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Miscellaneous characters from the 2017 adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Main Page | The Baudelaires | V.F.D. | Antagonists | Other Characters

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Recurring Allies

Justice Strauss

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/justice_straus.jpg

Portrayed By: Joan Cusack

Count Olaf's kindly next-door neighbor, she takes an instant liking to the kids despite Olaf's attempts to pit her against them.

Adaptational Dumbass: In the books, she confirms the siblings' Loophole Abuse of the marriage law stands, thus ruining Olaf's plan in the second episode. Here, she doesn't know if it can count, and it falls on Klaus to create a legal argument to convince her.
Adaptation Personality Change: Much of her dialogue alludes her being a resentful Old Maid who longs for children, with her interest in the orphans being seen as a bit of overcompensating. While she would eagerly try to adopt the Baudelaires in the books, she's not nearly as desperate.
Disappointed in You: She clearly feels this way with the Baudelaires upon discovering all of the treacherous deeds they themselves have done, and is less than sympathetic towards them when she reveals that they also will be considered for guilt during the verdict. She still loved them as her own children and still wanted to adopt them, though.
Hero of Another Story: Episode 2 ends with her starting to read The Incomplete History of Secret Societies, setting up her involvement with VFD later on.
Horrible Judge of Character: She trusts her two fellow high judges, despite their being sinister beyond all reason.
Judicial Wig: Exaggerated; she's a judge who's almost always shown wearing a curly, powdered wig even when off the clock.
Lawful Stupid: She has blind trust in the law and the authorities, which puts her at odds with the Baudelaires. She even refuses to flee from the scene of a crime even though the building is burning down.
Nice Girl: One of the nicest characters in the show.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She frequently laments her lack of romantic success, despite being a world-renowned judge.
Skilled, but Naive: Strauss is a well-read and competent judge, but she's much too trusting of unsavoury characters.
Spared by the Adaptation: In the book, it's unknown whether or not she managed to escape the burning hotel. Here, it's shown that she did.
Unwitting Pawn: Becomes one for Count Olaf. Later on, she becomes one for The Man with a Beard but No Hair and the Woman with Hair but No Beard.

The Quagmire Triplets

Duncan, Isadora and Quigley Quagmire

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isadoraduncan.png

Isadora and Duncan

Portrayed 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 brother, Quigley. They lived through similar circumstances of those that the Baudelaires went through and quickly befriend them.

Adaptational Early Appearance: Downplayed, but they make a brief cameo during "The Miserable Mill, Part 1", while their book counterparts were introduced in The Austere Academy. Quigley especially, since in the books, he doesn't appear in person until The Slippery Slope, although he is mentioned by Duncan and Isadora early on.
Damsel in Distress: They are kidnapped by Count Olaf at the end of "The Austere Academy".
Earn Your Happy Ending: Quigley does eventually manage to reunite with Duncan and Isadora.
Hero of Another Story: Apparently, Duncan and Isadora have been losing guardians under mysterious circumstances. The third season implies that the Man with a Beard but No Hair and the Woman with Hair but No Beard are responsible. In addition, Quigley is revealed to still be alive, having had his own adventures in the meantime.
Insistent Terminology: They are triplets and the fact that the third one among them is dead won't change that. Both the Baudelaires and Olivia Caliban still refer to them as triplets, even before finding out that Quigley is still alive.
Nice Guy: They are nothing but kind and supportive to the Baudelaires, even actively helping them against Count Olaf. Quigley pretty much instantly shows himself to be much like the others in this regard.
Put on a Bus: 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 Duncan and Isadora with him in his escape. They come Back for the Finale, reunited with Quigley.
Rhymes on a Dime: Isadora has a tendency to speak in couplets.
Ship Tease: Duncan with Violet and Isadora with 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 "Get a Room!."
- 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.
- Quigley, after The Reveal, gets some minor Ship Tease with Violet, but they are quickly separated again.
The Unreveal: Duncan and Isadora find The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations and try to tell Klaus and Violet about the VFD; sadly, they get kidnapped while doing so and are too far away to be heard by the Baudelaires and the audience. While they are reading the book, the viewer is also not shown what exactly they are finding out.
Walking Spoiler: Twice over. Their first appearance (during "The Miserable Mill") is tied to The Reveal of the true identities of "Mother" and "Father" - specifically, that they are the Quagmire parents, not the Baudelaire parents as the viewer was led to believe. Furthermore, "The Slippery Slope" reveals that Quigley survived the fire and has been having his own adventures by the time Violet and Klaus meet him.

