A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 3 Review

It's surprising that the end has already arrived, but after three perfect seasons I'm more than happy with what has been created here. As a big fan of the book series, it's incredible to see such as faithful adaptation as that rarely happens across mediums. They've once again managed to nail the themes and the general world of the series. We do get a shorter season this time around, but that's due to there being fewer books to cover. I should also mention that while this is relatively straight from the source material, some aspects are expanded upon.

That includes some side stories that were set in motion prior, not really getting a conclusion here. Other additions work out in an exciting way. First off, the initial set of episodes covers the "The Slippery Slope". This is a point that was hit right at the end of the last season. New horrors are introduced, the cast is thinned and we get to see a look at what once was. This is followed by "The Grim Grotto" which takes a more submerged style of scenery. That's built up by "The Penultimate Peril" which features a massive ensemble for a key turning point in the mystery. It all gets wrapped up with "The End" which I won't mention anything about. Some episodes are longer than others, and it's a very unbalanced selection of episodes in terms of length.

Not diving into the general narrative too much for those that haven't read the books, the orphans once again find themselves lost. There's not much hope, their connection to various adults has dwindled. It really is about them, and the new people they meet along the way trying to deal with their opposing enemies. That opposing faction is also facing problems as the journey has been rough on both sides. You get to see iconic characters appear, and they were just as whimsical and strange as the books setup them out to be.

I was particularly impressed by Kit Snicket (Allison Williams) and her journey here. Neil Patrick Harris was once get again perfect as Count Olaf and I also thoroughly enjoyed the somber connection from Patrick Warburton's Lemony Snicket. The core orphans were excellent. They nailed the characters and the growth throughout the series was perfect in terms of how they aged, along with how their characters changed. The sets were great, some of the CGI was a bit more glaring in this one. I say that as while it's supposed to be over the top due to the format of this series, some scenes looked off instead of magical.

The Conclusion

A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 3 was a perfect way to conclude this series. They did an excellent job in adapting the source material, fans of the books should be more than happy. They even expanded upon some concepts with new back story aspects being shown and that's something the books just couldn't convey. You get a better look at the heritage of what caused the great schism, which adds more of a dimension to the villains and it's integrated well.

I did feel some aspects were dropped over the course of this and I would have liked more of a wrap up for other characters. I'm very happy it finished with a defined ending and that it was a concise presentation of the source material. It felt on tone with the rest of the series while bringing more wild locations, another set of crazy characters and of course a general conclusion with a sweet little extra. Few things get adapted well and I'm just grateful to see this franchise get a proper show as a Netflix Original series.

A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 3 Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening was Provided by Netflix

Rating Overall: 9.0