unfortunatetheorist

[unfortunatetheorist]

Was there a FOURTH Baudelaire?! (BCT)

This theory is dedicated to @decoaili, who has the only active blog from a post I ("recently") reblogged about Rereading THH: https://www.tumblr.com/unfortunatetheorist/783862022203981824/rereading-the-hostile-hospital?source=share

In THH, there is a list of patient names that Klaus (& Sunny) come across whilst disguised as Dr Faustus. One of the names on this list is 'Ed Valiantbrue'.

Apart from, of course, Laura V. Bleediotie, Ed Valiantbrue is the only other name on the list to have all ten letters in 'Baudelaire'...

...but there are only three other letters: V, N and T. These don't form a name, but maybe they stand for initials.

Another point I find noteworthy is that 'VNT' rhymes somewhat with 'VFD'.

This makes me think of something Violet says in TCC: when Klaus asks if one of their parents is alive, why aren't they trying to find them, Violet responds, "Maybe they are but they can't because we keep moving from place to place".

So in answer to our question: No, there was not a fourth Baudelaire - I think, instead, the following:

Ed Valiantbrue is a name put on the list by a V.F.D. Volunteer. Unscrambled, it spells 'V.N.T. Baudelaire'. I think 'V.N.T.' stands for 'Volunteer Near, Trying'. In other words, there is a volunteer who knows that the Baudelaires are at Heimlich Hospital, trying to send a subtle message of hope to them - but of course, Klaus and Sunny are busy trying to save their sister from decapitation, and don't have time to even try and decipher this message.

"Who is this volunteer who knows where the Baudelaires are?", I hear you cry. My thoughts say Dewey Denouement as he's the organisation's secret sub-sub-librarian, who knows all the safe places. I think he and Lemony are in contact, as both know what it is to keep their existence secret - Lemony because he's on the lam, and Dewey because... I've forgot. It's likely Dewey told Lemony, who strategically placed himself as a patient on the Heimlich list - Monty Kensickle.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

[unfortunatetheorist]

i've got a theory

i think book canon and show canon can both be true in the universe. lemony snicket was doing his research several years later, so he most likely missed some details. so things that are in the show, but aren't mentioned in books (eg. larry helping the baudleires, monty receiving directions in the movie theather) might have taken place, but lemony didn't find out about them. both show and book canon complete each other

what do you think about it??

(sorry for my bad english lol)

Hello @scabs-guns-and-peanut-butter, thank you for the ask!

I think your theory is entirely valid (I've interpreted it like this myself: See "Is Lemony's Kind Editor in the Netflix series?" for more) and I like the idea of Book Canon and Netflix Canon completing one another.

Yes, there are details of the Netflix Canon that Lemony missed whilst writing the books, as you say, but there may also be details from Book Canon which are possibly not seen on screen, such as Lemony's Notes to the Reader in The Bad Beginning: Rare Edition.

And your English wasn't bad at all! Besides, why restrict ourselves to one language, when the whole world is trying to de-tangle the true meaning/nature of the Snicketverse?

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

[unfortunatetheorist]

This is supported, @constancecontraire, by Netflix Canon, at least.

When the Baudelaires are going through the video files in Madame Lulu's tent, they ask:

V : "Who's that?"

K: "He looks like Jacques"

Before Lemony says:

L: "These files contain a tragic report of the events that occurred during my apprenticeship at Stain'd-by-the-Sea, which had to wait until now to be told due to respect for surviving parties and copyright law"

Or words to that effect.

Implying ATWQ before ASOUE,

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

no idea if this is disproven by canon or not but i’ve always believed that in-universe lemony wrote atwq before asoue. no reason why, just a feeling

[unfortunatetheorist]

i’ve got several questions:

why did mr poe know the baudelaire children were at the beach? why was he, a banker, put in charge of their custody arrangements instead of just their fortune? for that matter, why did the bank have a whole division dedicated to orphan affairs? it may just be one of those snicket things, but it’s also quite fun because the older i get and the harder i think, it makes me distrust poe on a much deeper level

Hello @clairyclue, thank you for the ask!

I know there are other theories out there about this, most commonly @snicketsleuth (https://www.tumblr.com/snicketsleuth/154151062645/did-vfd-interfere-with-mr-poes-selection-of?source=share; http://snicketsleuth.tumblr.com/post/152175527620/did-mr-poe-forge-the-baudelaire-parents-last) but I have a theory of my own that sort of pieces "everything" (different things) together, but in order to be clear, your questions must be answered backwards:

1. The bank has a whole division/department of Orphan Affairs because... I don't know.

"You should never be afraid to admit you don't know something" ~ J.S.