The Incredibly Deadly Viper

A snake from Monty's reptile collection, who despite his name is actually very friendly and helpful.

Amplified Animal Aptitude: In his first appearance, he's shown as being a social animal who forms a bond with Sunny, whereas snakes in real life are more solitary. Expanded in The End, where he recognizes the situation enough to offer a cure to the Islanders.
A Girl And Her Viper: He and Sunny form a particularly close bond.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: A snake trying to give an apple to a group of ignorant people at the objection of their white-bearded leader? What could this be alluding to?
Messianic Archetype/Satanic Archetype:: In a strange way, he manages to play both of these tropes at the same time. While he is indeed a snake trying to coax people into taking an apple, he is presented as saving their lives in doing so. Subverted in the latter case, in that the idea of the "serpent" as Satan is more of a Christian idea than the Jewish ones the story is more in line with, but it's definently there to an extent.
Non-Indicative Name: He's one of the friendliest and most harmless snakes in the animal kingdom. Monty just named him that to scare the Herpetological Society as revenge for making fun of '''his''' name.

Assorted Civilians

The Taxi Driver

Portrayed By: Rob Labelle

A classical literature enthusiast and helpful taxi driver at Lake Lachrymoose.

Ambiguous Situation:
- He says "call me Ishmael" while dropping them out but whether he's just quoting Moby-Dick (a book is clearly fond of) or is actually named after the narrator from that book (and thus averts One-Steve Limit due to the V.F.D.'s Ishmael) is unclear.
- He's one of the many people at the Hotel Denouement, but it's unclear as to whether he's a V.F.D. member or an Innocent Bystander simply curious about Olaf's trial. Justice Strauss doesn't point him out when drawing the children' attention to many present V.F.D. members, and Lemony's narration in The Wide Window implies that Larry is the only V.F.D. member who helped the Baudelaire's at Lake Lachrymoose. On the other hand, he mentions going to the Pruffrock Preparatory Academy, where many other V.F.D. members went, asks Nero to give his regards to the principal (who is the founder of the V.F.D.) and does seem to show up out of nowhere right when the Baudelaire's need a ride in the sixth episode.
The Bus Came Back: After the Wide Window he doesn't reappear until the Penultimate Peril.
Motor Mouth: The man tends to talk fast and excitedly about Moby-Dick.
Never Bareheaded: He's always seen in a newsboy cap.
Nice Guy: He's quite polite to the Baudelaires and speaks in their defense at the trial.
What Happened to the Mouse?: His fate after the Hotel Denouement fire is unclear, although he was on the ground floor and thus had a good chance to escape.

The Paperboy

Portrayed By: Unknown actor.

The resilient Paperboy of the Daily Punctilio.

Almighty Janitor: He and his bike are capable of going up stairs, inside buildings and more to deliver papers.
Joke Character: He appears in apprupt and unexpected ways to provide humor.
No Name Given: He's one of the series many unnamed characters.
Recurring Extra: He shows up several times across two seasons but never has the camera focus on his face or gets any dialogue.

Mr. Willums

Portrayed By:' David Burkta

A guest at the Caligari Carnival.

Adaptational Attractiveness: His unnamed book counterpart was described as having a pimply chin.
Bait the Dog: He initially seems like an ordinary circus goer and seems to speak up in the defense of Collette while Olaf is insulting the freaks, then he applauds at the end of the (fairly insulting) show while neither of the other bystanders does, and later he comes back to watch Olaf feed someone to the lions, seeming excited about the idea and hushing his kids concerns.
My God, What Have I Done?: He's horrified and ashamed after actually seeing someone eaten by the lions.
Wacky Parent, Serious Child: He's interested in watching a freak show and people devoured by lions while his kids are concerned it will be scary and question if it's even legal.

