The first episode of What We Do in the Shadows Season 6 is called “The Return of Jerry” and it’s the usual crazy and dark comedy that you’d expect from What We Do in the Shadows. A long-lost vampire roommate who has been gone for decades is reintroduced in this episode— so fans are in for a treat. The familiar Staten Island crew is now complete as their fifth roommate, Jerry (Michael Patrick O’Brien), wakes up. Jerry was once a key part of the gang’s big plans. Then all of a sudden Jerry comes back, and things get very crazy and funny. Let’s look at the episode in pieces.
Main Events of What We Do in the Shadows S06E01
• Jerry’s Return: The forgotten vampire roommate wakes up after 50 years.
• Guillermo Moves Out: Guillermo leaves the household, living in Laszlo’s garden shed.
• Vampires’ Mission Confusion: Jerry’s return prompts confusion about their world domination plans.
• Nadja’s Job Ambition: Nadja rekindles her desire to work in the human world—reigniting conflict with Laszlo.
• Jerry’s New Role: Jerry joins the Vampire Council to find a new purpose.
What We Do in the Shadows Season 6 Episode 1: “The Return of Jerry” Recap
The episode starts with Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), Colin Robinson and Nadja’s doll relaxing in the living room. Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) has moved out since he came back to life at the end of last season, so there is a noticeable absence. Guillermo has moved out and is no longer living in the rathole under the stairs. The vampires are now taking some time to think about what to do with his old space. Laszlo wants to use it for something else, but Nadja tells him not to because she knows Nandor still has a soft spot for his old familiar.
They are arguing about whether the room used to hold Laszlo’s “precious” pornographic books or Nandor’s workout gear. They know that Jerry, their fifth roommate who has been sleeping for a long time, is the only one who can tell them for sure. Unfortunately, Jerry has been asleep since 1976, which was a lot longer than he had planned. The vampires choose to wake him up.
It took a false start when they opened a coffin and found it full of rotting bodies from one of Laszlo’s failed experiments. But finally, the crew wakes Jerry up. When he wakes up from his long sleep, he thinks they’ve already taken over the New World, but they’ve only made it as far as their Staten Island street. Jerry is shown modern life, which makes him very confused, but he doesn’t give up.
As Jerry gets used to things, he has trouble remembering Colin Robinson’s name and keeps calling him by the wrong one. Meanwhile, Colin loves to bore Jerry with modern trivia. In a very funny scene, Colin asks Jerry what he thinks about the huge online argument over whether a dress is white and gold or black and blue. For Jerry, this introduction to the 21st century is just plain silly. He’s more interested in learning about the strange human camera crew that is filming their every move.
While this is going on, Nadja and Nandor visit Guillermo, who is now living in Laszlo’s old garden shed. Guillermo says that he agreed to rent the shed from Nandor for $350 a week when he realized he couldn’t afford his own place. This scene also gives Nandor a hint that he misses Guillermo, even though he doesn’t say it directly. When it comes to Guillermo’s makeshift living conditions, Nadja is disgusted by the fact that the shed doesn’t have proper plumbing.
When they get back to the house, Jerry asks a very important question: What is their current dark purpose? This makes everyone in the group think for a moment. It turned out that Jerry was the one who inspired many of their more ambitious plans, such as taking over the world. The vampires say that they got off track over the years, which means that many parts of their original plan are still not finished.
When Jerry comes back, it brings up old arguments again. He remembers that Nadja and Laszlo weren’t talking to each other before he went to sleep because Nadja was interested in people and wanted to get a real job, which Laszlo strongly opposed. We have the same argument again when Nadja says she wants to work for someone else. As things get worse between the couple, Colin Robinson, the energy vampire, enjoys the bad feelings that are going around the house. But Colin overdoes it with the extra energy, and he ends up so bloated that he almost bursts out of his clothes.
In the middle of all this chaos, Guillermo speaks up for what’s right. He says that they should talk things over with Jerry instead of using violence or supernatural solutions. The vampires get together with a variety of weapons, including Colin Robinson’s crossbow, for what could have been a deadly fight. But Guillermo’s tact wins out, and everyone agrees to help Jerry find something new to do outside the house.
At the Vampire Council headquarters, Jerry meets The Guide in the last few scenes of the episode. Jerry and The Guide hit it off right away, and she’s happy to give him a role on the council because he’s excited about the idea of ruling the world. At the end of the episode, Jerry is ready to take on the world again but in a slightly different way than he planned.
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