Let us, for now, consider it a quirk of the Snicketverse.

2. Mr Poe, a banker, was put in charge of the Baudelaires' custody arrangements as well as their fortune, because he was executor of the Baudelaire parents' estate. He handled the will of Beatrice and Bertrand, which stated the terms of the Baudelaires' adoption.

3. Mr Poe knew the children were at Briny Beach because (credit to... someone I can't remember for theorising:) he was a pawn used by both sides of the V.F.D. schism, to do their bidding.

4. Fandom theory (again, likely @snicketsleuth/ @snicketstrange; I swear I've seen it somewhere before but my memory's failing me as I write this) states that Lemony delivered this news to Mr Poe - I believe Lemony told Jacquelyn, who then told Mr Poe. Jacquelyn likely knew Lemony was alive as Lemony was close to Duchess R., who is related.

5. Alternatively, The Sinister Duo told Mr Tamerlane (try and hunt on my blog for details about them being Tamerlane's boss) about the Baudelaire fire and subsequently forced Mr Poe onto the case. It's likely they were watching Olaf as he Yessica-Haircut his way in to guardianship.

Hope it helps; if not, let me know.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

[unfortunatetheorist]

Yes, @ur-battdoll. The book also adds, before this stanza, :

When we grab you by the ankles,

Where our mark is to be made,

You'll be doing volunteer work,

Although you won't be paid.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

When we drive away in secret,

You'll be a volunteer.

So don't scream when we take you,

The world is quiet here.

[unfortunatetheorist]

so i’ve been rewatching the netflix adaption, and accidentally went down a rabbit hole and discovered the ‘suspicious characters’ relationship chart from “13 Shocking Secrets You'll Wish You Never Knew About Lemony Snicket” and it has left me absolutely baffled. i would love to hear your thoughts or vague attempts to decode it because i’m thoroughly stumped, and can’t quite find any analysis about it! have a fortunate day :^)

Hello, @badgertablet, thank you for the ask!

As a theorist, my work predominantly surrounds the Netflix series, but I have read all 13 ASOUE books; whilst I'm aware of the chart you refer to, it's not something I've really delved into - but let's have a go...

(Above: The Suspicious Characters List, taken from The Snicket Wiki)

If memory serves, @snicketsleuth has done some digging into this: (https://www.tumblr.com/snicketsleuth/142398585310/hello-i-want-to-ask-if-you-know-about-13?source=share), so be sure to check out the blog. Let's try and make sense of the "unexplained" connections:

• Mr Poe and Sir

I'm in two minds about this one. Part of me says that Snicket linked the two due to the fact that both of them are obsessed with money. However, there could be something more. We are never told Sir's name. First name or last name. It is believed he is Smogface Wiley from ATWQ, but this is just a theory. Let us, for argument's sake, assume this to be true. "Smogface" isn't exactly a first name, even in the Snicketverse. This implies that Sir's name is Wiley Poe, making he and Arthur (rather close) relatives.

• Captain Widdershins and Hal

...I honestly have no idea. Maybe, by some convoluted method, he's Hal Widdershins... but that doesn't add up with Hal Hairdryer. They both work in a place with books/libraries? It's a far cry, I know, but it's all I've got at the minute. Have a think and let me know if you reach anything, @badgertablet.

• Quigley Quagmire and Mrs Bass

Both make use of mathematics - Quigley in his cartography and Mrs Bass in her classroom. Not just this, both of them use mathematics to their advantage: Quigley to find the V.F.D. HQ (± the Baudelaires) and Mrs Bass to rob Mulctuary Money Management, potentially of the Baudelaire fortune! It should probably also be pointed out that Mrs Bass taught Isadora Quagmire during her time at Prufrock Prep. Maybe if Quigley wasn't in hiding, he would've been in her class?

Sometimes, @badgertablet, going down a rabbit hole can be of use; quite a few (of my) theories formed that way! Unfortunately, this chart of suspicious characters isn't actually considered canon, because it wasn't written by Handler...

I'll let you decide.

Hope it helps,

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

[unfortunatetheorist]

I take it this is book canon, @kiwiwatermelonsupreese ... It's been a while.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

Top Ten scary parts in ASoUE:

- The effects of the medusiod mycelium.

- When the bald man was like ‘You better not cross Count Olaf or he might wreck that pretty little face.’

- The first time Olaf calls Aunt Josephine’s house

- The LEECHES

- The question mark showing up on the sonar

- When the kids find all the pictures of themselves in Madame Lulu’s tent.

