Penultimate Peril: Part 2
- Episode aired Jan 1, 2019
- 52m
Count Olaf's trial takes place in the hotel's lobby and secrets about the past are revealed to the Baudelaire children.Count Olaf's trial takes place in the hotel's lobby and secrets about the past are revealed to the Baudelaire children.Count Olaf's trial takes place in the hotel's lobby and secrets about the past are revealed to the Baudelaire children.
- Violet Baudelaire
- (as Malina Weissman)
- Quigley Quagmire
- (credit only)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Mr. Poe asks the children to wear blindfolds to the trial because he was instructed to take everything the court says literally, including "justice is blind," Sunny babbles "Scalia." This is a reference to former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a firm believer in the Textualist theory, which states that all laws, even old ones, must be taken literally, regardless of their original purpose or intent.
- Quotes
Count Olaf: I've always been honest about my desires to you orphans: you maimed or dead, and your fortune in my rarely-washed hands. That's more than the rest of these people can say.
Violet Baudelaire: These people are here to help us.
Count Olaf: Help you? Look around! I see a banker who cares more about a promotion than three orphans!
Arthur Poe: Vice-President, Orphan Affairs
Count Olaf: I see a man who was too afraid to protect you, and a woman who values paperwork over peoples' lives! I see a vice-principal who was more than happy to let me into his school, as long as I stroked his ego!
Vice Principal Nero: That's a lie! He only stroked my... violin.
Count Olaf: I see rich people who only cared about you because you were "in", and villagers who only took you in to do their chores! I see volunteers whose complicated codes and pretentious literary references are useless against the real treacheries of the world! And presiding over them all, a justice so blind she let me marry you! These so-called decent people have done more to help my schemes than any of my associates. They should be up here!
Klaus Baudelaire: They're not up here, you are!
Count Olaf: Yes. But you are up here too, Baudelaires.
- SoundtracksLa Forza del Destino
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Found this second part to be even better, with what set the first part of "The Penultimate Peril" apart from the previous episodes and what it did so brilliantly done even better in Part 2. Like what was said for "The Penultimate Peril: Part 1", this adaptation of "The Penultimate Peril" was the only one of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' to not have any obvious problems, no pacing problems, no characters that irritated (thankfully Mr Poe is at his least annoying and that is saying a good deal), no lack of tension and nothing felt too over the top or anything.
All the things that were done brilliantly in "The Penultimate Peril: Part 1" are present here in "The Penultimate Peril: Part 2" and even better. Known for its very detailed, atmospheric and varied settings that suited the books' and series' tone to a tee, 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' continues to look absolutely wonderful with "The Penultimate Peril: Part 2". Hotel Denouement is really beautifully realised in detail and atmosphere, with so much to see without getting overwhelming. The clever costumes and stylish photography shine too, as does the opening credits sequence. The music fits perfectly, whether quirky or haunting. Including some very effective use of Verdi's "La Forza Del Destino", an opera with some fantastic music despite its sprawling story.
"The Penultimate Peril: Part 2" contains the best writing of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. There are some genuinely hilarious moments, some genuine tension (Count Olaf being the most threatning since "The Hostile Hospital") and some of the most heart-wrenching moments of the series. Felt a surprisingly wide mix of emotions in the whole exchange where Count Olaf talks about honesty and desire and seeing how the rest of the characters take it. The absurdity and dark humour are still here but there is also more depth to usual, Count Olaf having the best lines which is hardly a surprise. Even more striking is how bold the writing is, even bolder than Part 1, in its poking fun at justice failures (rather than just making the adult characters look easily fooled all the time), how hotels are run (in a wonderfully absurdist fashion) and the nature of the legal system (without causing offense).
Where "The Penultimate Peril: Part 2", well the whole of the adaptation actually, similarly excels is reminding one of past events and providing crucial flashbacks in the successful aim of answering major questions long in desperate need of being resolved. Actually think, and am probably going out on a limb for this, that it did better at this than the last episode "The End" (an improvement over the book) did. There are a lot of characters, though not feeling like too many like the first part of "The Carnivorous Carnival". Some of the appearances are short, but nobody is also sidelined. Do feel that the Baudelaires have grown as characters and became increasingly resourceful.
Similarly all the performances are pitch perfect, the Baudelaires' acting has gotten more confident over time and Patrick Warburton again gives some of his best acting of the series. But it's Neil Patrick Harris' tour-de-force turn that impresses most.
Overall, wonderful penultimate adaptation, and an even better second part, of an enjoyable and laudable if uneven series. 10/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- Dec 16, 2020
Details
- Runtime52 minutes