The trio are caught between a proverbial rock and a hard place; on the one hand, they have the ability to finally rid themselves of Olaf and his treachery by Straus' court of law, but would need to divulge everything that has happened to them, even the unsavory bits. On the other, they have been found at the murder scene of Dewey Denouement, Frank and Ernest's triplet, and Kit's boyfriend. They must make difficult choices and learn harsh truths about VFD, their parents and how the entire series of unfortunate events that have surrounded them since the fire first began.
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: Esmé's mad quest for the Sugar Bowl. Whatever becomes of her, she doesn't get it, and it's implied that it remains in the hidden library of Hotel Denouement.
- At the Opera Tonight: This episode clarifies what actually happened at the pivotal showing of the Giuseppe Verdi opera La forza del destino in the past. It involves theft and Accidental Murder.
- Blatant Lies: The Man and the Woman claim Justice Strauss' panicked noise is her eating something, followed by claiming she's suddenly taken a vow of silence, mid-trial.
- Briar Patching: Olaf uses it to trick Esmé and Carmelita into staying in the hotel as it burns.
- The Bus Came Back: In addition to last episode's returnees, this episode has Ishmael the Taxi Driver, some Lucky Smells workers, the Village of Fowl Devotee elders, Prufrock students, Heimlich Hospital doctors, and some of the Volunteers Fighting Disease in attendance at the trial.
- Call-Forward:
- At the opera, Kit and Olaf lament Lemony's habit of defining things, lament being a word which here means "regret", and hope he grows out of it eventually.
- Olaf complains about opera, and declares he'll never spontaneously start singing... unless he changes his mind some day. Jaqcues is mentioned, but absent, and it turns out Olaf actually liked him at the time.
- Cassandra Truth: Many of the people the Baudelaires try to warn about the fire don't believe them.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Carmelita uses the rock Olaf gave her (which was also Violet's skipping stone) to shoot down the crow carrying the Sugar Bowl.
- The incredibly heavy beachball turns out to be a disguise for the diving helmet containing the mycelium.
- The Carmelita II.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The high judges, who go unseen until toward the end of the trial.
- Continuity Cavalcade: Guests at the hotel are from every adventure the Baudelaires have had.
- The Corruptor: Olaf is giddy when Sunny suggests burning down Hotel Denouement, thinking he's rubbed off on the Baudelaires.
- Dark Reprise: "That's Not How This Story Goes" shows up, over a montage of pictures of all the people who've died over the series, sung by the cast.
- Downer Ending: The Last Safe Place is burnt down, possibly killing many people. The Baudelaires realize Justice Strauss can't help them, and are forced to flee on a boat with Count Olaf.
- Enemy Mine: The Baudelaires are forced to work with Count Olaf to escape the hotel in the climax.
- Evil Is Petty: Esmé's idea for taking revenge on everybody in the courtroom? Serve them sausages made from crow meat, and laced with extra pepper. Olaf calls her out on it.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Everyone in the courtroom, but in particular the representatives from the crow-loving Village of Fowl Devotees, are disgusted at the thought they just ate crow sausages. Only Poe doesn't seem to mind.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Averted; when all members of the trial's audience begin to cough, the Baudelaires think it's this trope and deduce that the sausages they just ate had been poisoned with the Medusoid Mycelium. However, the coughing is actually caused by the huge amount of pepper in the sausages, and there is no real harm.
- Kangaroo Court: It turns out the trial is one, designed to entrap the Baudelaires, by the Man with a Beard but No Hair and the Woman with Hair but No Beard.
- Lampshade Hanging:
- Vice Principal Nero finally acknowledges the fact that Prufrock Preparatory doesn't seem to have an actual Principal. Apparently he went missing many years ago.
- After one more coughing fit from Mr. Poe, Count Olaf notes he really should just get it checked.
- Poor Communication Kills: Olaf twists things around to make the Baudelaires look bad, and they never think of a coherent argument in their own defense for any of what he says. For example, not pointing out he was the one who burnt down Caligari Carnival, not them.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Count Olaf unleashes one on the trial's audience for their being utterly stupid and useless, pointing out all their flaws. He also has a brief one towards Violet and Klaus, chastising them for being just as immoral as him in their methods of survival.Klaus Baudelaire: It's not the whole truth. You're manipulating the facts!
Count Olaf: So are you. You're not the innocent orphans you've let these people think you are. You've lied. You've stolen. You've abandoned people. You've set fires. Time after time, you have relied on treachery for survival, just like everybody else. Because here is the real truth that no one is willing tell you. There are no noble people in the world. - Reusable Lighter Toss: Olaf lights the fire at the hotel by flinging a zippo into a basket of laundry.
- Rule of Symbolism: In the flashback, Olaf is first seen igniting a small fire on a curtain with a telescope and a stage light. After he succeeds, he quickly extinguishes it, underscoring the Grey-and-Grey Morality that has been running throughout the series.
- Self-Serving Memory: One of the Village of Fowl Devotees is against the Baudelaires, despite Klaus pointing out the village had tried to burn them. She does concede the point after that.
- Skewed Priorities: Why is Esmé so hell-bent on getting that Sugar Bowl? It completes her tea set. Nothing more.
- Start of Darkness: The theft of the Sugar Bowl is revealed, which resulted in the schism, the murder of Count Olaf's father, and his turn from the boyfriend of Kit into a villain.
- Tastes Like Chicken: Poe's reaction to the crow sausages Esmé and Carmelita serve the court.
- Too Dumb to Live:
- Babs and Jerome Squalor become so panicked and uncertain about where the exits are they decide to remain perfectly still.
- Mr. Poe decides to put his blindfold back on despite the building being on fire.
- Uncertain Doom: We never do find out what becomes of Esmé, Carmelita, Jerome, Babs, Mr. Poe, Vice Principal Nero, the Man with a Beard but No Hair, or the Woman with Hair but No Beard, or whether any of them escape the fire. Although, considering Justice Strauss was on the roof and managed to escape, it's possible some of them made it out too.
- Visual Pun:
- The trial attendees have to enter the court blindfolded, since justice is blind.
- Esmé serves the court sausages made out of crow (literally eating crow).
- Wham Line: "I'm sorry, Baudelaires. But my fellow judges want to know how you plead."
- Wham Shot: Shortly after the above Wham Line, the other two High Court judges are revealed... The Man With A Beard But No Hair and the Woman With Hair But No Beard, indicating that Olaf was never going to be brought to justice after all.
