Adapting successful novels into a streaming series is not an easy task, but Netflix isn’t afraid of challenges. That is why in 2017 they premiered on their streaming platform A Series of Unfortunate Events, based on Lemony Snicket’s novels. In it we follow the adventures of Baudelair siblings Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes) and Sunny (Presley Smith), who, after a mysterious fire that ended their parents’ lives and left them homeless, are placed in the custody of an unknown and eccentric distant relative named Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), a frustrated actor who is only interested in the Baudelaires’ enormous fortune and seeks to obtain it by any means.
As he fails and soon exposes his true intentions, the Baudelaire children begin an endless road of moving in with numerous legal guardians, yet Count Olaf refuses to abandon them: he keeps trying to steal their fortune with the aid of his many disguises and his team of minions. While trying to save their lives, Violet, Klaus and Sunny attempt to uncover the riddle behind a secret society to which their parents belonged. Take a look at some of the best moments from the series in this article.
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15 The Baudelaires and Count Olaf’s First Meeting
While the fire and the loss of their parents were the things that changed the lives of these siblings forever, their meeting with Olaf was definitely the moment when they discovered that everything would go downhill. What’s iconic about the Baudelaires and Count Olaf’s first meeting is the contrast with which the scene is set up. When the orphaned children arrive at their new guardian’s home, they first encounter the sweet and empathetic Justice Strauss (Joan Cusack). The Baudelaires are filled with hope, thinking Justice Strauss is Count Olaf’s wife. Unfortunately, Justice Strauss turns out to be Count Olaf’s neighbor. And instead of being able to live in Justice Strauss’ bright and inviting home, the Baudelaires take shelter in Olaf’s dark, dank, and decrepit mansion. This scene is part of “The Bad Beginning”, which marked the opening of the first season.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
14 The Poker Game Between Sunny and The Hook-Handed Man
The connection between Sunny and Fernald, better known as The Hook-Handed Man, was one of the cutest additions to the series. It started almost unexpectedly: during the second part of “The Bad Beginning,” Olaf imprisoned Sunny in a cage and blackmailed Violet into marrying him in order to legally inherit the Baudelaire fortune. Fernald was in charge of keeping an eye on the little girl and, after a period of boredom, he proposed a game of poker. Sunny ended up winning the game and, as a reward, she was able to free herself from the cage in which she was kept prisoner. That first interaction would mark the beginning of an unexpectedly tender friendship between the two characters, who would show us throughout the series that they had a connection despite their different ages.
13 Stephano’s Appearance
The Baudelaires’ time was short-lived in Count Olaf’s house, because upon discovering the vile intentions of the guardian, Mr. Poe (K. Todd Freeman) decided to place them with another relative, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery (Aasif Mandvi), a brilliant herpetologist and expert on all kinds of reptiles who longed to spend the rest of his life with the orphaned children. However, Count Olaf was not content to miss his chance to get his hands on the Baudelaire fortune, so, aided by his dubious acting skills, he created Stephano, a supposed herpetologist’s assistant who showed up at Monty’s house in the episode “The Reptile Room” during the first season. Stephano was one of the most bizarre and exciting characters embodied by the Count, although not very well prepared: he knew absolutely nothing about reptiles, and that ended up giving him away. We can’t help but mention a nod to Netflix: when Monty invited everyone to the movies and Stephano tried to refuse the invitation by breaking the fourth wall in order to tell the audience that “it’s much more comfortable to consume entertainment from the comfort of your own home.”
12 Sunny and The Incredibly Deadly Viper
A Series of Unfortunate Events constantly shows us a world where adults seem to be oblivious, and children are the only people who see things as they really are. A case in point is this particular scene, which also belongs to “The Reptile Room.” Monty was found dead, and Stephano assured that it was from a snakebite. Of course, the Baudelaires kept trying to warn the adults of Count Olaf’s trickery, but no one seemed to hear. That’s why, when they see Sunny surrounded by the Incredibly Deadly Viper, everyone thought the snake put the little girl in danger, but no one really noticed that the baby was having a lot of fun playing with the reptile. This set off a hilarious scene in which Mr. Poe completely lost his mind.
11 Aunt Josephine’s Rescue at Lake Lachrymose
Although the scene from the movie with Meryl Streep is very hard to match, it is safe to say that the show’s performances rose to the occasion. Within the first season we met Aunt Josephine (Alfre Woodard) in “The Wide Window: Parts 1 & 2.” The siblings’ new guardian was afraid of absolutely everything, but took a chance for love after meeting Captain Sham (Count Olaf in disguise), who unfortunately ended up betraying her and pushing her into Lake Lachrymose. Nevertheless, the Baudelaires’ mission to save their aunt and their difficult but ultimately successful journey across the lake is not to be missed.
10 Olaf as Shirley, Dr. Orwell’s Assistant
In the episode “The Miserable Mill” in the first season we met Shirley St. Ives, the seemingly harmless receptionist for Dr. Georgina Orwell (Catherine O’Hara, star of the show Schitt’s Creek), an optometrist who also hypnotized her patients. Of course, Shirley was just another character played by the evil Count Olaf, who offered the doctor half of the Baudelaires’ fortune in exchange for hypnotizing them.
Among all the characters played by Count Olaf throughout all three seasons, Shirley was definitely one of the most hilarious and cartoonish.
9 Gunther and The Auction
In “The Ersatz Elevator,” the fourth episode of the second season, we met Gunther, a foreign and stylish auctioneer who, of course, was Count Olaf in disguise. Not only did he make an epic entrance, appearing behind the hotel curtains, but he ran an auction aided by Esmé (Lucy Punch, who recently starred in Silent Night) who knew all about the deception because she had been trained by Olaf.
