History Characters / ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017

* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017VFD V.F.D.]][[note]] Lemony Snicket, Jacqueline Scieczka, Fiona Widdershins, Captain Widdershins, Frank Denouement, Beatrice, Mother and Father, Gustav Sebald, Uncle Monty, Ike Anwhistle, Aunt Josephine Anwhistle, Larry Your-Waiter, Jacques Snicket, Olivia Caliban, Dewey Denouement, Official Fire Department Chief, "Madame Lulu"/[[spoiler:Kit Snicket]].[[/note]]

* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017Antagonists Antagonists]][[note]] Count Olaf, Esme Squalor, The Man with A Beard but No Hair, The Woman with Hair but No Beard, The Hook Handed Man, The Powder Faced Woman, The Bald Man, The Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender, Hugo the Hunchback, Colette the Contortionist, Kevin the Ambidextrous, Dr. Orwell, Carmelita Spats, Ernest Denouement, Ishmael.[[/note]]

* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017VFD V.F.D.]][[note]] Lemony Snicket, Jacqueline Scieczka, Fiona Widdershins, Captain Widdershins, Frank Denouement, Beatrice, Baudelaire parents, Gustav Sebald, Uncle Monty, Ike Anwhistle, Aunt Josephine Anwhistle, Mother and Father, Jacques Snicket, Olivia Caliban, Larry-Your-Waiter, Dewey Denouement, Official Fire Department Chief, "Madame Lulu"/[[spoiler:Kit Snicket]].[[/note]]

* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017VFD V.F.D.]][[note]] Lemony Snicket, Jacqueline Scieczka, Fiona Widdershins, Captain Widdershins, Frank Denouement, Jacques Snicket, Gustav Sebald, Uncle Monty, Ike Anwhistle, Aunt Josephine Anwhistle, Olivia Caliban, Larry-Your-Waiter, Dewey Denouement.[[/note]]
* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017Antagonists Antagonists]][[note]] Count Olaf, Esme Squalor, The Hook Handed Man, The Powder Faced Woman, The Bald Man, The Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender, The Freaks, The Man with A Beard but No Hair, The Woman with Hair but No Beard, Dr. Orwell, Ernest Denouement, Ishmael.[[/note]]
* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017OtherCharacters Other Characters]][[note]] Sir, Charles, Phil, Vice Principal Nero, Carmelita Spats, The Quagmire Triplets, Jerome Squalor, Council of Elders, Hector, Babs, Hal, Other V.F.D., Mr. Poe, Justice Strauss, Mrs. Poe, Poe siblings.[[/note]]

* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017Antagonists Antagonists]]
* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017OtherCharacters Other Characters]]

* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017VFD V.F.D.]]

* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017TheBaudelaires The Baudelaires]][[note]]Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire, Sunny Baudelaire, Bertrand Baudelaire, [[spoiler:Beatrice Baudelaire]].[[/note]]

* [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017TheBaudelaires The Baudelaires]]

!Pages

----
[[foldercontrol]]

[[/index]]

!Lucky Smells Lumbermill

[[folder:Sir]]
!!Sir
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sirandcharles.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Don Johnson

The owner of the Lucky Smells Lumber Mill and the author of a book on Paltryville history. Partner of Charles (romantically and in business).
----
* AdaptationalSexuality: Sir and Charles were only ever AmbiguouslyGay in the books.
* AdaptationalKarma: Gets chased out of the factory by an angry mob of workers, unlike in the book where he is still in charge.
* AdultsAreUseless: Subverted. Though the Baudelaire children believe him to be this, much like other adults in their lives, Sir isn't ignorant so much as he's malevolent. He doesn't know Dr. Orwell's hypnotizing everyone, but he does know she's doing something unethical and he's quite happy to let her keep going because it makes his employees obedient. He doesn't know about Count Olaf's schemes, but he's completely willing to pawn the Orphans off on Shirley because he doesn't care about them.
* AllTakeAndNoGive: Sir doesn't treat Charles well, and Charles ''knows'' it, but he loves him anyways.
* BadBoss: Pays his workers in gum and coupons and treats his "partner" Charles more like a servant.
* CigarChomper: He hates cigars but he's always smoking them because he's the boss.
* ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument: Does this to his book concerning the Baudelaires' involvement in town history.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Everyone calls him "Sir." His real name is never revealed.
* {{Jerkass}}: He claims the Baudelaire parents started the fire that burned down Paltryville but they actually rescued the survivors and helped them rebuild, a fact which he is well aware of. He actually wrote down the truth in his book of Paltryville history but then blacked out that entry in every single copy... except for one.
* MarriedToTheJob: He claims the mill is all he has and will do ''anything'' to keep it open.
* ManlyGay: He's a cigar-smoking man who looks like a SouthernGentleman, but he's also gay.
* SouthernGentleman: [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield It's unclear exactly where he lives]] but everything about him fits this archetype.
** Johnson appears to have developed a penchant for this role, playing a similar character in Film/DjangoUnchained.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Charles]]
!!Charles
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sirandcharles_0.png]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Rhys Darby

