A Series of Unfortunate Events Review

A Series of Unfortunate Events (2018)
Developed by: Mark Hudis
                        Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Malina Weissman
               Louis Hynes
               Presley Smith
               Neil Patrick Harris
               K. Todd Freeman
               Lucy Punch
               Dylan Kingwell
               Avi Lake


     

THE ACTUAL REVIEW

A Series of Unfortunate Events is back and everything got so much worse. The show’s first season was released last January 2017 and it gathered a lot of following viewers and fans since it offered a whole new take in dark comedy themed shows. And some critics commended this Netflix’s show for its faithfulness to the source material where this show is based on.

Watching this second season was much more intense and emotional than the first one, maybe because of the direction of the story and the developments of each character, and how it became a lot darker than the first season.

The second season picks up right after where the first season ended, when the Baudelaire children were enrolled in the Prufrock Prep. And that’s where another series of unfortunate events will happen that the Baudelaire children can’t escape. The second season introduced a new set of characters that will play huge roles in the life of our protagonists, and before I forget, this new season covers book five up to book nine of the thirteen book series.

The show still has that dark and gloomy tone despite of its comedic approach and that is one of the major things that I like about Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. It seems like they want the audience to treat the show seriously, but they also don’t want the audience to take it seriously. It’s a paradoxical show. Seeing the second season made me realize that it is really a satire to the society where we live in since there are some references uttered by the characters that will make you laugh at first then think after.

In the first season, the adult characters’ obliviousness regarding Count Olaf’s schemes to the Baudelaire children was tolerable but here in the second season, it was stressful and annoying at some point. I think it really depicted how some adults can be so ignorant about some relevant topics or how some adults choose not to participate in a serious scenario since it doesn’t cause them any trouble. Their attitude whenever the Baudelaire children try to convince them about Count Olaf’s conspiracies also perfectly captured how adults can be blinded by their own beliefs, that they aren’t that open minded to a new idea.

I must say that I’m both surprised and proud how the Baudelaire children matured so much due to the unfortunate events that happened to them. You can really see the development between the season one’s Baudelaires to season two’s. Their decisions and their actions in a hopeless situation were admirable, their own skills and talents were maximized and efficiently used. And the Baudelaires’ personalities and their sense of camaraderie between each other made them lovable and characters that you will want to root for until the end.

There are also scenes in this season that almost made me cry because of my attachment to the Baudelaires, and when something bad happens to any one of them, it breaks my heart into pieces. This show is a good example on how to make a faithful adaptation without staining the books. There are maybe changes but those were significant changes to make the story work in a show platform.

   

I also like how they ended this season on a high note with that scene. Also when Lemony Snicket explained literally what a cliffhanger is that was used as a device to build up tension to the viewers. There are a lot of realizations and epiphanies to me in watching the second season that's why I really treasure every episode in this show.

Overall, I am impressed with what they have done in the show. And I can't wait for the finale season next year; for the mean time I will reread the books while waiting for season three to drop.

A Series of Unfortunate Season 2 can now be streamed on Netflix.