The second season of Netflix original A Series of Unfortunate Events came out on March 30, and stays loyal to the 13 novels written by Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket.

    With aesthetically pleasing camera work and amazing performances from actors such as Neil Patrick Harris (Count Olaf), Malina Weissman (Violet Baudelaire) and Louis Hynes (Klaus Baudelaire), this show perfectly encapsulates the children’s novels.

    Rumored to have a huge budget for the season, the setting of each episode creates a whole new world. While managing to maintain a creepy vibe that is perfect for the plot, production managed to create a setting that adds to the story without overpowering the scene.

    Also, costume choice manages to match each character’s individual personality perfectly, as Count Olaf seems to always be covered in a layer of grime and the librarian Olivia always is dressed prim and properly, not having even a single hair out of place.

    Every two episodes are dedicated to one of the novels from this series. The plot stays mostly faithful to the books, with only a few small changes that don’t really affect the outcome of the series. Perfectly combining gloom and sarcasm as the Baudelaires try to escape Count Olaf’s clutches, this series manages to keep viewers’ eyes glued to the screen for every second.

    Although the books were originally written for children, this show is perfect for audiences of all ages. The intellectual humor and suspense will keep parents and children interested and invested in the show.

   The suspense and plot turns in this series keep viewers of all ages engaged and invested in the well-being of the Baudelaires. However, the continuing stupidity of the other adult characters, such as Mr. Poe, can cause frustration in viewers.

    Mr. Poe’s incessant cluelessness remains the backbone of the series, because it allows the Baudelaire children to remain in Count Olaf’s clutches. He consistently fails to recognize Count Olaf in disguise, and always assumes that the children are wrong.  

    Other characters throughout season one and season two keep the plot moving, such as Count Olaf’s theatre troupe of blithering and money crazed idiots, who are essential to the plot as they both help and hurt the children’s chances of being caught.

    Also, Lemony Snicket, the narrator of the story played by Patrick Warburton, gives the series a sad twist as he consistently encourages viewers to look away from the misfortune of the show.

    The episodes from season two cover the novels The Austere Academy, The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital and The Carnivorous Carnival. In these episodes, two new essential characters, Isadora and Duncan Quagmire are introduced. Two out of the three Quagmire triplets, Isadora and Duncan’s parents and brother were also killed in a fire, leaving behind an enormous fortune for the two children to inherit.

    The obvious similarities between the Quagmires and the Baudelaires cause them to become friends, and for Count Olaf to target both sets of siblings.

    The introduction of friends to the Baudelaires causes an invocation of emotion for viewers, as the Baudelaires finally have something positive in their lives to contrast from the devastating despair that they are used to.

    With all of the makings of a great television show, A Series of Unfortunate Events does not fail to impress and excite all who chose to watch it.