“ | Olaf, you lack more than an appreciation for subcontinental cuisine. You lack morals and ethics. And back-up! Where are your associates now? | ” |
— Larry, "The Penultimate Peril: Part One"
|
Larry Your-Waiter is a restaurant server introduced in The Wide Window who was employed at The Anxious Clown restaurant and served Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire, Arthur Poe, and Count Olaf (disguised as Captain Sham). In the TV series, he becomes a recurring character, appearing mostly within a restaurant-type setting and assisting the Baudelaire orphans by providing them with the usage of secret codes and phrases.
Biography[]
Not much about Larry's early life is known, other than that he attended Prufrock Preparatory School and that he once lived in the Village of Fowl Devotees, as he is able to identify Mr. Lesko and Mrs. Morrow. He mentions Mrs. Morrow was in a book club with his "mothers", implying he was raised by a lesbian couple.
Larry is, in the books, likely a member of V.F.D., as he uses the coded phrase "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion." In the TV series, he is also shown working as a waiter at the V.F.D. Headquarters. After the Schism, he joined the Fire-Fighting Side.
He seems to share some history with Josephine Anwhistle, as when he overhears the Baudelaire orphans talk about she recently died, he appears visibly shocked and saddened. He and Anwhistle are also seen in a photograph together.
In Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, Jacques Snicket instructs Lemony to visit The Anxious Clown and find a waiter who will say "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion." This waiter will have a letter containing instructions for Lemony to flee the country.
A similar waiter interrupts a taped conversation between Mr. Poe and his sister Eleanora in The Anxious Clown.
TV series[]
In the TV series, Larry has a recurring role that he does not have in the novels.
Season One[]
In The Wide Window, Larry is casually opening up the Anxious Clown when Count Olaf confronts him. Larry accidentally reveals that the Baudelaires are staying with Josephine Anwhistle. Later, while the Baudelaires are eating at the Anxious Clown, he asks them if they have any allergies that would cause them to leave the restaurant. They say they are allergic to peppermints. When Larry brings them the check, there are three peppermints along with it. The children eat the peppermints without anybody noticing. Violet develops hives on her face, and Klaus's tongue swells up. Sunny has both of these reactions. The Baudelaires say they need to go back to Aunt Josephine's house to treat the reactions. This gives them time to study the suicide note Aunt Josephine leaves behind.
Season Two[]
In The Austere Academy, he is ordered by Jacquelyn Scieszka to go to Prufrock Preparatory School, his former school, in order to deliver a book titled The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations to the Baudelaires. There, he bumps into Olivia Caliban who takes the book after he accidentally knocks over a book cart after being hit by Carmelita Spats. He disguises himself as a cafeteria worker and confronts Olaf, whose cohorts shove him into a freezer. Fortunately, he calls Jacquelyn who has Jacques Snicket go to the school to save him.
In The Ersatz Elevator, Larry shows up as the waiter of the Café Salmonella, where he instructs the Baudelaires to stay at the Cafe while V.F.D. agents Jacques Snicket and Olivia Caliban attempt to rescue the Quagmires from 667 Dark Avenue. He later follows Olaf to the Herring Houdini where he and Jacquelyn trap Olaf into performing a song while the Baudelaires attempt to rescue the Quagmires.
In The Vile Village, Jacquelyn and Larry arrive at the Village of Fowl Devotees. They attempt 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.
In The Carnivorous Carnival, Larry appears in a flashback to the opening of the new V.F.D. headquarters, where he eventually manages to pass an important message from Beatrice Baudelaire to Lemony. Later on, he is seen in a V.F.D. tunnel on a phone conversation with someone, presumably Jacquelyn. He mentions he is on his way to the V.F.D. headquarters after learning the "survivor of the fire" is also headed there.
Season Three[]
In The Penultimate Peril, Larry replaces Hal's role as Hotel Denouement's Indian Restaurant caretaker. He awaits an individual with the initials, J.S. Sunny and Larry meet again after she escorts Mr. Poe to the restaurant, exchanging V.F.D. signals as he enters the kitchen. Upon returning with their order, Larry discovers that Olaf, posing as J.S., has arrived, and, after seeing each other once more, heads back inside. Upon seeing Sunny eavesdrop on his conversation with Dewey Denouement, the latter assigns her a new task, which is to put a Vernacularly Fastened Door on the entrance to the hotel's laundry room, leaving Larry alone in the kitchen as they exit through a service elevator.
Olaf then enters the kitchen, and as they exchange words, Ernest Denouement walks in, whom Larry assumes is Frank Denouement, and throws a lasso onto Larry's waist. Larry is then spun around and tied up, where his rope is then hung from the ceiling. As Ernest pulls him, now upside down, over a large pot of curry, Larry asks Olaf if he expects him to talk, but Olaf denies it. Ernest then lets go of the rope, dunking Larry head first into the pot, drowning/boiling him.
Behind the scenes[]
Larry was portrayed by Patrick Breen in the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Breen had also worked with the show's developer Barry Sonnenfeld in Men in Black.
Quotes[]
- "In a world too often governed by corruption and arrogance, it can be difficult to stay true to one's literary and philosophical principles." (to Olivia Caliban)
- "The whole world is cruel! School is just a microcosm."
- "The world is quiet here."
- "I didn't realize this was a sad occasion."
- "Josephine's DEAD?!"
- "Now young lady, have you been good to your mother? Now that quote means "Run away, your house is on fire.""
- "Olaf, you lack more than an appreciation for subcontinental cuisine. You lack morals and ethics. And back-up! Where are your associates now?"
- "Do you expect me to talk?" (Larry's final words)
Trivia[]
- Larry is a diminutive of Lawrence, so Larry's full given name might be Lawrence.
- Count Olaf claims to have killed all of Larry's associates.
- Though this is not entirely true, Olaf may have merely meant that he has been a major threat to Larry and his friends and has caused many to perish.
- Larry takes a breath of air before being "boiled alive."
- Therefore, it is possible he survived, but due to the fact that Olaf claims the pot is boiling and the fact that this may just have been present in the show to give the writers breathing room for the character, it is possible, but unlikely he survived. His death is confirmed in more than one comments by the actor Parick Breen in his Instagram post.
- The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations: An Utterly Unreliable Account of Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events labels Larry as "Missing" while Gustav Sebald is marked as "Dead." This been done to not spoil Larry's potential death as the book was released before the episode.
Appearances[]