Sir's partner (romantically and in business) at the Lucky Smells Lumber Mill
----
* AllTakeAndNoGive: Sir doesn't treat him well, and Charles ''knows'' it, but he loves him anyways.
-->'''Charles:''' I'm gonna search for Sir. He may not have been a good partner, or a good boss... or a good person... but someday you'll learn things aren't always black and white.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Orwell induces this in him when he tries to interfere in their plans and to get him to participate in a fatal accident.
* ExtremeDoormat: He's Sir's partner but is treated more like a servant.
* IWillFindYou: We last see him setting out to search for Sir.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He's much nicer than Sir and helps the Baudelaire orphans at the end of their time at Lucky Smells Lumber Mill.
* ThrowTheDogABone: He gives the Baudelaires the one book page that proved their parents' heroism in Paltryville.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Phil]]
!!Phil
->'''Played by:''' Chris Gauthier

A Lucky Smells Lumber Mill worker who is an optimist.
----
* AnArmAndALeg: In the book his leg was only crushed, while in the series it's crushed off. He does get it reattached by the episode's end.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: His reaction to getting his leg crushed off? "Oh boy! Half-off pedicures!"
* NiceGuy: He's friendly and welcoming to the Baudelaires, even when the rest of the town hates them.
* OnlyFriend: He's the only Mill worker to take a liking to the Baudelaires and treat them civilly. When he's in the hospital they admit that they miss him and that his positive attitude helped with the depressing Mill conditions.
* ThePollyanna: Unfailingly sees the upside in every situation.
* WideEyedIdealist: He is overly optimistic even about the most dire situations.
[[/folder]]


!Purfrock Preparatory School

[[folder:Vice Principal Nero]]
!! Vice Principal Nero
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_series_of_unfortunate_events_season_2_the_austere_academy_76u2640_7.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Roger Bart

The incompetent Vice Director of the Purfrock school. He spoils Carmelita and forces everyone to hear his dreadful violin skills, believing himself to be a genius.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: Not him, but his anti-Olaf "security measures" get a huge dose of this. In the book, he had a computer with a picture of Count Olaf on the screen and stupidly assumed that would somehow keep Olaf away. Here, the system is crude but actually takes visual input and announces a verdict; while it's never made clear whether it could actually catch Olaf if he weren't disguised, its presence is enough to spook him into recruiting Carmelita Spats to get him inside.
* AdaptationalHeroism: In the book, he gleefully expels the Baudelaires even after they pass the exams (because they skipped gym class), and doesn't really care about Olaf kidnapping the Quagmires, to the point that he won't let Mr. Poe use his phone to call the police. He's still nasty here, but is somewhat more rational, grudgingly admitting that they passed, and there are a few points where he seems a little suspicious of Olaf's gym teacher disguise.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Get to class late and you'll spend lunch with your arms tied behind your back. Skip out on his violin performances and you have to watch him eat a bag of candy that you bought. Sneak around after hours and you have to clip his toenails.
* DreadfulMusician: Despite believing to be a genius, Nero is a lousy musician who has been forbidden to go anywhere near Julliard by a restraining order. No student likes his music.
* HateSink: Not as much as in the novel, but that's not saying much. He's rude, egotistical, and abrasive. Not even the aforementioned AdaptationalHeroism is enough to redeem him.
* {{Jerkass}}: He's a nasty vice principal who subjects his students to [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment bizarre punishments]], makes a small toddler do all his office work, and forces orphans to live in a rusty tin shack while the rest of the students live in luxury.
* MeaningfulName[=/=]NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Nero was a Roman emperor infamously known for being both an incompetent ruler and a terrible musician, both traits applying to this character. The common legend of him playing the fiddle while Rome burned certainly fits the petty and incompetent administrator who would rather practice the violin while Prufrock crumbles around him.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Extremely downplayed. He isn't by any means reasonable, though he does show once that, while uncomfortable with the orphans, since they succeeded in their test, they can remain in the academy.
* SkewedPriorities: His first and strongest priority is his music career and using the school's funds to improve it, while he believes himself to be a huge, misunderstood genius.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Carmelita Spats]]
!!Carmelita Spats
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carmelitasmiles_13.png]]
->'''Played by:''' Kitana Turnbull

