| NOTE: This page is only about the Netflix version of the Sinister Duo as their original book version was not voted Pure Evil, and thus only the Netflix version of the Sinister Duo's info and crimes should be put here. |
| “ | An aura of menace is a distant feeling of evil, that accompany the arrival of certain people. Having an aura of menace is like having a pet weasel because you rarely meet someone who has one, and when you do it makes you want to hide under your desk. But there are some people that have such a deep and lasting aura of menace I cannot bring myself to say their names, even after so many years, and will instead refer to them the way almost everyone does, as the man with a beard but no hair, and the woman with hair but no beard. | „ |
| ~ Lemony Snicket, mentioning how he is too afraid of The Sinister Duo to the point of being unable to say their names |
The Sinister Duo, also known as The Man With A Beard But No Hair and The Woman With Hair But No Beard, are two of the three overarching antagonists (alongside Ishmael) of the 2017 Netflix television series A Series of Unfortunate Events, based on the mystery drama book series by Lemony Snicket.
They are the feared and wicked leaders of the Fire Starting Side of V.F.D. and the guardians and adopted parents of Count Olaf, who wish to destroy V.F.D. and take children’s inheritances by kidnapping them and burning down their families' homes.
What Makes Them Pure Evil?[]
In General[]
- While the two are implied to be either siblings or spouses, it is unknown if the two care for each other, or are just working together out of mutual wickedness and greed.
- While they show respect for Esmé Squalor, being impressed with her abilities and even gifting her a personal submarine, they only respect her due to her evil actions and sadism compared to Olaf.
- While having a few comedic moments in their first appearance, expressing annoyance at Olaf and his henchmen’s tendencies, it doesn’t detract from their heinousness, and they are taken dead seriously by the narrative and story.
Past[]
- Even when they were part of V.F.D., it’s made clear they were wicked individuals who were gonna betray them, as Beatrice mentions in a flashback that the two believed that “starting fires solves more problems than putting them out.”
- After the Schism, the two became leaders of the Fire Starting Side of V.F.D, committing numerous crimes throughout the city, the main one being burning down the houses of families and kidnapping their children in order to collect their inheritance.
- Took in Olaf after his father’s death and abused and showed him a lack of love in order to turn him into a monster like them.
- Abused Falcons into aiding them in their crimes and stopping VFD members.
- Apparently they were so feared by VFD due to their horrid crimes, that Lemony Snicket, even after decades after the schism and story, is still unable to refer to them by their names, only ever referring them to their aliases.
The Slippery Slope[]
- Chased down the pregnant Kit Snicket to kill her in order to get the sugar bowl.
- Murdered Hugo, Colette, and Kevin offscreen when they were camping alone in the woods, for no reason in particular.
- Regularly belittled Olaf when meeting him, criticizing him for his obsession with the Baudelaire’s and not being focused on getting more richer.
- The Woman, when seeing the baby Sunny, mentions that she had a baby servant before the schism, and when someone else responds that they would have been all grown up, she says “not particularly”, heavily implying she killed them.
- Tried to order Count Olaf to throw a caged Sunny Baudelaire, an infant off a cliff to prove he’s not obsessed with the Baudelaires.
- Mass Kidnapped the dozen snow scout kids and hauled them away by carrier falcons and then proceeded to burn down the homes of their parents in order to gain their fortunes, showing satisfaction as they see the fires going on in the city, before sharing an Arequis Martini.
The Penultimate Peril[]
- Abused their position as High Court Judges and manipulated Justice Strauss in order to oversee the Trial of Count Olaf, and made everyone blindfold themselves before and after the trial, specifying using the literal term of “Justice is Blind” in order for Count Olaf to escape and use Strauss as a hostage in order to lease the Mydesoid Mycelium in order to mass kill all of VFD at once, and when Klaus, Sunny, and Violet take off their blindfolds and go after Olaf attempts to order the crowd to capture them for violating the court.
- When Violet attempts to warn the first floor of the fire Olaf rereleased, The Duo show respect to Olaf for starting the fire, although they instantly drop it when Olaf (in order to keep the two there and the VFD members in the hotel) denies it, saying that they were disappointed in him and say that he was dead to them.
The End[]
- While the Sinister Duo’s status is unknown, presumably dying in the Hotel Fire, in the end, they succeeded as, after the fire, VFD dissolved and went into hiding, successfully destroying VFD even after their (possible) deaths.
Trivia[]
- They are the only Pure Evils in A Series Of Unfortunate Events.
