Count Olaf's associates are, along with Count Olaf, the main antagonists of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Many of them are conspiring to plot a way to obtain the Baudelaire Fortune, although others follow Olaf for other motivations. Many of them are on the fire-starting side of V.F.D. Some of Olaf's associates are henchfolk, like the Hook-Handed Man, and some have other relations to him, such as Carmelita Spats being his adopted daughter.
Throughout the course of the series, Count Olaf has had a total of seventeen associates (but only five actual henchfolk);[1] eventually each associate either left Olaf for or was killed. By The End, Count Olaf is working on his own, with no associates to assist him. For the first seven books, in each book only one associate is helping Olaf, apart from The Bad Beginning, where they all appear. Many names as part of their disguises are anagrams of "Count Olaf".
Olaf's henchmen in The Reptile Room
The Original "Theater Troupe"[]
Fernald, the Hook-Handed Man[]
Fernald, the Hook-Handed Man.
Fernald is the longest associate Count Olaf ever had. Fernald has hooks for hands and it is unknown how he lost his original hands, though it is implied to be through the Anwhistle Fire.[2] He left him in The Grim Grotto when he found his sister, Fiona, in the Queequeg submarine, and the two stole The Carmelita from Olaf. His fate is left to the Great Unknown.[3]
Appearances:
- The Bad Beginning (worked as the tower guard)
- The Reptile Room (posed as Dr. O. Lucafont)
- The Wide Window (posed as a ferryman)
- The Ersatz Elevator (posed as the doorman)
- The Hostile Hospital (posed as Dr. O. Lucafont)
- The Carnivorous Carnival
- The Slippery Slope
- The Grim Grotto
The Bald Man with the Long Nose[]
The Bald Man with the Long Nose is one of Count Olaf's associates. Described to be as bald as an egg and as devious as an Egyptian King, the Bald Man is first seen by the Baudelaire orphans in Count Olaf's house. He later helps Olaf during his scheme at Lucky Smells Lumbermill in Paltryville, posing as Foreman Flacutono. Afterwards, he poses as a head doctor at Heimlich Hospital during another of his boss' schemes. Finally, the Bald Man meets his end at the hands of several starving lions at Caligari Carnival along with the fortune teller Madame Lulu.[4]
Appearances:
- The Bad Beginning
- The Miserable Mill (posed as Foreman Flacutono)
- The Hostile Hospital (posed as Dr. Flacutono)
- The Carnivorous Carnival
Henchperson Of Indeterminate Gender[]
The Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender is described as being extremely fat and of unknown gender. Snicket commonly refers to them as "the overweight accomplice." It is known that they have a very strange laugh, which sounds like a howl. In The Hostile Hospital, the figure presumably met their death when in the fire that destroyed Heimlich Hospital.[5]
Appearances:
- The Bad Beginning
- The Wide Window (posed as a security guard at "Captain Sham's Sailboat Rentals")
- The Hostile Hospital (posed as a security guard at Heimlich Hospital)
The White-Faced Women[]
The White-Faced Women are described by Snicket as having powder on their faces. The two sisters assisted Count Olaf in a series of crimes, such as the kidnapping of the Quagmire Triplets. In The Slippery Slope, the two become sick of Olaf's villainy and simply walk away from the group. Their current whereabouts are unknown.[6]
Appearances:
- The Bad Beginning
- The Austere Academy (posed as cafeteria workers)
- The Hostile Hospital (posed as Heimlich Hospital's workers Dr. Tocuna and Nurse Flo)
- The Carnivorous Carnival
- The Slippery Slope
The Wart-Faced Man[]
The Wart-Faced Man made his first and only appearance in The Bad Beginning and is described as being important-looking. He was the member who turned off the lights in the theater so he, Olaf, and the troupe could escape. His current whereabouts are unknown.[1]
Appearances:
Unseen associates[]
In The Bad Beginning, there were several other people (at least 7) invited to the dinner party at Count Olaf's house. Although the Baudelaires could not see them, they promised to be just as frightening as the other henchmen. Their current whereabouts are unknown as they are not mentioned again, except in chapter 10 of Lemony Snicket's Autobiography, which contains pages from Snicket's commonplace book sent to the Valorous Farms Dairy.[1]
Appearances:
- The Bad Beginning
- Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography (Mentioned in the tallying page of Olaf's associates)
Other Associates[]
Dr. Georgina Orwell[]
Georgina Orwell was an optometrist and a hypnotist who only appeared in The Miserable Mill. She hypnotized Klaus multiple times, using the words lucky and inordinate. Dr. Orwell was killed by the buzz saw when she stepped back into its path.[7]
Appearances:
Esmé Squalor[]
"I am Esme Gigi Genevieve Squalor!"
