Yay or Nay? A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix Series)

I’ve been working on this series for about 3 months now, and a couple weeks ago, I finally finished the last of it. The selling point for me has really been Neil Patrick Harris for me, as to be quite frank, he is the best thing about the show, besides it’s timeless atmosphere, and constant tantalization. Also because Patrick Warburton is just fabulous as Lemony Snicket. Pretty much the cast and acting is really spot on, but I’ll get to that in a moment. 

So yes, today I’ll be reviewing “A Series of Unfortunate Events” as seen on Netflix, and ultimately, which I would recommend to you all! Its a rather short series—spanning only 3 seasons long, but boy, does it give you a ride for it’s money. So what it is about? 

The Story

3 Orphans, a Murderous Count, a Troupe of AcTORs (no spelling mistake there), some Complementary Rocks at no cost to you, and a Bad Banker. The three Baudelaires— Violet, Klaus, and a baby named Sunny suddenly lose their parents in a mysterious fire. With the aid of a dimwitted banker named Mr. Poe, who handles their parent’s estate and the Baudelaire children’s inheritance, the Baudelaire’s are thrust into the guardianship of a mysterious man (played by Neil Patrick Harris), named Count Olaf. A terrible, terrible, man, chaos ensues, and the show tracks the Baudelaire orphans as they try to track down who murdered their parents, a secret organization they may have belonged to, and their mission to finally be free from the obsessive (yet hilarious) Count Olaf. 

There’s actually, like, so many plot points within this show, but broadly speaking, this is the story. Each episode focuses on the Baudelaire’s being shipped off to a new guardian, where chaos ensues and you get just a snippet of what this big ‘secret” was that their parents were involved in, before something “unfortunate” occurs. 

Look away, as the shows says! 

My Thoughts 

So, this was one of the few shows that genuinely no matter how hard I guessed, I could not predict the turns it would take. And I absolutely loved that. There’s clues all around and in the episodes for what will happen— riddles and wordplay given, or narrated by Lemony Snicket, and even when it was sitting in my face I could not figure this show out. And I, again, just loved that. It’s a show that actually makes you think, and actually has smart commentary and a sharp wit with a playfully dark edge that so many other shows I’ve reviewed on here like A Series of Unfortunate Events, just simply don’t. That’s one of the storylines of the show as well— wordplay, riddles, and puzzles, and if you’re clever enough (unlike me) to figure them out and catch onto the Easter eggs they leave, you’ll have an even better time than I did watching through the show. 

Another plus for this was the atmosphere. I watched an interview with the cast and director of the show while making it was that they planned the setting— that is the towns and world the show takes place to be “timeless” and to seem as if it could exist not just in the present day, but also the past, having no direct time period that it could be pinned down to. And truly the atmosphere and scenery does a fantastic job of that. The show gives off a more urban fantasy feel— one episode taking place in a Jules Verne style submarine, and another, the “Hinterlands” of Western style movies. And yet this all takes place in one time, in one general vicinity. And I think that’s really cool and really well done to have all these widespread settings, aesthetics, and times converge in one place and seem like it belongs. Just the wide variety of different adventures the Baudelaire’s go on to uncover the “secret” their parents held from them is enjoyable and always brings a fresh take to each episode. 

Finally, the acting. Wow, I will just say that this has a great cast that really get into their roles and make it believable for the viewer. As mentioned, Neil Patrick Harris is brilliant and should win an award for this role. He has to be funny, witty, dark, and complex all in one character, and boy does it show he put a lot of work into this role. Patrick Warburton as well, does a nice job, although you don’t get to see a more complex role that his character takes into well into the end of the show. The actors who play Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are all very good and each form a distinct personality for their characters that’s solid and believable and constant. Even the characters that I absolutely hated (ie. I’m looking at you Carmelita), the actors and actresses who portrayed them, you can tell, put in a lot of work to make themselves either “so hated’ or “so loved”. This seems to me like a passion project on behalf of the actors, something that on behalf of the crew and director as well, that they all enjoyed doing and truly put 100% of their efforts into. And that shows on all levels. I would completely recommend this series to you if you like shows that playful, puzzling, and most of all, involve a good mystery! 

My Rating 

So if you have a netflix account, give this a watch! It’s so good, and I hate to see it fall under the radar. If you’ve got an hour to watch an episode of it, spare it! I promise you will not be disappointed!  

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

~Meghan