Brucie

Portrayed By: Keegan Connor Tracey

A scoutmaster who takes a group of students including Carmelita into the mountains.

Badly Battered Babysitter: She's in charge of a bunch of kids who make her carry all of the luggage, constantly insult her and try to abandon her in the mountains.
Deadpan Snarker: She does get a moment of this after too much of Carmelita's abuse.
Carmelita: Who put you in charge?
Brucie: All of your extremely wealthy parents, although I am starting to suspect they had their own reasons for sending you out into the wild.
Gender Flipped: Her book counterpart was a man named Bruce.
Nice Girl: She's politer than most adults in the series and offers blankets to the Baudelaires.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She takes off after Carmeltia wants to leave her behind to go feral.
Unrelated in the Adaptation: In the books Bruce was Carmelita's uncle but no relationship is indicated here.

Trolleyman

Portrayed By: Darcy Johnson

The driver of the city's trolley and also one of the few confirmed survivors of the Hotel Denouement Fire.

Almighty Janitor: The guy just drives a trolley but it goes all over the city, and outside of the city, taking Quigley Quagmire in particular every place he needs to be in a short period of time.
Nice Guy: He's polite to the Baudelaire's in particular (even attending the trial of Olaf and being one of those to protest on their behalf) and his customers in general, and brings up when there's something of concern to him.
No Name Given: His real name is unknown.

Submarine Rental Worker

Submarine rental Worker

Portrayed By: Flossie McKnight

The clerk at a lot renting submarines out to tourists.

Apathetic Citizens: Olaf makes a particularly bad Most Definitely Not a Villain speech (including that he plans to steal the submarine and hunt orphans) which she either fails to see through or just doesn't care enough to question.
Hidden Depths: Somehow she was able to tell what the man with the beard but no hair and the woman with the hair look like just from hearing their voices.
The Stoic: She has a very expressionless face while dealing with Olaf.

Poe household

Mr. Poe

Arthur Poe

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.