- Olaf talking to the kids in the jail cell and telling them they have to pick who lives

- when they get out of the tunnel and it’s the ruins of their house

- the bald man and fernald talking about how pretty violet is while she’s knocked out

- The white faced women dragging Duncan and Isadora to the car

[unfortunatetheorist]

less of theory more so a question.. which baudelaire orphan do we think olaf wanted dead the most?

Hello, @cinnamaow, thanks for the ask — it's a good question!

In my opinion, Olaf wanted Klaus dead the most.

He's been a thorn in Olaf's side since TBB. Note his sisters are quieter and comply with Olaf's bidding. He's the one who is first to complain:

O: "Thoughts?"

K: "Thoughts?! First of all—"

V: "First of all, first impressions are often wrong."

He's the one who reinforces the notion that the Baudelaire fortune can't be touched until Violet— *SMACK*

And he's the one who successfully foils Olaf's plotting play, The Marvellous Marriage.

This is due to (I can't remember the source, likely @snicketsleuth) Klaus' inability to keep his mouth shut during the first few books/Season 1. He thinks plainly stating the truth will save him, when it's only caused him and his siblings nothing but grief.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

[unfortunatetheorist]

An Effective Easter Egg: An (Aqueous) Martini in The Bad Beginning: Part One

I've been watching this show since COVID - and only now, today, do I notice that there's a martini, whether it's aqueous or not, on Justice Strauss' table, as she wistfully reads 'Adoption Law & You'. You learn something new every single day. Just thought I'd put this out there, for interested parties (like me).

Love this show.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

[unfortunatetheorist]

Quote Debunk 11: Guess Who's (De)Bunk? "Until then, you will be placed with the proper guardian, or guardians, as decided by myself and my fellow bankers at Mulctuary Money Management." ~ Mr Poe, TBB:P1 Who are the 'fellow bankers' that Mr Poe refers to? (NCT)

Shortly after the Baudelaires discover the remains of their former home, Mr Poe informs them of the above statement: he and his fellow bankers will decide where they live, and with whom. ...but who are these 'fellow bankers'? We don't see or hear enough of them to count for anything; heck, we only know one name: Mr Tamerlane! Why is this? I believe this is an out-of-universe ploy, yet another stroke of genius from the mind of Daniel Handler, Joe Tracz and all the writers behind Netflix's ASOUE: Mr Poe says this line at the START of the story - by the end, he's at the (relatively fancy) Hotel Denouement wearing dollar-signed pyjamas, being invited to lunch (albeit by Olaf). This is to show Mr Poe's ego, and how his grip on any power he can lay his hands on becomes exceedingly tight over the course of the series. However, I also think there is an in-universe answer to our question: Mr Poe is notoriously neglectful, from his personal healthcare (his cough) to the orphans whose affairs he is supposed to be in charge/Vice President of. Mr Poe says 'my fellow bankers' because he doesn't know them and doesn't want to know them; he uses this phrase in order to act in a professional manner towards his colleagues. He is in the banking industry for one reason and one reason only, and I'm sure we can all agree it's not to help desperate orphans... £$€,

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

[unfortunatetheorist]

I have my own speculation about this...

Interested parties may refer to 'Why did Beatrice Baudelaire II visit The Hotel Denouement?' (or something like that) for further information.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

I’m looking for someone.

[unfortunatetheorist]

One word, @juniperhillpatient :

Correct.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

As a huge fan of the books I think part of why Netflix A Series of Unfortunate Events is so successful is that it does something that requires a VERY delicate balance & that’s getting Count Olaf right. Like this scene right here? This is Book!Olaf at his scariest.

The show leans heavily into the over the top comedy of Olaf & I think that makes perfect sense in a visual medium utilizing an actor like Neil Patrick Harris to show Olaf’s over the top theatre obsessed personality with musical performances & outlandish visuals like his crazy costumes.

But unlike the Jim Carey movie which relied SO heavily on Carey’s comedic & over the top style that it forgot the emotional heart of the story, the show never does that.

Even when Olaf is at his most ludicrous, he’s still terrifying. Even at his most idiotic he still has power over the much more intelligent Baudelaires. The show never loses sight of that from the very (bad) beginning & that’s a huge reason why it works.

Getting that balance of morbidly hilarious & absolutely terrifying (& even vaguely tragic but we’re not there yet we’ll talk about that if I get that far this rewatch) is SO so crucial to getting Olaf & thus the entire tone of the series right.

[unfortunatetheorist]

If no-one knew about the contents of Georgina's sugar bowl, how did Lemony find out about it? (NCT)

...and why does he choose to keep it such a secret?

