Esmé Squalor is the secondary antagonist of the Netflix adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
She was portrayed by Lucy Punch.
Her Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Her Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- Before the Schism, Esmé was still an entitled person, as when Beatrice attempted to have her give up the Sugar Bowl that contained the antidote for the Medusoid Mycelium, as it could fall into the wrong hands, but Esmé refuses to comply because it completes her tea set.
- When Beatrice and Lemony are forced to steal the Sugar Bowl, Esmé immediately attempts to murder the pair with poison darts. The conflict leads to the death of Count Olaf's father, who is caught in the crossfire of the poison darts, which starts The Schism, which Esmé shows no care about.
- Joined the Fire Starting Side of VFD.
- She dated and married Jerome for his wealth and mansion that had access to the tunnels for VFD, who she constantly emotionally abuses and belittles.
- When the Baudelaires tell her who Count Olaf really is, she reveals that she is working with him and throws the three down the elevator shaft, which leads into a net and taunts the Baudelaires and that they and the Quagmires will be smuggled out of town.
- She smuggles the Quagmires out of the city and takes them to the Village of Fowl Devotees.
- She disguises herself as the sheriff in the Village of Fowl Devotees and captures Jacques Snicket, suggesting that the Elders burn him at the stake.
- She helps Count Olaf to murder Jacque Snicket, with Esmé herself tossing a book to incapacitate Jacque, before getting the town to frame the Baudelaires and have them burned at the stakes.
- attempts to shoot the Self Sustaining Hot Air Mobile home, bringing it down and almost killing The Baudelaire’s, Quagmire’s, and Hector.
- She captures Babs at the Heimlich Hospital
- She chases down the Baudelaire's in the Library of Records, wrecking it in the process, which the Baudelaires are framed for.
- Helps Count Olaf kidnap Violet and tries to force Klaus to cut off her head.
- At Caligari Carnival, she abuses the Freaks and the disguised Baudelaires, using a large noodle as a whip.
- Due to thinking that Madame Lulu is attempting to steal Count Olaf from her, she instructs the Freaks to murder her by pushing her in the lions pit.
- During the lion show, she gets Madame Lulu to push the disguises Baudelaires into the lion's pit, which leads to Count Olaf throwing Madame Lulu in.
- She sadistically watches and smiles as Madame Lulu is eaten by lions.
- She abuses Sunny, forcing her into the glove compartment and pinching her.
- Esmé along with Count Olaf force Sunny to be their slave on Mount Fraught.
- She chases and pursues the Baudelaires and Quigley Quagmire and attempts to torture them.
- She enslaves the kidnapped snow scouts to work the submarine.
- She confirms her involvement in the murder of Carmelita's parents while talking to Olaf, stating that they had burned down their house with them inside.
- She plans with Olaf to poison the guests at the Hotel Denouement using the Medusoid Mycelium.
- She has Carmelita shoot down the carrier crow that has the Sugar Bowl and feeds it to the guests at Count Olaf's trial, out of spite.
- During the fire at Hotel Denouement, she refuses to believe there’s a fire and she brings Carmelita to the start of the fire, the basement, to find the sugar bowl, presumably dying in the fire along with Carmelita due to her blind obsession and spite.
What Prevents Her from Being Pure Evil?[]
- She shows genuine care for her adopted daughter, Carmelita, having a good relationship with her and showing affection towards her.
- She has many comedic moments, such as her obsession with things being "in" and "out," her banter with Olaf, and her overall shallow and snooty attitude.
Trivia[]
- She is one of the three villains in A Series Of Unfortunate Events to be Near Pure Evil, alongside Count Olaf and Dr. Georgina Orwell.
