A Netflix series review by Inesh Shenoy
Hi! I am Inesh and I recently finished watching a Netflix series called ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’. This televised show is based on a series of books by the same name, written by Daniel Handler.
Daniel Handler is an American author and musician, best known for ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’. He writes most of his books under his pen name, Lemony Snicket.
Lemony Snicket is the narrator of ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’, and he is also a character in the story. Lemony introduces us to the Baudelaire family, which is made up of Beatrice Baudelaire (mother) and Bertrand Baudelaire (father) and their three children. The story revolves around the adventures of the Baudelaire children, Violet (eldest daughter), Klaus (son) and Sunny Baudelaire (baby daughter). They are played by Malina Weissman (Violet), Louis Hynes (Klaus), and Presley Smith (Sunny).
Violet Baudelaire is very inventive. She can build any device with the help of ordinary objects that are around her. Klaus Baudelaire loves reading and has read lots of books on different topics from the huge library in his house. He remembers all that he has read and can recall everything accurately. Sunny Baudelaire is an infant and loves biting into things. Her teeth are so strong that she can even bite into wood and metal!
The story starts with the Baudelaire mansion burning down completely in a sudden, terrible fire. Along with their home, the Baudelaires also lose their parents to the fire. In that moment, the Baudelaire children are turned into orphans and there is nowhere for them to live.
Mister Poe is a banker at Mulctuary Money Management, and is now in charge of managing the Baudelaire children and their “enormous fortune” till they grow up. Mister Poe takes the kids to Count Olaf (played by Neil Patrick Harris) as he is the “closest relative” and places them under his care.
Neil Patrick Harris is an Emmy award winning, American actor. He is multi-talented and is also a producer, singer, comedian, writer and magician. He is one of my favourite actors. I think his role as Count Olaf was perfect, as it allowed him to play many different roles.
Count Olaf is supposed to be a famous theatre actor and is always behaving like he is acting on stage. He takes charge of the Baudelaire children and takes them into his scary looking house. But Count Olaf and his bunch of actors are very cruel and they treat the children very badly. The children realise that they are in terrible danger: Count Olaf only wants their fortune, so they escape from him.
Mister Poe places the Baudelaire orphans under the care of another guardian, Uncle Monty, who appears to be an old friend of their parents. This is when they first start learning about something called V.F.D. But Count Olaf hasn’t given up on his chase, as he wants to take over the Baudelaire fortune at any cost. He disguises himself and comes to Uncle Monty’s house to catch the Baudelaire children.
This is how the whole story goes. The Baudelaire children keep running away from Count Olaf and his dangerous gang, and they keep coming after them in different disguises. Every time the Baudelaires escape from one unfortunate event, they only get trapped in another one! The Baudelaires run from one guardian to another guardian, and with each new guardian they learn something more about the V.F.D. For example, they learn that it is a top secret organisation and that their parents were part of it too.
Will Count Olaf and his gang stop at nothing to get the Baudelaire’s fortune? Can the Baudelaire orphans escape? Will their story remain to be a series of unfortunate events ending in sadness? How does V.F.D. fit into all this?
I found ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ so interesting that I watched the whole series episode after episode continuously, and I finished it within a matter of days! That is 25 episodes spread over three seasons! I think they call it “binge-watching”. Sometimes, our friend Ananya also joined us in watching these shows.
My favourite parts of the series are when Violet invents devices within a matter of seconds in the nick of time to help them in any situation. And every episode had so much suspense, and ended with a surprise!
You really need to watch ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’. It is extremely wonderful. In fact, even at the very end, the story ends with a big surprise! I loved it. I am sure you will too.
By the way, Neil Patrick Harris has recently written a new book series for kids called ‘The Magic Misfits’. I have just started listening to these on Audible, and will review them soon after I have finished listening to the books.
Bye, guys! See you next time!
iThree and Co. 