A spoiled girl obsessed with her own adorableness who manages to go intact for her awful actions for being the Vice Director's favorite student.
----
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: She isn't ''nearly'' as sour-looking as her [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/snicket/images/a/aa/Carmelita_Spats_%28TAA%29.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100308225235 book counterpart]].
* AdaptationalVillainy: In the book, she was just a minor bully at first who only joined Count Olaf much later on. Here, she agrees to help Olaf in the same episode she's introduced in.
* AlphaBitch: She's at the top of the school's social ladder (points for also being a cheerleader), having gotten there by basically bullying everybody into submission.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Doubling with GettingCrapPastTheRadar, when she shows up at night in the cafeteria, she sniffs over the powdered sugar in a cake; the act itself seems like she's sniffing cocaine.
* EnfantTerrible: Often goes beyond spoiled brattiness and into outright sociopathy because it amuses her. Case in point: when asked to read ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'', she instead finds an actual mockingbird, kills it, and gleefully presents its body to the librarian in a box.
* HateSink: An insufferable AlphaBitch.
* HypocriticalHumor: Carmelita calls the people she bullies "cake-sniffers," yet is later seen in the cafeteria plunging her nose in one and smelling it, even sniffing the powdered sugar in it like cocaine.
--> '''Jacques:''' In my experience, it takes one, to know one... cake-sniffer.
* {{Jerkass}}: ''Yes'', spending most of her time mocking and insulting the Baudelaires and the Quagmires simply because they're orphans.
* LargeHam: Goes with the job description when you're the head cheerleader. She spends ''every second'' of screentime devouring the scenery.
* LightIsNotGood: In a scenario filled with dark, muted colors, she is a bright pink spot, but she's one of the biggest jerks around and makes every bad situation worse with her actions.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: She is basically what would happen if Creator/ShirleyTemple never went to Hollywood and was an out-and-out asshole.
* PinkIsFeminine: As above, instead of wearing the school uniform she wears an offensively pink and frilly dress.
* SpoiledBrat: Is treated like royalty by Vice Principal Nero, and is allowed to take whatever and go wherever she likes around Prufrock.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Quagmire Triplets]]
!! Duncan, Isadora and Quigley Quagmire
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2f79e8bb35bd7ab8_screen_shot_2017_01_14_at_120504_ampng_5.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Avi Lake (Isadora) and Dylan Kingwell (Duncan and Quigley)

-->''"This is what friends are for."''

Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, two of the Quagmire Triplets, the only members of the family to survive a fire that killed their parents and their sibling, Quigley. They lived through similar adventures of those the Baudelair's went through and quickly befriend them.
----
* DamselInDistress: They are kidnapped by Count Olaf at the end of "The Austere Academy".
* InsistentTerminology: They are triplets and the fact that the third one among them is dead won't change that. Both the Baudelaires and the Librarian still refer to them as triplets.
* PutOnABus: At the end of "The Vile Village", Klaus and Violet decide to run away by land, once they realize that they wouldn't be able to board the self-sustaining house with them, leading Hector to take the Quagmire triplets with him in his escape.
* RhymesOnADime: Isadora has a tendency to speak in couplets.
* ShipTease: With Duncan and Isadora, with Violet and Klaus respectively, as early as the first two episodes of season 2.
** When they first introduce themselves, Violet and Duncan give each other some looks, which even prompts Sunny to say "GetARoom."
** When the Quagmires are getting ready for their plan to take the Baudelaire's places for the running exercises, Isadora gives Klaus a kiss on the cheek before they leave.
* TheUnreveal: Duncan and Isadora find the book and try to warn Klaus and Violet about the VFD, sadly, they are far away and do not manage to pass the information. While they are reading, the viewer is also not shown what exactly they are finding out.
[[/folder]]

