What We Do in the Shadowsmight get your attention at first with its clever premise. The FX series follows the same outline as the 2014Taika WaititiandJemaine Clementfilm of the same name, with the horror comedy following a documentary crew as they peer into the lives of vampire roommates going about their lives in a human-dominated society, and seemingly messing it up every evening.
The film and the series don’t work without its crazy characters, however. In the show, we follow the undead days of wannabe leader Nandor (Kayvan Novak), droll energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), horndog Laszlo (Matt Berry) and his wife Nadja (Natasia Demitrou), and Nandor’s human familiar who is ironically also a mastervampire hunter named Guillermo (Harvey Guillén).What We Do in the Shadowsis also made up of a great cast of supporting characters. But none are more unique than the ghost of the once-human Nadja, who now resides inside a doll and hangs out with her vampire self.
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Nadja Meets Herself in Ghost Form
Nadja has been a vampire for centuries and she’s spent most of her undead time with her husband. It’s the least she could do, since she’s the one that bit him and turned him into a vampire. For the most part, her life isn’t so bad, considering she’s technically dead and all. Laszlo adores her.What We Do in the Shadowsisn’t afraid to show how hilariously sexyand kinky they can get with each other.
Still, life, or the lack thereof, isn’t without its difficulties. In the Season 2 episode “Ghosts,” the housemates hold a séance and bring back the ghosts of the people they once were. Laszlo is able to help his ghost self move on to the next realm by assisting with some, um, unfinished needs. Nadja’s ghost is not going to be so easy to please. She wanted things out of life. Nadja the vampire has been at the same age for five centuries but she has little to show for it, other than all the bloodletting. It infuriates ghost Nadja that she’s wasting her “life.” Her unfinished business is that she must stay with the physical Nadja and be there as she does something useful on Earth.
Human Nadja’s Soul Lives on Inside of a Doll
Whereas the others may have been weirded out by their ghost selves being around, Nadja loves it. Ghost Nadja loves it too, despite her disappointments. They’re best friends! You can’t blame vampire Nadja, because, after all, she hangs out in an old house with idiot men all day. She needs someone to talk to who has some shred of sanity, even if it’s a floating version of who she used to be. Human Nadja can’t stay in her ghost form, though, if she’s going to stay on the physical plane of Earth. She needs to inhabit an object that she can move around in. But what?
In the attic, vampire Nadja finds an old doll. With her porcelain features and long dark hair, she looks a lot like Nadja. “That could be perfect. I love,” the ghost says. There are no ceremonies needed to transfer the ghost to the doll. She simply swoops right in. Seconds later,the doll is moving and speaking. It’s creepy in its realism, but this is no Chucky. Doll Nadja is completely harmless. Vampire Nadja tells the doll to stay motionless while she carries her around. “I don’t want the boys to know you’ve taken a new form. I don’t think they’ll understand.” That doesn’t last long, though, as they soon figure it out. For a moment, Colin Robinson takes a liking to doll Nadja. He even hits on her, only to be shot down. “I did, however, attempt to kiss the Nadja doll,” he says, “and its rejection stung.” We watch Colin Robinson lean in while she coolly shakes her head.
Nadja’s Ghost Has Created Some Hilarious Moments
Nadja isn’t a major character inWhat We Do in the Shadows. She shows up here and there, consoling her vampire self, or having the camera pan to her so we can see her reaction to what someone said, as if this wasThe Office. Her biggest plot line came when vampire Nadja begins to ignore her. Ghost Nadja longed for vampire Nadja to make something out of herself. It’s the whole reason she stuck around. Then it finally begins to happen, when Nadja becomes head of a section of the Vampiric Council. She’s moving up in the undead world. The only downside is that this means she has less time to spend with her doll self. Doll Nadja has never really had much to do but be a doll in the house. She doesn’t get to be like everyone else. Now,vampire Nadja, the only person she has, isn’t there. We see doll Nadja, talking to the camera crew, admitting that it’s time to move on.
