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A Series of Unfortunate Events: Difference between revisions

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A Series of Unfortunate Events (view source)

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* [[Added Alliterative Appeal]]: All but [[Odd Name Out|the thirteenth book]] have an alliterative title.
* [[Adults Are Useless]]: By the eighth book, the three principles (by now ages fifteen, thirteen, and not-quite-two) take care of themselves, because just about every adult they've met is stupid, evil, cowardly, or some combination thereof. On rare occasions they encounter a decent, intelligent, competent adult -- who promptly winds up dead.
* [[Adventure Towns]]: Each book is in a different town (or island or mountain or ...). Except the first, sixth, and twelfth, which are set in the same [[City Withwith No Name|nameless city]].
* [[Affectionate Parody]]: Handler started off trying to write the sort of gothic, bloodthirsty children's stories he wanted to read when he was a child, and most of the books take off one genre or another, occasionally straying into [[Deconstruction]] territory)
{{quote| '''Handler (At a Book Reading at Washington College):''' "Is it so wrong that I wanted to read books where terrible things happened to small children over and over?"}}
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* [[Author Appeal]]: Approximated in-universe by Carmelita Spats's ridiculous "tap-dancing ballerina fairy princess veterinarian" and "ballplaying cowboy superhero soldier pirate" outfits.
* [[Author Catchphrase]]: "A word/phrase which here means..."
* [[Back for Thethe Dead]]: You can make an argument for all the returning characters in Book the Twelfth.
* [[Bait and Switch Credits]]: {{spoiler|Chapter 170, a.k.a. ''Chapter Fourteen''.}}
* [[Banned in China]]: Daniel Handler was actually hoping for some of this, and was disappointed in how little it happened. His one real "victory" was that the books were banned from a school in Georgia due to Olaf's plan to marry his distant relative Violet in book one, to which he responded "I'm at a loss as to how to write a villain who doesn't do villainous things."
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: some of Sunny's comments, such as her arigato in the Slippery Slope, or her saying Aubergine to mean that she is making a plot with this eggplant. Others are a mishmash of English ("Kicbucit?" for "Is he dead?") and a couple are plain old Hebrew ("Yomhuledet!" which is translated as "Surprise" but literally means "birthday" and "Yomhashoah" which is translated as "Never again" but literally means "Holocaust Memorial Day"). The children also make pasta Puttanesca, an Italian dish translating as "whore's sauce."
* [[A Birthday, Not a Break|A Birthday, Not A Break]]: Klaus spends his thirteenth in a jail cell.
* [[A Boy, a Girl, Andand a Baby Family]]
* [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy]]: The narrator and his comrades imply that V.F.D. dates back to [[Ancient Greece]], that Martin Luther King, Edith Wharton, and Thomas Malthus were involved with it -- although Malthus was on the evil side of the schism -- and that Shakespeare may be alive. However, these may be the result of revisionism in accordance with V.F.D.'s own views.
* [[Belated Backstory]]: [[Department of Redundancy Department|Although it takes a while,]] this is exactly what happens to Fernald.
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* [[Cinderella Circumstances]]: The first book, in which the Baudelaire siblings live with the bossy and horrible Count Olaf who treats them like servants. In the tenth book, "The Slippery Slope", Sunny resides with Count Olaf and his henchmen after being captured by them. She ends up becoming a servant for the whole group, including cooking meals in freezing temperatures, cleaning, and sleeping in a casserole dish and having to '''clear a car floor of potato chips''' ''by blowing them out.'' . The narrator even references Cinderella.
* [[Circus of Fear]]: Caligari Carnival, in Book the Ninth.
* [[City Withwith No Name]] Although many fictional place names are mentioned, the main city where the Baudelaires used to live is never named. (The film identifies it as Boston, but this never occurs in the books).
* [[Clark Kenting]]: Numerous characters at various points, with the minor characters being better at it than the main ones.
* [[Common Meter]]: "The Little Snicket Lad"
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* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Closer to this than [[Corrupt Hick]] is Sir, the amoral, cigar-smoking lumbermill owner who pays his workers in coupons and gives them gum for lunch; in a later appearance, business is bad, as nearby lumber source the Finite Forest is running out of trees.