!667 Dark Avenue
[[folder:Jerome Squalor]]
!! Jerome Squalor
-> '''Played by:''' Tony Hale

An old friend of the Baudelaire's parents, whom he has lost contact over the years. He convinces his wife to become their new guardians once orphans become in.
----
* DarkIsNotEvil: Wears a black, sleazy-looking pinstripe suit, but is actually a pretty NiceGuy. It's his WomanInWhite wife who ends up being the villainous one.
* DirtyCoward: Deconstructed. He leaves the Baudelaires behind once they make it clear their intent was to fight Count Olaf and get the Quagmires. However, he tells them that he's not brave enough and even admits that their parents called him out for that.
* TheDogBitesBack: He finally works up the gall to stand up against his wife in the end.
-->''"Esme, love of my life, I'm tired of being treated this way."''
* HenpeckedHusband: Needless to say, Esme's love for Jerome is anything but genuine. She ''does'' have the hots for Count Olaf, after all.
* InnocentBystander: Unlike his wife and the Baudelaire's parents, he has no involvement with the VFD despite being married to the former and close friends of the latter. He's implied to have been left out of the loop by the Baudelaire parents because of his cowardice. And once he witnesses the treachery going on, he wants no involvement with it.
* NiceGuy: Unlike Esme, he's a genuinely kindhearted guardian who treats the Baudelaires with warmth and hospitality.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Esmé Squalor]]
->See [[Characters/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017Antagonists Antagonists]]
[[/folder]]

!Village of Fowl Devotees (VFD Village)
[[folder:Council of Elders]]
!!The Council of Elders (Elder Jemma, Elder Annabelle and Elder Sam)
->'''Played by:''' Carol Mansell (Elder Jemma), Mindy Sterling (Elder Annabelle), Ken Jenkins (Elder Sam)

A trio of elders that make the rules and govern over the VFD Village.
----
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The village flag design is basically the Nazi flag with a silhouette of a flying crow standing in for the swastika, most likely a commentary on the Council's obsession with and strict enforcement of arbitrary rules, disdain for outsiders, and disturbing willingness to execute people (even children) without a trial by burning them.
* AdultsAreUseless: Completely and utterly incompetent, they see the worst form of punishment as a very severe ''fine'', and have so many rules and regulations it is believable that all they do is sit around making up new ones.
* AgeLift: A similar situation with Hal. Though they are portrayed by elderly actors, they aren't the ancient human beings that are described in the books.
* AllThereInTheScript: In the episode proper, they're only ever referred to as the Council Elders, but the credits name them as Jemma, Annabelle and Sam, respectively.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Their decision to adopt orphans wasn't in the intent to raise them, but actually to find people to do their chores.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Their rules don't really make sense, and it's shown that people who harm crows take precedent over any other sort of crime, as shown how they turned against Esmé when she fired a harpoon in a crow.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hector]]
!! Hector
->'''Played by:''' Ithamar Enriquez

The handyman of the village.
----
* DefectorFromDecadence: Tired of the village's rules and their abusive ways, he creates a self-sustaining floating house in which he intends to run away in.
* NiceGuy: Very much so. He treats the children with respect and care, even offering to take them with him on his self-sustaining floating house.
* PutOnABus: He pretty much leaves and stays in the air with Duncan and Isadora Quagmire after being saved by the Baudelaires.
[[/folder]]

