There are comparisons made to _A Series of Unfortunate Events_ though I must say Netflix's rendition of that series was a bit more fun than this one. The kid characters carried this show. Kate Wetherall with her bucket is my favorite. Constance Contraire is a close second. The two boys just don't have much of interesting personalities in this case which is a surprise as usually I root for the young guys in shows like this. There are 4 books in the series plus 1 prequel. Season 1 adapted the first book and news says that if there will be future seasons, they will take elements from the sequels instead of each season being a straight adaptation. I'm not sure this is wise but we'll see.
I haven't read these books. To be honest, they're one of those I've always been curious about and I always looked longingly at them in bookstores. I always feared though that they're for much younger audiences like the _How To Train Your Dragon_ books that's why I never really even bought them. Based on this TV show, I think I may have been right about it having a simpler plot than I would have preferred. It's fine. I do hope they make more seasons.
Season One's plot has an eerily familiar aura about it. The idea of mind-control and emotional manipulation through media is all too real today with the horrors of advertising and social media and the pandemic and vaccine conspiracies. I'll be honest I didn't like how it felt like it was a sort of thinly veiled propaganda because of this. I don't know if this blatant messaging is even that explicit in the book. But I suppose at least it ends well as the overarching message it seems is that manipulation of people, even with the best of intentions, is wrong. There's also themes of friendship and honor that are just as important for kids to learn. All in all, a pretty good children's show from Disney. I want to complain about the pacing because it felt like it dragged a bit but I suppose that with the atmosphere they were going for here, the story and character development were treated fairly well by having those 8 episodes to showcase what their world has to offer.