0% Approval Rating: When the Baudelaires get as annoyed by his presence as Olaf does, you know you've sunk to the bottom of the depths.
Adaptational Jerkass: 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. (In the movie he even showed slight Papa Wolf tendencies and was genuinely protective of the children, even though he was utterly incompetent and kept Comically Missing the Point). Here, he seems to be more interested in his job than about the Baudelaire children and even believes that the children are murderers when they're framed. He later reveals he thinks they're innocent and wants them to go with him so he can help prove it. Understandably, they don't go for it.
Adaptational Intelligence: 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.
Adaptational Karma: 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.
Adults Are Useless: If there's any character in this series who's the embodiment of this trope, it's Mr. Poe. He's generally no help at all thanks to his self-centered obliviousness, he utterly fails at keeping the children safe from Count Olaf, repeatedly fails to believe them about Olaf being in disguise, and even on the rare occasions when he's on the right track, he's totally ineffectual.
Aesop Amnesia: 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.
Ascended Extra: Mr. Poe was absent from almost half of books, but in the show he appears in nearly every episode. Special mention goes to the first episode of Season 3, where he spontaneously slides on screen on the top of a mountain.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: 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.
- Also, he was able to write an incredibly long and detailed book about the villains crimes Odious Lusting after fortunes, based on what he discovered while going through documents on the Baudelaire case.
Butt-Monkey: 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.
Character Exaggeration: His character is not very smart in general, but the TV show make him a complete idiot.
Character Tics: 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.
Comically Missing the Point: Possibly to the extent of outright I Reject Your Reality, but he doesn't get that Kit Snicket is not his secretary, even though she keeps telling him as such to his face.
Dashingly Dapper Derby: He often wears a bowler hat which, in combination with his gray suits and pencil mustache, makes him look stuffily formal.
Dissonant Serenity: 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.
Dumbass Has a Point: 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! (beat) Wait, that's ridiculous.
- In a combination of this and Everyone Has Standards, he is horrified when Count Olaf's troupe suggests killing the Baudelaires, even after he (along with everyone else) wrongly believes the Orphans are murderers.
The Two White-Faced Women: Murderers should get the chair.
Mr. Poe: Don't be preposterous, these are just children!
- He seems genuinely shocked when he learns that Principal Nero is forcing Sunny to do secretarial work, more or less stating that she should be in pre-school.
The Fool: 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, 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.
Hate Sink: 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.
Honor Before Reason: He's very law-abiding, to the point where he will (albeit reluctantly) join a mob that call for the burning of children at the stake because "I don't approve of children being burned at the stake, but it is the rules and one must always follow the rules."
Horrible Judge of Character: He is so gullible that he is willing to believe just about any complete stranger (who is usually a poorly disguised Count Olaf) about anything over the Baudelaire children in-spite their track-record of being right about these sort of things because they are children and he is the adult.
Mr. Poe: I'm beginning to think it was a mistake to listen to that oddly-dressed consultant who walked into my office with no references and no identification, and who suggested that I place you in Count Olaf's care.
Idiot Houdini: Despite his mind-shattering levels of stupidity, he never actually suffers any real long-term consequences for them. Unless he actually does die in the Hotel Denouement fire, through said stupidity.
It's All About Me: 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 lumber mill, he's more outraged about the effect on his reputation at the bank than anything else.
Just a Kid: 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.
"Not So Different" Remark: Downplayed, but Mr. Poe is just as competent of a researcher as any VFD member and thoroughly reads thousands of documents on the Baudelaire case while preparing a file about Olaf's crimes. Afterwards, he comments that:
Mr. Poe: A bank is a bit like a library, although we don't approve of people browsing.
Oblivious to His Own Description: Mr. Poe unironically talks about how his book about Count Olaf features various "well-meaning but ineffectual authority figures who help him intentionally or unintentionally along the way."
Race Lift: Is white in the illustrations and previous film, but is portrayed by black actor K. Todd Freeman here.
Screams Like a Little Girl: Shown when he first hears the Screeching Iguana Clock, as well as when he though his boss was going to fire him.
Stepford Smiler: 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.
Took a Level in Jerkass: 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 later reveals he believes their innocence and wants to help prove it, but they don't go for it. 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.
Uncertain Doom: Like many other characters, it's unknown whether he survives the fire at Hotel Denouement. Given that he was last seen blindfolded, following the lead of Vice Principal Nero, who was also blindfolded, his chances aren’t good.

Mrs. Poe

Eleanora Poe

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.

Adaptational Jerkass: In The Bad Beginning, she tried to do something nice for the Baudelaires... which came in the form of ill-fitting and uncomfortable clothing. Here, she doesn't even have that to her credit, as she treats them horribly, encourages her children being jerks, and is just generally thoughtlessly rude.
Character Catchphrase: "Wait until the readers of the Daily Punctilio hear about this!" Said in response to pretty much every big development she hears about, no matter how inconsequential. She always says it in a very cheerful tone.
Composite Character:
- 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 takes 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!"
Demoted to Extra: Doesn't appear in person in series 3, outside a very brief glimpse in The End.
Establishing Character Moment: Her first appearance has her bragging about her article about the Baudelaire fire making the newspaper headlines right in front of the Baudelaires, demonstrating just how insensitive and obsessed with making headlines that she is.
Hate Sink: To an even bigger degree than her husband. He at least will show some shred of a conscience and be sympathetic towards the Baudelaires even though he is more a hinder than a help, but she has absolutely no sympathy for anyone and cares only about getting the next big story.
Giftedly Bad: 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. Not surprisingly this eventually catches up to her when the final episode revealed she was jailed for false reporting and the Punctilio is to be discontinued.
Immoral Journalist: She's a very callous woman whose main priority is writing delicious headlines. Mrs. Poe is shown boasting about her article about the fire that killed the Baudelaire parents – right in front of the Baudelaire children. In the final episode, it's shown that her paper will be shut down due to false reporting and she's in jail, most likely as a result of her unethical practices.
Innocently Insensitive: Shows off the article about the Baudelaire Mansion burning down getting the front page, right in front of the Baudelaire orphans.
Intrepid Reporter: 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. By season 3, it turns out even her own husband can't stand her behavior.
Laser-Guided Karma: At the end of the series, we see the final issue of the Daily Punctilio, which shows her behind bars for false reporting and announces the end of the newspaper. Also her husband may or may not have died in a fire.
Meaningful Name: Like her married name and her sons' names, Eleanora is named with Edgar Allan Poe in mind. Specifically, after Lenore from The Raven.

