Nandermo is the slash ship between Nandor The Relentless and Guillermo de la Cruz from the What We Do in the Shadows fandom.
Contents
- 1 Canon
- 2 Fanon
- 3 Lists
- 4 Fandom
Canon[]
Nandor is a centuries-old vampire and Guillermo is his familiar, having served him for 12 years in the hopes that Nandor will some day turn him into a vampire. Guillermo frequently addresses Nandor as "master." In episode one, the two celebrate Guillermo's ten year anniversary of working for him; he hopes that Nandor will finally turn him to mark the occasion, but much to his chagrin, Nandor only gifts him a glitter portrait he made of them together.
Late in season one, Guillermo discovers that he is a descendant of the famous vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, and proves himself to be very skilled at killing vampires. During the season two finale, Guillermo's skills allow him to save Nandor and his roommates Nadja and Laszlo from being sentenced to death by the vampiric council. Following this, in the first episode of season three, Nandor decrees that Guillermo is being promoted from familiar to bodyguard.
Later in season three, Nandor enlists Guillermo to use the "cloak of duplication" - a magical cloak that allows the person wearing it to assume the exact physical appearance of someone else - to help him seduce Meg, a receptionist at a gym that he is attracted to. Guillermo takes Meg out for dinner and talks about himself as Nandor, but Meg comes to the conclusion that Nandor has feelings for Guillermo. Guillermo is flustered by this and hastily leaves.
In season three, Nandor reconnects with his on-again, off-again werewolf lover of forty years, Gail. Throughout the episode, Guillermo shows signs of being jealous of Gail, though he plays it off as simply wanting to spare Nandor's feelings in the event that she rejects him again. Guillermo later angrily confronts Gail when she is revealed to have started seeing someone new, and proudly declares that while he is Nandor's official bodyguard, he is "also his heart-guard." Later in the episode, Guillermo goes to hug Nandor but is awkwardly rejected. Nandor does, however, gift him a pillow before carrying him and flying off together into the night. Later in the season, Nandor suffers an existential crisis and, disgruntled with his life as a vampire, joins a cult led by "former vampire" Jan that seeks to turn vampires into humans. Guillermo rescues him, whereupon Nandor reveals that he no longer wishes to convert Guillermo into a vampire, as it is a miserable existence and he cares for Guillermo too much to subject him to such suffering. He also admits to have grown a "certain affection" for Guillermo.
At the end of season three, Nandor reveals that he plans to visit his ancestral homeland, but does not plan to take Guillermo with him. Guillermo is enraged at this, and a fight breaks out between the two. Nandor soon reveals that it was all a test, and that he has deemed Guillermo worthy of accompanying him on the pilgrimage back to his home country, where he plans to turn Guillermo into a vampire. Guillermo later states to the documentary crew that he is excited to be able to travel the world with "his Nandor," but quickly corrects himself and says "my master."
Season four sees Nandor resurrecting one of his many late wives, Marwa, in the hopes of remarrying her, and enlisting the help of a djinn to arrange the "perfect" wedding. In episode six, Nandor reveals that he and Guillermo will often watch movies together on a rainy day. In this same episode Nandor make his final wish to the djinn; that Marwa "would like all the same things that he likes." After her wedding to Nandor, Marwa approaches Guillermo and tells him she "doesn't know what she would do without him" before smothering him with physical affection. Seeing as Marwa was not affectionate with Guillermo prior to the djinn granting Nandor's wishes, this essentially acted as confirmation that Nandor has been harboring secret feelings for Guillermo. At the end of the episode, Nandor comes across a sleeping Guillermo, having had a penis drawn on his forehead by Little Colin and the Nadja doll. Nandor shoos them away before trying to wipe off the drawing (to no avail) and carefully tucking Guillermo under a blanket, gently telling him to go back to sleep.
Throughout the series, there is continual evidence of Nandor having a soft side for Guillermo despite being generally dismissive of him on the surface, such as calling him "my sweet, sweet Guillermo" and frequently carrying him while flying. Guillermo also has plush dolls of him and Nandor that he hand-made and frequently sleeps with.
Nandor is confirmed to be pansexual, and Guillermo's actor, Harvey Guillen, has described Guillermo as queer in interviews.
Fanon[]
Nandermo has been a popular ship among What We Do in the Shadows fans ever since their dynamic was established in season one. It is often discussed among fans whether or not Nandermo will become an official couple in any subsequent seasons of the show. The "opposites attract" aspect to the relationship - Nandor being a vampire who wants to be human and Guillermo being a human who wants to be a vampire - is often talked about by Nandermo shippers as a key component of their dynamic.
A frequent theme in fanfiction is Nandor turning Guillermo into a vampire, or Guillermo willingly offering up some of his own blood to help keep Nandor sustained.
Both Harvey Guillen and Nandor's actor, Kayvan Novak, are fans of the romantic pairing between their characters, and Guillen has even described their dynamic as "hom*oerotic." Guillen frequently shares Nandermo fan art onto his Instagram story, coupled with love songs from the Instagram music feature.
In more recent interviews (the Vulture Festival 2023) the executive producer Paul Simms described their relationship as a "profound love, but not in a romantic way". Paul Simms and Yana Gorskaya (director and producer) told the audience that their relationship, described as "will-they-won't-they" will take others directions.
Lists[]
Fandom[]
FAN FICTION
- Nandor/Guillermo tag on AO3
