#j.s.

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Intimidated of the thought,

I could love someone like you."

"Because you'll be in prison!" ¬ J.S.

...but who, you ask, is 'J.S.' ?

In fact, to fully debunk this quote, we must first refer to the context it has, on both occasions:

J.S. refers to:

Jacquelyn Scieszka

Justice Strauss

And what comes before is very important - Olaf's words, ON BOTH OCCASIONS:

The Wide Window:

O: "Why would I be eating in a prison cafeteria?"

J.S: "Because you'll be in prison!"

The Penultimate Peril:

O: "Why would I change my mailing address to 'Prison'?"

J.S: "Because you'll be in prison!"

Here's my take on it, though it may be considered obvious:

THEORY: The dialogue from TWW was supposed to foreshadow Olaf's temporary jailing in TVV, and the dialogue in TPP was supposed to call back to this, and also hint at the rigged trial.

Every time, Olaf asks them. To quote Klaus,

"We [both] know he's not THAT good of an actor; something's wrong."

So he asks them out of genuine curiosity - he knows he's going to get off scot-free, confirmed from TSS-TPP as The Duo are going to help him out of it, as they see the potential powerhouse of Olaf and Esmé being a couple, despite their Very Frank Dissatisfaction with Olaf. They see Olaf associating himself with the rich and famous, rather than Esmé associating herself with the fire-starting side of the schism once again.

Also, the volunteer to reply is always J.S. - indicating that Olaf knows something they don't, particularly in the case of Justice Strauss.

(A little more on The Sinister Duo coming soon...)

To understand this text, read this before.

Dante at 667 Dark Avenue: Answering the Wrong Questions raised a very rational question about my text about Kit's attitude.

He said:

"There is a flaw in your reasoning, jeanlucio: The principle of "Many individuals have the same initials, which can lead to much injustice." This was a secret message delivered via the official website between TSS and TGG, and reminds us not simply to assume that traces of a pair of initials necessarily point to the same person. Thus it is not necessarily the case that the J.S. who Quigley copied into his Volunteer Factual Dispatch may not be the J.S. who received it, if the message was misdirected because of this same principle; who may not be the J.S. who contacted Mr. Poe; who may not be the J.S. who checked into the Hotel Denouement; who may not be the J.S. who contacted Charles; who may not be the J.S. who contacted Sir...

What's especially interesting about Charles's contact is that he was informed that the Baudelaires would be arriving by submarine - but not where. In other words, Charles's J.S. probably doesn't know Verse Fluctuation Declaration! Charles's J.S. could only infer that the three additional volunteers aboard the submarine being contacted were the Baudelaires, and that they like everyone else were heading to Hotel Denouement - but couldn't decipher the rendezvous. By contrast, Mr. Poe's J.S. did correctly decipher the rendezvous and dispatched somebody who outright interfered in the Baudelaires' mission.

Here's my answer:

Dante, I just reread Charles's excerpt in TPP. It is clear to me that what JS asked Charles to look for Baudelaires in the hotel itself. I believe this is not evidence that JS who wrote for Charles is different from JS who wrote for Mr. Poe. In fact, I believe this is evidence that JS wrote the letter to Charles before receiving Quigley's message. As I said some time ago, there is evidence that Captain W was communicating with people outside the submarine through the telegraph. Captain W probably did it while the kids slept. Captain W didn't know he should dock at Brinny Beach, as Quigley's telegram arrived only after the captain left his submarine. I deduced that Captain W had already written to JS about the fact that the Baudelaires were on the submarine. This is not something I took out from the blue. If you stop to think, Quigley was informed that the Baudelaires were on the submarine. This information must come from within the submarine itself. If Captain W followed Quigley's procedure, Captain also sent copies to JS. Another possibility is that Captain W sent messages directly to JS. In any case, it can be accepted as fact that Captain W reported about the presence of the Baudelaires to someone outside the submarine. How this information got to JS is just a detail. It is likely that JS had already been informed that the Baudelaires intended to go to Hotel D. So JS first asked Charles to find the Baudelaires at the hotel.It is significant that JS sent a letter to Charles. Letters take longer to reach recipients than telegrams. On the other hand, JS sent a telegram to Mr. Poe. (He must have realized the importance of reading telegrams after what happened to his sister.) When JS received the information that the Baudelaires were in Queequeg, he had time to send a letter to Charles, saying that they were going to the hotel. JS told Charles to meet the kids there, and they would probably arrive on a submarine. But when JS got word that they would be arriving at Brinny Beach, JS needed a faster means of communication. JS sent a telegram to Mr. Poe. That is, the same person behaved similarly. But the information Charles received was older than the information Mr. Poe received. But JS's actions were motivated by a desire to protect the Baudelaires. And their mother is my prime suspect in identifying this JS, who sent Mr. Poe and Charles. Of course, there were other JS's, as you said: Jerome Squalor and Justice Straus. But I am not referring to them. I am referring to the person who sent Mr Poe and Charles."

Dante replied:

" I also continue to dispute your conclusion that anyone who had the remotest idea what was going on would rely on both Charles and Mr. Poe. I don't accept your conclusion that Mr. Poe is linked to V.F.D., and indeed his own close friends, the Baudelaires, very obviously told him nothing whatsoever about the organisation - which is quite understandable, given his personal bias to the publications of his sister Eleanora Poe. Charles, meanwhile, has literally worked with V.F.D. before in his capacity as Sir's partner in Lucky Smells Lumbermill, and is also indicated to be a personal friend of Kit. The conclusion to be drawn is that Charles understands the big picture and could be trusted to try and protect the Baudelaires, while Mr. Poe simply couldn't; and this is borne out by their actions. Your theory on the timing of events is clever and thoughtful, I concede; but it has a significant flaw: Why couldn't J.S. have at any time also sent a telegram to Charles directing him to Briny Beach? (Or, for that matter, sent a letter to Mr. Poe, who ended up at Hotel Denouement on a separate matter?)"

Here is my rejoinder:

I believe Charles is related to VFD in a similar way to Poe. I don't think Charles is a member of VFD. Poe is not a member of VFD either. And that is one of the reasons that leads me to conclude that JS wanted someone outside the secret organization to take care of the 3 Baudelaires. Having ensured that Charles would be in the hotel looking for the kids, getting him out after receiving new directions would be a strategic mistake. After JS receives new information about where the Baudelaires would arrive, a much better idea is to send a second person to meet the Baudelaires on the beach.

I find it very interesting that Beatrice never really wanted her children to go into VFD. Besides obviously never telling them about the secret organization, Bertrand and Beatrice always said that the noise outside was wind, even on windless nights. They never answered "nothing". If they answered like that, they would be giving permission for VFD to take their children. This contributes to the fact that JS (whom I believe to be Beatrice in disguise) sent non-VFD people to protect their children."