‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ Recap, Episode 4: “The Reptile Room, Part Two”

We know that dear Uncle Monty is dead before the opening scene even begins. That doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking when Violet and Klaus find his corpse. But none of us will have time to mourn because, once again, the Baudelaires are in peril. Still disguised as “Stephano,” Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris) intends to abduct the children and disappear. The feckless Mr. Poe (K. Todd Freeman) is, of course, no help at all.

As Klaus, Louis Hynes brings a carefully contained rage to the role. As Violet, Malina Weissman has, up to now, been the optimistic Baudelaire, determined to protect and encourage her younger siblings. Now, though, Violet is finding her own anger and discovering what Klaus has known all along: The remaining Baudelaires will have to fend for themselves.

While Violet, Klaus, and Sunny fight for their lives, the banker entrusted with their safety thwarts them at every turn. When the elder Baudelaires try to explain that the police officers and medical examiners who arrive to investigate Uncle Monty’s death are actors in Olaf’s theater troupe, Mr. Poe tells them that it’s rude to question authority. Even as Klaus is in the process of exposing the holes in the Count’s imposture of Stephano, a herpetologist, Mr. Poe admonishes the boy to not speak disrespectfully to adults. When Violet unpacks Olaf’s suitcase, producing the evidence that proves that he’s a murderous fraud, Mr. Poe is shocked that a “nice girl” knows how to pick a lock.

In the books, Mr. Poe acted largely as a transitional figure. Here, he plays an expanded role, and Freeman—with help from the script—does an impressive job of keeping this character from being utterly detestable. Mr. Poe is self-serving, more worried about the fact that Dr. Montgomery’s death is going to make him late for work than he is about its devastating impact on the children in his care. He can’t see past the surface of things. He can be hoodwinked by fake glasses and a beard, and his overdeveloped regard for propriety blinds him to real danger. To the extent that he is capable, though, Mr. Poe does try to do right by the Baudelaires, and Freeman’s performance gives us hints of the fear that drives his character. Mr. Poe is never more animated than when he’s afraid. He’s not a bad man. He’s just not brave enough—or wise enough—to be a very good one.

In his way, though, Mr. Poe provides our heroes with a valuable lesson. When he assures them that “the adults will take care of it from here,” he means it as a warning that children should mind their place. But they know that it means that no adult is going to save them. In this moment, Mr. Poe represents every grownup that’s going to let them down.

This doesn’t mean, though, that there are no adults on the Baudelaires’ side. The mysterious Jacqueline makes a surprising return and gives the orphans a piece of advice before she tracks Count Olaf to the U.S.S. Prospero, bound for Peru. He escapes again, but not before Jacquelyn retrieves the spyglass he swiped from Klaus.

And before the episode ends, the characters known only as Mother and Father make their way to a Peruvian cantina, where they attract the attention of potentially hostile locals. And a suspicious-looking llama.

Jessica Jernigan is a writer, editor, and mom-about-town in a mid-sized Midwestern city. You can find her professional website here, but Instagram is where the cat photos are.

Watch "The Reptile Room, Part Two" episode of 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events' on Netflix