She does talk about the good memories she’s made here. There have been moments of happiness outside of Nadja. Laszlo played the piano with her. Nandor taught her how to use a sword. He gives her some words of wisdom with the instruction: “Remember that chopping someone’s head off is the last resort.” Another glimpse shows Colin Robinson stitching her up when she needed to be fixed. Still, it’s not enough. “As time has passed, I’ve realized I don’t fit here. Perhaps I’m that one extra piece left over when a puzzle is already completed and there is no place where it fits… I’m the extra puzzle piece.” Doll Nadja packs her things and leaves.
Sadly, no one notices that she’s gone. That leads toone ofWhat We Do in the Shadows’best scenes. In Episode 9 of Season 3, doll Nadja leaves. Once vampire Nadja realizes the doll is gone she’s scared and heartbroken. Everyone goes on a search for her. Doll Nadja is hiding with other dolls in a toy store, hoping someone will pick her up and love her. When vampire Nadja finds her, she flees, but not in doll form. In some incredible gags, she first transfers herself to a mannequin, then a statue, all the while pleading to be left alone. She runs out into the night where she sees a giant inflatable rat. It makes you cry from laughter when the ghost goes into the huge rat and waddles down the street, with Nadja begging her to stop. Nandor accidentally pops the rat. “Oopsies.” It deflates, but funny turns serious, as the rat says, “I’m very tired. Just let me go. It would be easier for you.” Vampire Nadja apologizes and promises to do better for the both of them. She presents the doll and asks her ghost self if she wants to come back and live with a bunch of uncaring assholes. The ghost barely has to think about it before jumping back into the doll.
Doll Nadja doesn’t do a lot after that onWhat We Do in the Shadows. She is seen with vampire Nadja, being part of her story, but not being the story, as vampire Nadja does more with her nights, even going to the UK at the end of Season 3, where she’s been promoted to a higher position on the Vampiric Council, andtrying her hand at opening her own nightclub.
That all changes in Season 5. Doll Nadja is much more involved this season, and has some of the biggest laughs in the history of the series. Things aren’t going well for her, after vampire Nadja sat on her and crushed her little doll legs. “What you’ve done to my legs is unforgivable,” she tells her undead self. Colin Robinson came to the rescue to fix her, though he may have just made her worse, as now doll Nadja’s lower half is a plastic animatronic, with her legs connected to a base, which means she cannot walk. If that’s not bad enough, press a button on the base and she moves and sings against her will while raising up her dress.
Episode 3, “Pride Parade,” gives doll Nadja her best moments yet. She confesses to the camera crew that of course she’s still angry with her vampire self. “Look at this bullshit. I’m three quarters mechanical automaton.” She flips her leg and it comes flying off her body. Doll Nadja then confesses why she’s really so down. Having lost so much of her doll body has reminded her of losing her human self. As it turns out, when human Nadja died, she was still a virgin, which means the ghost inside the doll is still a virgin. To rectify this,they get The Guide (Kristen Schaal) to swap their bodies. For a day, vampire Najda will live in the doll, while her ghost gets to inhabit her body so she can get laid.
Unfortunately, ghost Nadja has no idea how to seduce men. She tries speed dating, but comes on way too strong. “How do you think about taking the virginity of a dead ghost?” she asks one guy. “It’s your lucky night.” After creeping everyone out, she resorts to Colin Robinson. At first, he agrees, but then he realizes, he’s not into Nadja in her human form. It’s her as a doll he’s attracted to. (As if he wasn’t weird enough.) Frustrated, ghost Nadja refuses to switch bodies back. To drive her out, The Guide puts Colin Robinson’s soul in Nadja’s body alongside the ghost. Instead, they make the most of it, and in a creepy hilarious visual, Colin Robinson’s face appears at the back of Nadja’s human headMalignantstyle. The final images of the episode finally show Nadja losing her virginity. As Laszlo has sex with the body of his wife, vampire Nadja, still in the doll, whips her human self. “Am I hitting the spot, Colin Robinson?” Laszlo asks. Nadja’s head pops up. There’s Colin Robinson’s face, a smile upon it. “Oh yeah, that’s fine. Just fine.” No matter what happens with doll Najda next onWhat We Do in the Shadows, nothing can top this moment. This is the happiest night of her life. It might be Colin Robinson’s, too.
