Vice Principal Nero

Vice Principal Nero
Biographical Information
Died	In the Hotel Denouement (possibly)
Alias	Nero Feint
Title(s)	Vice Principal
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Height	5 feet 10 inches (books)
Hair	Brown
Eye	Blue
Skin	White
Relationships
Family Members	Possibly Barrymore Feint, Armstrong Feint and Ellington Feint
Affiliation
Profession	Vice Principal of Prufrock Preparatory School, struggling violinist
Loyalty	Prufrock Preparatory School

“	Every night I give a violin recital for six hours, and attendance is mandatory. The word 'mandatory' means that if you don't show up, you have to buy me a large bag of candy and watch me eat it.	”
	— Nero to the Baudelaires

Vice Principal Nero, full name Nero Feint, is the antagonistic Vice-Principal of Prufrock Preparatory School. He is the fifth guardian of the Baudelaire children.

Personality

Nero hated the Baudelaires and the Quagmires and often mocked them by repeating what they said in a high-pitched nasal voice. He refused to make an exception for the Baudelaires to live in the dormitory, as Mr. Poe is technically not a Baudelaire guardian, and in order to live in the dorms, a student must have their guardian's permission slip.

He is also narcissistic and delusional about his ability to play the violin, and is either unable to see or simply doesn't care that his students don't like his recitals. Near the start of The Miserable Mill: Part Two, Lemony Snicket essentially reveals that Nero is hypnotized (possibly by Georgina Orwell) to think that he can play the violin despite that he never studied, and that his name "Nero" acts as the trigger.

He adores Carmelita Spats and "plays favorites" with her. When he discovers the Baudelaires never gave her any tips for delivering messages, he says they owe her ten pairs of earrings, despite that tips are optional.

Given his personality, it is not far-fetched to assume that he is mentally unbalanced and demented.

In the TV series, he is portrayed as less cruel and more sympathetic, as a struggling musician unable to achieve his dreams, and he is financially poor. He is also shown to be extremely out of the loop, wondering why Mozart does not reply to his letters, and thinks Voltaire is probably some French kid he expelled for smoking.

Biography

The top of his head was bald, with his hair pulled into four short pigtails. He was mentioned to be 5 feet 10 inches tall.

He never graduated middle school.

Vice Principal Nero plays the violin terribly, and he forces the students to listen to his terrible playing through nightly six hour recitals.

He enforces strict and cruel punishments, like taking away eating utensils (if a student entered the administrative building without an appointment) and tying hands behind students' backs during meals (if they're late for class.) He made up a punishment that if anybody misses his nightly six hour long violin concerts, he would force them to buy a large bag of candy for him and then force them to watch him eat the entire bag.

The Austere Academy

When the Baudelaires move to Prufrock, Nero despises them. He also makes Isadora and Duncan Quagmire live in the Orphans Shack (on separate occasions), although in the TV series, they are "upgraded" to live in a broom closet.

He hires Count Olaf, who is disguised as a gym teacher called Coach Genghis. It is unknown if this was unknowing or intentional, although it is possible Nero is in cohoots with Olaf. Either way, he threatens the Baudelaire children to have Coach Genghis homeschool them if they either fail their classes or fail the S.O.R.E. exams.

In the book, he expels the Baudelaire orphans after he caught them "cheating" on their exams even when Count Olaf is exposed. In the TV series, he will allow the Baudelaire children to continue attending for the remaining school year. After Count Olaf was exposed and he got away, Vice-Principal Nero is not seen expelling them.

The Penultimate Peril

He makes a return in The Penultimate Peril, along with Mr. Remora and Mrs. Bass in Hotel Denouement. He intends to play at a cocktail party and be recognized as a musical genius so that he can quit his job at the school.

After Dewey Denouement is killed, Vice-Principal Nero mocked what Mr. Remora said and claimed that Violet and Klaus flunked all sorts of tests and Sunny was the worst administrative assistant he has ever seen. During the trial of the Baudelaire children and Count Olaf, Vice-Principal Nero submitted the administrative records as evidence. When the Hotel Denouement Fire is started, Vice-Principal Nero was last seen on the seventh story as he worries about his violin case.

It is unknown if he is still alive after the fire.

Behind the scenes

Vice Principal Nero is portrayed by Roger Bart in the TV series.

Quotes

TV series

• "It's because... I don't like you very much." (shoving Olivia Caliban out his office)
• "I hate to admit it, but Sunny is a fantastic administrative assistant. Look! She edited my resume, highlighting my musicianship without drawing attention to the fact I never graduated middle school!"

Trivia

Nero's resume.

• In the TV series, it's revealed his surname is Feint. This implies relation to Sir Barrymore Feint (founder of Prufrock who also played the violin), as well as Ellington Feint and Armstrong Feint from All the Wrong Questions series.
• It is unknown if there is an official principal at Prufrock Preparatory School.
• Fans theorize he may be on the fire-starting side of V.F.D., although it is unknown if he is aware of or involved in the organization.
• Nero might have been partially inspired by the Roman Emperor Nero, who, when a great fire was spreading across the city, famously stayed in his palace and played the fiddle while Rome burnt. This is supported by the fact that at one point, Count Olaf incorrectly calls him “Caligula”, another Roman Emperor known to be equally terrible.
• The Baudelaire parents may have known him, or at least went to one of his recitals. Bertrand Baudelaire said, "Children, there is no worse sound in the world than somebody who cannot play the violin who insists on doing so anyway."
• His name might have its origins in the Finnish language, since he is referred to as a genius many times in the show and the word nero means genius in Finnish.

Appearances

• The Austere Academy
• The Penultimate Peril
• Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography
• A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV series)
  • "The Miserable Mill: Part Two" (silhouette only)
  • "The Austere Academy: Part One"
  • "The Austere Academy: Part Two"

Gallery

Books

Nero in the cafeteria

Vice Principal Nero's daily violin recital

Nero with a violin

TV series