I’ve been a fan of FX’s What We Do In The Shadows since season one––I even dressed up as Nadja for Halloween one year. After four hilarious seasons, I‘m still hooked. But what really makes this show a familiar favorite is Guillermo de la Cruz, played by the fabulous Harvey Guillén.
Guillermo & Nandor
Guillermo knew he wanted to be a vampire ever since he saw Antonio Banderas in his favorite movie, Interview With A Vampire. After three seasons of negotiations with his master, Nandor the Relentless (played by the handsome Kayvan Novak), Guillermo finally gets the confirmation of his vampire transition…until he doesn’t. As Guillermo continues to advise Nandor this season, we see how much power Guillermo actually has over Nandor. Especially when it comes to providing legal counsel over Nandor’s genie wishes and planning the wedding for the vampire-groomzilla of the century.
After rooting for three seasons for Guillermo to finally turn—getting his immortal wish fulfilled—I’m not so sure I want that for him anymore. I love how confident Guillermo is now, even with some of the other vampires in the house. He even continues to surprise himself—especially at the night market when he’s forced to fight his own master in front of a crowd of vampires and ghouls. As much as I want what Guillermo wants, his character arc this season is changing my mind. I hope he continues to realize how amazing he is without the fangs and keeps his Van Helsing legacy alive.
Guillermo & Nadja
As the accountant for Nadja’s vampire nightclub this season, Guillermo is in charge of the books. According to him, the nightclub is doing great! Not great enough for a vampire mansion remodel (although we do get a hilarious Property Brothers parody this season), but successful enough for Guillermo to surprise us all. Our documentary camera crew catches Guillermo giving back to his human parents and even bribing a cameraman to keep it quiet. This was something rather unexpected from Guillermo’s character and I really enjoyed it.
For a character that was painted as extremely loyal, it’s nice to see Guillermo go against his original mold and Robin Hood his way into a nicer couch for his mom. We also find out this season Nadja (played by queen Natasia Demetriou) is hiding some funds and rubbing off on Guillermo in the best possible way—inspiring him to lie and fight for what he deserves.
Guillermo, Laszlo, & Colin Robinson
Whoever thought of making Colin Robinson (played by hilariously boring Mark Proksch) into a fast-growing man-child deserves a raise. We get to see Guillermo’s natural parental tendencies come alive and his gentle parenting with Colin Robinson helps Laszlo (played by legendary Matt Berry) realize Colin Robinson isn’t some sort of hobby he can mold.
I love how Guillermo sticks up for Colin Robinson this season. We get to see Guillermo truly embrace his unique personality and show his found family of vampires what makes this version of Colin Robinson so unique. I’m sure little Colin is also grateful to have Guillermo as a supportive parent, no matter how many times he tries to kill him with his dangerous house pranks.
Guillermo & His Own Familia
One of my favorite episodes this season is when Guillermo finally invites his human family to the vampire mansion. We get proud familia commentary from his mom and abuela, and a very relatable tio who questions Guillermo’s promotion and his new girlfriend. This episode is so special, as we also get to witness Guillermo come out to his familia, who is suddenly activated by their generational lineage and ready to kill some vampires.
Taken all together, it’s clear Guillermo is the glue of both families. When we first meet him in season one, he’s a shy familiar who is patiently waiting his turn, people pleasing into oblivion, never able to speak up for himself. By season four, Guillermo is taking control of his found family, running a vampire night club, and in charge of his life—slaying enemy vampires and growing into a confident familiar who might become a vampire…one day. Whatever the show decides to do with Guillermo’s fate moving forward, I’ll be watching until the very end or in vampire terms—forever.