Esmé Squalor first appeared in The Ersatz Elevator, wherein she helped Olaf with his plans to steal the Quagmire and Baudelaire fortunes. She revealed that she knew about Count Olaf's plan all along, after pushing the children into the ersatz elevator.[8] In The Vile Village, she becomes his girlfriend, and remains with him until The Penultimate Peril, when Count Olaf fires her. She supposedly perished in the Hotel Denouement fire.[9]
Appearances:
- The Ersatz Elevator
- The Vile Village (posed as Officer Luciana)
- The Hostile Hospital (posed as a Heimlich Hospital doctor)
- The Carnivorous Carnival
- The Slippery Slope
- The Grim Grotto
- The Penultimate Peril
Madame Lulu[]
.jpg){kind=link}
Madame Lulu was an associate introduced in The Carnivorous Carnival. She told Count Olaf where the Baudelaire children were each time they moved, as her goal was to always give people what they wanted, no matter the consequences. It is strongly implied that she was in love with Olaf, which is likely the reason that Esmé wanted her to be pushed into the lion's pit. She was eaten by lions and fell into the lions pit along with the Bald Man with the Long Nose.[4]Her real name is Olivia Caliban,[3] and she was a former Volunteer, as noted by Captain Widdershins.[2]
Appearances:
Hugo, Colette, and Kevin[]
Hugo, Colette, and Kevin were three employees of the freakshow from Caligari Carnival who joined Count Olaf's troupe in The Carnivorous Carnival due to being promised a better life.[4] They assisted in the abduction of the Snow Scouts and in planning a poisoning at Hotel Denouement. It is unknown whether or not they survived the Hotel Denouement fire.[9]
In The Penultimate Peril, the three of them are in disguises:
- Hugo is disguised as a worker at the rooftop sunbathing salon.
- Colette is disguised as a chemist who passes by.
- Kevin is disguised as a washerwoman by the laundry room.
Appearances:
Carmelita Spats[]
Carmelita Spats first appeared in The Austere Academy, but joined the Troupe in The Slippery Slope, when Esmé adopted her.[6] She named Olaf's submarine Carmelita and performed tap-dancing ballerina fairy princess veterinarian dance recitals to torture the children rowing the ship.[2] It is unknown whether she survived the Hotel Denouement Fire.[9]
Appearances:
- The Austere Academy
- The Slippery Slope (joined the Troupe)
- The Grim Grotto
- The Penultimate Peril
The Sinister Duo[]
The Man With a Beard But No Hair and the Woman With Hair But No Beard - or Sinister Duo for short - are described as having "an aura of menace;" even Olaf and Esmé are afraid of the pair.[6] The two first appear in The Slippery Slope wherein they use V.F.D. Eagles to kidnap a group of Snow Scouts. The two later appear in The Penultimate Peril as High Court Judges for the Baudelaires' trial. It is unknown whether the two survived the Hotel Denouement Fire.[9]
Appearances:
Fiona[]
Fiona joined Count Olaf's troupe briefly to stay with her brother, Fernald, and to find her stepfather, Captain Widdershins.[2] Very soon afterwards, she and Fernald double crossed Count Olaf and stole his submarine, The Carmelita, and the kidnapped recruits aboard.[9] In The End, Kit Snicket says that she was either killed or saved by The Great Unknown.
Appearances:
Ernest Denouement[]
Count Olaf said in The Penultimate Peril that Ernest Denouement was one of his associates, and he was known to be on the Fire-Starting Side of VFD.[9]
Appearances:
Minor associates[]
As listed in Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, Count Olaf's other associates are:
- Ivan Lachrymose, a lake explorer for whom Lake Lachrymose was named.
- Esmé Squalor Fan Club
- Six unknown enemies
- An Old Count and his only son
- Three Professors
- Lena Pukalie, a film critic
- "A man's life"
- Firestarting side of VFD
He uses this to calculate that Count Olaf had at least twenty-five associates, possibly more than forty-one.[10]
Sources[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 PROSE: The Bad Beginning
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 PROSE: The Grim Grotto
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 PROSE: The End
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 PROSE: The Carnivorous Carnival
- ↑ PROSE: The Hostile Hospital
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 PROSE: The Slippery Slope
- ↑ PROSE: The Miserable Mill
- ↑ PROSE: The Ersatz Elevator
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 PROSE: The Penultimate Peril
- ↑ PROSE: Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography
| |||||||||||