Review: What We Do In The Shadows, "Sunrise, Sunset" | Season 4, Episode 10
A terrific season ends with a return to the status quo (maybe)
Back when I started writing TV reviews for The A.V. Club (about 15 years ago!), I sometimes bristled in print at the notion advanced by some colleagues and commenters that the best television of the 21st century was obviously superior to the best television in the 20th century. The argument in favor of modern TV has been that the medium is now more “novelistic” and “cinematic,” telling long-form stories with more sophistication and artistry than any “case of the week” show ever could. A common takedown term aimed at older TV — which still puts my teeth on edge — is “reset button,” which implies there are no stakes to sitcoms and dramas that tell complete-in-one-episode stories, because each time the closing credits hit, everything that happened in that half-hour or hour gets wiped away.
But it was never that simple, was it? Even in shows that keep reverting to their core premises week after week, things change. Cast members come and go. Maybe a character gets married, or has a kid, or finds a new job. Often the plots on any given week are informed by what’s actually going on in the world. In the ‘60s, for example, TV westerns that debuted in the ‘50s featured episodes about racism, about women’s rights, and even about groups of 19th century youngsters that look a lot like hippies.