DISCLAIMER: This recap of Reginald the Vampire Season 2 Episode 8, “We Can Be Heroes (Just for One Day),” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
It’s time to crank up some David Bowie.
“We Can Be Heroes (Just for One Day)” finds our titular vamp contemplating what it means to be a hero in the face of, admittedly, failure after failure. This episode has quite a few touching character beats. While it doesn’t move the needle significantly regarding plot progression, we see Reggie overcome emotional obstacles, Todd move through his grief, Sarah take the next step and Angela and Maurice brace themselves for the fight. It’s a stepping stone for what’s to come in the final two episodes.
RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Reginald the Vampire episode, “Terminal Eternity”
Reginald the Vampire’s “We Can Be Heroes (Just for One Day)”
We open with Reggie (Jacob Batalon), Maurice (Mandela Van Peebles) and Nikki (Christin Park) winding up in the Slushy Shack. Well, ostensibly, it’s a Slushy Shack on an alternate plane. Maurice tries to open the doors, but they’re locked. The trio brainstorms who could be behind this — Balestro seems to be the consensus. After all, they’re only hours away from the angel arriving on Earth to eradicate all vampires.
Meanwhile, Angela (Savannah Basley) lands in the Slushy Shack employee breakroom with a stake aimed at her heart. It appears she was planning to stake herself while in Paris. That’s heartbreaking. Angela emerges from the breakroom. Maurice informs her about Mike and Sarah’s respective deaths. Angela empathizes with Reggie. She knows how much he loves Sarah.
Nine Months Ago
Next, Reggie reminisces on a shift at the Slushy Shack nine months ago. He asks Sarah if she believes in Heaven. They discuss the specifics of what might await them in the afterlife. Of course, we know Sarah was forced to worship angels growing up. Todd (Aren Buchholz) scolds them for talking while there are paying customers. He teaches Reggie, Sarah and Ashley (Marguerite Hanna) how to get customers to fork over more money. It’s the proven Todd Way™.
RELATED: Mandela Van Peebles Talks Maurice’s Headspace in Reginald the Vampire Season 2
Then, Sarah (Em Haine) finds headphones and what looks like an MP3 player. A voice welcomes her to the place where she belongs. She asks the voice where she is. Said voice tells Sarah that she already knows the answers to her questions. Cryptic. Sure enough, the voice confirms she’s in Heaven. Meanwhile, Reggie tries to cast a spell to unlock the doors. Unfortunately, no spells work from Justine’s grimoire.
Maurice encourages Reggie to forge ahead. Keep calm and carry on. If anyone can figure a way out of this situation, it’s Reginald Andres. He’s a hero. Reggie doesn’t feel like one, though. He admits he couldn’t thwart Balestro’s plan, failed to save Sarah and Mike — the list goes on. Hey, being a hero doesn’t mean you’re without flaws or failures. Plus, it wouldn’t be a hero’s journey without a moment of hitting rock bottom.
A Confession
Next, Maurice gets something off his chest. He fed on Reggie three times before turning the latter into a vampire. Of course, Maurice glamoured Reggie after every feeding session so he wouldn’t remember. Reggie forgives Maurice for utilizing him as a blood bag. Why? Because Maurice eventually glamoured Reggie to tell Sarah how he felt about her. It’s all water under the bridge.
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Later, Todd and Ashley try to unlock the Slushy Shack in the real world. When it doesn’t unlock, Todd formulates a plan to gain access. Nobody implements an unauthorized locking without Todd the Manager’s knowledge. Anyway, Ashley senses that Nikki is inside. They’ve felt it since Nikki vanished from their arms. We see Nikki inside the Shack as she prays for Ashley to find her.
Then, we flashback to 51 years ago, with Angela teaching Maurice, a baby vamp, how to feed. When dinner is over, Angela glamours their food to make like a tree and leave. Maurice admits he can see outside for miles. His senses have heightened and sharpened tenfold. Maurice is hopeful for the future—it’s theirs for the taking.
On Her Terms
Meanwhile, Maurice learns that Angela planned to stake herself in Paris. He can’t believe she’d go down without a fight. Angela claims she wants to end her immortal life on her terms, not Balestro’s. Savannah Basley delivers a beautiful performance here.
