The Unfortunate Blogger

The Hostile Hospital, part one

Book number eight of this series, this next set of episodes....is my favorite!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this story. I will read it all day. It is my absolute favorite book in the entire franchise. Even more than The Slippery Slope. With that said, I watched this episode with the high hopes that maybe, just maybe, they will not disappoint me with this series. 

AND THEY DIDN'T!!!!!!!!!!

Thank goodness!!!

Naturally of course there's always a little bump or weird thing present, but nothing is perfect, so let's take a look, shall we?

THINGS I LIKED ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

1) The Last Chance General store had everything except what the kids needed- Unlike the book, the episode directly addresses the dire situation that the kids are in. They're alone, hungry, and thirsty. Not visibly of course, but the kids would like to avoid the possible fate of dying out in the middle of nowhere. Afterwards, they go into the store itself which is so cluttered with stuff that you can barely find the telegraph and find your way through. I liked it. 

2) "We're child actors"- I don't know if that was intentional or not, but nodding to the child actors playing the Baudelaires was funny. 

3) Count Olaf and the store managers chase the Baudelaires- Count Olaf, in my opinion, is not a very intimidating character. He's more of a clumsy wannabe villain who keeps screwing everything up with his idiocy or comedic jokes. However, I'm not going to lie, I actually got spooked when Violet said stop twice and suddenly he was there. I was expecting her to hesitate and then say this isn't a good idea. But nope. We got a terrifying Count Olaf chasing them which was then joined by the two shop owners. And Count Olaf came pretty close too. The only reason they escaped was because he got tangled up in the hanging beads. 

4) The references to the snow scouts- I liked the scene when Esme is discussing how she was crowned Spring Queen. It's a good foreshadowing to The Slippery Slope and how Esme and Carmelita are probably going to get along. I also liked how the bald henchmen was the only one interested in hearing Esme go on and on about her childhood. 

5) The paperwork stalls Count Olaf- In the original book, paperwork was made a big deal, particularly when you meet Hal. However, I like how this episode really highlights this importance. This kind of super serious detail is what keeps delaying Count Olaf in his trek in finding the Baudelaires, giving them time to get to the library of records, befriend Hal, and then hide. 

6) Babs- This character was never seen in the book and was very strict and kind of bossy. In the episode, she's a hyper-anxious doctor who's terrified of hospitals and very meticulous about paperwork. (Go figure). It was definitely strange to see, but she was a fun kind of quirky character, so I was okay with the change. 

7) Hal- Hal has always been a favorite of mine. He's a sweet guy who takes an interest in the children and is very old and very blind. (Like me! Not the old part!!!!!). I don't know who portrays him, but he's such a lovable character that you can't help but fall in love with him immediately. Plus he's highly intelligent too. Unlike Babs who only requires some forms to fill out so that Count Olaf can infiltrate the hospital, Hal sees right through the stupid doctor disguise and turns him out with a clever paperwork excuse. I LOVE him!!!

8) Count Olaf's scheme to scare Babs- I absolutely love this scene! In great contrast to the other episodes that show him as a clumsy idiot, Count Olaf is shown once again as someone who knows what he's doing. The scene of him setting up the atmosphere for Babs was cool, the way he executed the scheme with his henchmen was both clever, spooky, and comedic, and I love the end when he's eerily whistling and walking away in triumph. It was perfectly executed and I couldn't get enough of it! Also, way to run a Shining joke twice in this series. 

9) The unfinished half of the hospital- I was initially surprised about the layout of this setting since it didn't really look like a good place to sleep, but the children are on the lam and it looks like an uncomfortable place to sleep, plus that's what building an extra wing looks like. So yeah. Nicely done. 

10) Esme's outfit- The one thing I remember about the Hostile Hospital from the book series was Esme's terrifying stiletto heels. Or should I say katana heels! Those things were terrifying to look at, deadly, and you could hear them coming a mile away. Especially since Esme was always getting stuck to the floor with them. Though they're not nearly as tall in this series, those things were still a terror to deal with. Plus not only did she have one heck of an amazing outfit with it, the scene where she tells Count Olaf he hasn't even seen her 'sugar bowl snatching' out fit and then suits up was so cool!

11) Esme chasing the Baudelaires- This was an intense scene in the book and I'm satisfied that the same weight was carried into this scene. Unlike the book, Violet can't get into the chute because she doesn't have time to avoid one of the shelves falling towards her. Also, instead of Klaus and Sunny waiting several agonizing hours for their sister, they witness a scene that I've always imagined but was never in the book: Violet being captured. I don't know why, but that was an oddly satisfying end to this scene.....

12) Sunny actually says 'VFD'- Nothing will ever be more satisfying than seeing Sunny actually look like she's speaking. I actually replayed that part several times because 1) it was satisfying and 2) Sunny was so cute!

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THIS EPISODE: 

1) The Baudelaires trick Hal- Like so many scenes, I didn't actually hate this, but it was more something that I knew was coming and dreaded, especially how it plays in the following episode. If you've never read the books or seen this series, ready your hankies for part 2. 

2) What? No replay button?- Maybe I'm being overly picky, but don't the hospital security cameras defeat the purpose of the kids hiding? Now I don't know. Maybe this was an era of technology where it wasn't possible to rewind and track down the footage and in an earlier scene, Count Olaf is shown to have trouble with things like walkie talkies. But if they were really smart, they could easily rewind back to the library of records and then watch to see where the kids went off to.... Just throwing that out there. 

3) Baudelaire Pancakes- Again, this isn't a complaint. I just wanted to mention how I kind of wanted Esme to say "Olaf and I will have a delicious breakfast of Baudelaire pancakes!" while chasing the children in the library of records. That line has always stuck with me and I kind of wanted to hear her say it. However, she does say, "Come to mother....." which is equally fun and kind of creepy, so I'm satisfied. 

4) Lemony Snicket ruins the intense chase scene- I won't lie, I actually got really angry when Lemony Snicket showed up during the  last leg of the chase scene in the Library of Records. We had Esme chase the kids, knocked down shelves, a mad dash for the film they were watching, Violet getting separated from her siblings, escaping Esme's knife shoe, and then as she's running away in slo-mo from the tumbling shelves, LEMONY INTERRUPTS THE SCENE!!!! Now maybe if he voiced over it, it wouldn't be as bad. Maybe slightly irritating, but whatever. It's Lemony. But they literally paused the scene so he could have his five minute talk to the audience. I was literally like, "Oh my goodness!! Yeah, yeah, a tragic turn of events is coming! Great! MOVE OUT OF THE WAY SO WE CAN GET BACK TO THE ACTION!!!!"

And that was it. A few little bumps of irritation, but I am so glad they did not ruin this first part for me! This book is a precious favorite and I want at least this moment to not be tainted by this show's weirdness!

<sigh> Alas, as is the tragedy of the infamous Youtube and my curiosity....I already know what's coming next.....