Which side are fiona and fernald on

[wolfer89]

The grim grotto kind of gave you the idea that fiona and fernald were with count Olaf then in TPP it made me think that they were back with the VFD which one is it?

[Dante]

Neither. They're on their own side.

[kliona]

What Dante said. They're family doesn't really have a side because of the schism. So I guess they quit V.F.D. all together. Sorry if I'm being illogical.

[kliona]

actually, i have another idea. Fernald follows Fiona and Fiona follows the Baudelaires. So Fiona convinces Fernald to go on the good side of V.F.D. She wants to be on that side because of the Baudelaires. Does that make sense?

[Dante]

I think so. It was originally a case of Fiona following Fernald's way of doing things, but once they got an opportunity to escape from Count Olaf's side, they both took it. I guess they figured that Count Olaf's promise in TGG (to help them find Widdershins if she helped burn down the Hotel Denouement) wasn't one he intended to keep... although I think they should have stuck to it, but whatever, I suppose it didn't fit with what Handler had in mind.

[thedoctororwell]

Which leads to this question : would the Baudelaires have managed to escape Olaf if Fiona had not chosen to "betray" them instead of Fernald betraying Olaf ? The only reason they managed to escape was because Olaf was idiotic enough to trust Fiona and let her guard the orphans by herself... Had it been another member of the troupe, Violet and co would have been pretty much doomed.

So is it possible Fernald and Fiona didn't change their mind ? That they actually had a plan all along ? Maybe when they were separated from the Bauds they realized escaping wouldn't be that easy. Fiona and Fernald decided to pretend siding with Olaf so that they would be have more power to free the Bauds ; once they had managed to make them escape, they would work on their own situation ; and even if it was too dangerous to do so, Fernald and Fiona would at last not be in danger, being still part of the troupe.

The plan actually accelerated beyond any possible expectations, when a panicking Olaf let Fiona and the Bauds alone after he saw the Great Unknown. Why didn't Fiona tell the Baudelaires the plan then ? Well, she may have thought they would refuse to let her alone (and maybe Fernald too) in Olaf's troupe, that they would demand of her to escape with them (which was too dangerous for her brother, with suspiscions and all that). She pretended to actually side with Olaf in order to disgust them and not let them hesitate on their decision to leave. Which actually worked... I mean, in one book Fi and Fe side with Olaf's ideology, and in the next thay betray him the second they get their hands on the submarine ? To quote the orphans, " she may be volatile, but not that volatile." There was a masterplaaaaan.

I know, it's a ridiculous over-interpretation. But I still like it as long as it doesn't hurt common sense too much. ;D

[hieitouyaicedemon]

Dec 3, 2008 5:39:12 GMT -5 thedoctororwell said:

Which leads to this question : would the Baudelaires have managed to escape Olaf if Fiona had not chosen to "betray" them instead of Fernald betraying Olaf ? The only reason they managed to escape was because Olaf was idiotic enough to trust Fiona and let her guard the orphans by herself... Had it been another member of the troupe, Violet and co would have been pretty much doomed.

So is it possible Fernald and Fiona didn't change their mind ? That they actually had a plan all along ? Maybe when they were separated from the Bauds they realized escaping wouldn't be that easy. Fiona and Fernald decided to pretend siding with Olaf so that they would be have more power to free the Bauds ; once they had managed to make them escape, they would work on their own situation ; and even if it was too dangerous to do so, Fernald and Fiona would at last not be in danger, being still part of the troupe.

The plan actually accelerated beyond any possible expectations, when a panicking Olaf let Fiona and the Bauds alone after he saw the Great Unknown. Why didn't Fiona tell the Baudelaires the plan then ? Well, she may have thought they would refuse to let her alone (and maybe Fernald too) in Olaf's troupe, that they would demand of her to escape with them (which was too dangerous for her brother, with suspiscions and all that). She pretended to actually side with Olaf in order to disgust them and not let them hesitate on their decision to leave. Which actually worked... I mean, in one book Fi and Fe side with Olaf's ideology, and in the next thay betray him the second they get their hands on the submarine ? To quote the orphans, " she may be volatile, but not that volatile." There was a masterplaaaaan.

I know, it's a ridiculous over-interpretation. But I still like it as long as it doesn't hurt common sense too much. ;D

I don't know if it's so ridiculous. It seems very logical to me. So logical, in fact, that I'm almost surprised Lemony didn't say so himself. I guess it's possible it's not true, but it seems very reasonable to me that Fiona would not truly betray them. The only slightly "off" thing about the situation would be that she wouldn't tell them later. I do understand it might have hurt their getaway, particularly if they were after the Queequeg in the first place (which I think they were.) It just strikes me as odd that Fiona wouldn't tell Klaus.

But then, did they ever have the same bond Violet and Quigley did? I'm not bashing Fiona/Klaus, here, but if you think about it, Violet and Quigley got all that bonding time on the frozen waterfall, and they were kind of dependant on each other for a while. Fiona and Klaus just appeared to have crushes on one another. Even if it was more than that, I could see Fiona as the type to take back her stepfather's pride and joy, especially as she'd served under it for so long. She chose the ship over Klaus, a boy who, in all realism, she'd just met a little more than a week (if that) ago.