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The following article or section concerns information that is considered canonical to the Netflix series, but it is unknown as to where it stands in the books' canon. It may also contain information contradictory to the books. Be very cautious when using this information as a source, or you may end up reporting for The Daily Punctilio, or on the lam. Whichever you consider worse.

A noble man has been murdered. Look in your hearts and ask yourselves, what do you really want?
 
— Jacquelyn Scieszka to the Village of Fowl Devotees, "The Vile Village: Part Two"

Duchess Jacquelyn Scieszka (CHESS-kuh) of Winnipeg[3][4] is a recurring character in the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events. During the series, she appears as Mr. Poe's secretary at Mulctuary Money Management. However, as of Season Three, Jacquelyn has become the Duchess of Winnipeg, and no longer works for Mr. Poe.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Jacquelyn is the daughter of the Duchess of Winnipeg,[3][4] which could make her the Netflix adaptation of R or her daughter; following the books' timeline, Jacquelyn would most likely be R's daughter, as R became Duchess when Lemony Snicket was still working for The Daily Punctilio;[5] however, it would be unlikely for her to have a daughter of Jacquelyn's apparent age, unless she was a young mother or Jacquelyn was adopted (the latter seems plausible, as it has been suggested that R is a lesbian).[6] It is possible that Jacquelyn is R, as the Netflix series has diverged from the book timeline multiple times.

At some point, she was recruited into V.F.D., though unlike several other volunteers in the Netflix canon, she probably did not attend Prufrock Preparatory School.[7]

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Jacquelyn attending V.F.D.'s masked ball.

She attended a Masked Ball in the V.F.D. Headquarters in the Mortmain Mountains, greeting Georgina Orwell and Gustav Sebald, and assisting in delivering a message to Lemony Snicket.[8]

She worked with Sebald as an actress in his coded films. She played the role of Gerta in his film Zombies in the Snow (for which she provided the subtitle codes),[1] and Dolores in Hypnotists in the Forest.[2]

At some point, she assisted in making an instructional video for VFD, where she recorded a message about the loss of their best lion tamer and her husband.[8]

She was hired as a secretary for Arthur Poe at Mulctuary Money Management, for unknown but explicitly V.F.D.-related reasons. Mr. Poe states that she was highly recommended by Beatrice and Bertrand Baudelaire for the job.[9]

Season One[]

While the Baudelaires were staying with the Poe family, she seems to have been in charge of making sure Poe sent the children to Monty Montgomery. She also seems to be in charge of locating Mr. and Mrs. Quagmire, as she is seen on the phone attempting to contact them.

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Jacquelyn tied up by Olaf's troupe.

Count Olaf, disguised as "Yessica Haircut", manages to make an appointment with Poe about obtaining guardianship instead. When Poe does not listen to her protests, she goes outside with her spyglass to inspect, and is then abducted by the Bald Man with the Long Nose and tied to a tree. She manages to uproot the tree and drags herself to a phone booth where she contacts Gustav. She finds her way to a VFD tunnel where she reports to Gustav of recent events, and he unties her from the tree.

Jacquelyngustavaudience

Jacquelyn and Gustav watch The Marvelous Marriage.

They both attend The Marvelous Marriage, which disgusts them both, mainly due to the grammatical mistakes. When Olaf's plan to marry Violet Baudelaire is revealed, they both prepare to attack him with spyglasses, until Violet interrupts that the marriage is invalid due to her signing with the wrong hand. Jacquelyn walks to the stage and tells the Baudelaires that their parents had a "vigorously fixed destination" for where they should go: to Monty Montgomery, unfortunately meaning they will not be able to live with Justice Strauss, as they had wished.

She is later in the tunnels, contacting Gustav through walkie-talkie, asking him if the Baudelaires have arrived at Montgomery's, but just as she mentions that they have an update on some living parents, Gustav is killed by Olaf and she loses contact with him.[10]

JacquelynHarpoon

Jacquelyn threatening Olaf with a harpoon gun.

She disguises herself as a bronzed statue in Monty's hedge maze for unknown reasons. When the Baudelaires enter the maze, she reveals herself and tells them that their original destination of Peru has been compromised, and to find their Aunt Josephine, claiming she can keep them safe and tell them important information. She promises to Klaus to get back his half of a V.F.D. spyglass, which Count Olaf had stolen from him.

She follows Count Olaf through the tunnels and onto the S.S. Prospero. She threatens him with a harpoon gun, but he manages to escape; however, she retrieves Klaus's half of the spyglass.[9]

Poe later hands Klaus a package from Jacquelyn, containing his spyglass.[2]

Season Two[]

Jacuqleynlarrytunnel2

Jacquelyn giving Larry his mission.

Jacquelyn returns to working as Poe's secretary, though she is now positioned inside his office instead of just outside. She hears that he has enrolled the Baudelaires (and Quagmires) at Prufrock Preparatory School, and meets with fellow VFD member Larry in the tunnels to instruct him to give an annotated copy of The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations to the Baudelaires. However, Larry misplaces the book, which winds up in the school library. When Olaf traps Larry in the fridge, he contacts Jacquelyn, who calls Jacques Snicket to rescue him.[7] Jacquelyn is upset at the knowledge the Baudelaires do not have the book and were left alone, but Jacques promises to return to Prufrock as soon as he can.[11]

After the abduction of the Quagmires, the Baudelaires are adopted by Jerome and Esmé Squalor, and Olivia Caliban arrives at Poe's office, revealing that she has read The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations. Jacquelyn tries to signal her and convince her to stay a while, but when she rushes out, she contacts Jacques to enlist Olivia into V.F.D..

