“ | V.F.D. would never accept an ambidextrous person. It's my destiny to be a treacherous person. | ” |
— Kevin, The Penultimate Peril
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Kevin is a member of the House of Freaks at Caligari Carnival with Hugo and Colette. Kevin is ambidextrous, but views his ability as a "freakish" disadvantage rather than an asset.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
“ | Gosh. No normal person has ever called me a friend. | ” |
— Kevin, The Carnivorous Carnival
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Kevin apparently experienced much persecution in his life due to being born ambidextrous- equally strong in both his left and right hands. In addition, he has equally strong feet[1] and eyes.[4] He has never had a "normal" friend. He also mentions that he has always dreamed of performing onstage.
Considering himself a "freak," he eventually joined Caligari Carnival, where he became part of the House of Freaks with Hugo the hunchback and Colette the contortionist. Their boss, Madame Lulu, was very cruel to them and refused to pay them, as well as not allowing them to walk around the carnival if they were not putting on a show, causing them to spend a lot of time in their caravan.
Kevin and his coworkers became convinced of Lulu's philosophy that they must always give the people what they want, regardless of their own feelings.
He is incredibly pessimistic and self-degrading, convinced that there is nothing better for him in the world and always bringing the conversation down either by pointing out his or others' "freakishness" or finding something else distressing to note.
He became acquainted with Count Olaf and his troupe, as he would often visit Lulu, though they treated her as horribly as Lulu did.[1]
The Carnivorous Carnival[]
“ | You're whispering about me, aren't you? I bet you're saying, 'What a freak Kevin is. Sometimes he shaves with his left hand, and sometimes he shaves with his right hand, but it doesn't matter because they're exactly the same! | ” |
— Kevin, The Carnivorous Carnival
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Kevin is awoken from a dream about being normal by the arrival of new coworkers- Beverly and Elliot, The Two-Headed Freak and Chabo the Wolf Baby. He remarks that Beverly and Elliot have it "just as bad" as he does, and asks if Chabo is dangerous. He argues slightly with Hugo over which of them is more freakish, and then uses his equally strong hands to hang up new hammocks for the arrivals.
The next morning, they are awoken by the Hook-Handed Man pounding on the door and announcing that it's time for the freakshow and that Count Olaf is angry after finding out that one of the Baudelaire parents is still alive. While Colette feels sorry for him, Kevin remarks that at least the Hook-Handed Man has a preferred hook and not ambidextrous ones. He prepares for his routine and hears the new arrivals whispering, assuming they're talking about him. They reassure him that they're talking about the Baudelaire children from the newspaper.
They proceed to the House of Freaks to give their performance, where someone throws their cold beverage at Kevin. Afterwards, Beverly and Elliot express their disgust at the show. Kevin tells them that this is the only place for freaks to go, and Beverly tries to assure him that there are lots of ambidextrous people, such as florists and air-traffic controllers, though he is unconvinced. The newcomers then decide to take their hot chocolate outside, and Kevin warns them to be careful and not to get into trouble.
They then hear Olaf's car arrive and go outside to see him and Lulu bring back a cage of starving lions. They announce to the crowd that they will have a new attraction, where they feed the freaks to the lions. Kevin and his coworkers are horrified by this, though they don't fight back against it. The newcomers decide to continue their walk, and Kevin tells them to enjoy their hot chocolate, as it may be their last meal. He then closes the caravan door with both hands.
That night at dinner, everyone is unusually quiet, and after some prodding, Kevin admits he is concerned about the new show. While he would like to continue living and performing at the House of Freaks, he also believes they should give the people what they want, and the people seem to want to see someone devoured by lions. Beverly and Elliot try to dissuade them, only for Esmé Squalor to knock on the door.
