WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for What We Do in the Shadows Season 3, Episode 5, “The Chamber of Judgement,” now available on Hulu via FX.
In What We Do in the Shadows‘ third season, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) evolves as he tries to show he’s worth his place in the vampire coven in Long Island. He’s Nandor’s bodyguard now, but the former familiar still thinks he needs more respect from Nadja and Laszlo. In “The Chamber of Judgement,” Guillermo takes it up a notch, surprisingly playing selfish this time around as he becomes the vampire version of Game of Thrones‘ Varys.
Varys cut an intriguing figure in the books and TV show, politicking and playing houses against each other, from the Starks to the Lannisters to the Targaryens. Known as the Spider, he wove webs all over and had many hands in various schemes, to the point even Littlefinger struggled to keep up with him. Ultimately, he had peace and prosperity in mind for Westeros, which is why he tried to murder Daenerys and got killed for it, making him more than just the anti-hero known as the Master of Whisperers.
In What We Do in the Shadows, Guillermo adopts a similar role when Nandor and Nadja start fighting for the throne at their big council meeting. He whispers to Nandor that the best bet is to stay in the shadows, playing the part of a puppet master out of the limelight as that’s where the real power is. Eventually, after this sneaky attitude annoys Nadja and Nandor insists on the seat, Guillermo decides to have fun and manipulates the “game of chess” for his own benefit. He gets them to move the throne and rule away from it, only to then trick them into putting him on it as a decoy.
They take the bait, with Guillermo clearly believing he’s earned this. The shocking thing is he’s fooling everyone as they think he’s so innocent and the best problem-solver around. Little do they know, he’s tricking them so he can get off, but it backfires when his former friend and vampire hunter, Derek, is brought before the party. The council sentences him to death for being a terrible vampire and breaking basic rules, but Guillermo begins to lose sway as he tries to save his bud.
Guillermo wants to individually convince the vamps to spare the rookie, but he’s annoying, whispering in their ears to no avail. They eventually shoo him away as they need blood to assert dominance and prove to international colleagues they’re not to be trifled with; ergo Derek has to go.
At this point, Guillermo has lost confidence, influence and moral compass, which feels like he’s nowhere as good as Varys, who truly made a difference as he helped Jon Snow set things right. Thanks to some quick thinking, though, Guillermo tricks Laszlo into defending Derek in a trial, goading Nadja and Nandor to let his former friend (whom he abandoned in a vampire nest to be turned) become Laszlo’s apprentice. It’s quick improvisation, and as a relieved Guillermo pulls this off, it’s admittedly something Varys would be proud of.
The first five episodes of What We Do in the Shadows are streaming now on Hulu via FX.
About The Author