The Brothers Poe

Edgar and Albert Poe

Portrayed By: Jack Forrester (Albert) and Kaniel Jacob-Cross (Edgar)

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Poe.

Jerkass: One is rude and uncaring towards the Baudelaires, an attitude their mother unthinkingly encourages, and the other states they've heard rumors that the Baudelaire orphans killed their parents themselves and asks them about it.
Mutual Envy: 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.

Lucky Smells Lumbermill

Sir

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).

Adaptational Sexuality: Sir and Charles were only ever Ambiguously Gay in the books.
Adaptational Karma: Gets chased out of the factory by an angry mob of workers, unlike in the book where he is still in charge.
Adapted Out: At the Hotel Denouement, he and Charles are replaced by Jerome and Babs.
Adults Are Useless: 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 even if he were to find out she's doing something unethical, 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.
All Take and No Give: Sir doesn't treat Charles well, and Charles knows it, but he loves him anyways.
Bad Boss: Pays his workers in gum and coupons and treats his "partner" Charles more like a servant.
Casting Gag: He looks evokes to Don Johnson's previous role in Django Unchained; both Sir and Big Daddy are rich, bearded, white-suited Southern Gentleman landowners (the former a lumbermill, the latter a plantation).^note
Cigar Chomper: He hates cigars but he's always smoking them because he's the boss.
Conveniently Interrupted Document: Does this to his book concerning the Baudelaires' involvement in town history.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": 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. Lampshaded in the theme song for the two episodes he appears in, which calls him a jerk.
Married to the Job: He claims the mill is all he has and will do anything to keep it open.
Manly Gay: He's a cigar-smoking man who looks like a Southern Gentleman, but he's also gay.
Pragmatic Adaptation: In the books, his face was always hidden in a cloud of cigar smoke (or in one scene, sauna steam). This would be extremely impractical in live-action, so they dropped the gimmick.
Southern Gentleman: It's unclear exactly where he lives but everything about him fits this archetype.

Charles

Portrayed By: Rhys Darby

Sir's partner (romantically and in business) at the Lucky Smells Lumber Mill

Adaptational Sexuality: Sir and Charles were only ever Ambiguously Gay in the books.
Adapted Out: Unlike in the books, he does not appear in "The Penultimate Peril", although he, at least, was originally planned to appear.
The Alleged Boss: It's easy to forget he's one of the Lumbermill co-bosses.
All Take and No Give: 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.
Brainwashed and Crazy: Orwell induces this in him when he tries to interfere in their plans and to get him to participate in a fatal accident.
Extreme Doormat: He's Sir's partner but is treated more like a servant.
I Will Find You: We last see him setting out to search for Sir.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He's much nicer than Sir and helps the Baudelaire orphans at the end of their time at Lucky Smells Lumber Mill.
Throw the Dog a Bone:
- He gives the Baudelaires the one book page that proved their parents' heroism in Paltryville.
- The third season reveals he did eventually leave Sir — and, unsurprisingly, had to go to a support group to recover. There, he meets Jerome, who loves him and certainly treats him much better than Sir ever did.

Phil

Portrayed By: Chris Gauthier

A Lucky Smells Lumber Mill worker who is an optimist.

