The Ersatz Elevator review
Dear Reader,
if you are reading this blog, then obviously you like to read distressing stories of attractive and intelligent orphans confront horrific events, such as stringent rules, villains and being burnt at the stake. If this is the case with you, then I beg you to read happier tales. Meanwhile, I will work to keep this blog where it belongs, at the bottom of the Search Engine rankings
If the Austere Academy was a parody of education, and the Ersatz Elevator of wealth and fashion, then the Vile Village is one of small town life and of the Spaghetti Western genre.
Their latest misadventure sees the Baudelaire orphans arrive in the village of VFD or the Village of Fowl Devotees - a small village which is populated by crows and residents who adhere to strict rules. Under the aphorism of "it takes a village to raise a child," the whole village will raise the Baudelaire orphans. Well, their handyman Hector will, while the rest will just boss them around and make them do their chores. Meanwhile, Hector is too skittish to speak up against them - he is just the latest in a long line of helpful, but ineffective adults. However, Hector is brave enough to defy the townspeople in private, by building a self-sustaining mobile home in his secret barn.
However, where the Baudelaires go, Count Olaf is sure to follow. And where Count goes, so does Jacques Snicket and Olivia Caliban. Snicket confronts Olaf in the town saloon, where it is revealed that Olaf was once a good man who fought evil and fires alongside Snicket. However, then something happened which catapulted him into a lifetime of villainy. These were interesting nuggets, which helped to develop Olaf's character. But Snicket gets the best of Olaf and imprisons him in the town jail. And then the police catch him, send him to jail and the Baudelaires live happily ever after. Right?
Wrong! Nothing ever goes right in this story. Actually, that's not true, the Baudelaires discover couplets that could be written by none other than Isadora Quagmire. The Baudelaires suspect that within these couplets is a clue to the Quagmires' location. But before they can investigate any further, they encounter no other, than their previous guardian and Count Olaf's girlfriend, disguised as police officer Luciana, who reports the news that Count Olaf has been captured. But it's really Jacques Snicket who has been crudely made up to look like Count Olaf. Although, curiously, Snicket also has a tattoo of an eye on his ankle.
And where is the real Count Olaf? Disguised as the ultra-annoying Detective Dupin. When the townspeople want to just fine Snicket for his supposed villainy, Olaf calls for him to be burnt at the stake and then mob mentality takes hold. Snicket is taken to jail. The Baudelaires plead for Hector to help them free Snicket, but when he refuses, they take it upon themselves.
However, their rescue plan goes awry when it emerges that Snicket has been murdered. And on that note, the first part of this episode ends.
And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for the Baudelaires, Olaf then frames for Snicket's murder, by using the very items, they were using to break Snicket out of jail. This was a nice diversion from the books, where Olaf plants evidence. I preferred the TV version, as it shows how the plans of our heroes can backfire on them. Anyway, the Baudelaires are sent to jail with Hector being too skittish to defend them.
Once in jail, the Baudelaires figure out that the Quagmires are trapped in the fountain in the centre of town. Klaus also comes to the sad conclusion that today is his 13th birthday, which was a nice human moment. With this realisation, Klaus becomes resigned to his fate, claiming that nothing short Deus Ex machina will save them now. But trusty Violet uses their prison rations, as well as a wooden bench to create a battering ram to smash their way out of jail. From there, they free the Quagmires only to discover that the townspeople are still baying for their blood.
Deus ex Machina then arrives in the form of Jacquelyn and Larry-the-Waiter. However, they do little to deter the townpeople who then tie them up. This was a nice example of how unrealistic Deus ex Machina can be, but it is also another example of how useless Jacquelyn and Larry actually are. I can't think of how many times they've actually helped the Baudelaires.
Anyway, Hector finally gains the courage to start up his self-sustaining, hot-air mobile home, just in time to rescue the Baudelaires and Quagmires. And so, all five orphans and Hector live happily ever after. Right? Wrong. Hector drops a ladder, which the Quagmires are able to climb up to safety. However, their slow progress, allows Esme Squalor to begin firing at them using a harpoon gun. When it becomes obvious that the mobile home can't take anymore damage, the Baudelaires decide to let their friends fly to safety, rather than endanger them.
Meanwhile, Esme Squalor unintentionally harpoons one of the VFD crows, breaking the most sacred rule of the town. The townspeople turn on Olaf and Esme, who only just escape. Now fugitives, the Baudelaires ride off into the sunset, accompanied by a score, which could be straight out of a Sergio Leone Western.
I still continue to enjoy this show. Sure, the meta-humour, as well as Lemony Snicket's interludes have lost their novelty, they are still enjoyable to watch. But what I love most is just how different parts of society are parodied. In perhaps the darkest installment yet, VFD is ravaged by mob psychology, as the townspeople become suspicious of outsiders. The set design and production continues to amaze. From the Sergio Leonesque score and the Baudelaires riding of into the sunset, we already know this to be a parody of a Western. But there also sweeping landscape shots of the Hinterlands - wastelands desolate enough to be reminiscent of the Western frontier. Detective Dupin is a grotesque parody of John Wayne/Clint Eastwood cowboy characters - the characters who are always cool, regardless of how dire the situation is. And don't forget the saloon and town jail, which wouldn't be out of place in one of the Dollars' films.
But what me the most about this episode is how dark it was. Zack Handlen of the AV Club has written extensively about how ASOUE has always felt like a low-stakes drama. The threat Count Olaf poses is underminded by his constant blundering. True this is a kid's show, but even kid's shows need threatening villains. And this is what this episode did. By killing the heroic Jacques Snicket, and having the Baudelaires almost being burnt at the stake was an effective way of injecting some immediacy into a show that is becoming overfamiliar.
VFD and cultural references.
1. Village of Fowl Devotees - the most obvious reference was the only one I spotted.
2. The deconstruction of Deus Ex Machina was effective to watch
But what me the most about this episode is how dark it was. Zack Handlen of the AV Club has written extensively about how ASOUE has always felt like a low-stakes drama. The threat Count Olaf poses is underminded by his constant blundering. True this is a kid's show, but even kid's shows need threatening villains. And this is what this episode did. By killing the heroic Jacques Snicket, and having the Baudelaires almost being burnt at the stake was an effective way of injecting some immediacy into a show that is becoming overfamiliar.
VFD and cultural references.
1. Village of Fowl Devotees - the most obvious reference was the only one I spotted.
2. The deconstruction of Deus Ex Machina was effective to watch
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