A Series Of Unfortunate Events Season 2: 10 Miserable Fan Theories You Don't Want To See

9. Count Olaf Is Face Blind

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Count Olaf
Netflix

Reddit user ojcoolj has noted that Count Olaf - along with his viciously fearsome deeds and various fantastical disguises - has a tendency to not recognise people. Of course, there's a pretty simple solution to this: Olaf is a self-centred dick.

On the other hand, maybe we're all judging this would-be child murderer a little too harshly in this case, and it's an issue beyond his control. The theory posits that the Count actually suffers from Prosopagnosia, otherwise known as face blindness, a condition that impairs the ability to recognise familiar faces.

In the series, he fails to recognise Justice Strauss, his longtime neighbour; doesn't notice a drastic change in the appearance of his girlfriend; constantly gets the children's names mixed-up or forgets them altogether; and wears a number of terrible disguises that he thinks are convincing. Sure, it could just be because he's a narcissistic a-hole, but maybe it's a serious medical condition, and he needs the Baudelaire fortune to pay for surgery.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.