The famous children’s book that introduced many to gallows humor and Count Olaf as children returned to Netflix for a second season.
A Series of Unfortunate Events (ASOUE) follows the sad yet comedic tale of the orphaned Baudelaire children who can’t seem to make any place home because of their arch nemesis Count Olaf and his minions.
The first season featured the three Baudelaire children as witty and fierce competitors of their arch nemesis. Violet (Malina Weissman); Klaus (Louis Hynes); and the baby Sunny (Presley Smith) managed to wiggle out of Olaf’s grasp every single time. But in season two, it seems Count Olaf is wearing them down, rising to a possible victory, and has emerged as the new star or maybe co-star of the show.
After I lost interest with the Baudelaire’s worn down confidence and endless and very obvious allegories (forgive me for not being a child), I found Neil Patrick Harris’ portrayal of Olaf impersonating caricatures to be needed in season two. Between constantly gloomy settings and familiar scenarios, the entrance of Olaf gives the show a necessary shake-up; instead of the Baudelaires, Count Olaf is the shining light of this dark tale.
What’s even better than Olaf, are his partner-in-crimes.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld must have received a lot of positive feedback about Catherine O’Hara’s guest appearance as Dr. Georgina Orwell in season one because he made actress Lucy Punch’s portrayal of Esme Squalor more grandiose. And he was right to do so because if Count Olaf is Batman’s The Joker, then his partner-in-crimes are the Harley Quinns.
Most of the guest appearances have been a treat like Mindy Sterling as a disturbed elder in The Vile Village episode, or unusual like David Alan Grier as a sensitive archivist in The Hostile Hospital.
As Sonnenfeld helps us navigate his new characters and his expansion of author Daniel Handler’s work, I was hoping to see more of characters like the Baudelaire’s allegedly deceased parents, which are played by Will Arnett and Cobie Smulders. It was a bummer that season two doesn’t show them because I was hoping to learn more about how Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire managed to escape and why they haven’t been able to reach their children yet.
What’s more, a continuous dark storyline with Patrick Warburton narrating and summarizing was fun last season, but a bit mundane when you’re binge-watching the first six episodes of the second season. Warburton’s voice only becomes intriguing again when Snicket divulges more about his connection to the story at the end of the season, creating a worthy cliffhanger to hold my curiosity for season three’s how-it-all-ends. The previous cliffhangers were mildly thrilling.
ASOUE continues with Sonnenfeld’s vision from the first season and offers fans more background on Count Olaf. Harris shines more in this season since he has a better grasp of who Olaf is, more dimension to his character, and more supportive characters. However, the cliffhanger from season one fell flat throughout the season. I think Sonnenfeld should have given us small updates on Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire instead of relying on small love stories between the Baudelaires and the Quagmires, and then Jacques and the librarian Olivia. They were cute and added a bit desperation between the characters but definitely not strong enough to carry a scene.
I’ll be tuning in for season three, but only because I like closure and because Count Olaf has grown on me.
Rating: 7/10