Of course, the man’s tricks didn’t get him very far and after a slip he lost his boots and monocle, revealing his true identity.
8 The White-faced Women in the Hospital
The white-faced women, also known as the Powder-Faced Women, are members of Count Olaf’s troupe of actors. They assist in his various schemes to obtain the Baudelaire fortune. Played by Jacqueline and Joyce Robbins, they have gifted the audience with both terrifying and hilarious moments throughout the series. One of these moments was during the second season in “The Hostile Hospital: Part One,” when the show made a clear nod to The Shining, the well-known Stanley Kubrick film featuring the grady twins at the Overlook Hotel.
7 Olaf and Klaus’ Hospital Conversation
Following part two of “The Hostile Hospital,” we come across this amazing scene. Klaus and Sunny pose as doctors at Heimlich Hospital in order to find and rescue Violet. Along the way they met Olaf, who was also disguised as a doctor. Klaus introduced himself as Dr. Faustus, M.D., who had studied medicine at Oxford. Olaf laughed and said that Oxford “sounded made up” and that Dr. Faustus seemed “awfully young” to be a doctor. This was a little nod to when Neil Patrick Harris himself starred as a teenage medical prodigy in Doogie Howser, M.D., when he was only 16. Recently a reboot of this series was announced for Disney+.
6 The Baudelaires’ Reunion With the Librarian
In “The Carnivorous Carnival: Part One,” within the second season, we met a very peculiar character: Madame Lulu, fortune teller and manager of the Caligari Carnival. However, this fortune teller was none other than Olivia Caliban (Sara Rue), the librarian at Prufrock Preparatory School. A friend of Jacques Snicket (Nathan Fillion from The Suicide Squad) and later an official member of VFD, she protected the Baudelaires at all costs. After several tragedies and unpleasant situations they had to go through at the Carnival, meeting Olivia reminded the Baudelaires that they were not alone, that there were still people who loved them. In addition, discovering the origin of VFD through the crystal ball screenings would give them more than enough information to prepare themselves for the darker times that were to follow.
5 Sunny as a Prisoner and a Spy
“The Slippery Slope: Part Two” is the second episode of the third season of the show. In it, we could see Sunny again imprisoned in the hands of Count Olaf, and Violet and Quigley (Dylan Kingwell) coming to the rescue. However, Sunny learned from her siblings, and she’s not a girl who scares easily, so she wanted to stay behind as a spy to find out Olaf’s plans, referencing Mata Hari. And when Violet asked her how she’s going to escape, Sunny began to pull her hair back into a ponytail like her older sister, hinting that she’d figure something out. With the help of the hair clip her sister lent her, Sunny was indeed able to escape, but not without giving us one of the most touching scenes of the series.
4 Violet and Klaus Saving Sunny from Medusoid Mycelium
“The Grim Grotto” is the fourth episode of the third season where Violet, Klaus and Sunny were inside the Queequeg submarine. After an encounter with Quigley and the Medusoid Mycelium in the grotto, the Baudelaires discovered that Sunny was infected with the deadly fungus. Not caring about Sunny’s poisoning, Olaf imprisoned the Baudelaires in his dungeon, but Fernald, Sunny’s faithful friend, helped them escape so they could cure her. Back on the Queequeg, the siblings discovered that the antidote for the Medusoid Mycelium was horseradish, but unfortunately there was none on board. That’s how Sunny, who had been working closely with the submarine’s chef, suggested a substitute: wasabi, and that’s how she was finally cured.
3 The Sugar Bowl Revelation
Much has been said about the sugar bowl, a mysterious but prominent object that was mentioned throughout the series and whose quest was a key plot point. The Baudelaire orphans eventually became involved in the quest, though they had no idea why the bowl was so important. At least they didn’t until the last episode of the series, in which Kit Snicket (Allison Williams, star of the HBO series Girls) revealed a surprising truth: the sugar bowl contained sugar. But not just any sugar, but a special variety that served to immunize the VFD members against the Medusoid Mycelium. Mystery solved!
2 The Death of Count Olaf
The episode “The End” of the third season began with the Baudelaire orphans and Count Olaf trapped on a ship that landed on an island. There, they were greeted by a community led by Ishmael (Peter MacNicol), who subsequently imprisoned Olaf. It is later discovered that Ishmael was actually the founder of VFD who then abandoned the society, and he was drugging the islanders to easily control them. Olaf escaped from the cage and, disguised as Kit Snicket with a fake pregnancy belly, threatened to poison the entire colony with the Medusoid Mycelium contained in the diver’s helmet. Ishmael fired a harpoon into Olaf’s belly to kill him, but ended up breaking the helmet and releasing the deadly fungus. With the entire island infected, the Baudelaires managed to recover because the Incredibly Deadly Viper saved them with a particular apple, but Kit decided not to eat it because it could harm her baby. The orphans asked Olaf for help, as Kit was in danger and could die. It was then revealed that the Count had always been in love with Kit, with whom he had a relationship long ago, so he took a bite of the apple to rescue her and leave her in a safe place. Olaf kissed Kit, recited a poem and ended up dying from the harpoon wound, giving an epic ending to such an important character. Neil Patrick Harris also said in an interview that he was happy with the end of the series.
1 Lemony Snicket as the Series’ Narrator
The choice of Patrick Warburton to play Lemony Snicket could not have been more appropriate. Already from the beginning of the story he knew how to set the tone and bring the audience into the Baudelaire’s story, a story that is neither happy nor optimistic. His interventions as narrator throughout the series brought a lot of richness to the episodes, and we can say that it was one of Warburton’s best performances, even though he admitted that he tried very hard not to ruin the series.