She enters and sits down with them, claiming to love freaks, and kissing Kevin on the nose. She flatters them, encouraging the lonely employees to listen to her, and then claims that she will give them the opportunity to join Count Olaf's troupe, which excites Kevin. Esmé then informs them that all they have to do to join the troupe is push Madame Lulu to the lions if they are chosen, instead of jumping in the pit themselves. While the coworkers are initially apprehensive, and Beverly and Elliot are horrified, Esmé claims that it's giving the people what they want. She then presents them with gifts; for Kevin, she gives him a small rope to tie his right hand back with, so that he cannot use it and therefore be left-handed. Kevin, Hugo and Colette excitedly agree to the murder plan, though Beverly, Elliot and Chabo do not seem enthused.
The next day, Kevin dresses in his "freakish" clothes for the final time and gathers with Hugo and Colette by the lion pit for the show. Beverly and Elliot are chosen, but they stall for a long enough time that the antsy crowd starts to fight over who gets to push them. Kevin and his coworkers volunteer, and Kevin insists that he could be as useful as other members of Olaf's troupe. In the ensuing mob, Kevin's path is blocked by the Bald Man with the Long Nose, who does not want him for a coworker. Beverly and Elliot escape in the chaos, and Lulu and the Bald Man fall into the pit.
Olaf indeed decides to hire Hugo, Colette, and Kevin, and informs them that Beverly, Elliot, and Chabo are secretly the Baudelaire orphans. He and Esmé take Chabo- Sunny Baudelaire- into the car, while they have Hugo, Colette and Kevin sit in the backseat, and put Violet and Klaus Baudelaire in an attached caravan. They drive away from the carnival, which Olaf has set on fire, and halfway up a slope of the Mortmain Mountains, Hugo holds Colette, who holds Kevin across the trunk of the car. Kevin gives the children a "triumphant grin" before cutting the rope, sending Violet and Klaus tumbling down the slope.
The Slippery Slope[]
“ | Yes, please explain. Remember, boss, we're new to the troupe, so we don't always know what's going on. | ” |
— Kevin, The Slippery Slope
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Kevin, Hugo and Colette remain cramped into the backseat of Olaf's car with the Hook-Handed Man and White-Faced Women while they continue up the slope. Kevin requests more information on their plans, as they want to understand their job. The Hook-Handed Man tells them that they must burn the Snicket File to hide Count Olaf's crimes, and Olaf mentions that burning down V.F.D. Headquarters will be the end of their problems, though he will not explain to them what VFD stands for, only saying it's an organization he left.
They reach the top of Mount Fraught, where Sunny, still their captive, is placed in a casserole dish to sleep. Kevin questions if she would run away while not being watched, and Olaf assures him that she wouldn't be able to survive alone.
The next morning, Kevin helps the Hook-Handed Man comb his hair, telling him that he is jealous of his hooks. Sunny prepares them breakfast, but Olaf destroys it in anger. The Man with a Beard but No Hair and Woman with Hair but No Beard arrive, then, causing them all to be terrified. They inform them that they have burnt down the VFD Headquarters, and go into a tent with Olaf and Esmé to read over and then burn the Snicket File. While they are all nervous, Kevin remarks that as the Man and Woman are friends of Count Olaf, surely they cannot be too bad. He also questions to Olaf where the Last Safe Place is after hearing him discuss it.
The next day, False Spring arrives, and Sunny prepares them False Spring Rolls. Kevin watches as several masked volunteers arrive and offer to trade the location of The Sugar Bowl for Sunny Baudelaire. Just then, a troupe of Snow Scouts arrive, and in an attempt to save them from kidnapping, the volunteers reveal themselves to be Violet and Klaus Baudelaire, as well as Quigley Quagmire. Sunny escapes and reunites with her siblings, and Kevin encourages the Snow Scouts to go into the net they have placed for them, saying he will perform the False Spring dance with two equally strong feet. This results in the scouts being captured by eagles. The Baudelaires and Quigley then escape, leaving Olaf's troupe on the slope.
Hugo, Colette, and Kevin are sent ahead to Hotel Denouement for Olaf's plan to destroy Volunteers, while Olaf, Esmé and their recently adopted daughter Carmelita Spats go into a submarine to search for and kill Captain Widdershins.[5]
The Penultimate Peril[]
- Kevin: I still don't see why I had to disguise myself as a washerwoman. I could have just been a washerperson, and not worn this humiliating wig.
