#guidor

Jerry

I despised this man on my first watch of the season, partly because he had a very one track mind, partly because we hadn't seen him before so I wasn't used to him, and mostly because he ended up with The Guide after FX Networks teased The Guide and Nadja fancying each other (I used to have screenshots of the post they made but unfortunately I think they removed it and my screenshot has gone missing, more on that later.)

I'm still really not a fan of him, I find him a little grating with his treatment of Colin, him trying to establish complete power in a household where the power is shared, and his hatred of humans. I think he offered some great points, questioning why the vampires are so comfortable around humans now and are fine with having their lives broadcasted, but I don't think he served enough of a purpose in the season to justify bringing him back from the dead.

Relationships

I really enjoyed seeing Laszlo and Nadja in a different light. Couples do fight, they have been together for, what is it now, five centuries? We know they get in arguments because they did in Collaboration and have mentioned times when Laszlo refused to go down on Nadja. In the past we have only really seen the sexual side of their romance so I think it was great seeing a bit more of their marriage. I think it's really sweet that we saw even when they are fighting they always make up afterwards, plus I'm a big fan of the cutesy declarations of love, especially from Laszlo, that came out of their poor communication.

I think they took us for fools a bit with Nandor and Guillermo's connection. Let's be real, we all expected a queer love story like we've seen in Our Flag Means Death because the show has a huge LGBTQ+ audience and the two characters are literally in love. If you don't see it... ok, I guess you're entitled to your opinion but you have to acknowledge that the writers teased it for 6 seasons. I think the writers dismissing fans by saying they didn't want to put it in a big gay sex scene was pretty reductionist. They have straight couples in the show who are in established relationships and those relationships are expressed in ways that aren't just sex scenes. I really think they should have had these characters either end up together or at least acknowledge their feelings in a piece-to-camera moment. I know they probably wanted to keep the tension for more seasons, but when they realised this would be the last season of the show they could easily have written in a small scene.

I will say their moment in the secret ending was very cute, but it wasn't really the two characters ending up together as they were playing them in a different context. Props to them for including it at all but I think it was a bit of a "ahh leave us alone, we gave you a kiss."

Nadja and The Guide have to have been the biggest heartbreak for me. As a a lesbian, I did find it a bit disheartening to see very little rep for our community in a queer show, not just through these two characters but even with the jokes and comments they've made before. For example, they have explicitly stated that Laszlo and Nandor fuck, suggested that Guillermo and Nandor do, hinted at Laszlo fancying Sean, but there are next to no mentions of Nadja - who is canonically pansexual!!! - liking any women or even The Guide doing so when she rejected Nandor multiple times (I WILL COME BACK TO THIS) and was constantly looking a Nadja with an expression that can only be described as love or at least lust.

The show writers knew their audiences were rooting for this couple - they literally reposted a comment saying "just make The Guide and Nadja kiss already" - but it's like they're afraid of lesbians or something. I think this was the least likely relationship for us to get out of the show but it was so sad comparing the way The Guide looked at Nadja in season 1-5 to how she looks at her in season 6, especially after she locked her in a cage because she was craving her attention so much. The love completely vanished from her eyes and she was pushed into multiple awkward situations with men thirsting after and borderline harassing her for the sake of a few laughs.

Nandor and The Guide

This is technically a similar point but it deserves a whole new paragraph.

I don't really understand why Nandor switched his affections to The Guide, my guess is that it was because he was looking for somebody else to project his feelings for Guillermo onto but that was never really addressed. I think this plot, rather than teasing endgame, could have been a fantastic setup for a love confession or some conversation in passing about how The Guide thinks Nandor is really just looking for a distraction from Guillermo, but instead the plot was chopped in and chopped out with no real conclusion or progression of the storyline.

I think it had its funny moments and that scene in the graveyard was so strong, but it was a waste of potential.

At the very least it meant we got to see more of Kristen Schaal's character in the show so that's a bonus but I wish they had done more with it.

Laszlo and Colin

This season really had me thinking the writers were going to put in an emotionally mature plotline and have Colin recognise his father as Laszlo. Unfortunately, I was baited (again).

Their bonding over the monster was absolutely adorable, Colin desperately seeking his dad's approval not knowing that he had fathered him, Laszlo looking like a proud parent when Colin fixed his creation and made him less aggressive. Absolute cinema.

They even had an episode dedicated to their relationship, so you would think that would be the perfect time for Colin to put aside his doubt and listen to Laszlo when he is telling him "I parented you when you were a hundred years old!" Unfortunately we never had that moment. Instead, we saw Laszlo talk through his own abuse from his father, have the group dismiss and sexualise it, then have Colin Robinson crave the affections of the man who technically beat on his dad for years.

