A review by stationannie
The End by Lemony Snicket

2.0

2.5 stars, rounded down. 

Of course the conclusion to a series you’ve been binging is going to have a lot to live up to. I wish we had gotten a happier ending, but alas, this is “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” so we cannot expect that perfect happy ending. Though, it was interesting to see Sunny all grown up, since we spent so much time with Sunny as a baby and toddler speaking baby talk. 

What I felt really missed the mark were how many unanswered questions readers were left with. We never truly understand the full scope of the mystery components: why Lemony Snicket wrote about the Baudelaires, the point of the sugar bowl, what happened to the Quagmires, what the VFD schism was, and so many other plot points. 

It felt like a rushed ending trying to wrap up as much as possible in the shortest amount of time, which left me wholly unsatisfied. I went into “The End” hoping for the conclusion that would finally tell all, but didn’t get it. 

I definitely think the earlier books in the series were a lot more refined, and as we got further along, we kept gathering more and more questions, hoping that we get to a big reveal at the end. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here, and I was left disappointed and dismayed. Oh well, it’s not like I just wasted hours of my time or anything. 

I was initially very generous with my rating but ended up lowering it because I do think we were done dirty. Readers spent so much time invested in these books, so I think it’s only fair that all the open-ended items are finally answered in the conclusion in a long series.