A Few Thoughts on 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'

Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

There are eight episodes of A Series of Unfortunate Events now streaming on Netflix.
 
If you are interested in reviews with happy endings, I would advise all of our readers to cease immediately. Perhaps a pleasant BuzzFeed listicle would better satisfy your needs. If you choose to continue reading, you should know that the rest of this article centers on a show so gloomy and downhearted, you may regret ever hearing about it. It is my sad duty to recap this series, but there is nothing stopping you from exiting this page now and moving on to something happy. The tales of this “alleged entertainment” are not for the faint of heart.
 
If you were a child in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, you likely enjoyed Lemony Snicket’s novels following the plight and tragedy of the Baudelaire orphans. It is my firm belief that you will also enjoy the Netflix series, even if that’s not how you felt about the 2004 film.
 
The show is prodigious. “Prodigious” is a word here meaning “remarkably or impressively great in degree”. It can also mean “great in extent or size”, which is also true of the series. The series outperforms the film, for one reason, because it is able to dedicate more time to each of the unique stories and characters introduced throughout the books. At least in the first season, Netflix is attempting to cover the books at a pace of two episodes per novel. With thirteen books to cover, multiple episodes do what one feature length movie cannot.

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The Netflix series also introduces a phenomenal cast. Patrick Warburton was the perfect choice for the narrator, delivering humor and despair through his lines in such a Snicket-y manner that you’re unable to imagine anyone else in that role. Unlike Count Olaf, Neil Patrick Harris is a very good actor. NPH is legendary in the role as Count Olaf with his many alter egos, coming off as sinister and campy, just as Olaf would be, but he never takes his performance over the top.
 
We are also treated to fantastic characters by K. Todd Freeman as the oblivious Mr. Poe, and by Will Arnett and Cobie Smulders as Father and Mother. Joan Cusack, Alfre Woodard, and Aasif Mandvi leave behind memorable, albeit unluckily brief, performances as various Baudelaire caretakers. Other henchmen and antagonists are well-cast and enjoyably developed as characters too. Last but certainly not least, Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes, and Presley Smith are the stars of the show, and they shine bright as the Baudelaire kids, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny (despite some cheesy visual effects for baby Sunny).
 
The story itself will transport you back to a time of adventure. You may, unfortunately, find repressed memories of dreadful places and creatures returning to the top of your mind. From the Incredibly Deadly Viper to Lachrymose leeches, and from Curdled Cave to the Lucky Smells Lumbermill, the show succeeds in bringing page to life on screen. The tone, style, and setting of the books are captured perfectly. Netflix gives us a silly and macabre depiction that will meet all your nostalgia needs (or reel you in anew, if you’re unfamiliar with the books) and leave you counting down to season two. Even for the most avid readers of the series, the Netflix series provides something different, offering new twists and flourishes that keep things fresh.
 
Allow me to offer a piece of advice, even though I don’t know anything about you. Open up Netflix and add A Series of Unfortunate Events to your list. I must warn you, however, that if you decide to watch, you may end up binging the series. Binging is a word here which means sitting in your underwear and watching the entirety of this season while eating popcorn and wondering if you’ve gone outside yet today. Once you finish binging, you will lament the lack of additional episodes, ultimately finding yourself in a state of depression rivaled only by the Baudelaire children. There are no happy endings. Not here and not now. 

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