- Violet Baudelaire: Or you could have been a noble person, instead of spying on a brave volunteer.
Kevin disguises himself as a washerwoman with a long, blonde wig and rumpled clothing. When he leaves Room 025, he sees Sunny and hurriedly nods at her. When Carmelita shoots down a VFD Crow, he watches with his equally strong eyes as the birds hit the birdpaper and drop the sugar bowl, and though he doesn't see where it landed, he remembers that Sunny put a lock on the laundry room door.
Kevin follows his coworkers to the lobby of the hotel, where they run into Olaf, who is confronting the Baudelaires, Dewey Denouement, Justice Strauss and Jerome Squalor. The Baudelaires try, and fail, once again to convince their former coworkers to be noble people; Kevin says that as an ambidextrous person, it is his destiny to be treacherous, which astonishes Dewey, who is ambidextrous himself.
Olaf causes the Baudelaires to accidentally shoot Dewey, and Kevin agrees with him that they should be locked into the closet until the High Court arrives to decide their fate, raising one arm and then the other in an ambidextrous salute.
At the trial the next day, Kevin submits books with both his left and right hands, and declares them right-handed when the trial is disrupted. When the Hotel Denouement Fire is started, Kevin, Hugo and Colette are last seen on one of the higher floors holding the bird paper that Klaus hung on the outside of the sauna. Kevin complains that he doesn't know which hand to hold the birdpaper with.
It is left uncertain if Kevin survived the fire at the Hotel Denouement.
Netflix Series Divergent Canon[]
“ | This is probably a test. If we prove to Count Olaf we can survive a night in this dark, freezing, probably haunted wood, when we go back in the morning, he'll be so impressed, he'll welcome us with open arms and say all the nice things my dad never did. | ” |
— Kevin, "The Slippery Slope: Part One"
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Kevin mentions in the Netflix series that he had a poor relationship with his father and seems to crave a paternal relationship.[2] This could pertain to the theory that he and Kevin Old, who seems to have a strained relationship with his Dad, are the same character.[3]
While Kevin's role in the carnival and as the Baudelaires' coworker is mainly the same in the episode adaptations of The Carnivorous Carnival, there are slight differences to his character. He is noted as being incredibly handsome, which brings more humor to his self-deprication, and he takes over the role of the caravan's chef from Hugo, cooking with Sunny and making popcorn for the carnival.[6][7]
After reaching Mount Fraught, Olaf's troupe refuses to let the "freaks" camp with them and orders them to make their campsite somewhere away from them. Kevin attempts to start a fire, and Hugo admits he has some money saved up and advises they buy a farm and turn their lives around. Kevin seems confused and needs extra information on what they'd do, and Colette suggests growing rutabagas, which Kevin dislikes. Hugo insists they could do whatever they wanted.
The former Madame Lulu, Kit Snicket, arrives, though she is unrecognized by her former employees. She helps them start a fire, and informs them that they deserve much better. As soon as she is gone, the Man with a Beard but No Hair and the Woman with Hair but No Beard arrive, ordering the coworkers to leave. They reveal that they are in Count Olaf's troupe, and threaten to scream to summon him. At that, the Woman and Man pull out swords to "test that theory."[2]
The carnival employees are never seen again, and the rest of the troupe concludes that the Man and Woman likely killed them.[8] However, this is unconfirmed.
He is portrayed by Robbie Amell.
Quotes[]
The Carnivorous Carnival[]
“ | I wish you hadn't woken me up. I was having a delightful dream that there was nothing wrong with me at all, instead of being a freak. | ” |
— Chapter Three
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- Kevin: Wolf Baby? Is she dangerous?
- Violet Baudelaire: She doesn't like to be teased.
“ | I might as well give you two helping hands. They're both equally efficient. Oh, I wish that I was either right-handed or left-handed. | ” |
— Chapter Three
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- Colette: I feel sorry for that man. Every time he and that Count person come to visit, it makes me feel bad to look at his hooks.