! Heimlich Hospital
[[folder:Babs]]
!! Babs
->'''Played by:''' Kerri Kenney

The Head of Human Resources at Heimlich Hospital.
----
* AdaptationExpansion: In the books, she was never seen due to her belief that adults should be "heard, but not seen". In the series, she's fully visible as her own character.
* AdaptationalWimp: Definitely not as strict as her character was in the book. Here in the series, she's shown having a brief anxiety attack complete with breathing into a paper bag when someone not on her approved list tries to get into the hospital.
* GallowsHumor: Engages in a bit of this when Violet tries to break them both out of the hospital, brought on by fear and nervousness:
-->'''Violet:''' Is there a way out of this hospital where I don’t have to fill out any paperwork?\\
'''Babs:''' ''[beat]'' You can die! ''[anxious laughter]'' [[BaitAndSwitch Or you can take a left at the next hall]]. The exit’s that way.
* LaughingMad: A result of fear and nervousness more than insanity, but she still gives off this vibe when it happens.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Before allowing Olaf into the hospital, she forces him to fill out a form in triplicate and another 15 in quadruplicate. She even flat-out states that paperwork makes the world go round.
* SkewedPriorities: Her biggest concern regarding the hospital being torched by Olaf is the fact that she lost most of her paperwork in the blaze.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: While her fate in the book is unknown (though Count Olaf is heavily implied to have killed her), she is explicitly seen to have survived the fire that destroyed the hospital in the adaptation.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Archivist/Hal]]
!! Hal
->'''Played by:''' David Alan Grier

An elderly man with very poor eyesight who runs the Library of Records at Heimlich Hospital.
----
* AgeLift: A downplayed example, in the books he was described as the "oldest person the Baudelaires had seen in their life", implying he would be a very elderly man. In the series, he's played by David Alan Grier, a 61 year old man. Definitely not the most elderly of people.
* CoolOldGuy: Downplayed, he is nicer than most characters so far, but he is an ObstructiveBureaucrat who doesn't want to let the children look for the files they need.
* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Starts doing this after the Baudelaire's steal his keys so they can break into the library, telling them that he never thought he could trust anyone as much as he trusts them.
* TheWoobie: Despite there being no other way to sneak into the library, the children feel awful for that they had to steal his keys in order to do so. After he finds out about their betrayal, the files are vandalized and burned to a crisp leaving him with nothing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:V.F.D. (Volunteers Fighting Disease)]]
A group of volunteers who take the Baudelaires with them to Heimlich Hospital, where they are going to sing for the patients.
->'''Played by:''' John Bobek (Bearded Man), Lauren [=McGibbon=] (Perky Volunteer)

* FunWithAcronyms: Their van is marked with the acronym VFD, leading the Baudelaires to think that they are members of the ''other'' VFD organization. Unfortunately, they are not.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: They ignore some patients who are begging for medical help, thinking they can make them feel better by singing to them instead.
* {{Jerkass}}: They take surprisingly sadistic glee at the idea of Violet getting her head chopped off. They also eagerly join Olaf's troupe and the others when they chase the Baudelaires.
* LyricalDissonance: Their songs are all happy and upbeat, despite the lyrics often describing the gruesome diseases and ailments that the patients might have.
* NoNameGiven: On Babs' list, the leader is listed as "Man with Beard" and the rest of the group is listed as "Others". They are all given similarly vague names in the credits.
* TakeThat: Towards those who take the phrase "Laughter is the best medicine" literally. Also potentially towards anti-vaccers, given that they are depicted as clearly ignorant when they scoff at the Baudelaires for suggesting vaccines as a treatment for disease.
* WideEyedIdealist: PlayedForLaughs. They believe that their singing, and the happiness they believe it will bring, is the only thing that the patients need to get better. Klaus points out that what the patients really need is medicine, which the volunteers ignore.
[[/folder]]

!Caligari Carnival
[[folder:Hugo the Hunchback]]
!! Hugo
->'''Played by:''' Kevin Cahoon

One of the three freaks who work at the carnival. He's rather excitable, and has a hump on his back that makes him stand out.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: he is mostly quiet and reserved in the books. In the series he is lively and childish.
* FaceHeelTurn: Like his comrades, they join Count Olaf and even cut the rope to the carriage Violet and Klaus are in to let them fall off the cliff.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Colette the Contortionist]]
!! Colette
->'''Played by:''' Bonnie Morgan

One of the three freaks who work at the carnival. Her draw to fame is her extreme flexibility, allowing her to contort herself into a variety of unnatural positions.
----
* TheCastShowoff: Played by Bonnie Morgan, who's a real life contortionist. Most, if not all of what she does probably aren't special effects.
* VillainousCrush: During Count Olaf's "Freaks" song, he draws attention to Colette's freakish contortions, denouncing them as abnormal and disgusting, but the Hook Handed Man seems to find her contortions rather Sexy, though Olaf cuts him off mid-sentence with the next verse.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kevin the Ambidextrous]]
!! Kevin
->'''Played by:''' Creator/RobbieAmell

