A Series Of Unfortunate Events Review: The Reptile Room (Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4)
In A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4, the show starts to follow the format it will use in future episodes, and it does so with one of the Baudelaires’ most likable guardians.
“The Bad Beginning” was an enjoyable introduction to the world and the characters of A Series of Unfortunate Events, but “The Reptile Room” is an introduction to the format that most of the books follow: the Baudelaires get sent to another guardian, and Count Olaf quickly shows up in some ridiculous disguise with a scheme to get ahold of their fortune again.
The guardian of Episodes 3 and 4 (or, well… of Episode 3) is Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, a.k.a. Uncle Monty.
As wonderful and kind as Monty is in the book, he’s even more so on the show when brought to life by Aasif Mandvi. Mandvi is utterly charming, bringing enthusiasm and humor to the role.
He completely sells a goofy little scene that mostly involves him making silly noises while pretending to unlock a number of complicated locks on a door and the following scene where he has a loud, fake conversation with the Baudelaires to make sure “Stephano” doesn’t realize they’re suspicious.
His scenes with the Baudelaires are lovely and heartwarming. Monty is everything you want for the siblings after the horror they endured with Olaf.
Mandvi’s performance can’t get all the credit, though, as there are some tweaks the writers wisely made to make the character even more likable than he is in the book. He’s still suspicious of Stephano for the wrong reasons, but he’s more in tune with the Baudelaires and their worries and more on their side.
The early introduction of the V.F.D. in “The Bad Beginning” also affects Monty’s character. In the book, “Zombies in the Snow” is just the movie they go to see, but the episode incorporates revelations from A Series of Unfortunate Events’ companion book, “Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.”
Monty is aware of the secret message hidden in the movie, and it makes you root for him even more when he makes plans to take the Baudelaires to Peru for everyone’s safety and promises to give them answers.
Of course, the improvements to the character and Mandvi’s winning performance make Monty’s death at the hands of Stephano all the more heartbreaking.
Stephano, meanwhile, is a little more toned down than over-the-top Count Olaf, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Smaller moments of comedy — like when he shoves all the potstickers in his mouth or his prolonged fake confusion when he tries to squeeze past Monty at the movie — are more than enough to get laughs.
Plus, his more understated disguise is accompanied by a host of ridiculous disguises from his henchpeople, who all get a chance to shine on “The Reptile Room.”
The Baudelaires get to go into “kid detective” mode, as Olaf puts it, more in “The Reptile Room” than they do in “The Bad Beginning,” and the young actors continue to impress while acting opposite the cast of adults.
The V.F.D. developments continue in short scenes with appearances by Mother and Father, who are in Peru, and Jacquelyn, who offers the Baudelaires some guidance and goes after Count Olaf when he flees from Monty’s house.
Both of these subplots are clearly meant to be slow burns over the course of the season and/or series, so their brevity should be enough to satisfy fans for now.
Then again, since this is Netflix, “The Reptile Room” is likely to leave viewers giddily (a word which here means “dizzily and excitedly”) clicking the “next episode” button.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- The fact that Olaf’s van has “CORNER” painted on it instead of “CORONER” is such a simple joke, but it made me laugh so much.
- Monty’s house, both the foyer and the Reptile Room itself, may be the most visually stunning sets on the entire series. Everything in the foyer, even the telephone, has some kind of reptilian design on it, and it’s gorgeous.
- Such a crazy random happenstance that Olaf refers to the movie theater as a “godforsaken nickelodeon” considering that the “A Series Of Unfortunate Events” movie in 2004 was produced by Nickelodeon Movies. Definitely a coincidence and not a sly jab at the studio. No way.
- K. Todd Freeman continues to steal scenes as Mr. Poe — from his meltdown when the Incredibly Deadly Viper is wrapped around Sunny to his excellent physical comedy when he’s revealing Olaf’s ankle tattoo to his delivery of “no offi- officers… oh, you’re all in on it, aren’t you? Oh. Oh dear.”
What did you think of “The Reptile Room”? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
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Katie Houlis
Katie is a recent college graduate who spent most of her free time at school binge-watching shows like Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Fringe, and Hannibal. She has watched every single episode of Lost at least ten times each (yes, even “Stranger In A Strange Land”). Current favorites include a bunch of comedies, lots of superhero shows, and a few shows with quite a bit of murder in them.