| “ | I just think, even in changing context, that marriage is an inherently patriarchal construction that is likely to further the hegemonic juggernaut that's problematizing a lot of genders. | ” |
— Them in the TV series
|
The Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender, also known as the "Enormous Androgynous Person" in the books, Orlando by Sunny Baudelaire (a reference to a novel where the protagonist changes gender), and Lisa in the movie, is an androgynous individual that looks like neither entirely a woman nor a man.
Their first appearance was in The Bad Beginning as one of Count Olaf's henchpersons. They are antagonistic to the Baudelaire orphans.
Books
They were part of Count Olaf's theatre troupe. They were one of the eleven people that the Baudelaires served dinner, and watched Olaf strike Klaus across the face. They never seem to speak, though they have laughed and made grunts and squeals.
Later, they guarded Captain Sham's Sailboat Rentals and tried to stop the Baudelaires, but failed.[4]
They were disguised as a security guard at Heimlich Hospital. They may have subsequently died in the fire that destroyed the building as they never appear after, but this is uncertain.
Film
Along with the rest of the troupe, they arrive home with Olaf to find Violet and Klaus scrubbing the floor. They are wearing a brown dress and clutching a beer bottle, and appear to be drunk. One of the White-Faced Women says sarcastically that they don't look rich, and the Henchperson of indeterminate laughs while drinking some beer. Olaf orders the orphans to make dinner for them, before the Count and his troupe walk into the entertainment room to rehearse their upcoming performance. The Henchperson sits awkwardly in between the two White-faced women, still clutching their now empty bottle. They watch Olaf punishing the orphans after they prepare pasta puttanesca instead of roast beef.
The Henchperson escorts Violet.
During the troupe's performance of The Marvelous Marriage, which was actually a scheme of Olaf's that involved him really marrying Violet and therefore gaining the Baudelaire fortune, the Henchperson walks Violet down the aisle before standing near her and Olaf for the remainder of the play. After Olaf's plan is thwarted and he is taken away by the authorities, the fate of his associates is left unclear.
TV series
The Henchperson being insightful.
In the TV series, the Henchperson's narrative role is akin to the books, but they are portrayed rather differently as a character; the Henchperson, often using the alias "Lucafont", is portrayed as affable and far from obviously evil (being one of the only people to speak out against Count Olaf's shaming of the "freaks" at Caligari Carnival). They aren't shown as particularly enormous, either in width or in height. Not only do they speak in more than grunts, they occasionally say insightful and thoughtful things which could be considered "deep", leaving many fans to call them in more modern language, "woke". They seem to be interested in LGBT activism and related discussions.
The three major changes to the Henchperson's narrative role are as follow:
In "The Reptile Room: Part Two", they disguise themselves as "Nurse Lucafont", differing from the books where the hook-handed man portrayed "Dr. O. Lucafont".
In "The Wide Window: Part Two", the hook-handed man guarded Captain Sham's Sailboat Rentals instead of them.
In "The Hostile Hospital: Part Two", they survive the fire at Heimlich Hospital and keep traveling with Olaf.
Behind the scenes
- They are portrayed by Craig Ferguson in the Brad Silberling film adaptation.
- They are portrayed by Matty Cardarople in the Netflix TV series.
Trivia
- In the book The Wide Window, Klaus finds them the scariest in Olaf's troupe. Violet disagrees, saying she finds the Bald Man the scariest.
- Their gender has never been confirmed, not even in the movie or TV series despite them being played by a male actor
Appearances
- The Bad Beginning
- The Reptile Room (Mentioned only)
- The Wide Window
- The Miserable Mill (Mentioned only)
- The Hostile Hospital
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (film)
- A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV series)
Sources
- ↑ By Sunny Baudelaire in The Hostile Hospital
- ↑ FILM: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
- ↑ By Fernald in The Hostile Hospital
- ↑ PROSE: The Wide Window
Gallery
Books
Movie
TV series
