10 Weirdest Moments From Netflix's 'Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events'
On Friday, January 13, Netflix finally dropped its long-awaited series, Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events. The series, which is based on the books of the same name, follows the three Baudelaire children – Violet, Klaus, and Sunny – as they are sent to live with a mysterious and evil guardian, Count Olaf. The Baudelaire children are orphans, having lost their parents in a fire, and they are suddenly thrown into an entirely different world of covert societies, undercover spies, and hidden secrets.
The new series is noticeably darker than both the books and the 2004 film, which starred Jim Carrey as Count Olaf. (Neil Patrick Harris is taking on the role of the count this time around.) The series also adds some new characters, as well as some details about Violet, Klaus, and Sunny’s parents.
It’s hard to assign a genre to A Series of Unfortunate Events, as it generates a lot of emotions at once. The one main takeaway from the series? It is delightfully weird. If you enjoy weird things, and you have a taste that other people sometimes just don't seem to “get,” you will definitely want to binge this show immediately.
Here are ten ways that Series of Unfortunate Events was just plain strange – but in the best way possible.
1/10Let’s start with Lemony himself.
You’ve gotta love a story with an unreliable narrator – it makes you question everything as you watch. Patrick Warburton as the buttoned-up Lemony Snicket was the perfect combination of ominous and creepy. TBH, we’d like him to narrate our lives. Maybe. Of course, this series also connected Olaf and Snicket, which made for a really interesting dynamic.
2/10Everything about Count Olaf.
Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf was some genius casting. From the way he flips out when the kids can’t read his mind – can’t everyone do that? – to the sea shanties he sang as the captain, he made it hard to look away from the screen any time he was featured. While NPH’s Olaf was sometimes portrayed as comically strange, he also had moments of pure evil – and he was generally depicted as much more evil than in the books, as well as the 2004 film. The Netflix series made Olaf a true villain – adding much higher stakes to the story.
3/10Let’s be real: Sunny was the true hero of the series.
The decision to give Sunny’s baby talk actual subtitles was totally brilliant. She’s basically a genius adult trapped inside a baby’s body. We were all rooting for her.
4/10Violet’s inventions were something to obsess over.
We all want to be best friends with Violet now, right? From her grappling hook to that cool device that reclaimed rocks after you skip them on water, she basically is a shoo-in for being an all-star Shark Tank contestant.
5/10And we want those spyglasses.
The spyglasses were used by several of the characters in the series, and they basically acted like a telescope and a decoder in one. Klaus figured out how to use them pretty quickly, and they became integral to their survival.
6/10How bout that reptile room?
Episode 3 and 4 of season 1 span the course of the book, The Reptile Room, and it was just as creepy as we pictured in our heads while reading. We’re still recovering from the scene when the Deadly Viper tried to basically eat Sunny.
7/10Let’s talk about Aunt Josephine.
From her house – which was hanging off the edge of a cliff – to her fears of literally everything, she was certainly another delightfully weird character. However, even though Josephine is scared of so many things (like telephones and real estate agents), she’s also very smart – and provides Klaus and Violet with a lot of information.
8/10The whole “VFD” theme was actually part of the main plot.
In the books, there are a lot of hints at mysterious secret societies – but it’s a pretty slow burn to find out what’s actually going on. However, the Netflix series wastes no time in getting into Count Olaf’s background, and the secret society – AKA, the “VFD” – is a huge part of the series’ story. And we’re totally okay with that.
9/10We got more backstory on the Baudelaire children’s parents.
The last two episodes of season 1 spanned the contents of the fourth book, titled The Miserable Mill. During that two-part season finale, we learn that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny’s parents actually worked at the Lucky Lumber Mill before it was destroyed in a fire. This particular plot twist didn’t exist in the books, and it added to the fire motif that is apparent throughout the series.
10/10Overall, it was a perfect combination of scary and strange.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is not a story with a happy ending, and that’s what makes it great. It is grim, eerie, and a little sad at times – but it’s always delightfully odd. If you need us, we’ll be watching it again.
