WMG / All the Wrong Questions

The item Lemony is trying to unearth alongside his associate is the Sugar Bowl

• Lemony is insistent that the item must be found and brought to light as soon as possible.
  • Wasn't it implied/mentioned at one point in ASoUE that the sugar bowl contained evidence that would clear Lemony's charges from being framed (presumably by Count Olaf or one another VFD member on the wicked side) for arson and free him? If so, it's unlikely he's already in trouble at age thirteen and the sugar bowl sat untouched for so long.
    • Lemony being wanted for arson at the age of thirteen is plausible by itself - Klaus was twelve or thirteen when the Baudelaires were accused of murdering Count Olaf - but seeing as Lemony freely introduces himself to strangers and wears no disguises, the arson charges must have come after the events of this series. Clearing Lemony's charges doesn't need to be the only reason why the Sugar Bowl is important, though. It's also been implied that it was used in Count Olaf's parents and that its contents can neutralise mushroom spores, among other things.
    • If one looks carefully at the item Kit is carrying in the picture at the end of the second book, it strongly resembles a bowl, so it's quite likely.

Jacques will appear later on in the story, be it actual appearance or name drop

• Considering Kit appears in a capacity, Jacques may likely have a role to play as well.
• Confirmed as of ?2: In the first chapter, Lemony tells Kit to give Jacques his regards.

The Baudelaires will make an appearance in the final book, be it actual appearance or name drop

• Since it's Lemony's story, the Baudelaires likely have no role to play. If they were to ever appear, it would be in the final prequel book. Especially considering Beatrice.
  • Pretty sure The Beatrice Letters indicated that Lemony had known Beatrice and Bertrand Baudelaire since his childhood at VFD, though, so either of them could easily appear.
    • Conformed-ish. Bertrand is Theodora's former apprentice, and Beatrice is name-dropped in the fourth book by Gifford and Ghede.

Hector won't be the only character from ASOUE to return

• Monty has been name dropped, so it's likely that younger versions of the likes of Aunt Josephine or others will appear too.
• In 'When Did You See Her Last?', a young Captain Widdershins makes an appearance. Just like with Hector in ?1, he visits Lemony in the last chapter to dicuss the situation. A mention is also made of a Gustav (likely Gustav Sebald, inventor of the Sebald code, and/or Dr. Montgomery's assistant from The Reptile Room, since those two are already implied to be the same person).
• The young Josephine does show up at the end of 'Shouldn't You Be In School?'

S. Theodora Markson will eventually become The Woman With Hair but no Beard

• Theodora's hair is extremely prominent in descriptions of her and in illustrations. While she is well-meaning enough, her incompetence and constant failure may eventually make her defect to the other side of VFD.

Stain'd-by-the-Sea will be burned down later in the series

• Lemony is forced to stay in said city and is determined to solve its mysteries and make things right. In keeping with tradition, the city will eventually meet a fiery demise.

Moxie Mallahan or her mom will be the one to start the Daily Punctilio

• Amateur reporter? May be a foreshadowing. Especially considering how Lemony befriends her and he eventually becomes part of its staff for a time.

Prosper Lost is with the baddies

• His name has a decidedly devilish ring to it. As well, a sketch of him shows him balding and sporting a small mustache, which could eventually turn into a beard and no hair.
  • He did seem to be hiding something, always eavesdropping. And he was smiling when he said he let Hangfire into Lemony and Theodora's room. He could also have made sure the phone was always occupied when Lemony really needed it.

Prosper Lost is the VFD member sent to keep an eye on Lemony

• He's always trying to check up on him, especially when he's discussing something of importance with someone. Perhaps he's trying to see how well he's coping, like when Lemony saw (heard?) through Hangfire faking Ellington. ...Or he could be with the baddies. Alternatively (and probably more likely)...

Dashiell Qwerty is the VFD member sent to keep an eye on Lemony

• When asked how long he's been at Stain'd-by-the-Sea, he only answered "since he replaced the last [sub-librarian]". Going to the library wasn't the first thing Lemony did, so Qwerty could have gotten there just after Lemony and Theodora. Well-read people are also said to be smarter and kinder, like anyone on the noble side of VFD. He seemed very supportive of Lemony and was more or less accepting of the weird books he requested, which he could have recognised as a code. Also, the name "Qwerty" sounds fake. Most VFD members rarely go by their real names, especially when around other members.
  • He does have a habit of dropping hints or suggestions that Snicket needs. Such as mentioning Italian dictionaries early in book 3.
  • Confirmed.

The books will reveal how the Schism came about, and that it had no 'noble' or 'wicked' side

• Instead, it was simply a matter of two sides using different methods. We've seen many examples of Lemony resorting to his own methods, such as his failing his lockpicking classes by throwing a brick through the window instead. The part about 'drawing 9 rows of fourteen squares on a piece of paper' could be a mockery of the ridiculously complex – and less effective – methods used by the old Volounteers. These, incidentally, would be the methods used by the likes of S. Theodora Markson and Count Olaf. Supported by what Widdershins recalls Lemony saying at the end of ?2: "Remember? You said we could make our organization greater than ever, but only if we stopped listening to our instructors and found new ways to fix the world. It was quite a speech you gave." Presuming that ATWQ takes place before the schism, this almost makes it look like Lemony himself is, or was, trying to bring it about.
  • No, the schism has already happened; Kit Snicket says specifically that she was four years old when it occurred, and she is much older than that in this series.

Flammarion is Hangfire.

Flamm = Flammable = Fire, Marion = Marionette = Hang (a marionette is a puppet worked by strings.) Hangfire!

• But at the end of book 2, Hangfire was at the top of Colophon Clinic impersonating Colonel Colophon when Flammarion was in the basement.

The twins Zada and Zora are the Two White-Faced Women

• And Flammarion is somehow linked to Dr. Orwell.

Ellington Feint is actually Beatrice

• Her name, "Feint", is suggestive of a pseudonym. And her relationship with Lemony does seem a little ship-teasy!
  • Jossed in ?4: near the end, Beatrice is mentioned as being on a VFD mission while Ellington is still there.

Hangfire is Armstrong Feint

At the end of book 2, Hangfire hears Lemony humming the song from Ellington's music box and thinks that Lemony is Ellington. However, Hangfire can't have recognized the music unless he heard it before and knew it was from Ellington's music box, which he shouldn't know. This could also explain why Hangfire never showed up to trade Armstrong for the statue, and why he hides his face.

• Adding onto this, at the beginning of the third book, Hangfire drops a cigarette in a trash can that is revealed to be made up of bark from a shrub that counteracts the effects of laudanum. Ellington has specifically mentioned that her father is a naturalist who knew the medicinal properties of plants. Also, in the backstory, the troubles of the town started due to outcry over the destruction of the habitat of some endangered moths...sounds an awful lot like something that a naturalist would take an interest in.
• Confirmed.

Since it's canonical that families like the Snickets and Baudelaires name kids after people who've died...

• Sunny Theodora Markson.
  • Possible, since it was revealed in book 3 that Bertrand (as in Bertrand Baudelaire) was Theodora's previous apprentice, and they actually had a pretty good relationship.

---