Episode Two continues the story of the Baudelaire orphans. 'A Bad Beginning' was written by David Handler under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket in 1999. Handler also wrote the teleplay for this series and served as Executive Producer along with Barry Sonnenfeld who directed the first two episodes. The opening of this episode is a flashback recapping the events of episode one. Count Olaf, acting 'in loco parentis' (Latin for 'in place of a parent') devises a method to get their inheritance. He stages a play with himself as groom and Violet Baudelaire as bride. The play was written by Al Funcoot (anagram of Count Olaf), is an actual marriage ceremony and will allow Count Olaf to get control of the fortune. The sinister plot is discovered and prevented with quick thinking on the part of Violet. Count Olaf escapes but vows to continue scheming in order to get the fortune left by the parents. The parents are revealed as still alive and realize that their children are in continuing peril. Again the action is narrated on-screen by Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton).
