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"The Carnivorous Carnival: Part One"
Screen Shot 2018-12-14 at 5.45.50 PM
Episode17
Adapted from: The Carnivorous Carnival
Main character(s): Violet, Klaus, Sunny
Baudelaire guardian: Olivia Caliban
Main enemy: Count Olaf
Olaf's disguise: Ringmaster
Main setting: Caligari Carnival
Library: Caligari Cabinet
Key crew
Writer: Joe Tracz
Director: Loni Peristere
Producer: Neil Patrick Harris
Release details
Story number: 9a
Season/series: Season 2
Premiere network: Netflix
Release date: March 30, 2018
Format: 46 minutes
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A Series of Unfortunate Events
"The Hostile Hospital: Part Two" "The Carnivorous Carnival: Part Two"
Memorable moment

"The Carnivorous Carnival: Part One" is the seventeenth episode of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It covered the first half of The Carnivorous Carnival.

Official synopsis[]

Come one, come all to the creepiest circus the world has ever seen, a place where puzzling mysteries -- and a familiar face -- await.

Dedication[]

For Beatrice –
     Our love broke my heart,
     and stopped yours.

Plot[]

The episode begins with a flashback at the V.F.D. Headquarters that occurred before the Baudelaire children were born. A mysterious woman had Larry the Waiter send Lemony Snicket a note that said "Olaf knows". Lemony saw Count Olaf attempt to murder Beatrice Baudelaire while she was wearing a dragonfly costume by pushing her over a cliff, but the flashback ends.

Present time, the three Baudelaires are still hiding in the trunk of Count Olaf's car listening to Count Olaf and his troupe discuss their plans. They learn they are on their way to Caligari Carnival and hear Olaf talk about a woman named Madame Lulu.

Count Olaf and his troupe depart the car and the Baudelaires then make it out of the trunk. The orphans spy on Madame Lulu's tent in Caligari Carnival and hear her explaining to Olaf that her carnival needs more customers otherwise they may close. They also recognize Lulu's accent as that used by Olaf when he was disguised as Gunther in The Ersatz Elevator.

They use Count Olaf's disguises stored in the trunk of his car to disguise themselves as freaks so they can be in the carnival's House of Freaks. Sunny becomes Chabo the Wolf Baby. Violet and Klaus become 'Beverly' and 'Elliot' who are two-headed freaks. They are hired by Madame Lulu after Violet and Klaus clumsily try to eat an ear of corn and Sunny acts menacingly by showing off her sharp teeth and biting things. Madame Lulu leads them to the caravan where the other freaks live. Hugo is a hunchback, Colette is a contortionist and Kevin ambidextrous.

The next morning they discover that when Olaf asked Madame Lulu, "Is one Baudelaire parent still alive?" she consulted the crystal ball and answered, "Yes, one is up in the Mortmain Mountains." The children performed in a humiliating freak show. While looking at a poster, Olaf decides to go get lions as a gift to Madame Lulu.

The orphans go back to Lulu's tent to search for clues. They learn all her magic is just technology and she has resources to find information. Madame Lulu reveals herself to be Olivia Caliban, the librarian from Prufrock Preparatory School.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest starring[]

Co-starring[]

Crew[]

to be added

References[]

  • Near the beginning, Count Olaf hears something from inside Madame Lulu's tent, and he goes outside and says, "Who could that be at this hour?", which is a reference to another book by Lemony Snicket of the same name.
  • Count Olaf mentions that he tried having his own show in the city "for nine years." This is a reference to Neil Patrick Harris' time on How I Met Your Mother, a TV show that lasted for 9 seasons.
  • The chants "Not like us!" and "One of us!", first heard in this episode, reference the 1932 American horror film Freaks.
  • When Madame Lulu is narrating Count Olaf's past to him, she mentions three poison darts, a reference to the darts that were used to kill Olaf's father. She also mentions 'The FORCE OF DESTINY cages us all." This is another reference to the play La Forza del Destino, the play during which the aforementioned darts were used. La Forza del Destino translates to "The force of destiny" in Italian.

Story notes[]

to be added

Filming locations[]

to be added

Production errors[]

to be added

Deviations from the novel[]

  • There is no V.F.D. Headquarters flashback in the novel.
  • In the book, after the Baudelaires exit the trunk, Violet attempts to call a phone operator to let them contact Mr. Poe, but the operator hangs up on her while she tells her story, even after she cries while telling it. The Baudelaires are confused what to do, stranded with no money. In the TV series, this scene is omitted.
  • As freaks, the Baudelaires use talcum powder to whiten their hair, while they wear dark wigs in the TV series.
  • Rather than wearing Stephano's fake beard to resemble a wolf, Sunny uses a brown shirt with messy hair.
  • Unlike the book, where Olivia is omitted until now, the series shows that she was next up to be in disguise.
  • In the TV series, due to her extended role and knowing the Baudelaires beforehand, Olivia is happy to see the Baudelaires revealed inside her tent, creating a heartwarming moment. In the book, Olivia is quite annoyed at them for entering her tent without her permissions, and calls them ungrateful freaks who should be ashamed of their freaky selves.

Continuity[]

Behind the Scenes[]

  • Neil Patrick Harris's real-life husband David Burtka, along with their children, appears in the audience as Mr. Willums during the musical number.

Home video releases[]

DVD releases[]

to be added

Blu-ray releases[]

to be added

Gallery[]

Behind the scenes[]

External links[]

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