Ambiguously Evil: After Olaf's crew takes over, Carmelita mentions him being her playmate and he agrees to obey Esmé's order to stop the Snow Scouts from abandoning ship. Whether he pretending to go along with Esmé or suffered Stockholm Syndrome is unknown, but he never opposes the Baudelaires or Fiona after being freed, and the most he ever does is get knocked down by a Scout.
An Arm and a Leg: While his leg did eventually recover from his accident at the lumber mill, it was later bitten off by a shark.
The Bus Came Back: Makes a surprising return in the Grim Grotto working for Fiona.
Eye Scream: Apparently gets an eye infection from watching Carmelita tap-dancing. On the plus side, he gets an eye-patch.
Friend to All Children: A good friend of the Baudelaire children and even Carmelita apparently warmed up to him as a playmate.
Major Injury Underreaction: His reaction to getting his leg cartoonishly crushed by a heavy piece of lumbermill equipment? "Oh boy! Half-off pedicures for life!"
Nice Guy: He's friendly and welcoming to the Baudelaires, even when the rest of the town hates them.
Only Friend: 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.
The Pollyanna: Unfailingly sees the upside in every situation.
What Happened to the Mouse?: While he was presumably rescued as well, he isn't seen again after being forced to be a rower, and Fernald and Fiona's mutiny.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: He is overly optimistic even about the most dire situations.

Jimmy, Norma Rae, and Cesar

Jimmy, Norma Rae and Cesar

Portrayed By: Timothy Webber, Loretta Walsh and Trent Redekop

Other workers at the lumber mill.

The Bus Came Back: Jimmy attends the trial of Count Olaf in the Penultimate Peril.
The Dog Bites Back: All of them turn on Sir in anger once they hypnosis is removed.
The Eeyore: All of them are tired, depressed people.
Pet the Dog: When Phil is injured, they treat him with concern and offer to pay for his hospital bills.
Norma Rae: We earned those coupons last month. 50% off Ahab Memorial.
Jimmy: Two of us'll chip in and we'll get your leg fixed up!
Super Gullible: They believe the lies about the Baudelaire parents despite a lack of personal knowledge, Although they ''are'' being hypnotized.

Purfrock Preparatory School

Vice Principal Nero

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_series_of_unfortunate_events_season_2_the_austere_academy_76u2640_7.jpg

Portrayed 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.

Adaptational Badass: 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.
Adaptational Heroism: 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. It is unknown whether or not he knew about the Quagmires being kidnapped here though.
Ambiguously Gay: "He only stroked my... Violin!"
Cool and Unusual Punishment: 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.
Copycat Mockery: He has the rather grating habit of dismissing others' arguments by repeating what they just said in a shrill, mocking voice.
Dean Bitterman: While he is only the Vice Principal, the actual principal is in-absentia and thus he holds all of the power. Power that he abuses beyond all reason.
The Ditz: Despite being the head honcho of a prep school, he's not very bright; it's painfully obvious he doesn't know the first thing about how to run a school, he's about as good at seeing through Olaf's disguises as every other grownup in the show, and he thinks Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is still alive.
Dreadful Musician: Despite believing himself 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.
Evil Is Petty: When the Baudelaires ask why Nero can't simply change the rules so that orphans can live in the dorms like every other students instead of the orphan shack and broom closet, he condescendingly repeats the question like a Spoiled Brat would before saying that he just doesn't want too.
- He doesn't just want the library to stay open for a maximum of 5 minutes per day, but he spends each day showing up at the library to make sure that there are no students after the allotted five minutes are up, threatening to have anyone still there to clean his toenails. The "on-paper" reason he gives for this is because he is trying to save on the school's budget, but when the librarian Olivia Caliban points out that the length of the library being open has no effect on the school's budget, he admits that he only does this because he just doesn't like her.
Hate Sink: Not as much as in the novel, but that's not saying much. He's rude, egotistical, and abrasive. Not even the aforementioned Adaptational Heroism is enough to redeem him.
High Hopes, Zero Talent: He fancies himself an expert violinist, but he's so terrible that Juliard (a real-life performing arts school) responded to his application with a restraining order.
Horrible Judge of Character: Carmelita Spats is a Spoiled Brat, a Hate Sink and a flowering young sociopath, but for some reason she is the only student he actually likes, literally allowing her to get away with everything.
It's All About Me: Nero is a narcissist and a Manchild of the worst kind. He is convinced that he is a genius violinist when really he is actually very bad at it, ignoring all voices to the contrary (like Julliard, who has since filed a restraining order against him) and forcing the entire school to attend his recitals, making students buy him a bag of candy and watching him eat it should they not attend. He makes various unnecessary cuts to the school's budget for unnecessary reasons (like buying himself a ruby-encrusted violin case) and ignores the blatant incompetency of his staff.
Jerkass: He's a nasty vice principal who subjects his students to 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.
Meaningful Name/Named After Somebody Famous: 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.
Reasonable Authority Figure: 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.
Skewed Priorities: 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.
Uncertain Doom: Like many other characters, it's unknown whether he survives the fire at Hotel Denouement. Given that he was last seen attempting to lead Mr. Poe out of the hotel, both of whom were still blindfolded, his chances aren’t good.