RELATED: Em Haine on Sarah’s Journey in Reginald the Vampire Season 2
Next, we see Todd and Ashley crawling through the vents of the Slushy Shack. The pair have a heart-to-heart in said vents. Todd admits that through his grief over losing Mike, he’s learned he can love whoever he wants, however he wants. Ashley grins upon hearing this, loving that Todd is finally living his truth. Aw.
In Heaven, Sarah continues asking the voice questions about her new situation. She wonders if she’s a ghost. Suddenly, she sees Reggie, who’s still in the alternate universe (Potentially?) Slushy Shack, materialize on one of the photos of her. She briefly appears in that space with him as a “ghost.” Reggie barrels toward her. Unfortunately, she vanishes. Reggie insists to Maurice, Angela and Nikki that he has seen Sarah.
Nikki and Ashley
Later, Nikki reassures Reggie that Sarah is trying to tell him something. Reggie pivots to his supposed hero status. He asks Nikki if she’s met her fair share of heroes over the centuries. Nikki smiles, describing Ashley as her hero. Double aw. The scene shifts into a black-and-white nightclub, wherein Nikki, donning a sparkly evening dress, sings to Ashley, who sits in the audience. They wear a suit. After her performance, Ashley heads onstage to embrace Nikki.
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Meanwhile, Ashley and Todd are still in the vents. Ashley expresses their fear that they won’t see Nikki again or save her in time. Todd encourages them to keep the faith — at least Nikki is still alive (for now). Elsewhere, Reggie makes Angela her first slushy (which she hates). She tells Reggie that she’s glad he’ll be there with Maurice at the end. This remark takes Reggie by surprise. Why won’t Angela be there too?
Next, we see Angela in the employee breakroom as she tries to stake herself again. Maurice flits by her side in an instant. He attempts to talk her out of it. When that doesn’t work, Maurice puts the stake to his chest. Maurice declares that he must leave this world with her. An emotional Angela realizes Maurice plans to make her “walk that last mile.” They decide to stay on this plane and go out together. Then, they smooch.
First Meeting
Later, Sarah reminisces about when Reggie applied to work at the Slushy Shack. Reggie was a college student at OSU (Ohio State University), studying business management. Todd’s knee-jerk reaction was to reject him, but Sarah welcomed him with open arms.
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Then, Sarah, in Heaven, wonders if there’s a God. Perhaps she could meet them. The voice incessantly tells her to “exit through the gift shop.” Sure enough, Sarah sees a door marked “Gift Shop.” She turns in the other direction, avoiding that door.
Meanwhile, Reggie and Nikki play “Never Have I Ever.” Maurice and Angela join them. Reggie imagines their whole gang, Sarah included, sitting around the table, laughing and playing the game. It’s a bittersweet moment as Reggie contemplates his fate while grieving a loss.
To Be a Hero
Suddenly, it hits him — he knows what being a hero means and how they should approach the Balestro situation. He reminds the group that free will is one thing the angels can’t control. He encourages the other vamps to stand united. They can confront Balestro together and go from there. It’s a simple plan, but it could be effective. Plus, they might get Claire on their side as the key.
RELATED: Savannah Basley on Angela’s Motivations in Reginald the Vampire Season 2
Next, Ashley and Todd fall through the ceiling, landing on the floor of the Slushy Shack. The doors fly open as the colors of the environment become more vibrant again. So … they weren’t on an alternate plane? Admittedly, I’m a bit confused by this.
Then, the vampires hear “Angel GPS,” which will lead them to Balestro. Nikki kisses Ashley before parting ways. Reggie urges Todd and Ashley to track down Claire and Altus. Altus will know how to find our vamps.
Meanwhile, Sarah returns to the gift shop door. She mulls over opening it. Finally, she takes a deep breath and opens that door. A bright light washes over her.
Here’s hoping she winds up somewhere pleasant.
RELATED: Read our Reginald the Vampire recaps
Reginald the Vampire drops new episodes every Wednesday at 10/9c on SYFY.
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