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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 Season 4, the vampires travel elsewhere to make sure that both Nadja’s (Natasia Demetriou) nightclub and Child Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) continue to blossom.
The fourth episode of the fourth season is titled, “The Night Market”. It is written by co-producer William Meny & executive producer Paul Simms and directed by co-executive producer Yana Gorskaya.
In this review, I will be discussing What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 4. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion to avoid any possible revelations.
What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 4 Logline
According to FX Networks, here is the logline for the What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 4 — “The Night Market”.
The vampires take a trip to the secret Night Market, where all the supernatural creatures gather to barter and haggle.
FX Networks Press Room
Discussion
In writing my review for this episode, it should be noted that I had seen the first six episodes of What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 ahead of release to properly understand the context and minutiae of the series’ episodes.
“The Night Market” is a fun episode of What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 that offers a new peek into its universe of mythological creatures and beings. Witches. Valkyries. Fairies. A Pinocchio. Garden gnomes. (That is about as much as I could make out on the surface.) At nearly 27 minutes, the series does not waste time showing us around the market. Fox, Wylie, and Noel give fans appealing set pieces, and with Nadja claiming the night market goes on forever, I am thinking it is not so small after all. In one area, we have the vampire familiar fighting “area”, while in another area, we have Big Ed’s Anarchy & Apothecary.
In terms of the screenwriting, the writers’ room give fans a teleplay that can be as cheesy and as childish as the previous episode of the season — “The Grand Opening”. For instance, we have a subway performer (Abbas Wahab) fart into a microphone in a train car with passengers as the audience. While there is a reason for this to happen, the comedy here is very 2000s and can be outdated. Not everyone is fond of fart jokes at this point in time, but hey, who am I to judge that choice in the writing?
On A Somewhat More Serious Note…
Fart jokes aside, this episode of What We Do in the Shadows does have positives to it. I enjoyed watching the fight sequence involving Guillermo de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén) finds himself in. The series has not had much action in a while and focused more on arc-centric narratives. Here, Stipsen, Storey, Makin, and the rest of the camera crew for the episode posit themselves in a rather crowded spot full of protagonists, guests, and extras, and one cameraperson is nearly harmed at one point!
Moreover, “The Night Market” has much to deal with the concept of belief. In this episode, we see Child Colin taking an interest in fairy tales and his vampire father figure Leslie “Laszlo” Cravensworth (Matt Berry) having to teach about the realism of mythos. This is the complete opposite of a regular human child having to learn about the fact that Santa Claus is not real.
In fact, Laszlo really goes to the lengths to inform Colin of the accuracies of monstrous beings. He states: “Sometimes, grownups lie to children when the truth is too horrifying for them”. Perhaps, this could be applicable to human matters, but Laszlo does not sugarcoat anything and instead lays the truth out on the table. This adds to his molding of Colin into the adult he will eventually turn out to be… One day, sooner or later.
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 and David A. Makin are the additional directors of photography.
Gorskaya and Dane McMaster 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 serves as the art director.
Laura Montgomery is the costume designer. Sarah Milk is the makeup department head, while Tamara Harrod is the hair department head.
Stephen W. Pugh is the visual effects supervisor, while Malorie Moriana is the VFX producer. 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. Kristen Schaal plays series regular/ special guest star, The Guide.
Anoop Desai co-stars as Djinn, while Parisa Fakhri plays Marwa.
Susan Applewhaite plays a crone cage vendor. Steve Bidwell plays an older gentleman while Peggy Calvert appears as an elderly lady familiar.
Nick Corirossi plays the ringmaster of the familiar fights. Shel Goldstein plays a hag vampire, while Nicolas Grimes plays a menacing vampire. Michael Hough plays a hobgoblin, while Kurtys Kidd plays a demon. Joel Koshy appears as a young vampire.
Laura Ramoso and Alex Jade play Valkyries. Violet Tinnirello and Liam McKenna portray Child Colin. Abbas Wahab plays a subway performer. Richard Willis plays a warlock.
Performances and Character Developments
I enjoyed watching Guillermo de la Cruz’s fight scenes. While he does not intentionally harm or kill vampire familiars and vampires in the ring, it is nice to see him in action again after some episodes away from that life, having acted as a bodyguard but not doing much in the role. The return to Helsing roots is something rare for this season of What We Do in the Shadows, and the writers show us that that has not gone away.
Speaking of Guillermo, I am curious to know who is on the other end of his phone. My guess is that he either has a romantic partner that is not Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak) or he is speaking with his mother. From what I know about the next episode, these speculations might just be answered. However, we would have to wait a little longer to confirm just who it is.
I would also like to note Nandor’s decision to hang out “with the boys [and Nadja]” along with the certain decision he makes in regard to his wife, Marwa (Parisa Fakhri). While we do see that she wants to participate in the mockumentary, unfortunately, that is not what Nandor is interested in. I would love to see more of this character in the future of the series. However, there is something about Nandor’s dynamic with Guillermo that suggests otherwise. To add, something about this dynamic in the next two episodes of the season wants to be there but we will have to encounter ironies along the way first.
Final Thoughts on What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 Episode 4
“The Night Market” could very well be a two-parter episode in terms of the issues confronted and how they are resolved. While the writers instead give us one 27-minute episode, I would love to see more of the Night Market in future episodes of the show. This episode weighs well on the aspect of belief and how the existence of otherworldly entities is dealt with.
The next episode will be lovely yet quite a headache. Characters will be concerned about the nightclub, we see the return of a friendly character, and two others will develop finely. Until then, remember to believe!
Jemaine Clement’s What We Do in the Shadows Season 4 is now airing on 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.
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