- Kevin: He's better off than me. At least one of his hooks is stronger than the other one. My arms and legs are exactly alike.
- Kevin: And why don't you want to stay here? Caligari Carnival hasn't been very popular lately, but there's nowhere else for a freak to go.
- Violet Baudelaire: Of course there is. Lots of people are ambidextrous, Kevin. There are ambidextrous florists, and ambidextrous air-traffic controllers, and all sorts of things.
“ | I hope you don't get into trouble. I hate to think of the tagliatelle grande hitting both of your hands. | ” |
— Chapter Four
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- Violet Baudelaire: We want to finish our hot chocolate.
- Kevin: You might as well enjoy it. It might turn out to be the last hot chocolate you ever drink.
“ | I don't know what we can do about it. One one hand, I'd rather keep performing at the House of Freaks instead of being fed to the lions. But on the other hand- and in my case, both my hands are equally strong- Madame Lulu's motto is 'give people what they want,' and apparently they want this carnival to be carnivorous. | ” |
— Chapter Eight
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- Klaus Baudelaire: You never know when opportunity will knock.
- Kevin: Which hand will it knock with?
“ | There, there, close friend. Don't be sad. | ” |
— Chapter Eight
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“ | Dramatic exercises! It's always been my heart's desire to perform on a stage! | ” |
— Chapter Eight
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- Esmé Squalor: And Kevin, look at this small piece of rope. Turn around, and I'll tie your right hand behind your back so you can't possibly use it.
- Kevin: And then I'll be left-handed, like normal people! Hooray!
- Esmé Squalor: You can decide in the morning whether you want to be brave members of a theater troupe, or cowardly freaks in a rundown carnival.
- Kevin: I don't need to sleep on it.
- Kevin: I know I'm a freak, but I think I could be just as useful as the hook-handed man, or your bald associate.
- Bald Man: What? A freak like you, as useful as me? Don't be ridiculous!
“ | No, I'll do it! With both hands! | ” |
— Chapter Eleven
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The Slippery Slope[]
“ | Won't she run away if no one's watching her? | ” |
— Chapter Three
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- Fernald: Kevin, would you do me a favor? Will you help me comb my hair? These hooks can make it difficult sometimes.
- Kevin: I'm jealous of your hooks. Having no hands is better than having two equally strong hands.
“ | If they're friends of Count Olaf's, how bad could they be? | ” |
— Chapter Six
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- Count Olaf: That's right, why doesn't everybody step forward and do a dance in honor of this darling little girl?
- Kevin: Sounds good to me. After all, I have two equally strong feet.
The Penultimate Peril[]
“ | When the crows hit the birdpaper, they dropped the sugar bowl. I didn't see where it went with either my right eye or my left eye, which I'm sad to say are equally strong. But I did see Sunny turn the door of the laundry room into a Vernacularly Fastened Door. | ” |
— Chapter Nine
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“ | I submit these books, with both my left and right hands! | ” |
— Chapter Eleven
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“ | They're right-handed! | ” |
— Chapter Eleven
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Trivia[]
- He may be Kevin Old from File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents. He is a boy seen holding two planks of wood in each hand, implying he may be ambidextrous. He is also a criminal.
- Kevin seems to have been aged down in the TV series compared to the book. In the book, it is mentioned he has a very wrinkled face.
- Kevin's actor Robbie Amell and Violet's actress Malina Weissman had previously worked together in the 2016 movie Nine Lives.
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
Books[]
Netflix Series[]
Screenshots[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Sources[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 PROSE: The Carnivorous Carnival
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 TV: The Slippery Slope: Part One
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 PROSE: File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents
- ↑ PROSE: The Penultimate Peril
- ↑ PROSE: The Grim Grotto
- ↑ TV: The Carnivorous Carnival: Part One
- ↑ TV: The Carnivorous Carnival: Part Two
- ↑ TV: The Slippery Slope: Part Two
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