|
You started VFD?
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. |
| “ | That's an excellent question, Klaus Baudelaire. | ” |
— Jacquelyn Scieszka, "The Reptile Room: Part Two"
|
Jacquelyn Scieszka, Duchess of Winnipeg[1][2] is a recurring character in the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Personality
Jacquelyn is a brave and honorable member of VFD who will stop at nothing to ensure that justice prevails. She is also bold and resourceful when it comes to defending her organization.
Biography
Early Life
Jacquelyn at a V.F.D. party.
Jacquelyn is the daughter of the Duchess of Winnipeg.[1][2] Whether this makes her the Netflix adaptation of R or her daughter is up for debate; following the books' timeline, it would make more sense for Jacquelyn to be R's daughter, as R became Duchess when Snicket was still working for The Daily Punctilio,[3] however it would be unlikely for her to have a daughter Jacquelyn's age, unless she was a young mother or Jacquelyn was adopted. It is still possible that Jacquelyn is R, as the TV series has diverged from the book timeline multiple times.
Jacquelyn may have attended Prufrock Preparatory School with the other volunteers; however, she may not have, as she didn't seem to recognize the school in The Austere Academy: Part One. At some point, she would be recruited into VFD.
She attends a Masked Ball in the V.F.D. Headquarters in the Mortmain Mountains, greeting Georgina Orwell and Gustav and assisting in delivering a message to Lemony Snicket.[4]
She worked with Gustav Sebald as an actress in his coded films. She played the role of Gerta in Gustav's film Zombies in the Snow (for which she provided the subtitle codes),[5] and Dolores in Hypnotists in the Forest.[6]
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.[4]
She works as a secretary for Mr. Poe at Mulctuary Money Management. Mr. Poe states that she was highly recommended by the Beatrice and Bertrand Baudelaire for the job.[7]
Season 1
Jacquelyn tied up.
While the Baudelaires were staying with the Poes, she reluctantly gave Count Olaf, disguised as "Yessica Haircut", an appointment with Mr. Poe. She is then abducted by his associates and tied to a tree. She drags the tree to a phone booth where she contacts Gustav. She finds her way to a VFD tunnel and Gustav unties her.
They both attend The Marvelous Marriage, which disgusts them both. When Olaf's plan to marry Violet Baudelaire is revealed, they both prepare to attack him, 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.
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 and she loses contact with him.[8]
Jacquelyn threatening Olaf with a harpoon gun.
She disguises herself as a statue in Monty's hedge-maze for unknown reasons. When the Baudelaires enter the maze, she reveals herself and tells them that 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.[7]
Poe later hands Klaus a package from Jacquelyn, containing his spyglass.[6]
Season 2
Jacquelyn returns to working as Poe's secretary, and hears that he has enrolled the Baudelaires (and Quagmires) at Prufrock Preparatory School. She meets with fellow VFD member Larry in the tunnels to instruct him to an annotated copy of The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations to give 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.[9] 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.[10]
After the abduction of the Quagmire triplets, 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 VFD.
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.[11]
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.[12]
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, attempting to calm down the mob of angry villagers from wanting to burn children to death, but it is futile. They are tied up in rope and are 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.[13]
Season 3
Jacquelyn does not appear in the final season, as Poe mentions to Kit Snicket that her mother died, making her the "Duchess of Something";[1] he later reveals that she moved to Winnipeg, which confirms she is the Duchess of Winnipeg.
She is briefly mentioned by the Baudelaires as a possible J.S.[14]
Behind the scenes
- She is portrayed by Sara Canning.
Quotes
- "I was in the mood for some vigorously fancy dining."
Trivia
- She likes spiders.[7]
- 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.[15]
- In Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, there is a photo of sailors, one of the sailors has the last name Scieszka.
- Both "snicket" and "sciezka" mean "a passage."
- 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.[15]
- 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."[15]
- 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.[15]
Appearances
Gallery
Behind the Scenes
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 TV: The Slippery Slope: Part One
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 PROSE: The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations
- ↑ PROSE: The Beatrice Letters
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 TV: The Carnivorous Carnival: Part One
- ↑ TV: The Reptile Room: Part One
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 TV: The Miserable Mill: Part Two
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 TV: The Reptile Room: Part Two
- ↑ TV: The Bad Beginning: Part One
- ↑ TV: The Austere Academy: Part One
- ↑ TV: The Austere Academy: Part Two
- ↑ TV: The Ersatz Elevator: Part One
- ↑ TV: The Ersatz Elevator: Part Two
- ↑ TV: The Vile Village: Part Two
- ↑ TV: The Penultimate Peril: Part One
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Interview