Now, call me crazy, but that's not the storyline that I wanted to see. Not only does it send a bad message to survivors of abuse, but it also completely overwrites the plot they built up in season 4! I just found this whole thing very irksome, it feels like the writing was under planned and, if we're being honest, really poorly executed.

Pee-pee poo-poo jokes

I think this season was very funny at times, the monster mash jokes, the sleep hypnosis ones, etc. However! It definitely had its stinkers too (pun not intended).

Aside from some very boring skits with Nadja using a banana phone, selling feet pics, and doing other things that just don't fit with her character, there was a strange fixation on piss and shit this season. I don't know if it's just because Nandor had a janitorial job or what but I feel like in past seasons they had similar humour, the difference being that they dialled it down a lot. For example, the "Oh, Guillermo. You really should drink more water" line in an earlier season. Flawless, exceptional delivery, hilarious. In this season most of them fell flat, like the argument between Nadja and Nandor: "You could have had any job and you chose to be a Janitor? All you do is clean up shit-" "AND piss!". There is no real punchline and they bring this kind of thing up so often that bigger plotlines are being buried in toilet humour. It does get a little bit draining after a while and I really wish they'd kept the same line of comedy as previous seasons.

I mean season four in my eyes was peak because the funny moments flowed more and felt more in keeping with the characterisation and dynamics established in previous seasons. For example, Guillermo being shipped in a box across the ocean twice, Nadja not knowing the difference between a baby and a raccoon, The Guide being a complete and total freak (affectionately said, of course), the baron - a burned up ancient being - and the sire getting makeovers with the girlies. That was some strong material! There was maybe one interaction with Colin saying he wanted to go through Guillermo's shit but it made more sense coming out of his mouth because it is his job to drain people and make them uncomfortable.

As well as this though there were a lot of jokes that just weren't funny, like Nadja with the suicide hotline on a banana phone or Colin Robinson in a fat suit. I think it was alright at the start but when they put him on the motorised scooter... I just didn't laugh. I think they should've kept the idea of it all going to his head and him getting a giant swollen brain when people are arguing.

I feel like the writing in season 6 just got a bit lazy and the jokes went with it. I don't think it was as bad as I thought it was when I first watched it though, at the very least Guillermo puts a stop to the jokes when they're happening.

THAT kiss

I'm not gonna lie, of all the characters I expected to kiss in this show this combo would have been the lowest on my list. That whole situation was kind of hilarious to me and I think it had a lot to do with the shock value. Well played, FX.

Plots

Now I love most of the storylines in this season. I think the idea to make Cravensworth's monster was absolutely fantastic, Nandor throwing a paddy because he is rejected by a potential romantic partner and building up an army was so in character and melodramatic, Come Out And Play I think is a great episode. I am also a big fan of The Baron and The Sire settling down as a domestic little family in the woods with their kids and dog.

There were so many loose ends that weren't tied up, though.

Why did Colin Robinson start randomly punching Guillermo if Guillermo is a human?

What was she purpose of Sean's heart attack if they didn't turn him?

Why was Jerry brought back just to be murdered?

What was the point in giving Nandor more wishes if he was never going to use them?

So many things don't make sense without headcanons.

Cyclical Nature

I know a lot of people were unhappy with the ending, saying that there should have been more character development and a strong finale for the show, but I think the one they chose works really well. It makes sense for the characters to continue as they are, they have been the same for their full vampiric lifetimes, they're not going to change in however many years the show was filmed over. I love that the camera crew is a repeating theme throughout their unlife, I only wish there had been more closure for Guillermo.

I think this episode just proved that the characters are creatures of habit and they will continue as they have without addressing their emotions or moving on from their typical routine. I think it's quite comforting to know that the show has ended and we won't be missing anything. If Nandermo was endgame, we would have been begging for another season. If new plots were opened, we would have mourned the show. By making the ending full circle they have given us the chance to say goodbye to the characters without feeling like we are going to be missing out on huge developments in their lives. They will always revert back to their usual personalities. Their days will continue as we have seen them so far. We can let the show rest and continue it ourselves in fandom if we feel the need to do so.

I think the end to the show was quite graceful in a way a lot of us couldn't accept a year ago.

I have personal beef with the finale because of what they did to the Guide and that is where the point I just made absolutely doesn't hold up but I will discuss that separately.

GIVE US JUSTICE FOR THE GUIDE

I have given it some consideration and am going to make a separate post to talk about the horrifying, unfunny, tone deaf, borderline misogynistic treatment of The Guide in this season. My girl was mischaracterised so much and I need space to write a whole essay about it.