Netflix series clever, smug and prescient
The show: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Season 1, Episode 2 The moment: “We’re all frightened” The brilliant, plucky Baudelaire children — tweens Violet (Malina Weissman) and Klaus (Louis Hynes), and baby Sunny (Presley Smith) — believe their parents died in a fire. They’ve been taken in — kidnapped — by Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), an evil actor who craves their fortune. Behind the scenes, mysterious good guys Jacquelyn (Sara Canning) and Gustav (Luke Camilleri) plot via phone.
“Dr. Montgomery was supposed to be their new guardian,” Gustav says. “What went wrong?”
“Mr. Poe listened to the advice of a consultant,” Jacquelyn says.
“A consultant!” Gustav exclaims. “Dear God, why would anyone listen to a consultant! The children must be frightened.”
“We’re all frightened, Gustav,” Jacquelyn replies.
Meanwhile in their attic chamber, Klaus and Violet talk. “Sunny must be so frightened,” Klaus says.
“We’re all frightened, Klaus,” Vio- let replies.
I’m ambivalent about the Lemony Snicket books this series is based on (by Daniel Handler, who also writes the show). The writing is clever, but smug about its cleverness. The pileup of unfortunate events, which are frustratingly preventable, make me anxious. The message — that pluck and resourcefulness can ease, though not always conquer, depressing situations — is true, but sad. I’m having the same struggles with the series.
I do, however, marvel at how prescient it feels for this anxious moment in time. Uninformed people acting in error because they listened to the wrong advice? Marginalized good guys wondering how to fix things? A conscienceless moneygrubber who kidnapped us when we were meant to have a proper, qualified guardian?
We’re all frightened, world. A Series of Unfortunate Events streams on Netflix. Johanna Schneller is a media connoisseur who zeroes in on pop culture moments. She usually appears Monday through Thursday.