Jacquelynherringhoudini

Jacquelyn having lunch with the Poes.

In order to reach the Baudelaires, Jacquelyn tells Poe and his wife, Eleanora, that it's Secretary's Day, so they take her out to Café Salmonella. There, she hints to the Baudelaires that Volunteers are trying to rescue the Quagmires while they're at lunch. Later, the restaurant is declared "out", and the Squalor couple and Olaf, disguised as Gunther, go to Herring Houdini, which is run by his own henchpeople. Jacquelyn and Larry still manage to stall him by arriving and requesting he sing for Secretary's Day.[12]

Jacquelyn infiltrates the In Auction as Yessica Haircut, and she and Larry manage to reach the stage, engaging in a bidding war over Very Fancy Doilies, believing Duncan and Isadora to be inside the box. This ends up being untrue, and Esmé and Olaf escape just as Jacquelyn and Larry realize the Quagmires were in a red herring statue.[13]

VolunteersTied

Jacquelyn and Larry tied.

Jacquelyn and Larry learn that Jacques was murdered at the Village of Fowl Devotees while forcibly disguised as Olaf, and they go to the village, traveling by Jacquelyn's motorcycle. They attempt to calm down the mob of angry villagers from wanting to burn children to death, but they fail and are tied up in rope and unable to assist Duncan, Isadora, and the Baudelaires in their escape. They do, however, use their spyglasses to find out that the Quagmires reached Hector's Self-Sustaining Hot Air Mobile Home.[14]

Season Three[]

In between the events of The Vile Village and The Slippery Slope, Jacquelyn's mother passed away, resulting in resigning from her secretarial duties at Mulctuary Money Management to take up her post as the Duchess of Winnipeg.[3][15]

She is briefly mentioned by the Baudelaires as a possible J.S. at the Hotel Denouement, and Justice Strauss mentions that she provided assistance in writing Odious Lusting After Finance. Her status as of the series finale is unknown.[15]

Quotes[]

  • "A good labyrinth is full of secrets."
  • "I was in the mood for some vigorously fancy dining."
  • "A noble man has been murdered. Look in your hearts and ask yourselves, what do you really want?"

Trivia[]

  • She is portrayed by Sara Canning.
  • She likes spiders.[9]
  • In the opening credits of Zombies in the Snow, her name is misspelled as "Jacqueline Scieszka."
    • It was later confirmed in an interview that "Jacqueline" the original intention for her name, but it turned out there was a real Jacqueline Scieszka, so her name was changed to Jacquelyn during the show, and the creators weren't always able to change every mention to Jacquelyn.[16]
    • Her surname is likely a reference to Jon Scieszka.
    • In Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, there is a photo of sailors, one of the sailors has the last name Scieszka.
    • Both "Snicket" and "Scieszka" mean "a passage or path."
  • Prior to the release of the tie-in book as well as the finale of Season 2, some fans incorrectly, but understandably, believed Jacquelyn was secretly Kit Snicket, using the feminine version of her brother's, Jacques's, name.
  • Jacquelyn was originally meant to be a one-off character for her scene in "A Bad Beginning: Part Two", but the writers loved her so much that they continued to use her.[16]
  • Jacquelyn has no canonically confirmed love interests, although many fan theories place her as lesbian and being interested in Olivia Caliban or romantically involved with either Larry Your-Waiter or Gustav Sebald. However, these theories have neither been confirmed nor denied.
  • She was also given the initials "J.S." in case Joan Cusack could not return as Justice Strauss for The Penultimate Peril; in that case, she would be replaced with Jacquelyn, to "show up as a legal secretary to run the trial."[16]
    • She was intended to have a cameo in "The Penultimate Peril: Part Two", but the writers were unable to make it "feel right." One potential idea was her in duchess regalia handing out parachutes during the fire.[16]

Appearances[]


Gallery[]

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Due to the amount of photographs relating to this article, Jacquelyn Scieszka now has its own gallery.

Sources[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 TV: The Reptile Room: Part One
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 TV: The Miserable Mill: Part Two
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 TV: The Slippery Slope: Part One
  4. 4.0 4.1 PROSE: The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations
  5. PROSE: The Beatrice Letters
  6. The Beatrice Letters, LS to BB #5: I will love you if you don't marry me. I will love you if you marry someone else--your co-star, perhaps, or Y., or even O., or anyone Z. through A., even R.--although sadly I believe it will be quite some time before two women can be allowed to marry[...]" The fact that R is mentioned as a plausible love interest for Beatrice implies that it would be possible for R to be interested in her; it would also explain why R does not seem to marry, and why she gave her family ring to Snicket to give to Beatrice (as mentioned in The End); she likely did not assume she would have biological children.
  7. 7.0 7.1 TV: The Austere Academy: Part One
  8. 8.0 8.1 TV: The Carnivorous Carnival: Part One
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 TV: The Reptile Room: Part Two
  10. TV: The Bad Beginning: Part One
  11. TV: The Austere Academy: Part Two
  12. TV: The Ersatz Elevator: Part One
  13. TV: The Ersatz Elevator: Part Two
  14. TV: The Vile Village: Part Two
  15. 15.0 15.1 TV: The Penultimate Peril: Part One
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Interview
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