Mr. Remora

Portrayed By: Malcom Steward

The boring, banana eating note-taking teacher.

Adaptational Jerkass: He's less supportive of the Baudelaire's when Olaf wants to expel them, never shows up to speak in their defense during the Penultimate Peril and goes to the Caligari Carnival to watch someone be fed to the lions.

Mrs. Bass

Portrayed By: BJ Harrison

The prim math teacher, who later turns to crime.

Adaptational Personality Change: She's more stoic than in the books.
Age Lift: Her book counterpart was a lot younger based on the illustrations.
Lima Syndrome: She kindaps Mr. Poe during a bank robbery but ends up playing cards with him.

Ms. Tench

Portrayed By: Browneen Smith

The original gym teacher at the academy.

Boisterous Weakling: She barks at the students in a nasty way about the upcoming game but apparently cried in fear when the bus was hijacked by Olaf.
Brawn Hilda: She's a big, stern athletic looking woman.
Spared by the Adaptation: In the books she was thrown out a window and presumably killed to make way for Olaf whereas here he merely hijacks her bus and strands her in the middle of nowhere then takes her job.
Those Wacky Nazis: She claims to have been named "Coach of the Year, Berlin 39'". Take of that what you will.

667 Dark Avenue

Jerome Squalor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jerome_45.png

Portrayed By: Tony Hale

An old friend of the Baudelaire parents, whom he has lost contact over the years. He convinces his wife to become their new guardians once orphans become in.

Adaptational Sexuality: The books had no indication of Jerome being bisexual.
Dark Is Not Evil: Wears a black, sleazy-looking pinstripe suit, but is actually a pretty Nice Guy. It's his white-clad wife who ends up being the villainous one.
Dirty Coward: 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.
The Dog Bites Back: He finally works up the gall to stand up against his wife in the end.
"Esmé, love of my life, I'm tired of being treated this way."
Henpecked Husband: Needless to say, Esmé's love for Jerome is anything but genuine. She does have the hots for Count Olaf, after all.
Innocent Bystander: 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.
Nice Guy: Unlike Esmé, he's a genuinely kindhearted guardian who treats the Baudelaires with warmth and hospitality. It's just not enough in the fight against evil and all of them know it.
Uncertain Doom: Like many other characters, it's unknown whether he survives the fire at Hotel Denouement.

The Doorman

Portrayed By: Sage Brocklebank

The Doorman for 667 Drk Avenue, who regulates who comes inside and also takes part in following the fashions of what's Out or In.

Canon Foreigner: In the book the Hook-Handed man was (probably) impersonating the doorman the whole time and no actual doorman appeared.
Dramatic Irony: He talks to Gunther about how there's a city wide manhunt and you can't be too careful, not realizing he's talking to a disgusted Count Olaf, whose probably about to kill him.
Hidden Depths: He does get in a good quip about bankers as Mr. Poe is dropping off the Baudelaire's.
Uncertain Doom: Olaf is seen approaching him with a staff that contains a hidden blade and afterwards there's no sign of him while the Hook-Handed Man has his uniform. It is possible he was merely knocked out and tied up, or bribed into leaving though.