* [[Covers Always Lie]]: The twelfth book features several sinister-looking figures whom fans thought would be important -- or even specific characters from previous books -- but no corresponding characters appear in the text. Inverted by the British edition of the sixth book, on which the cover gives away the main plot twist.
* [[Cowboy Bebop Atat His Computer]]: A website identified goth-girl fashion icons Emily the Strange and Ruby Gloom as characters; not to mention the numerous pages -- including at least one on this very wiki -- which refer to ''[[Lemony Snicket the Unauthorized Autobiography|Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography]]'' as something like "The Unofficial Biography". A preview of ''The Beatrice Letters'' claimed that the punch-out letters in the book spelled out the "real" title of the thirteenth book ... Nope. Similarly, just about every preview of ''The Beatrice Letters'' claimed that the punch-out letters would spell out two different secret messages, but if there is a second one, it's nothing more than a [[Red Herring]].
* [[Crapsack World]]: Invoked.
* [[Curse of the Ancients]]: "Blasted furnaces of Hell!"
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* [[Day of the Week Name]]: Book the Thirteenth features Friday Caliban, and alludes to a Thursday Caliban and a Monday.
* [[Dead Guy, Junior]]: {{spoiler|Beatrice Baudelaire}}
* {{spoiler|[[Death Byby Childbirth]]: Subverted. Kit Snicket dies not as a result of childbirth, but because of the Medusoid Mycelium, the cure for which she refuses to consume because of its effects on unborn children.}}
* [[Deathbringer the Adorable]]: The Incredibly Deadly Viper, which is not poisonous and is actually really friendly.
* [[Deconstruction]]: Most of the books deconstruct one genre or another (although sometimes this is closer to an [[Affectionate Parody]]). The second half of the series deconstructs the first half of the series. Arguably the last three books start deconstructing their immediate predecessors, too.
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* [[Don't Try This At Home]]: In Book the Second, Snicket tells the reader to "never ever ever" do something, and the "ever"s continue for [[Overly Long Gag|two whole pages]].
* [[Downer Ending]]: Optional in some books, in which the author [[Snicket Warning Label|suggests to stop reading and imagine an ending better than the real one.]]
* [[Dressing Asas the Enemy]]: The Baudelaires unintentionally do this in ''The Hostile Hospital'' when they disguise themselves as doctors and are mistaken by Olaf's associates for the two powder-faced women who are also disguised as doctors.
* [[Drowning Pit]]: Lemony in an ''Italian restaurant''.
* [[Dumb Is Good]]: [[Inverted Trope]]: "Well-read people are less likely to be evil."
** Then the inversion is subverted, when the [[Lemony Narrator]] later directly tells the reader this is not always the case.
* [[DVD Commentary]]: Two, one that comes in the regular "actors and director" flavor and one that features the director and {{spoiler|Daniel Handler in character as}} Lemony Snicket himself, who is obviously very disturbed at the director's insistence on introducing count Olaf into the plot at all, let alone (supposedly) [[As Himself]].
* [[Every Episode Ending]]: Every book ends with exactly the same formula: There's a full-page picture containing a clue to the plot of the next book; comical bios for the author and illustrator, with a [[Plot- Based Photograph Obfuscation|obscured picture]] of the former and a themed illustration of the latter; and a letter from Lemony Snicket to his editor explaining where to pick up the manuscript for the next book, along with several items related to it.
* [[Everyone Went to School Together]]: Quite a few characters went to school together, but this is somewhat [[Justified Trope|justified]] by the fact that they were all members of a secret organisation and this was their training; also, several of these characters are [[The Ghost]].
* [[Everything's Better Withwith Princesses]]: Parodied with Carmelita Spats's "tap-dancing ballerina fairy princess veterinarian" costume from the eleventh book.
* [[Evil Costume Switch]]: Fiona, when joining Olaf's side, exchanges a uniform with a portrait of Herman Melville for one with a portrait of notoriously bad poet Edgar Guest.
* [[Evil Laugh]]: Olaf's actually indicates [[Character Development]]
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* [[The Film of the Book]]: The series was well-received by critics, made a lot of money, and the sequel has been in [[Development Hell]] for years. In fact, the director said that they may have to make the sequel animated, and claim the [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]] for the first movie.
* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: The intros to many of the books tell you that the story will NOT have a happy ending, and Lemony Snicket will also casually reveal which characters will have bad things happen to them throughout the book.
