A Series Of Unfortunate Events: Are the Baudelaire parents alive?
FANS of the A Series Of Unfortunate Events books were surprised to discover that the new Netflix series had added a major plot twist.
Trailer: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Lemony Snicket’s original series of novels chronicles the woeful lives of the Baudelaire children after they are orphaned in a fire.
But the new Netflix adaptation has introduced two characters known only as Mother and Father, who escape from capture in Peru and journey to be reunited with their children.
Many viewers assumed that the parents, played by Will Arnett and Cobie Smulders, were Mr and Mrs Baudelaire.
But at the end of episode seven it is revealed that Mother and Father are actually the parents of another set of children, Duncan, Quigley and Isadora Quagmire.
Many fans were upset that they were misled and took to Twitter to vent their frustrations.
One user wrote: “A Series Of Unfortunate Events on Netflix REALLY MESSED WITH MY EMOTIONS making me think their parents were looking for them.”
A Series Of Unfortunate Events introduces two mysterious characters known only as Mother and Father
Another said: “The plot twist about the parents in A Series of Unfortunate Events is so rude.”
Book readers will know that Mr and Mrs Quagmire are members of the same secret society as the Baudelaire parents and have a similarly large fortune.
Unfortunately Mr and Mrs Quagmire eventually perish in a fire, and Duncan and Isadora are sent to Prufrock Preparatory School – where they meet the Baudelaires.
Will Arnett and Cobie Smulders play Mother and Father
The Baudelaire children were orphaned in a fire
It is thought that Quigley also died in the blaze.
In later books, the Baudelaires briefly believe that one of their parents survived the fire.
They find a page from a record called The Snicket File which reads: “Experts now suspect that there may in fact be one survivor of the fire, but the survivor’s whereabouts are unknown.”
The children assume that this means that one of their parents might still be alive, but the page actually refers to Quigley Quagmire, who survived the fire that killed his parents.
It is also revealed that the Baudelaire's mother is none other than Beatrice, Lemony Snicket's former love.