"The Bad Beginning" was a far from bad beginning, quite the opposite, to 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', with the second part being the better half. There were issues, not all the dialogue and pacing was perfect and generally found Mr Poe to come over as somewhat out of place in this adaptation despite him being an important character. Both parts did very well handling the basics and setting up and establishing the characters and atmosphere.
Which continues and is built upon in 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' third and fourth episodes in "The Reptile Room" two parter, an adaptation of the second book in Lemony Snicket's popular book series 'The Reptile Room'. Despite liking both parts of "The Bad Beginning", for me "The Reptile Room" (both parts) is quite a bit better where things felt even more settled and 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' had started hitting its stride. Part of it may be down too to the source material, have always felt that 'The Reptile Room' was the better book of the two as well.
Can say very little bad here. K Todd Freeman never really gelled for me as Mr Poe though and doesn't seem to fit.
Like "The Bad Beginning" though, "The Reptile Room: Part 1" is visually a wonder. Even more so actually. The wonderful opening credit sequence is indicative enough of that, but the standout is that utterly amazing reptile room, the design and incredible attention to detail are a sight to behold. And the creatures/reptiles themselves are like characters of their own (have sort of a thing for that it seems). The music is also a good match for the atmosphere.
In comparison to "The Bad Beginning", the dialogue here is quite a lot better. There is some nice humour in parts and there is more of an air of mystery and tension, a good thing as the tension generally did start to build in the book series in 'The Reptile Room' as the series got darker and the mysteries deepened. Also appreciated that although the role of Lemony Snicket, as narrator and to remind us that the events will continue to be unfortunate, is still crucial, he isn't featured as much. A good thing too, because it's with 'The Reptile Room' that one actually feels a sense of hope to begin with when reading the story, because of the setting and the character of Uncle Monty, until Stephano shows up. Even some healthy references to Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick' proves to be welcome.
As well as the tension, there is a real sense of menace too in the latter portions of "The Reptile Room: Part 1" and mainly because Olaf, even in disguise, is more menacing here, the violent threats really stinging. Love the character writing, Count Olaf is such a fun and sinister villain, the Baudelaire orphans are becoming more fleshed out and their skills proving more useful each time and Uncle Monty is easily one of my favourite "guardian" characters. Not just because of his benevolence, eccentricity and entertainment value but he is also one of the few adult characters to actually be suspicious of Olaf in disguise form early on, namely in the latter's slip up with what he says about the frog which most of the other adult characters would have ignored.
Neil Patrick Harris continues to steal the show, one wouldn't think on paper he would work but he does. He has a real ball yet he is a threat here too, it is with "The Reptile Room" where his talents are showcased more and where his versatility starts to shine (something needed for the character of Olaf throughout the series). Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes are growing as Violet and Klaus and seem more confident already, Sunny is cute and fun but do prefer her in the film version. Aasif Mandvi is an absolute joy as Uncle Monty, one of the best acted "guardian" characters of the series by far, and Patrick Warburton does enigmatic and deadpan very well. Sara Canning is surprisingly delightful, was expecting her to be out of place but she was like a ray of sunshine.
Overall, great. 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' starts to properly hit its stride. 9/10
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