In light of watching Season 2 on Netflix, and being a longtime fan of ASOUE, ATWQ, and all of the accessory works over the years, I thought I would finally give my two cents on the sugar bowl mystery, particularly in light of Daniel Handler stating that there is a definitive answer that he had in mind (at least by the end of the series).
Before I get to my thoughts, I think that this blog entry has one of the best stated theories that the sugar bowl indeed contains nothing by the end of the series (similar to the link above, but more based on narrative evidence), and which fits with so many of the themes of ASOUE:
sequencebreaking.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-sugar-bowl-secret.htmlI would encourage everyone to read that blog first if you have not already, then read my additional thoughts below:
I agree with almost all of the key arguments made in the post above:
- That by the end of TPP when the cab driver (presumably Lemony) collects the sugar bowl, it indeed contains nothing
- That very few volunteers or villains are aware of this fact by the end of the series, with some believing that it contains evidence against the villains in the series, and others believing it contains a “cure” for the MM (with again few individuals in the series actually being aware that horseradish can dilute the poison, and furthermore that Beatrice and Bertrand developed an even more potent cure that could be further propagated in the form of planting more of the hybrid trees)
- That at one time, it did contain the hybrid apple seeds brought back to the mainland by Beatrice and Bertrand, which were then planted on Lousy Lane
- That prior to this time, either this same sugar bowl or a completely different one (doesn’t really matter from a narrative perspective) contained explicit evidence that Esme Squalor was involved in a terrible crime (see the microphone theory), and that THIS sugar bowl was stolen from her by Lemony Snicket and delivered to Beatrice prior to Beatrice and Bertrand’s self-exile to the island, with Esme believing Beatrice was to blame the entire time.
All of these thoughts are relayed in greater detail in the blog above, which again, I encourage you to read first. Where my theory goes further is the exact nature of the crime that Esme committed, leading her to care so much about that particular sugar bowl, seemingly more so than Olaf.
I believe that Esme is so anxious to get her hands on the original sugar bowl stolen from her and destroy it, because it contains evidence that she, and not Beatrice, Bertrand, or Kit, killed Olaf’s parents with the poison darts on that night at the opera.
Most of the evidence for this theory comes from close analysis of Esme’s character and motives throughout series, as well as what we know from the series timeline. We know that Esme’s defining traits are superficiality, pettiness, jealously, and ruthlessness when it comes to getting what she wants. I posit that she was incredibly envious of Beatrice during her time as a star actress as well as jealous of Kit for her relationship with Count Olaf. For both of these reasons, she committed a crime which she believed would get both women out of the way and for which she was unlikely to be suspected: namely, the murder of Olaf’s parents with poison darts. We know that Esme was present the night of the murder and tried to intercept Kit delivering a box of the poison darts to the Baudelaire parents as relayed by Kit to the children in TPP. We also know that at some point, Esme replaced Beatrice as lead actress in a play. I posit that Kit and the Baudelaire parents were attempting to collect evidence against Esme for the murder of Olaf’s parents immediately after the event happened, but as so often happens in the world of ASOUE, they instead were blamed for the crime, just as Lemony was blamed for the fires set by Olaf around this same time. Olaf clearly believed that the Baudelaire parents and possibly Kit Snicket were responsible for his parents’ death (and for possibly trying to steal his parents’ fortune, as others have noted), beginning or worsening his vendetta against the Baudelaires and Snickets. He ended his relationship with Kit (if it was not over already), and swore revenge on both families, soon after framing Lemony Snicket for arson.
Esme, meanwhile, kept her dark secret until the day that Beatrice managed to get a confession ( sugar bowl microphone theory) or otherwise collect evidence against Esme at a tea party. Lemony stole this sugar bowl containing the microphone or other evidence from Esme and gave it to Beatrice, whom Esme blamed fully for the theft. However, it was too late for Beatrice and Lemony, with Beatrice believing that Lemony was an arsonist and/or dead (given that she and Bertrand almost named Violet “Lemony.”)
Around this time, Beatrice and Bertrand were wanted for murder and went on the lam, retreating to the Island and documenting the evidence from Esme’s sugar bowl in A Series of Unfortunate Events. They also developed the hybrid apple seeds at this time, and decided to return to the mainland when Beatrice discovered she was pregnant with Violet, taking with them the hybrid seeds in a sugar bowl (unclear whether or not the same one). Once back, they planted the seeds along Lousy Lane, and from this time forward, the sugar bowl was empty.
Once back on the mainland, the Baudelaire parents tried to maintain a low profile (they may have been in the V.F.D. equivalent of “witness protection,” though how one does that living in a mansion, I’m not sure), however eventually their past caught up with them when Esme married Jerome Squalor and bought the penthouse that gave her access to the Baudelaire mansion. The Baudelaire parents realized what was happening too late, and sent their children out of the house the morning that Esme used the passageway to enter the Baudelaire home and start the fire.
Around this time, word got out that Beatrice and Bertrand had developed a “cure” for the MM that was hidden in a sugar bowl, but no one really knew what this cure was or that it had been planted on Lousy Lane years prior. This started the whole sugar bowl frenzy all over again, with Esme once again fearing that her secret would be revealed, and in all likelihood, not realizing that most volunteers/villains believed the sugar bowl to contain something else entirely at that time. The rest is series history, with the empty sugar bowl eventually ending up in the back seat of Lemony Snicket’s taxi as he drives away in TPP. Of note, it would be of the utmost importance for any volunteers who knew that the sugar bowl was empty to keep this secret from the villains in the series, as it would alert the villains to the lack of evidence against them and possibly reveal that a cure for the MM already existed, potentially making the villains more likely to use the MM as a weapon. This theory would also explain why Esme is particularly anxious to find and destroy the sugar bowl, more so than Olaf, who seems to believe that he is exonerated with the destruction of the Snicket File.