What We Do in the Shadows is a triumph of comedy and horror and the show’s second season has been taking risks and pushing its characters to exciting places, especially Nadja.
What We Do in the Shadows looks at a group of vampires who try to remain inconspicuous in their Staten Island home as they slowly plot for domination over the community. The first season of the show does an excellent job with this extreme fish out of water story, but the show’s second season takes the material to bigger and better places. Only two episodes in, the show’s sophomore year looks like it will mix things up in many ways just as these vampires have started to build some semblance of comfort. It’s already proven to be a worthy successor to Taika Waititi’s original film and has been far more satisfying than a simple sequel feature.
In its infancy, What We Do in the Shadows was content to just look at vampires and how they fit into this world, but through the show’s progression it’s allowed other monsters to enter the picture. The feature film and the first season cover werewolves, but season two is making sure to hit some important subject matter. Zombies and ghosts have already been covered in the early stages of the show's second season. However, the introduction of ghosts to this universe leads to a very exciting development for Nadja, both in terms of her vampire and ghost counterpart.
What We Do In The Shadows: Nadja’s Living Doll Is Herself
The second episode of What We Do in the Shadows’ season 2 sees the vampires hold a séance where they happen to summon ghosts of themselves. Since these individuals technically died when they became vampires, they also have ghostly equivalents. This event leads to some unconventional therapy for the vampires where they get to weigh in with these other versions of themselves and process how far they’ve come since gaining their vampire status. Most of these ghosts have simple unfinished business, but Nadja’s ghost is much more empathetic towards her, and she won’t be able to rest until Nadja finds fulfillment in her life.
As the other vampires resolve their ghosts’ business, they all get to cross over and find peace. However, Nadja and her ghost bond so much and form a real connection that they devise a way to stay together, at least for the immediate future. Nadja transfers her ghost into a creepy doll, which Nadja keeps by her side. Nadja keeps the living doll a secret, but it appears that she’ll be a strange addition to the season and a foil for Nadja until she finds a sense of happiness this season. It’s a clever way for there to be two Nadjas on the show at once, but also for Nadja to be her own best friend. What We Do in the Shadows is never in shortage of weirdness, but this double Nadja dynamic is definitely promising in regards to the show becoming even more bizarre during season 2.