Netflix’s adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events needed to see its story through to the end. The third season based on the 13-book series is its best yet, with a fantastic sense of pacing, every opportunity taken to indulge in a bit of fun wordplay, and its continued, incredible ability to set up moments of joy only for the realities of the Baudelaires’ world to come crashing down around them.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Season 3 27 IMAGES

“ Neil Patrick Harris gives Count Olaf some welcome depth this season.

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“ New Girl's Max Greenfield gives several great performances.

“ The Penultimate Peril two-parter is brilliantly paced.

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Adapting books 10-13 — The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril, and The End — Season 3 picks up from Season 2’s literal cliffhanger (Violet and Klaus hurtling off the side of a cliff in a runaway cart) and almost never lets up its pace. Even though emotional and narrative payoff obviously doesn’t come full circle until the last few episodes, the four episodes adapting Slope and Grotto do a surprising job of being both satisfying in their own right and in how they integrate the overarching story.Slope immediately sets the season off on a strong note by introducing new forces on both the Baudelaires’ and Count Olaf’s sides. After being teased in the Season 2 finale, Kit Snicket (Allison Williams) appears in full force to aid the children in their continued investigation into their past. Unfortunate Events has made a habit of offering the Baudelaires maternal figures, only to lose them just when life is starting to look a bit brighter. Kit certainly fits that role this time around, but as a member of the Snicket clan, it’s a delight to watch Kit’s own intentions come to light as Williams gives the role such intrigue and warmth.And speaking of performances, the Baudelaires continue to simultaneously warm and break my heart in Season 3. Violet and Klaus are increasingly driven to the edge, and it’s riveting to watch as they grasp at the last bits of hope in their lives while also giving in to their mounting frustration with the world. And Sunny, finally coming into her own, gets a sweet subplot with the Hook-Handed Man, and continues to be more of a thorn in Olaf’s side than any baby should.Greenfield’s performances are just one piece of a larger, riveting whole that makes the two episodes adapting The Penultimate Peril my favorite of the entire series. What could have served as a satisfying ending to the series as a whole, Peril’s two parts play out in wildly different but consistently tense fashion. The first episode is a taut mystery in which the Baudelaires must discover who they can trust in the hotel, and why exactly almost everyone they’ve ever known since their parents died has come into their lives. Playing with time, a breadcrumb trail of clues, and a revolving door of cameos, the episode zips by without relief, culminating in a shocking ending.The powerful two-parter segues into The End, a largely worthy culmination to a story packed to the brim with mystery and almost-revealed answers. Much of the information you’d hope to learn about the Baudelaires and VFD, as well as some you wouldn’t expect, is laid bare in a mostly emotionally satisfying finale. Because The Penultimate Peril revisits so much of the show’s past, the fact that The End is surprisingly devoid of anyone but the principal cast makes it feel somewhat empty. But it smartly and economically employs all three Baudelaires, Olaf, and Kit to bring this winding, lengthy history of love and deceit to an end.Anchoring everything is Patrick Warburton’s performance as Lemony Snicket. The joy of hearing his wordplay is matched by the pathos he evokes as Snicket’s telling of this story winds down. This season really opens a door into Snicket’s past, allowing us to see why he’s so riveted by the Baudelaires’ story, There’s such a sincere desire to hope for some brighter future have before in his delivery, and yet the melancholic defeat that there’s probably little to be done is just as apparent. The Baudelaires have, of course, been the heart of the series and its story, but Snicket’s involvement, as it’s grown and evolved, has become one of my favorite elements of the show, and a fitting, meta-narrative way to tie everything together.