaller developments in its characters do show that something is coming. It isn’t that I hated this episode, and in fact, I did have more positive comments to voice than there are negatives. My only hopes for this episode were that I did want the character to enter a private school instead of just being signed up for myriad sports activities. On the other hand, of course, this does provide the opportunity for the Child Colin Robinson to socialize with people his own age. Furthermore, that will help him develop into a human-like individual, which I hope to see one day, maybe not in this season.
Despite what failed and what succeeded, “Private School” is a good episode that held better details in terms of characters than it did in the plot.
Jemaine Clement’s What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 is now airing via FX and streaming via Hulu!
Have you seen Clement’s series? If so, then what are your thoughts on it so far? Let us know! For more comedy, fantasy, and horror-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
3 Comments on “‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 4 Episode 5 Spoiler Review – “Private School””