I know, I know, it’s a terrible thing but hear me out.
A Series of Unfortunate Events was a book series that I had heard a lot about from my fellow bookworms but just never got around to, even as an adult. I had seen the Jim Carrey movie from a few years back (which I enjoyed though it was flawed) and I knew that Netflix was bringing the books to life with Neal Patrick Harris and Patrick Warburton but it didn’t occur to me to take some time to watch it. That is until my kids became sick and I found myself scrolling through Netflix, very late at night, and decided that it was worth watching with my sick kiddos.
It was most definitely the right choice.
In case you know nothing about the books or this series, A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the brilliant Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, after their parents are killed in a mysterious fire. They are bounced from guardian to guardian and desperately trying to outwit Count Olaf, a vicious man after their enormous fortune. As the name entails, their story is not a happy one and your guide, Lemony Snicket (played by Patrick Warburton), tells you their tale as part of his own research into what really happened to the Baudelaires.
There are a total of 13 books and each book is broken into 2- one hour long episodes. By the end of season 3, there will be 26 hours worth of story. Although I can’t sing the praises of everything I have seen on Netflix, this series so far has been outstanding. Great care has been taken the craft the world of Lemony Snicket and the writing strongly reflects the dedication the creators have to the story and the source material.
In cinema and in the world around us, we love the stories where the bad guys lose and the good guys win. Even if it’s a vigilante serving his illegal or vicious justice, we take pleasure in seeing the bad guys being exposed, beaten to a pulp or even killed. It makes us feel like all is right with the world.
A Series of Unfortunate Events doesn’t do that. At all.
The first season followed a sort of formula as was typical of Count Olaf who, as an “actor”, would use his disguises to infiltrate the homes of the Baudelaire orphans, kill their guardians and somehow claim them (and their fortune) for himself. He is outwitted each time and the children slip from his clutches, though there is much collateral damage and sorrow along the way. The first season sets up the picture that the kids really didn’t know everything about their parents as there are hints of a secret organization and an exciting, yet dangerous life from before the kids’ time. Count Olaf is a dangerous character but you feel confident that the kids will be able to expose him and get away once again. I was really bummed when the first season came to and end without a definite resolution (my exact response being: “NOOOOOOO! What happens next!?”) but as I only had a few months to wait till season 2 was released, I waited patiently and did as most people do when their favorite show comes out: I watched all the episodes in one binge.
Worth. It.
The second season really kicked it up a notch. The kids are no longer protected by their guardians (or really any decent adults), who knew and loved their parents. They are left to their own devices as Count Olaf closes in on them, cuts off all means of escape and leaves them desperate, afraid and alone. Because of this, they begin to make what would be considered bad or immoral decisions, ones that they doubt their parents would approve of, if only to be free of the very slippery and malicious Count Olaf, who no longer cares if they are alive or dead, leading them down darker and more desperate paths. We are re-aquainted with old characters, introduced to new ones (like Nathan Freaking Fillion, what what!), new aspects to the secret organization and we are slowly being reeled into the secret world the Baudelaire parents hid from their children.
Even though the show is created to feel gritty and serious, there are still bits of humor and satire that really hit the spot but don’t cheapen the overall story. For example, Count Olaf is definitely much scarier in this season than the first but he’s still Count Olaf, with his grammatical mistakes, his flair for the dramatic, or his inability to pick up hints and subtle clues from certain people (you’ll see what I mean) and his henchman are so many levels of ridiculous and formidable. I actually wondered a few times if a few of his henchman are beginning to have second thoughts about this whole thing. Oh and breaking the 4th wall...I love it.
I can also seriously applaud the casting choices in both seasons. Violet, Klaus and Sunny, played by Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes, Presley Smith respectively, play the brilliant Baudelaire children very, very well. I just love them and my kids really enjoyed the antics of Sunny. We also have Patrick Warburton as Lemony Snicket, Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf, Lucy Punch as Esme Squalor, Nathan Fillion as Jacques Snicket, and many, many other fantastic talents really make this show something special.
The show is clever in another way. When a character died, especially the kids’ guardians or those from the secret organization, you felt it. It really sucks when it happens. For the short time they share the screen with Violet, Klaus and Sunny, they stand out as being the bright spots in an otherwise dark and depressing world. You think that this one could be the one, the one who swoops in and saves the day. But the wonderful, heartfelt, moral and brave person who you think could free the Baudelaires from their despair is gone and the children are once again alone. My heart hurts a bit just thinking about it.
My brother and I often disagree about cinema when it comes to the stories brought to the screen and whether or not they take enough risk in their writing and storytelling. But as I was telling him, A Series of Unfortunate Events paints the picture of an unfair and dangerous world where good does not always triumph and good people do suffer for seemingly no reason at all. And it’s still something you can watch with your family. That is no easy feat folks! The creators have spun an amazing story, carefully and successfully bringing together so many characters (played by some really prodigious people by the way) and the pieces to the Baudelaire mystery that is unraveling at a deliberate pace.
Painfully deliberate.
Though it can be frustrating to still have lingering questions at the end of the seasons, (I myself have about...100) I know it can’t come to any sort of happy resolution at the end of the seasons because the story isn’t over. Our own times and seasons don’t always have a happy ending (or at least room to pause and take a breather before the next disaster) and this season ended with the Baudelaires in, I think, the most dangerous and unfortunate situation so far and I have no idea how they are going to get out of it.
And yes, we have to wait another year to find out.
I will end this review by admonishing you to go watch it. Now. It’s amazing and absolutely worth your time binging. I will also calm any worries you have about possible off-shoots, spin offs or the show running on forever and forever (‘cause no one really wants that). Neil Patrick Harris is one of the main reasons we even have this show and recently gave an interview detailing the fact that they set out to bring Lemony Snicket’s brilliant 13 book work to the screen with all the honesty and care it deserves. Once it’s over, it’s over.
And it'll be perfect.
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