The Cloak of Duplication

"**The Cloak of Duplication**" is the second episode of the third season of *What We Do in the Shadows*. It premiered on September 2, 2021.

## Synopsis

A forbidden artifact is used to help Nandor court a health club employee.

## Plot Summary

Nadja and Nandor agree to work together as heads of the Vampiric Council of the Eastern Seaboard of the New World, working as a team, even though each wants to secretly overthrow the other.

The Guide gives the Staten Island roommates a tour of the Temple of Blood-Devourers. In the Chamber of Curiosities, a room where hundreds of magical relics are kept, the group find a heavily bolted door containing the Sire, the first ever vampire. The group are intrigued by the Cloak of Duplication, a magical cloak that disguises the wearer as another person the cloak previously touched.

Laszlo and Colin Robinson show no interest in becoming Vampiric Council heads and instead dedicate their time to the temple’s library. Laszlo explores the world’s oldest collection of pornography while Colin wishes to learn more about energy vampires in anticipation for his upcoming 100th birthday.

Meanwhile, Nandor has been attending Massive Fitness, a 24-hour gym, and has become attracted to the receptionist, Meg, but is struggling to ask her out. Believing Laszlo to be more confident, he gives Laszlo the Cloak of Duplication and asks him to disguise himself as Nandor to seduce Meg. Too lazy to do the job, Laszlo gives the task to Colin instead. Colin, disguised as Nandor, attempts to woo Meg by negging her, leading her to get annoyed and call security to throw him out. Colin passes the cloak back to Laszlo, who apologises to Meg but comes on too strong when trying to seduce her, leading him to also get thrown out by security after quickly hypnotizing her to forget the incident.

Nandor, Nadja and Colin travel to Queens to confront a young group of vampires who have not been paying their dues. The group, led by Wes Blankenship, claim they reject the authority of the Vampiric Council and have set up their own group, the Council of Vampires. The interrogation goes nowhere as Nadja and Nandor cannot agree on their approach and Colin becomes distracted by the presence of Dave Lewis, a fellow energy vampire member. Eventually, while Nandor tries to peacefully negotiate, Nadja suddenly rips out Wes' heart, forcing the group to obey them.

The cloak is then passed to Guillermo, who succeeds in inviting Meg for a meal in the gym café. Guillermo ends up discussing his relationship with Nandor, leading Meg to believe the two have a romantic connection and she tells Guillermo to be more open about his feelings. Guillermo feels overwhelmed and excuses himself.

Believing that Laszlo has successfully spoken to Meg, Nandor returns to the gym. He asks her out, but she reveals that she is a lesbian and has no interest in men. Nandor hypnotizes her into forgetting the conversation and leaves. Later, Nadja accuses him of being weak and Nandor asserts that he is just feeling lonely.

During the end credits, the Sire begins to break through his locked door.

## Cast

### Starring

* Kayvan Novak as Nandor
* Matt Berry as Laszlo
* Natasia Demetriou as Nadja
* Harvey Guillén as Guillermo
* Mark Proksch as Colin Robinson

### Guest starring

* Tyler Alvarez as Wes Blankenship
* Lauren Collins as Meg
* Kristen Schaal as The Guide

### Co-starring

* Nicholas Grimes as Fitness Co-Worker
* Mercedes Morris as Ashley
* Nabil Rajo as Dave Lewis
* Karly Bon, Kae Kae Lee, Bianca Melchior, Holly "Pocket" Horner and Indiana Mehta as Wraith Dancers

## Production

* Kayvan Novak practiced the impersonations of his co-stars by running through the lines with them as well as studying recordings they provided in order to get a sense of their rhythms. Novak also admitted in an interview with Newsweek that he'd even practiced the voice of Matt Berry in the shower to get it right.

## Soundtrack

* ***You're Dead*** performed by Norma Tanega (opening credits)
* ***Poppin Non-Stop*** performed by Photronique
* ***Peg*** by Steely Dan, performed by Kayvan Novak
* ***Jump and Wave Them Hands Around*** performed by Photronique
* ***Tonight I'm Not Just Pretending*** performed by Miklos Gafni

## References

1. ↑ "Listings - WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS on FX" - The Futon Critic
2. ↑ "The Cloak of Duplication" - iMDb
3. ↑ "S3 · E2 · Cloak of Duplication" - Tunefind