According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.375 million household viewers and gained a 0.15 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
To mourn Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), the vampires decide to take a portrait of themselves with Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), the Guide (Kristen Schaal), Nadja's ghost, Baron Afanas (Doug Jones), the Sire and Guillermo's hellhound.
Nandor (Kayvan Novak) informs Guillermo that he will leave Staten Island, feeling that the recent events through the past weeks made him wish for a new start.
Guillermo also discovers that Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) was invited by Viago (Taika Waititi) to join the Supreme Vampiric Council.
However, she would have to move to London, and Laszlo (Matt Berry) has made it clear he will never return to England after being expelled from a prestigious high-society group known as the Sherwood Club.
When she confronts him about not supporting her, Laszlo states that he was expelled for marrying Nadja despite her low class status.
[3] This was a 37% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.272 million household viewers with a 0.09 in the 18-49 demographics.
With Colin Robinson permanently out of the picture, the vampires, showing the emotional maturity and clear-eyed view of life and death that come from centuries of immortality, have decided to... pretend he never existed.
"[6] Melody McCune of Telltale TV gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Overall, 'The Portrait' is What We Do in the Shadows' most extensive, boldly daring outing yet, pushing the boundaries of where these characters can go and leaving significant cliffhangers over which the audience will painstakingly ponder for the following year.