One of the three freaks who work at the carnival. Despite being completely normal otherwise, his "problem" is that he's ambidextrous, meaning that both of his hands are equally strong. He still sees himself as a freak, even when told that being ambidextrous is completely normal.
----
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: His looks were never mentioned in the book, but here he's quite handsome. It adds to the joke of him considering himself to be a hideous freak.
* AgeLift: He is described as wrinkly in the novel, but here he is played by a young actor.
* TheEeyore: Even though he's probably the least freakish of the freaks, he still sees himself as horribly abnormal, and wishes he could just have a single dominant hand.
[[/folder]]

!Other Characters

[[folder:Mr. Poe]]
!!Arthur Poe
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mr_poe.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' K. Todd Freeman

The executor of the Baudelaire estate. He is easily tricked by Count Olaf and constantly ignores everything the children say.
----
* AdaptationalJerkass: In the novels and film, Mr. Poe generally cares about the Baudelaire children, even when the children were accused of murder in the former and even wanted to do everything he could to prove their innocence. Here, he seems to be more interest in his job and less about the Baudelaire children and even believes that the children are murders when they're framed.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: Zigzagged. In some aspects, he's just as if not more gullible and useless then he is in the books. But in "The Reptile Room", he dismisses "Stephano's" explanation of the Mamba Del Mal using a bottle of its own venom as "ridiculous". And whereas in the books, he ignores the suggestion that Olaf used makeup to cover his tattoo, here, he's actually the one to realize and expose that part of the disguise. Similarly, when Count Olaf tries a long string of technicalities to claim the Baudelaires, Mr. Poe is quick to shoot them all down as the preposterous reaches they are. Then he goes right back to being blissfully ignorant of all the trouble the Baudelaires have been through.
* AdaptationalKarma: He has to face the consequences for his incompetence when the Baudelaires run off at the end of ''The Wide Window'' and almost loses his job at the beginning of ''The Miserable Mill''.
* AdultsAreUseless: He utterly fails at keeping the children safe from Count Olaf, and repeatedly fails to believe them about Olaf being in disguise.
* AesopAmnesia: He constantly forgets that the Baudelaires are actually competent, intelligent, and justified in their suspicions, after they've proven themselves time and again. He even suggests they might be letting their imaginations run away with them when they insist Captain Sham is Olaf, citing how they believed the same of Stephano--who ''was'' Count Olaf, and whose unmasking Poe was present for.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's a gullible, self-absorbed dolt, but he's also Mulctuary Money Management's best banker and was considered capable enough at his job by Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire to handle their vast fortune.
* ButtMonkey: The Baudelaire's quickly grow to disdain him, Count Olaf holds him in contempt, his wife's a self-absorbed shrew, and his children grow up to resent him and one another. This of course pales to the actual horrors that befall the orphans supposedly under his charge.
* CharacterExaggeration: His character is not very smart in general, but the TV show make him a complete idiot.
* CharacterTics: A persistent, hacking cough, which seems to intensify whenever he's in personal discomfort or visiting any place that isn't hypoallergenic. Even his car is heard sputtering and wheezing at one point.
* DissonantSerenity: Is disturbingly cheerful even when bringing disturbing news. Especially stands out in the season finale where while even Count Olaf is singing "That's Not How The Story Goes" with sadness, he is singing the depressing lyrics with joy.
