I have not seen the Jim Carey version, nor have I read the book(s?) that this new Netflix series is based on, but I’m two episodes in and I find myself both fascinated and confused!
Narrated by Patrick Warburton (who may or may not be Lemony Snicket***) the first two episodes of the show, “The Bad Beginning: Part 1 & 2”, introduce us to three peculiar children who are orphaned and left to be raised by their weird and creepy relative, Count Olaf (played by Neil Patrick Harris). Count Olaf’s financial motivation is made clear from the get-go, but his creepiness knows no bounds.
The first two episodes co-star Joan Cusack as Justice Strauss and, so far, has just been teaching the audience big words, differentiating between figuratively and literally, and reminding us how creepy the idea of a child-bride is.
This goofy tale is quite dark for a show aimed at children, in fact, the opening theme to this show tells you to look away, while piecing together the mystery that unfolds throughout the series. In addition to the story of these weird orphaned (or maybe not orphaned) children, there’s a mysterious symbol appears throughout the first two episodes, yet we’ve barely scratched the surface of what it could mean – but if you’re looking for it, the symbol is EVERYWHERE! (In fact, there’s even a montage of it in the trailer below).
Although the plot seems to be set in motion by this part, I’m still incredibly confused, yet wanting to know more!
Are you watching “A Series of Unfortunate Events” on Netflix this weekend? What do YOU think?
Check out the trailer & comment below!
***Upon further research, I have discovered something I assume many viewers may have already known: Lemony Snicket is the “author” of the Unfortunate Event book series. The author David Handler chose to publish the books under his pen name/ as though the narrater himself was in fact the true author.