Review of "The Wide Window" (Netflix)

SPOILERS

The Wide Window is probably my least favorite of the first three books, but I will say I enjoyed the story found on the Netflix show so much more. By this point, this is the third in the “goes to relative, bad things happens, goes to another relative” storyline and it lacked some depth and felt a little rushed while reading it (I think I read it in less time than the length of the show). Being able to expand the story and the world was a good decision on the part of the writers and directors, especially with the first few books being as small as they are.

The biggest change, besides the continuing behind-the-scenes VFD moments, was how they made some changes to Aunt Josephine. The show took her character and gave her a little more depth. She and Ike knew their parents and had a secret safe with the book about secret organizations like in Justice Strauss’s library. She used to be brave and ready to do dangerous things, and she tries to reclaim that right before her death. In the book her dialogue is reduced to banning things because they are dangerous and correcting grammar.

Again, I love how the show keeps the smallest details of the setting the same, such as the names of the stores in the town (Look! It Fits!), or other details like the exact allergic reactions each sibling experiences while eating peppermint or the fact that “delmo” was the first word Sunny said to Aunt Josephine. The inclusion of Larry the waiter at the Anxious Clown as a covert member of the VFD trying to help the orphans under the watchful eye of Count Olaf’s comrades was a wonderful addition. I can’t wait to see how many other little characters that are in the books they will include in slightly larger roles in the show.

Overall, ‘The Wide Window’ was a great adaptation of the book; more of an expansion than an adaptation, actually, and a very good one at that. Many of the small details remained the same and the changes did not take away from the story but rather added to it. The tone stayed the same, with a little humor mixed in with the dark story, the suspense with Count Olaf’s latest disguise, and the anxiety of the precarious house and leeches.

VFD noticed:

Very Fresh Dill

Vastly Frightening Decision

Come back next Sunday for "The Miserable Mill"!

Click here for my full series review!