* [[Fun Withwith Acronyms]]: V.F.D.
* [[Fun Withwith Foreign Languages]]: Based on guesswork about word frequency, Snicket translates "cul-de-sac" as "At the end of a dark hallway, the Baudelaire orphans found an assortment of mysterious circumstances."
* [[Gadgeteer Genius]]: [[Wrench Wench|Violet.]]
* [[Genre Savvy]]: The Count Olaf in [[The Film of the Book]] seems to have read the books, because he knows to {{spoiler|make sure Violet signs her name using her right hand.}}
* [[Geographic Flexibility]]: The spatial as well as temporal milieu of the Series is best described as "everywhere and nowhere", as it's apparently far from most known continents, and the large city the Baudelaires lived in doesn't even have a name.
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: There's a chapter from one of the books that starts out with a discussion of French phrases. One of the phrases Snicket gives as an example is "la petite mort" which he translates, quite literally, as "[[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|the feeling you have when a small part of you has died]]." He neglects to give the more common usage of the term- [[Get Thee to Aa Nunnery|slang for having an orgasm]].
* [[The Ghost]]: The series has a wide backstory and several characters are only ever referred to. The most notable example is probably R., the Duchess of Winnipeg.
* [[Glove Snap]]: Jim Carrey's Count Olaf does this in his herpetologist disguise.
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* [[Henpecked Husband]]: Jerome Squalor. And how.
* [[Hitler Ate Sugar]]: Played with, a few times. (Only a villainous person places his cup on the table without using a coaster or enjoys the works of Edgar Guest.)
* [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|Count Olaf dies of a wound he sustained from having his own harpoon gun fired at him by Ishmael.}}
** The [[Adults Are Useless]] mentality of pretty much everyone the kids meet probably made most of them [[Too Dumb to Live]] when they refuse to believe the building they're in is on fire. YMMV on whether the (potentially lethal) negligence displayed by characters who were otherwise good people made this [[Laser-Guided Karma]].
* [[Hostage for McGuffin]]: A [[Subverted Trope]]: in Book the Tenth, where for once it's proposed by the heroes, neither they nor the villain are capable of carrying out their side of the bargain.
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* [[Just a Stupid Accent]]: Characters trying to be "foreign" use broken English with clumsy syntax (like "I am loving of the children") and frequent interjections of "Please", and apparently everyone falls for it.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] and [[Justified Trope|justified]]
* [[Kick the Son of Aa Bitch]]: When Count Olaf violently pushes Carmelita Spats to the ground.
* [[Kill All Humans]]: While not particularly harmful, the insects called snow gnats sting humans just for the fun of it.
* {{spoiler|[[Kill'Em All]]}}: Maybe.
* [[Kill It Withwith Fire]]: In the Village of Fowl Devotees, burning at the stake is the designated punishment for breaking ''any'' of the towns numerous rules (which includes the biggies like murder, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|but also]] [[Disproportionate Retribution|trivial]] and ridiculous offenses like using mechanical devices, reading certain books, and talking out of turn in town meetings).
* [[Kissing Discretion Shot]]: A very rare literary version. In ''The Slippery Slope'', it's extremely obvious that there is some chemistry between {{spoiler|Violet and Quigley}}, but the moment the two get alone and one starts with the [[Longing Look|Longing Looks]], Snicket goes off on one of [[Lemony Narrator|his signature spiels]] about how since the series started {{spoiler|Violet}} has had little to no privacy, and that he will take this chance to give them a little. [[Ship Tease|The readers were not amused.]]
* [[Laser-Guided Karma]]: See [[Hoist Byby His Own Petard]] above.
* [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone]]: Snicket does this to the readers in ''The Slippery Slope.''
* [[Lemony Narrator]]: The [[Trope Namer]].
* [[Limited Special Collectors Ultimate Edition]]: Numerous rereleases of The Bad Beginning, including one priced higher than the thirteen-book box set. Also, the box sets, which have exclusive artwork. The new paperbacks are aversions because they're much better for about half the price.
* [[Locking MacGyver in Thethe Store Cupboard]]
* [[The Long List]]: The Snow Scouts Alphabet Pledge in the tenth book, along with lists of food, disguise items, and books seen elsewhere. Also, the long list of rules they had to follow at the Village of Fowl Devotees.
