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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is Surprisingly Pleasant to Watch

On Friday the 13th my childhood came back to me in a flash thanks to the Netflix Original Series of A Series of Unfortunate events. When I saw the trailers, I was skeptical, courtesy of the 2004 film adaptation. The film chose to incorporate the first three books into one film, and the result was a rushed plot and little to no character development.

That being said, I was quite surprised when I sat down to witness the tale. I noticed immediately that the eight-episode season would only be covering the first four books, each receiving two episodes. As the intro song, sung by Neil Patrick Harris, played, I was excited that the style of writing in the book was being captured. The entire intro advises looking away from the story that is to follow.



The character of Lemony Snicket appears and advises viewing something else, as per the novels, adn the story begins. The character of Mr Poe arrives to give the unpleasant news that the children's parents have perished. It is here that one of the major writing style choices of the novel appears, the definition of words.

The series keeps true to the plots of each book, including the actual reveals of Count Olaf's identity in each episode. The choice to make it somewhat obvious to the children and the audience makes the idea that the children are much smarter than the adults all the more convincing.

One deviation that I applaud is the beginning of establishing later key plot points, namely the Quagmire family and the organization VFD, in the first episodes. These additional short scenes showing the actions of this organization in reference to the events of the Baudelaire children helps set up the plot of the later books, beginning with the Austere Academy, which will start season 2 of the series.

In the meantime, we wait to witness the remainder of the series of unfortunate events, in which I hope thy will continue to be true to the source

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