When dawn arrives and the Baudelkaires wake up, they discover that there is no sign of Monty. They find the Reptile Room door open and go in, and find Monty dead at his desk with puncture marks on his cheek. Olaf comes in and taunts the children, and points out that Monty died of a snakebite, not murder. He says that they're going to Peru and when they refuse, Olaf picks up his luggage... and one of them makes a Sunny-like noise. When Violet and Klaus demand that Olaf release their baby sister, he tells them to get in the car and he won't hurt her. As Olaf drives down the driveway, another car drives in and Olaf swerves to avoid it, ramming into a snake topiary.
Poe gets out of his car and Klaus gets Sunny out of the suitcase. Olaf reverts to his Stefano accent and introduces himself as Monty's assistant. Violet tells Poe that Monty is dead, and says that the children are confused. Poe says that Monty called to have him get passports for the trip to Peru, and Olaf quickly grabs them. The children insist that "Stephano" is Olaf, but Poe doesn't believe them. Klaus says that Olaf has a tattoo of an eye on his left ankle, and Poe asks Olaf to pull up his cuff. He smiles and does so, and there's no sign of a tattoo. However, Poe says that none of them are going anywhere until the police arrive to check out Monty's corpse.
Inside the manor, Poe calls the police. Meanwhile, Olaf calls his troupe and tells them to come over. The Henchman of Indeterminate Gender arrives posing as the medical examiner, and Olaf takes the Henchman to the Reptile Room. Poe agrees with Olaf about having the children stay outside and offers to wait with the Baudelaires while the Henchman and Poe go in. Olaf would rather not, but Violet suggests that Olaf go in with the Henchman and Olaf has no choice but to agree. Once they're alone, Poe offers his condolences to the children, and assures them that he won't let Olaf be their new guardian... without some very thorough paperwork.
The Henchman is startled by a reptile and screams, and Poe and the Baudelaires run in. The Henchman reports that Monty died of snakebite but Violet points out that Monty would know better than to let a snake bite him. Olaf says that they found the venom of the Incredibly Deadly Viper in Monty's blood, and Violet says that it's the least dangerous creatures in the animal kingdom. Poe doesn't believe her but Violet says that they can prove it's harmless. However, the Viper is missing from its cage. Poe assumes that Monty didn't properly lock the cage and it slipped out.
Klaus points out that the Henchman is the Henchman, but Poe hasn't met any of them other than the Hook Handed Man. Olaf suggests that the Viper might be ready to strike again, and everyone runs out when they hear a screeching noise. It's the Screehcing Iguana Clock, and Olaf tells the children to pack so that they can go to Peru. Violet reminds Poe that Olaf doesn't have the proper paperwork, and Olaf says that no one is leaving the manor with a snake on the loose and they're under quarantine.
In the back of the coroner's van, the rest of the troupe play cards. They finally hear Olaf over the radio, put on their costumes as policemen. Poe doesn't see through their disguises and tells the children to wait upstairs while the adults take care of things. As the Baudelaires go upstairs, they look at the Women take away Monty's body.
In their room, the children discuss what to do next. They figure that Olaf set the Viper loose, and they figure that they need to find the Viper and prove that it's innocent.
Olaf tells the troupe to keep Poe distracted and goes up to the children's room. He draws his knife and goes in, only to discover that they're gone. Klaus is hanging below the window by one of VIjolet's inventions, and glances out at the hedge maze. At the center is a statue of a woman holding a telescope. Klaus finally loses his grip and falls. He crawls into the house as Poe notices that Olaf is gone, and gets Monty's journal from the desk. Inside the book is a ticket with the theater message written on it, and on the wall is a photo of Monty holding a telescope. Klaus realizes that it's the same as the device he fouind, and is on the telescope of the woman in the maze.
Klaus drops the metal piece and everyoine starts to go over, but Sunny cries in the distance. Everyone goes out to the foyer and...
Six minutes earlier, Olaf goes up to the children's room. He draws his knife and goes in, only to discover that they're gone. Violet slips out with Sunny and goes to Monty's car. Sunny watches the dor while Violet puts on her thinking hair ribbon. She takes a key fob from the key and has Sunny chew it into the shape of a lockpick, and then opens Olaf's suitcase. Inside is a two-barreled injector, a bottle of liquid, and two syringes. Meanwhile, Sunny sees the Viiper slithering past and crawls after it.
Olaf comes out and grabs Violet, and says that he's only taking one of the children to Peru. The Screehcing Iguana Clock goes off and Violet breaks free of a distracted Olaf.
Now, everyone stares at Sunny and the Viper coiled up around her. Violet runs in and says what it is, and Klaus comes out and reads Monty's journal entry proving that the Viper is harmless. Poe admits that the Viper appears harmless, and Olaf comes in and points out that there are plenty of other deadly demons. He blurts out that he's an expert on snakes, and Klaus points out that earlier Olaf said that he knows nothing about snakes. Poe remembers as well and demands an explanation, and Olaf says that he was being modest earlier. Klaus accuses him of lying, and Violet dumps out the suitcase's contents. The bottle holds a deadly venom sample and Violet has Poe confirm that a sample is missing.The junk forms a two-fanged injector: the murder weapon. Klaus says that "Stephano" is Olaf, and Poe demands that Olaf expose his left ankle. Olaf does so and Poe wipes away the makeup concealing the tattoo.
Realizing that he's exposed, Olaf sarcastically applauds and admits that he killed Monty and Gustav. Poe promises to send him to jail and tells the "officers" to arrest him. The banker finally realizes that they're in on it. Monty's reptiles take offense and move in to attack, and Olaf and his troupe run out. He tells them to take the van and make sure that they follow him, while he goes to international waters. Klaus and the others see Olaf run into the hedge maze, and Poe says that he'll call the police.
The Baudelairs go into the maze after Olaf, and split up to cut him off. Olaf ducks into a hidden trapdoor just as the children arrive, and Klaus shows Violet the message. He realizes that the device is gone, and that Olaf secretly took it from him earlier. The woman's statue comes to life, revealing that it's Jacquelyn. Jacquelkyn apologizes for arriving too late to save Monty, but hopes to bring Olaf to justice. She tells them to forget Peru because it's compromised, and tells them to find their Aunt Josephine. Josephine will tell them everything that they need to know, while Jacquelyn finds Olaf and recover the spyglass piece. Once they leave the maze, Jacquelyn goes down the trapdoor.
When the children emerge from the maze, they find members of the Herpatological Society taking away Monty's reptiles to other homes. Poe says that he has to take them to their next guardian: Josephine. As they drive away, Sunny waves goodbye to the Viper. Violet asks about Jacquelyn when she posed as Poe's secretary, and Poe says that the Baudelaire parents recommended her.
In the sewers, Jacquelyn finds Olaf's discarded disguise and follows the trail to the docks... and the Prospero. She sees Olaf going aboard and follows him, and then knocks on his door posing as a messenger. Jacquelyn comes in and says that he's going to prison. Olaf draws a knife, Jacquelyn draws a cleaver, Olaf draws a machete, and Jacquelyn draws a harpoon gun. He says that there's a spider on her shoulder, and when Jacquelyn is distracted, drops a Murphy bed on her. Olaf tries to jump out the porthole but Jacquelyn grabs him. He slithers out of his bathrobe and jumps into the ocean below, and Jacquelyn finds the spyglass piece in the robe's pocket.
Father and Mother, in a bar in Peru, call Monty's manor but get no answer. A group of men step out when they hear Mother mention Monty's name, and the parents prepare to find out where they can charter a plane.
Written by Gadfly on Jan 30, 2017