Was pretty disappointed by "The Slippery Slope: Part 1", and of the three season openers for 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' for me it was the weakest ("The Austere Academy" being by far the best of the three, the second season being the best of the three too). A lot of good things, such as the production values, the characters of Man with Beard and No Hair and Woman with Hair and No Beard and Usman Ally, but somewhat slow and in need of more tension, part of it is down to the book itself.
The second part of "The Slippery Slope" is a slight improvement, as the Baudelaires do have more to do and there is a little more intrigue. All the great things are here too. The same not so good things are still here too sadly and it does sadden me to say that as 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' is far from unfortunate as a series, it is actually very enjoyable on the most part in my view and adapts all thirteen books laudably, and the previous episodes ranged from good to great. Both parts of "The Slippery Slope" contend with a just slightly above average.
Production values do not disappoint, the best of which a sight to behold. Have always loved the meticulous attention to detail and variation of the settings and how they are used, both parts of "The Slippery Slope" is no exception and it does give off a creepiness that could have been in there more in the storytelling. It's beautifully and atmospherically photographed too. The opening credits sequence never gets old, sorry about keeping going on about it, do have a thing for opening credits/title sequences. The music is quirky and haunting, a good fit and balance for the series' tone.
Writing has enough moments of melancholic edge, absurdist quirkiness and dark humour as one expects from 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. Lemony Snicket's narration is not distracting or overused too much. The story is very, very hit and miss, but shines in the characters of Man with Beard but No Hair and Woman with Hair but No Beard, wonderfully strange, entertaining and creepy characters, and especially having more of Hook-Handed Man (one of the high points of Season 3). The highlight of the whole adaptation of "The Slippery Slope" is his development and his chemistry between him and Sunny, being much more than a series of laughs and actually has depth.
All the performances are fine, with Richard E Grant and Beth Grant bringing gravitas, menace and entertainment value to their roles. And while Neil Patrick Harris and Lucy Punch are solid and Patrick Warburton wonderfully deadpan, the best performance comes from Usman Ally who brings more than comic timing and menace to the Hook-Handed Man.
Despite a little more intrigue and the Baudelaires having more to do (Sunny again is the only one to be properly compelling though), "The Slippery Slope: Part 2" could have been tighter in pace and been less bland.
It also could have done again with more tension and more of a sense of threat, it all feels predictable and the jeopardy is nowhere near as strong as in especially "The Hostile Hospital" and "The Carnivorous Carnival". The humour dominates a little too much and gets on the over-the-top side though the theatrical troupe are more entertaining and sinister this time, still think there could have been a little less of them though.
Altogether, slightly above average but underwhelms somewhat again. 6/10