Note: This is a continuation from this theory, please read before continuing beyond the cut: https://www.tumblr.com/unfortunatetheorist/784284283073445888/whats-inside-georginas-sugar-bowl-nct?source=share

I think it's easier to answer the second question first of all: Lemony deliberately chooses to say very very little about Georgina's sugar bowl because it may be confused for the real one - Esmé's. After all, ASOUE is an in-universe publication, and Netflix series, too*. If the wrong information gets out, volunteers and villains alike will think that the contents of Esmé's sugar bowl are laced with arsenic. This may be enough to cause an entirely new schism altogether (which we all know is the last thing V.F.D. needs!) as people will think other people are liars, feel betrayed as a result, and no-one will have any trust for anyone but themselves.

Nice one, Lemo-- Wait a minute, how do you know?!?!

In TMM: Part 2, Lemony tells us that he "visited Paltryville [myself] many years later. It was long after the Lucky Smells Lumbermill had closed its doors, and Dr Orwell's office had fallen into disrepair."

Note Lemony's wording here: 'fallen into disrepair' means the contents of her (former) office are no longer in pristine condition - but they're still examinable.

THEORY: Lemony only knows of the arsenic in Georgina's sugar bowl because he examined it himself - if the V.F.D. taught the Snicket siblings (according to Jacques) "how to determine if a poison had been introduced into a cheese fondue without tasting it" (TVV:P1), I'm sure Lemony could EASILY have worked out, just by inspection, that Orwell's ornament had enough arsenic for potentially fatal poisoning. Plus, I highly doubt the police would've caught something as trivial as arsenic in a sugar bowl, when they can't catch Count Olaf, one of the city's most notorious criminals.

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

*Interested parties may wish to refer to this Joint Theory between myself and @snicketstrange: https://www.tumblr.com/unfortunatetheorist/738268155756134400/joint-theory-6?source=share

[unfortunatetheorist]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏,

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

God A Series of Unfortunate Events makes me sick. It’s the perfect Rube Goldberg machine of tragedy, particularly in the show. So many near misses, so many ships passing in the night. If people had just listened to the children, if Justice Strous had recognized the bruise for what it was, if Monty had taken them to Peru a little sooner or Jaqueline had gotten involved, if Josephine hadn’t eaten that banana, if Charles had stood up for them at the Miserable Mill, if they had yanked off Olaf’s Turban or the Quagmires didn’t hide in the library, if Jerome had protected them from Esme, if Jacque and Olivia checked the secret tunnel for the Quagmires, if the children waited to confirm the man above the tunnel was Olaf, if they bid on the right listing in the catalogue, if Olivia didn’t leave in the taxi or Jacques didn’t walk into a trap or Jacqueline and Larry got there sooner, if the villagers realized Esme had a mechanical device before she started shooting, if Klaus and Sunny lingered in the break room of the hospital, if Olivia went to them the first night and they got the cart fixed sooner, if she never allowed the lion out in the first place, if she blinded Olaf before he could the rope, if the carnival folks didn’t turn on them, if they had only gotten into that taxi with Lemony Snicket, if they’d pushed Olaf off the boat, IF ONE FUCKING PERSON HAD ARRIVED PROPERLY PREPARED IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT ANY POINT THEY WOULD HAVE SAVED THOSE KIDS SO MUCH TRAGEDY!!!

But that’s the point. It tells you over and over again that this is a miserable story that ends miserably. There won’t be a happy ending. You want so badly for there to be a happy ending for these remarkable characters who deserve so much better.

There isn’t. Not once. There is no happy ending, not here and not now.

[unfortunatetheorist]

What's inside Georgina's Sugar Bowl? (NCT)

During The Miserable Mill: Part One, we see Olaf dumping sugar into Georgina's coffee as he says:

"Your cruelty is as sweet as this coffee I'm dumping this sugar into."

Of course, we all know that Esmé's love of her life — I mean, sugar bowl — contains the immunising sugar which acts against the Medusoid Mycelium.

But Georgina clearly has one that never ever gets mentioned, not even by Lemony Snicket. I want to explore this, answering some key questions:

• What's in the Sugar Bowl that belongs to Georgina?

• Why has no-one spoke of it?

• If Olaf knows what's in it, does he use this to his advantage; if so, how?

Question the First: What's in Dr Orwell's Sugar Bowl?

We know for a fact that Georgina's sugar bowl cannot contain the immunising sugar acting against the Medusoid Mycelium; if it did, there wouldn't be a theft of Esmé's bowl in the first place, as both Esmé's bowl and Georgina's bowl contain the same thing. Esmé keeps hers, and Beatrice and Lemony plot to thieve from Georgina instead.

