Changes: Jacques Snicket

Revision as of 06:25, 26 August 2018

“	I'll take a tall glass of justice, on the rocks.	”
	— Jacques when finding Count Olaf in the Village of Fowl Devotees

Jacques Snicket is the elder^[2] brother of Lemony Snicket, twin of Kit Snicket, and known V.F.D. Volunteer. He is the son of Jacob Snicket and the grandson of Charles Snicket.

Jacques was an innocent man who was wrongfully accused and almost received the death penalty of the Village of Fowl Devotees: the terrible demise of being burned to death at the stake.

Biography

Though little detail is known about Jacques, he seems to have been a very active volunteer. Before his death, Jacques worked briefly for The Daily Punctilio, for whom he wrote an article proving that the Royal Gardens Fire was arson. At one point, he worked for Captain Widdershins on the Queequeg, and for Anwhistle Aquatics's Voluntary Fish Domestication program. When Café Salmonella began using these fish in their dishes, he and his siblings participated in a fight against the restaurant, known as the Snicket Snickersnee, but to no avail.^[3] After the destruction of Anwhistle Aquatics, Jacques wrote another article for The Daily Punctilio, entitled "Verifying Fernald's Defection," which claimed Fernald was responsible for the fire.

He later met Quigley Quagmire at the former home of Dr. Montgomery Montgomery while doing research in an attempt to track the Baudelaire orphans^[4]; why he was tracking them is unknown, though it is possible that Lemony asked him to do so. Jacques also stayed for a brief period at Lucky Smells Lumbermill, while investigating the death of Dr. Georgina Orwell. He seems to have been a good friend of Jerome Squalor, having urged him by letter both to buy the penthouse at 667 Dark Avenue and not to marry Esmé Squalor, although the later letter did not reach Jerome due to being intercepted by The Hook-Handed Man.

At some point before his death, he and Lemony lost contact,^[5] yet Jacques remained close to Kit.

The Vile Village

Burning at the Stake — "Olaf" at the stake.

Jacques appeared briefly in The Vile Village in the Village of Fowl Devotees, likely to find the Baudelaires and Quagmires. Jacques was mistaken for Count Olaf by various citizens due to having a unibrow and a tattoo of an eye on his ankle. He is captured at the stake, but is temporarily freed to be given a trial.

In the Town Hall, although he claimed he only had the tattoo as part of his job and insists he is not Count Olaf, the townspeople and Council of Elders do not believe him. He is accused by Officer Luciana (Esmé Squalor) and Detective Dupin (the real Count Olaf) because he is an enemy of theirs. The Baudelaires are the only ones that can completely recognize Count Olaf and realize he is not Count Olaf. Frightened, Jacques tried to tell the Baudelaire orphans the true meaning of V.F.D., saying, "I'm not a villain! I work for the volunteer—" but is interrupted. He is not allowed to defend himself because Rule 920 (no one may speak on the platform) and he is dragged out by Officer Luciana.

The villagers then decide to burn him at the stake, deeming him as an evil villain. Until they are ready, they move Jacques to a prison cell for the night. The Baudelaires discover that anyone burned at the stake can have a final speech, and they decide to use mob mentality to give Jacques another chance and prove his innocence.

The next day, however, the Baudelaires find a crowd gathered around his body outside the jail. It turns out they were too late as he has been mysteriously murdered by the real Count Olaf as Detective Dupin, who blamed and framed the Baudelaires for the murder.

TV series

Exclusive to the TV series adaptation, Jacques has an earlier role.

In The Austere Academy, he saves Larry the Waiter from being frozen to death in a freezer at Prufrock Preparatory School.

In The Ersatz Elevator, he attempts to save the Quagmires at 667 Dark Avenue with his new recruit, Olivia Caliban, but they both fail.

JacquesBody — Jacques' body being carried away.

In The Vile Village, the plot is mainly the same. However, it is revealed he and Olivia have feelings for each other and they share a kiss and promise to meet again someday. His death is explicitly seen, as Count Olaf murders him with a crowbar.

In The Hostile Hospital, he appears in the Snicket File recording. He is seen being interviewed by an unknown interviewer in his "official debriefing." He is asked where his brother is, and Jacques replies either dead or on the lam. He is asked about what he knows about Count Olaf, a rash of fires and anything related to orphans. Jacques mentions there may be a survivor of the fire, leading the Baudelaires to suspect one of their parents may still be alive.

In The Carnivorous Carnival, he appears in flashback set at least 14 years before the series, attending a V.F.D. party at their headquarters. He later appears in a recording in Madame Lulu's tent, where he reveals the phrase "the world is quiet here" is a coded phrase.

Behind the scenes

He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion in the TV series.

Trivia

He is one of the multiple characters with the initials J.S.
When Kit learns of her brother's death, she mentions she is saddened, but not shocked.
Jacques is portrayed as being more noble than Lemony Snicket.

Appearances

When Did You See Her Last? (mentioned only)
Shouldn't You Be in School? (mentioned only)
Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? (mentioned only)
The Vile Village
The Slippery Slope (mentioned only)
The Grim Grotto (mentioned only)
The Penultimate Peril (mentioned only)
The Beatrice Letters (mentioned only)
Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography (mentioned only)
A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV series)
- "The Austere Academy: Part Two"
- "The Ersatz Elevator: Part One"
- "The Ersatz Elevator: Part Two"
- "The Vile Village: Part One"
- "The Vile Village: Part Two"
- "The Hostile Hospital: Part One" (video recording)
- "The Hostile Hospital: Part Two" (video recording)
- "The Carnivorous Carnival: Part One" (flashback, video recording)
- "The Carnivorous Carnival: Part Two" (video recording)

Sources

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 PROSE: The Vile Village
↑ The Snicket family goes in alphabetical order (with the exception of Jacob Snicket, who was known as something else to his bridge partner); so, if Jacques was YOUNGER than Lemony, he would not have Jacques as a name; his name would begin with K or L, and Lemony's name would begin with a J in his place; this means he must be OLDER than Lemony.
↑ PROSE: The Grim Grotto
↑ PROSE: The Slippery Slope
↑ Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography quotes a letter from Jacques Snicket to Lemony Snicket that says, "I feel, Lemony, as if we are drifting away from one another, as if one of us is on the ground and the other is in some wondrous device, floating away into the sky, like that self-sustaining hot-air mobile home 'H' is always talking about building," indicating that Lemony and Jacques, at one point in their lives, lost contact, but it is not stated as to whether they reunited before Jacques died.

Gallery

Books

TV series

[TVV-1] 1.0 ^1.1 PROSE: The Vile Village

[2] The Snicket family goes in alphabetical order (with the exception of Jacob Snicket, who was known as something else to his bridge partner); so, if Jacques was YOUNGER than Lemony, he would not have Jacques as a name; his name would begin with K or L, and Lemony's name would begin with a J in his place; this means he must be OLDER than Lemony.

[TGG-3] PROSE: The Grim Grotto

[TSS-4] PROSE: The Slippery Slope

[5] Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography quotes a letter from Jacques Snicket to Lemony Snicket that says, "I feel, Lemony, as if we are drifting away from one another, as if one of us is on the ground and the other is in some wondrous device, floating away into the sky, like that self-sustaining hot-air mobile home 'H' is always talking about building," indicating that Lemony and Jacques, at one point in their lives, lost contact, but it is not stated as to whether they reunited before Jacques died.

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 [[Category:Victims of Count Olaf]]
 [[Category:Baudelaire guardians]]
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