#mr poe

[dcvina-claires]

i lied put your clothes back on. i’m going to explain to you how the entirety of a series of unfortunate events was meant to explain the foster care system to young children and how mr. poe symbolizes every adult who doesn’t believe abused children and instead falls for the facades that the abuser puts on in order to maintain a sense of innocence

[thelorrax]

fandom so small we fit in a rickety trolley

[maybepassiveaggressive]

I keep seeing people say Mr Poe was just as bad as if not worse than count Olaf which is ridiculous because poe’s biggest crime is being an idiot and neglectful while olaf tried to marry a fourteen year old girl, kidnapped so many children, and committed copious amounts of murder

[victorsqualor]

some asoue trading cards i found using the wayback machine on lemonysnicket.com :)

[fanonical]

mr poe: now, children, why do you keep accusing your guardians of being cruel to you? violet: because they are? mr poe: are you saying adults can be wrong? klaus: literally yes mr poe: absolute nonsense violet: well, we're doomed

[pinkisinthecloset]

I relate heavily to A Series of Unfortunate Events because no one would believe me either when I was a child.

[notaplaceofhonour]

I know I’m not reaching with this one bc Daniel Handler has himself compared the series of unfortunate events that befalls the Baudelaires to the Jewish plight, but the short like 2 minute sequence when the Poes take the Baudelaires in perfectly encapsulates how Jews are treated in the diaspora, even by well-meaning allies.

Mrs. Poe going on about the news story she had written about the fire because she wants the world to know they’re orphans, which ultimately becomes about how generous & heroic Mr. Poe is for taking them in, as she brags about how it will lead to a promotion for him in front of the kids as they’re mourning the loss of their parents. Mrs. Poe telling the Baudelaires they should be grateful to be on the front page, then fishing for a quote she can use as a headline. “Our home is your home—but don’t touch anything.” Ending with Ed & Al asking the Baudelaires how they set the fire.

[whatastrangewriter]

there's something about the song that's not how the story goes.

something about Count Olaf is the first people to say that there are no happy endings. the man who is the villain in the entire series, being the first person to highlight the fact that sorrow and woe is the only thing to be found within this story.

you dream that justice and peace win the day

but that's not how the story goes

of course he sings those lines, he was the first person to learn that lesson. he believed in justice and peace. he never got them. that's why he is the first person in the song to tell you: there are no happy endings. justice and peace don't win.

trust him on that. he knows.

and of course Mr. Poe is the one to say that two parents die, he's the first person to tell the Baudelaires that their parents are dead. it's a recurring theme for him, he brings it up almost every time they speak, what else was he ever going to say?

naturally Lemony Snicket talks about his lost love, it's the event that shaped his life. she's the reason this story is being told at all. his love for Beatrice is his key trait.

and then Olaf goes on to describe the world as a pair of ill-fitting pants. Olaf, who changes disguise every book/episode, who tries to embody all roles and in doing so ends up embodying no role at all.

Klaus and Violet - what would they ever sing, other than to tell the truth about their lives? they are the ones who have to live it. they try to tell people, over and over and over again, that terrible things are happening - and no one ever believes them. of course they sing to tell us that three children won't live pleasant lives. if they didn't tell us this, no one else would, because no one else believes them.

and then. and then. the song ends with Mr. Poe breaking the immersion. he coughs. he hums along. he says "that's nice" and he changes the radio, or switches it off entirely. because he is the only person in this story to whom the events are exactly that - just a story. because Mr. Poe never believes Klaus and Violet and Sunny, and he is almost never part of the schemes, and he is not affected by anything that happens at all.

Mr. Poe is the one to end the song, to break the immersion, to change the channel. because he's the only one to whom this is a song rather than life. he's a character in a story, but he isn't part of the story, not really.

there's something to be said about this.

there's something about the song that's not how the story goes.