** Don't forget Esme Squallor's personal library full of books cataloging what was in and out in various months, years, etc.
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* [[Named After Somebody Famous]]: Tons and tons of characters. A few examples: the main characters are named [[wikipedia:Charles Baudelaire|Baudelaire]]; their banker is named [[wikipedia:Edgar Allan Poe|Poe]]. See also [[Odd Name Out]], below.
* [[Necromantic]]: In Book the Eighth, Lemony wishes.
* [[Never Say "Die"]]: Notable for averting this trope, and hard.
* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: An official website that revealed the only details about the highly secretive twelfth book made numerous updates implying an elevator-centric plotline which never actually materialised, going so far as to reveal a chapter picture which actually referred to a single inconsequential offhand sentence; Snicket's [["On the Next..."]] mislead by giving away random details as though they were equally important, and later obscure themselves to become even more incomprehensible; one promised a prop in the following book that never actually appeared.
* [[Nice Hat]]: The Council of Elders in the seventh book wear hats shaped like crows.
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* [[Perky Goth]]: Violet's character design changes from a rather innocent 50's girl style, to a lolita-style goth.
* [[Persona Non Grata]]: Snicket mentions that he is banned from a certain town, not so far from where ''[[Infallible Narrator|you]]'' live.
* [[Plot- Based Photograph Obfuscation]]: Lemony Snicket never shows his face in photographs, but there are several possible explanations for why this is, and most such photographs are only seen by the audience in his author bio rather than by the characters. The nearest thing we get to an actual image of him is the elusive taxi driver, which is rumoured, and hinted in the series, to actually be him.
* [[Plot Tailored to Thethe Party]]: In every book the children are in situations that require inventing skills, research skills, and sharp teeth (or cooking, from the 10th book on); also true to some degree of the Quagmire triplets, although Duncan's journalism interest is rarely useful.
* [[Precision F-Strike]]: In ''The Reptile Room''
{{quote| Count Olaf/Stefano: Get in the damn jeep!}}
** This has actually gotten some controversy over being in a children's book series. [[Word of God]] says this was meant to have him [[Kick the Dog]].
* [[The Problem Withwith Licensed Games]]
* [[Properly Paranoid]]: The Baudelaires, about Count Olaf's many attempts to infiltrate their lives and snatch them for their fortune; V.F.D., a secret organisation which has split into two opposing sides, one noble and one murderous; and Aunt Josephine in [[The Film of the Book]], for the scene where all her crazy fears come true (although she's not around to see it). It makes us realise that maybe, just maybe, she's not as crazy as she seems. Then she sells the orphans out to Count Olaf to save her life, and we realise she is truly crazy to think he'll spare someone who could, albietly unlikely, speek out against him and reveal that Captain Sham is actually Count Olaf.
* [[Public Execution]]: Fortunately averted in ''The Vile Village'', but more or less straight in ''The Carnivorous Carnival''.
* [[Put Onon a Bus]]: Hector with Duncan and Isadora Quagmire; Fernald and Fiona were [[Put Onon a Bus]] ''offscreen'', no less.
* [[Pyromaniac]]: Count Olaf ''really'' likes to burn houses down and enjoys it even more ''if there is someone inside''
** He also doesn't mind the occasional hospital full of children.
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* [[Weirdness Magnet]]: Sort of. The children are more like weirdness iron filings, drawn to bizarre people and places. On the other hand, that might just be because there aren't any normal people in Snicketland.
* [[We Sell Everything]]: Last Chance General Store.
* [[What Happened to Thethe Mouse?]]: Phil. Arguably a lot of minor characters who weren't brought back, in the last couple of books when many one-shot characters returned).
** In the first book an assistant of Olaf's is mentioned who has warts all over his face. We never hear of him again.
* [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]] {{spoiler|Chapter Fourteen}}; arguably a [[Subverted Trope]] because they haven't gone anywhere, although their views have moved on. ''The Beatrice Letters'' form part of an epilogue themselves. Even though the scrambled letters reveal that {{spoiler|" BEATRICE SANK"}}, the Baudelaires {{spoiler|are apparently living out their lives doing what they love. Beatrice (that's the Beatrice born in Book 13) is currently trying to find Lemony Snicket, presumebly to ask him [[Mind Screw|what the hell is happening.]] }}
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