It'll probably come as no surprise to most that I was something of a Lemony Snicket superfan in my youth (okay, I still am). The weird, gothy little child that I was became really rather obsessed with the weird, gothy tales of the Baudelaire children and their many misadventures. A hot take, but I was also a fan of the 2004 film - listen, I know it tanked at the box office and was pretty poorly reviewed, but show me anything with Jim Carey and I'm probably gonna love it.

I was pretty excited then when, two years ago, Netflix announced that they were making a TV series of the books. While I thoroughly enjoyed the film, I always did hate how much got left out. For those not in the know, the series consisted of 13 books, of which only the first three are covered in the film, with a very different ending to the one given in the books and a different sequence of events. A series had the potential to do what a film couldn't: all 13 books could have a reasonable amount of screen time, and we could get the ending that Mr Snicket (real name Daniel Handler) intended - and boy, did Netflix deliver!

As mentioned previously, I'm in love with Jim Carey, and so I worried about how well Neil Patrick Harris, wonderful though he is, would fill his shoes in the role of the treacherous villain and mediocre theatre actor Count Olaf. Any worries, however, were cast aside in the first episode of the first season: Harris is every bit as comical and sinister as Carey was, and he plays the (maybe not so) iconic role perfectly. Throughout the three seasons, he's only gone from strength to strength: he really brings Olaf to life as the character you love to hate. We don't do spoilers here, but in that scene in the final episode (if you know, you know), I was unexpectedly moved literally to tears; something I'm sure has everything to do with the performances of Harris and of the lovely Allison Williams as Kit Snicket. 

I also love Patrick Warburton - perhaps just as much as I do Jim Carey. Seeing him reprise his role as the series author/narrator Lemony Snicket was always going to be wonderful - but he, much like Harris, exceeded my expectations in this season; giving his most compelling and emotional performance in the series to date, he deserves every possible accolade available in my opinion. The same can be said for Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes in their roles as Violet and Klaus Baudelaire - each of them accurately and brilliantly portrays a child forced to grow up too quickly, in a way that really tugs the old heartstrings. Even Presley Smith - who is literally two years old - manages to give a punch right in the feels with her portrayal of Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire.

As expected, the sound, makeup and effects teams for the series have excelled themselves. I think I'll be able to watch all three seasons on a loop for years and still be amazed at how they managed to make Neil Patrick Harris' Olaf look near-identical to Jim Carey's.  The effects and backdrops are as astounding as ever, with the sole exception of the water in the final episode, though I have an inkling that this was done deliberately to reflect the fantastical and unreal nature of subsequent seasons (though that may just be the over-analytical English student in me). The soundtrack is catchy as ever, with the same eerie-yet-singable 'Look Away' theme tune as the previous two seasons. In terms of writing, the storyline is solid, as expected, with jokes, easter eggs and subtle references aplenty, with even a couple of very amusing fourth-wall-breaks. 

I really have only one criticism of the series and, honestly, it depends on how much of a purist you are. Again, I won't give you spoilers here, but I will issue something of a warning: if you're expecting the same open ending as the books, you may be disappointed. 

Overall, I'd rate this season a 9/10

Keep it weird, 

Jazz xo