I think, however, the show answers our first question — very subtly. When Georgina is hypnotising Charles, and the Baudelaires are upstairs hearing "Shirley" (Olaf) and Orwell bicker, this exchange happens:

O: "You drank all of my wine!"

G: "You poisoned my coffee!"

O: "You tried to hypnotise me!"

G: "It was the only way to SHUT YOU UP!"

Yeah.

There is an infamous trick, which leads me to my theory:

Georgina's sugar bowl contains ARSENIC. It has no smell or taste and is easily hidden in sugar, making it a brilliant poison.

But what makes her say this line is the fact that she knows the sugar in the bowl has traces of arsenic and Olaf clearly doesn't. Well, doesn't know or doesn't remember. This implies:

Georgina uses this tea set for visitors only, and either has two sugar bowls (one plain sugar, one arsenic) or swaps out the sugar for arsenic in different scenarios.

This, in turn, answers Question the Third: Olaf doesn't know and did his whole dumping-of-"sugar"-into-coffee thing simply for dramatic effect.

• What's in the Sugar Bowl that belongs to Georgina?

• Why has no-one spoke of it?

• If Olaf knows what's in it, does he use this to his advantage; if so, how?

This leaves:

Question the Second: Why does no-one speak of it?

Maybe they all know... but if they did, so would Olaf. Ah. (Proof by contradiction)

My take on it is: Georgina is the only one who knows. After all, it's for her personal use. Why would anyone else need to know about it? The only other people who may possibly know are The Sinister Duo — TMWABBNH and TWWHBNB, as they keep track of everything on that side of the schism.

This begs a bonus question... which I'll come on to in a later post.

Wondering how Olivia must've felt when Jacques gave her the backstory (in TEE),

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph, Unfortunate Theorist/Snicketologist

[unfortunatetheorist]

Yes, @decoaili , Daniel Handler's is given as 'Linda Rhaldeen' and Brett Helquist's as 'Eriq Bluthetts'.

Bonus: 'Ned. H. Rirger' is actually an anagram of Red Herring

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

EDIT: It seems there is a greater, more intriguing mystery than first meets the eye; something more profound than Beatrice Baudelaire's potential survival...

Rereading The Hostile Hospital

I don’t know if this has already been spotted or if it comes up later on in the series because I have not read them in so long (I’m doing an unstructured reread before the TV series comes out). (Please message me if it has so I can delete this post and look less like a fool). XD

However, whilst rereading The Hostile Hospital (I’m at this bit) I noticed how Klaus said “every single patient on the list looks like an anagram!” When reading the patient list where Violet’s name is hidden:

The names on the list certainly are spectacularly weird and being someone who quite enjoys anagrams I could not help but read them twice: especially when Mr Snicket said “aren’t the anagrams you’re looking for” instead of “those that aren’t anagrams at all”. In particular, two names caught my eye. The first was from the photograph above: ‘CARRIE E. ABELABUDITE’. It reminded me of a name that is repeated A LOT during the series. The name: BEATRICE BAUDELAIRE. 

Both have eighteen letters, right? What a suspicious coincidence…

Beatrice Baudelaire was listed as a patient in the Surgery Ward of Heimlich Hospital under the alias ‘Carrie E Abelabudite’.

My eyes roamed the list for more anagrams and one name stood out bold in comparison to the others:

‘MONTY KENSICLE’ It reminded me of another name, the dreadfully peculiar name: LEMONY SNICKET.

Thirteen letters? What an unfortunate coincidence…

Both Beatrice Baudelaire and Lemony Snicket were listed as patients on the Surgery Ward of Heimlich Hospital under the anagram aliases of ‘Carrie E Abelabudite’ and ‘Monty Kensicle’ around the same time that Violet Baudelaire’s name in anagram form appeared on the list…

I don’t know if I am getting anywhere with this, or if this hasn’t already been spotted, or even if it matters, but it certainly did make me think about these witty, intelligent and unique books! :D

Thank you xxx :D

[unfortunatetheorist]

I agree, @thetheaterkidwriter, it's the exact same.

Very nice find indeed,

~ Th3r3534rch1ngr4ph

So I was watching Arthur (yes the children’s show about an anteater) and I found a huge ASOUE reference

It’s practically just ASOUE in one of Count Olafs disguises.

The fact that it is 3 wealthy orphans and an evil man who wants their fortune says a lot already. And the book titles are also alliterations. The littlest orphan gets put in a cage… and they practically reference Uncle Monty. Also, the author of the book is a mysterious man who is on the run… If you ask me, it’s the exact same thing