Village of Fowl Devotees (VFD Village)

Council of Elders

The Council of Elders (Elder Jemma, Elder Annabelle and Elder Sam)

Portrayed 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.

A Nazi by Any Other Name: 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. That said, they observe the important Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, so they're not entirely a one-to-one counterpart.
Adults Are Useless: 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.
Age Lift: 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.
All There in the Script: 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.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Their decision to adopt orphans wasn't in the intent to raise them, but actually to find people to do their chores.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: 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.
Uncertain Doom: It's unknown if the Village Elders survived the fire at the Hotel Denouement; since they were last seen stumbling blindfolded around the hotel lobby crowded with similarly blindfolded people who had no idea the fire was happening, their odds are slim.

Hector

Portrayed By: Ithamar Enriquez

The handyman of the village.

Defector from Decadence: 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.
Nice Guy: Very much so. He treats the children with respect and care and considered them dear friends, even offering to take them with him on his self-sustaining floating house.
Put on a Bus: He pretty much leaves and stays in the air with Duncan and Isadora Quagmire after being saved by the Baudelaires.

Heimlich Hospital

Babs

Portrayed By: Kerri Kenney-Silver

The Head of Human Resources at Heimlich Hospital.

Adaptation Expansion: 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.
Adaptational Sexuality: Her sexuality is not mentioned in the books, but in Season 3 she states that her true love is female and serving time for bank robbery, likely Mrs. Bass from Prufrock Academy.
Adaptational Wimp: 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.
Gallows Humor: 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] Or you can take a left at the next hall. The exit’s that way.
Laughing Mad: A result of fear and nervousness more than insanity, but she still gives off this vibe when it happens.
Obstructive Bureaucrat: 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.
Skewed Priorities: Her biggest concern regarding the hospital being torched by Olaf is the fact that she lost most of her paperwork in the blaze.
Spared by the Adaptation: 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. Later subverted, as it's not shown what became of her after the fire that burns down Hotel Denouement.
Uncertain Doom: Like many other characters, it's unknown whether she survives the fire at Hotel Denouement.

Hal the Archivist

Hal

Portrayed By: David Alan Grier

An elderly man with very poor eyesight who runs the Library of Records at Heimlich Hospital.

Adapted Out: Doesn’t appear in The Penultimate Peril. Thus, it is unknown where his is now and whether or not he forgave the Baudelaires.
Age Lift: 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.
Catchphrase: "I shall file you under [letter] for [phrase that begins with that letter]."
Cool Old Guy: Downplayed, he is nicer than most characters so far, treating the Baudelaires as dear friends despite barely knowing them, but he is an Obstructive Bureaucrat who doesn't want to let the children look for the files they need and he turns against them after he discovers his files trashed.
Oblivious Guilt Slinging: 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.
Stupid Good: Blindly trusts the Baudelaires despite only minutes into meeting them.

Volunteers Fighting Disease

Portrayed By: John Bobek (Bearded Man), Lauren McGibbon (Perky Volunteer)

A group of volunteers who take the Baudelaires with them to Heimlich Hospital, where they are going to sing for the patients.

Fun with Acronyms: 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.
Innocently Insensitive: They ignore some patients who are begging for medical help, thinking they can make them feel better by singing to them instead.
Lyrical Dissonance: Their songs are all happy and upbeat, despite the lyrics often describing the gruesome diseases and ailments that the patients might have.
No Name Given: 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.
Take That!: 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.
Uncertain Doom: A few volunteers are seen staying at the Hotel Denouement and are in the audience for the trial; it is unknown if they survived the fire that burnt down the hotel. Interestingly, the Bearded Man isn't seen with them, implying he perished in the Heimlich Hospital fire.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: Played for Laughs. 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.

Characters / A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017) – Other Characters

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