Reader Series: 'The Penultimate Peril,' Lemony Snicket
This is the twelfth post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead.
This is the second-to-last Baudelaire adventure our melancholy author writes for us. Here, with some introduction from Kit Snicket, the Baudelaires begin work as concierges at the enigmatic Hotel Denouement, just as the intriguing VFD meeting brings together several familiar characters from the Baudelaires' story. Tasked with discovering if J.S. is villain or volunteer, the Baudelaires must also contend with identical twin managers - one who is a villain named Ernest and the other who is a volunteer named Frank. Violet completes a task for Esme Squalor and Carmelita Spats, involving a harpoon gun, and discovers J.S. might spoil Esme's party; she also overhears that Esme's unusual glasses are for watching the skies after a manager gives her the harpoon gun. Klaus takes Sir and Charles to the sauna, and is told by one of the managers to put sticky paper out the window to catch birds. Sunny is tasked with helping Principal Nero and the teachers of Prufrock Prep to find the Indian restaurant in the hotel, which is run by Hal, who refers to J.S. as a woman; she is then given a mysterious lock for the laundry room door by one of the managers.
The Baudelaires, mostly Klaus, figure out just how the managers' jobs all concentrate around the sugar bowl. Shortly after, Dewey Denoument, the third identical brother/manager, reveals himself to the Baudelaires, tells them about an archival library in the pond, and, in a showdown with Count Olaf (wherein Mr. Poe once again makes everything worse), is fatally shot with the harpoon gun. Justice Strauss, one of the J.S.'s, insists on a fair trial for the Baudelaires. The trial is a farce, with two villains insisting that "Justice is Blind" be taken literally; everyone wears blindfolds and Olaf makes his escape with Justice Strauss as his hostage.
Olaf still wants the sugar bowl, the Baudelaires need to escape, and eventually the two opponents work together. Klaus' theory that the sugar bowl landed in the laundry room proves false, Olaf reveals he has Medusoid Mycelium, and Sunny drastically suggests they burn down the hotel. Although the Baudelaires attempt to warn people of the fire on every floor on their way up the elevator, the hotel occupants don't always listen; leaving Justice Strauss and everyone else behind, the Baudelaires and Olaf use Carmelita's boat to launch off the roof and land in the water.
Kit and Dewey were an item, which I had forgotten; the adults from the previous books were even more inept than I initially thought; and once again the Baudelaires are considered fugitives. The siblings were already feeling morally dubious just having to wear disguises several books before, and now they are painfully aware that Dewey's death (however accidental), the hotel fire, and the possible loss of the VFD archival library, are largely their doing. As children's book protagonists, these events being caused by them is unusual; it proves one of Lemony Snicket's main themes, which endeavors to show the readers that between good and evil is a grey patch that most people inhabit through most of their lives. In this case, the morally grey decisions made by the Baudelaires leave them in a boat sailing out to sea, with an entirely unknown destination on the horizon.
This is the second-to-last Baudelaire adventure our melancholy author writes for us. Here, with some introduction from Kit Snicket, the Baudelaires begin work as concierges at the enigmatic Hotel Denouement, just as the intriguing VFD meeting brings together several familiar characters from the Baudelaires' story. Tasked with discovering if J.S. is villain or volunteer, the Baudelaires must also contend with identical twin managers - one who is a villain named Ernest and the other who is a volunteer named Frank. Violet completes a task for Esme Squalor and Carmelita Spats, involving a harpoon gun, and discovers J.S. might spoil Esme's party; she also overhears that Esme's unusual glasses are for watching the skies after a manager gives her the harpoon gun. Klaus takes Sir and Charles to the sauna, and is told by one of the managers to put sticky paper out the window to catch birds. Sunny is tasked with helping Principal Nero and the teachers of Prufrock Prep to find the Indian restaurant in the hotel, which is run by Hal, who refers to J.S. as a woman; she is then given a mysterious lock for the laundry room door by one of the managers.
The Baudelaires, mostly Klaus, figure out just how the managers' jobs all concentrate around the sugar bowl. Shortly after, Dewey Denoument, the third identical brother/manager, reveals himself to the Baudelaires, tells them about an archival library in the pond, and, in a showdown with Count Olaf (wherein Mr. Poe once again makes everything worse), is fatally shot with the harpoon gun. Justice Strauss, one of the J.S.'s, insists on a fair trial for the Baudelaires. The trial is a farce, with two villains insisting that "Justice is Blind" be taken literally; everyone wears blindfolds and Olaf makes his escape with Justice Strauss as his hostage.
Olaf still wants the sugar bowl, the Baudelaires need to escape, and eventually the two opponents work together. Klaus' theory that the sugar bowl landed in the laundry room proves false, Olaf reveals he has Medusoid Mycelium, and Sunny drastically suggests they burn down the hotel. Although the Baudelaires attempt to warn people of the fire on every floor on their way up the elevator, the hotel occupants don't always listen; leaving Justice Strauss and everyone else behind, the Baudelaires and Olaf use Carmelita's boat to launch off the roof and land in the water.
"I suppose I'll have to add the force of gravity to my list of enemies."
It is very difficult to make one's way in this world without being wicked at one time or another, when the world's way is so wicked to begin with.
“Everyone wears blindfolds at a High Court trial," the manager replied, "except the judges, of course. Haven't you heard the expression justice is blind?"
Kit and Dewey were an item, which I had forgotten; the adults from the previous books were even more inept than I initially thought; and once again the Baudelaires are considered fugitives. The siblings were already feeling morally dubious just having to wear disguises several books before, and now they are painfully aware that Dewey's death (however accidental), the hotel fire, and the possible loss of the VFD archival library, are largely their doing. As children's book protagonists, these events being caused by them is unusual; it proves one of Lemony Snicket's main themes, which endeavors to show the readers that between good and evil is a grey patch that most people inhabit through most of their lives. In this case, the morally grey decisions made by the Baudelaires leave them in a boat sailing out to sea, with an entirely unknown destination on the horizon.
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