Dear reader, I highly encourage you to read a lighthearted article, instead of recounting the tragedy of the Baudelaire orphans.
This tale was originally told through the 13 books by Lemony Snicket, which were first realized in 1999. The series become quite a popular read when the first three books were adapted into a film in 2004. However, this film did not do the books justice at all and was a disappointment to many readers. It wasn’t until 2017 that Netflix decided to take the books and turn them into a television series, allowing each book to be told in the span of two episodes (apart from the last book that was told in one).
At the beginning of this year, Netflix released the final season of their version of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Throughout the whole series, Netflix has done a pretty good job keeping true to the books, with few minor discrepancies (mostly adding or leaving out characters). It is during the last episode where you can see major changes that are unfaithful to the book.
Each storyline within the show is given an explanation so that the viewer is aware of how each story ends. In the book, none of this is known and we never find out what happens to the characters. We are left wondering if they found what they were looking for or if they are even still alive. The famous question of what is in the sugar bowl is even answered by Kit Snicker, as well as what started the Schism between the members of V.F.D. Everything within the show has answers to our questions. Netflix decided to give us clear, happy endings, whereas the books leave us wondering if everyone is destined to live unfortunate lives. The biggest contrast is what becomes of the Baudelaire children.
In the books, the children are left stranded on the island with Kit Snicker’s newborn child. They do try to escape on a boat, but Lemony Snicket then loses their trail. He is unsure if they made it and believes they could have even died at sea. The book ends with their whereabouts being unknown with no closure for the reader. The show does almost the same thing, but instead shows Kit’s child years later reaching out to Lemony Snicket and continuing the tale of the Baudelaire orphans, revealing that they did make it back alive.
Although little changes are made to the story, I find them to have a great effect. Part of the reason why the series is so unfortunate is because of the lack of answers. You are meant to be left wondering what became of the lives of the Baudelaire children and the people they met along the way. We are never meant to know, hence making this series so unfortunate.