What We Do in the Shadows is a fun and inventive spin on the vampire genre and the latest season of the series has introduced all sorts of new threats and problems for the series' beloved bloodsuckers, including something known as "brain scramblies".
There are many films and television shows that have taken a modern look at vampires and monsters, but What We Do in the Shadows is the perfect blend of horror and comedy. The television series has proven to be an extremely satisfying follow-up to Taika Waititi’s film of the same name and helped push his outrageous ideas to even more compelling places. Now that the vampires have been introduced, the series is able to get really crazy with the other elements of this supernatural world.
The current season of What We Do in the Shadows has added zombies and ghosts into the mix, but it’s also played around with the lesser known powers and restraints that vampires are forced to deal with. The vampires' ability to “glamour” their subject into subservience is a vital skill, but the newest episode of the series explores the dangers of going too far in that area.
What We Do In The Shadows: Brain Scramblies Explained
Something that vampires have to worry about is that they can commit “over hypnosis”, where they hypnotize or glamour someone too far and turn their brain into mush as a result. Over hypnosis, or “brain scramblies” as it’s also more casually known, has been a problem for centuries for vampires and it strangely has a level of synchronicity with football players who are prone to head injuries and brain damage. It makes for the perfect cover. Laszlo and Nandor accidentally wind up with a brain scramblies situation on their hand when they both double hypnotize Sean, someone at a Super Bowl party who learns that they’re vampires.
The common practice that’s been resorted to with past cases of over hypnosis is to put the subject out of their misery and kill them. This is what Nandor proposes that they do with Sean, but Laszlo is reluctant to pull off such a brutal move, especially after they’ve all vowed to not do any killing. This puts the vampires in a tough situation, but they resolve to give Sean a humane final day before going through with the execution. However, moments before the execution comes to pass it turns out that Sean’s brain is wiped in a way that no longer renders him a threat. Furthermore, he’s still happy and able to comfortably exist in the simple life that he’s left with, so he’s ultimately allowed to live. It’s a much needed burst of positivity for the vampires and hints at some of the larger moral dilemmas and difficult decisions that may arise in the future of What We Do in the Shadows.