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At the very end of the Netflix series of A Series of Unfortunate Events, the camera zooms way out over the City, to show that the buildings and green space are arranged in the shape of the VFD logo.

However, we know from the last episode that

Ishmael, who's elderly but still fit and still alive perhaps ten years before that scene

was the one who founded VFD in the first place, which makes it seem strange that the City is built in a VFD shape.

  • Is the City much newer than we think?

  • Is Ishmael much older than we think (not impossible, given the mild supernatural elements in the prequel series)?

  • Did the aforementioned individual lie or mislead about being the founder?

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  • I mean, there was also a scene where Esme skied down a frozen waterfall that was literally vertical to the ground all the way down, from God knows how high up, and was somehow able to pull out at the bottom and not die. One among many examples of things that are literally impossible. I think it's safe to say there are some things about the show that we just don't question.
    – Steve-O
    Jan 28, 2019 at 14:41

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The VFD logo reveals don't always quite make sense.

For example, the island on which Ishmael lives when the Baudelaires meet him is shaped like the VFD logo. However, VFD itself was already founded by the time Ishmael reached the island, and he never left (up to the point where the Baudelaires arrive).

The only people who know/are VFD and have been the the island are the Baudelaires' parents.

For this to make any sense, it would have to mean that VFD initially did not have a logo (or had a different one), and only when the Baudelaire parents returned did they update the logo to the one we have now.

There are many holes in that theory, and I think that sort of proves the point that the VFD iconography isn't always a matter of in-universe fact, but rather done as a way to suggest to the viewer that "VFD is everywhere" or "this is related to VFD".

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    Well, I kind of assumed that Ishmael could have built or remodeled the island... or that Ishmael had known about the island before and based his logo on it.
    – Obie 2.0
    Jan 28, 2019 at 11:36
  • @Obie2.0: If he did, then the whole "sea wall" argument would be moot. They lived on the island eschewing technology and even rational thought; so it's unlikely that they had the resources (or intent) to reshape the island.
    – Flater
    Jan 28, 2019 at 11:38
  • Hmm, now that I think about it, could be that Ishmael based the logo off the shape of the city.
    – Obie 2.0
    Jan 28, 2019 at 11:39
  • I guess what I'm saying is that it could have been a VFD island after Ishmael founded the organization, but long before the schism, when he decided to move there. Back when VFD, under his leadership, was still building things.
    – Obie 2.0
    Jan 28, 2019 at 11:40

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