* DumbassHasAPoint: Occasionally manages a gleam of insight. It's his idea that "Stephano" is wearing make-up over Olaf's tattoo and to compare Aunt Josephine's suicide note to a grocery list.
-->'''"Stephano":''' Then it's obvious! The mamba du mal got out of its own cage, stole a vial of its own venom, and murdered Dr. Montgomery in cold blood.\\
'''Poe:''' Ah-ha! Wait, that's ridiculous.
** In a combination of this and EveryoneHasStandards, he is horrified when Count Olaf's troupe suggests killing the Baudelaires, [[spoiler: even after he (along with everyone else) wrongly believes the Orphans are murderers.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''The Two White-Faced Women:''' Murderers should get the chair.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Mr. Poe:''' Don't be preposterous, these are just children!]]
* TheFool: He's only ever helpful (to both the protagonists and antagonists) by accident and just gets in everyone's way (again, to both the Baudelaire orphans and Count Olaf) when he actually tries to get involved in the story. And yet, for all his witless incompetence and general apathy, he's the only major character in the show to come out on top (regaining his status at Mulctuary Money Management's #1 Banker and attaining his coveted promotion) at the end of the first season while his fellow cast members fare considerably worse (the Baudelaires wind up in a depressingly hostile boarding school, [[spoiler:Mr. and Mrs. Quagmire]] perish shortly after reuniting with their children, Lemony Snicket is still heartbroken, and Count Olaf's schemes have made him a wanted man and have effectively destroyed his beloved acting career); best exemplified with how he's the only person who doesn't sound depressed as everyone sings "That's Not How The Story Goes" during the finale, apparently not taking any notice of the dark lyrics.
* HateSink: While not explicitly mean or unpleasant, his stupidity, condescending attitude, and downright uselessness is as frustrating to the audience as it is to the orphans. It's no wonder that they decide to abandon him at the end of ''The Wide Window''.
* IdiotBall: ''Constantly''. His foolish and insensible decisions fuel the plot almost as much as Olaf's own machinations do.
* ItsAllAboutMe: While he does care about the safety of the Baudelaires and is sympathetic to their struggles, he's way too focused on furthering his own career to put in more effort. After the orphans run away to the lumbermill, he's more outraged about the effect on his reputation at the bank than anything else.
* JustAKid: He treats the Baudelaires like they don't understand the meaning of words and always tells them to "let the adults talk" whenever they try to convince him about Count Olaf being in disguise.
* RaceLift: Is white in the illustrations and previous film, but is portrayed by black actor K. Todd Freeman here.
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Shown when he first hears the Screeching Iguana Clock.
* StepfordSmiler: He's all smiles when he's around others and tries to be cordial, but he's shown to be terribly miserable and exhausted when seen alone.
* TookALevelInJerkAss: ''In a sense''. Around the events of ''The Vile Village'', Poe flat out believes the children murdered Count Olaf (actually Jacques Snicket) ''despite the fact Count Olaf is a villainous person''. He continues to basically act like they're evil or criminals despite the obviousness. He's also more than happy to see a freak get devoured by lions at the end of ''The Carnivorous Carnival'', although he quickly regrets his enthusiasm when he actually sees it happen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Justice Strauss]]
!!Justice Strauss
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/justice_straus.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/JoanCusack

Count Olaf's kindly next-door neighbor, she takes an instant like to the kids despite Olaf's attempts to poison her against them.
----
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Episode 2 ends with her starting to read ''The Incomplete History of Secret Societies'', setting up her involvement with VFD later on. Which we won't get to see until the series reaches Book 12.
* NiceGirl: One of the nicest characters in the show.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She constantly laments her lack of romantic success, despite being a world-renowned judge.
* SkilledButNaive: Strauss is a well-read and competent judge, but she's much too trusting of unsavoury characters.
* UnwittingPawn: Becomes one for Count Olaf.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mrs. Poe]]
!!Eleanora Poe
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/poe.jpg]]
->'''Portrayed By:''' Cleo King

Mr. Poe's wife and editor-in-chief of the ''Daily Punctilio''.
----
* {{Catchphrase}}: "Wait until the readers of the ''Daily Punctilio'' hear about this!" Said in response to pretty much ''every'' big development she hears about. She always says it in a very cheerful tone.
* CompositeCharacter:
** She combines the character of Eleanora Poe, Mr. Poe's sister in the book, with the very minor character of his wife Polly Poe.
** She also appears to have taken on the role of Geraldine Julienne, the Punctilio's reporter. While Julienne hadn't shown up in the books at this point, Mrs. Poe is seen writing an article herself, and in episode 2, she says Julienne's catchphrase, "Wait until the readers of the ''Daily Punctilio'' hear about this!"
* GiftedlyBad: For someone who is editor-in-chief of a newspaper, she's very bad at her job, as she can't even spell "promotion" right and gets the Baudelaires' names wrong. She does manage to track down the Baudelaires' using her reporting skills, but it's only because she happened to be covering the accident at Lucky Smells Lumbermill.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Shows off the article about the Baudelaire Mansion burning down getting the front page, ''right in front of the Baudelaire orphans.''
* IntrepidReporter: Uses her reporting skills to track down the Baudelaires after they run away from Mr. Poe. Although when she does finally find them, it's completely by accident.
* {{Jerkass}}: Downplayed compared to the other characters, but she uses the Baudelaires for newspaper headlines and insists they should be ''delighted'' to be on the front page. Although she's ''more so'' worse in Season 2, being the one spreading botched headlines and labeling the Baudelaires as murders and arsonists.
* MeaningfulName: Like her married name and her sons' names, Eleanora is named with Creator/EdgarAllanPoe in mind. Specifically, after Lenore from ''Literature/TheRaven''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Brothers Poe]]
!!Edgar and Albert Poe
->'''Portrayed By:''' Jack Forrester (Albert) and Kaniel Jacob-Cross (Edgar)

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Poe.
----
* GrassIsGreener: According to Snicket, one brother became a banker like his father and the other lives in a cave and talks to goats. Each thinks the other has a better life.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: They're not deliberately mean, but they've heard rumors that the Baudelaire orphans killed their parents themselves and ask them about it.
[[/folder]]

* DirtyCoward: Deconstructed. He leaves the Baudelaires behind once they make it clear their intent was to fight Count Olaf and get the Quagmires. However, he tells them that he's not be brave enough and even admits that their parents called him out for that.

* HateSink: Not as much as the novel, but that's not saying much. He's rude, egotistical, and abrasive. Not even the aforementioned AdaptationalHeroism is enough to redeem him.

* HateSink: ''Very much so''. He's rude, egotistical, and abrasive. Not even the aforementioned AdaptationalHeroism is enough to redeem him.

* DirtyCoward: Once the children make clear their intent to fight Count Olaf and get the Quagmires, he states to not be brave enough to help, and leaves them behind.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: It's ''very much'' unknown what happened to her, although Olaf off-handily mentions he threw her off the roof.

* TakeThat: Towards those who take the phrase "Laughter is the best medicine" literally.

* AdaptationalBadass: Not him, but his anti-Olaf "security measures" get a huge dose of this. In the book, he had a computer with a picture of Count Olaf on the screen and stupidly assumed that would somehow keep Olaf away. Here, it's a high-tech security system that successfully thwarts Olaf's attempts to infiltrate the academy, and he's only able to slip through the cracks with the help of Carmelita Spats.

* MeaningfulName: Doubling as NamedAfterSomebodyFamous. Nero was a roman emperor infamously known for being both an incompetent ruler and a terrible musician, both traits applying to this character.

* LightIsNotGood: In a scenario filled with dark colors, she is a bright pink spot, but she's one of the biggest jerks around and makes every bad situation worse with her actions.

* TheFool: He's only ever helpful (to both the protagonists and antagonists) by accident and just gets in everyone's way (again, to both the Baudelaire orphans and Count Olaf) when he actually tries to get involved in the story. And yet, for all his witless incompetence and general apathy, he's the only major character in the show to come out on top (regaining his status at Mulctuary Money Management's #1 Banker and attaining his coveted promotion) at the end of the first season while his fellow cast members fare considerably worse (the Baudelaires wind up in a depressingly hostile boarding school, [[spoiler:Mr. and Mrs. Quagmire]] perish shortly after reuniting with their children, Lemony Snicket is still heartbroken, and Count Olaf's schemes have made him a wanted man and have effectively destroyed his beloved acting career); best exemplified with how he's the only person who doesn't sound depressed as everyone sings "That's Not How The Story Goes" during the finale.

* TookALevelInJerkAss: ''In a sense''. Around the events of ''The Vile Village'', Poe flat out believes the children murdered Count Olaf (actually Jacques Snicket) ''despite the fact Count Olaf is a villainous person''. He continues to basically act like they're evil or criminals despite the obviousness.

* DisproportionateRetribution: The reason for feeling betrayed by the Baudelaires and doing the below guilt slinging? ''They went through his library. Granted ''most'' of the reason is because Esme destroyed his library and blamed the Baudelaires, but ''still''!