Esme Squalor can always put fashion and vileness above any kind of practicality. Her fur coat and stiletto knives in her shoes are no exception. Of course, you can’t run far in regular stilettos, let alone ones with daggers on the heels which keep sticking to the floor. So as the Baudelaires try to escape, she just shoves down heavy file cabinets like dominoes, capturing and trapping Violet with no where to go. Because the only plausible exit for her has been blocked. She doesn’t have her hair ribbon so she can’t think of anything to invent. Though she tells Klaus and Sunny that she’s alright, a cabinet blocks the chute so she can’t see them. But as her siblings crawl up the chute towards the unfinished wing, Esme’s not far behind and eventually gets her. Though Klaus and Sunny await their sister’s return, she will not be back for awhile.

The song I chose is Billy Joel’s “Stiletto” for obvious reasons since I couldn’t skip out on this one. Though the original version is about a woman who gets what she wants with a guy but he doesn’t stop her and he doesn’t care. Esme is a lot like that kind of women depending on your interpretation in her relationships with Jerome and Count Olaf. In this version, I have Esme basically taunting Violet for trapping her as well as threatening her. Clearly, Violet isn’t in a good place by this point.

“Stiletto” (ASOUE Version)

Sung by Esme Squalor

I cut you once, I cut you twice
But still you all flee
The wound is so fresh you can taste the blood
But you don’t have strength to leave
You’ve been caught, got you cold
You’ve been locked inside the door
But you stand there pleadin’
With your insides bleedin’
‘Cause you cannot run no more
When I show you some compassion
It’s such a clever masquerade
I’m so good with my stiletto
You don’t even see the blade
You don’t see the blade

I cut your hard, I cut you deep
I got so much skill
I’ve felled heavy cabinets so you stand there frantic
When I come back for the kill
Your sibs slid and escaped
You’ve been left here to bleed
You want to run away
But you know you’re gonna stay
‘Cause there’s just nowhere to leave
We’ll need you for our dissection
They’ll make sure to find the vein
I’m so good with my stiletto
You won’t really mind the pain
You won’t mind the pain

I’ll cut you out, I’ll cut you down
I’ll carve up your life
But you won’t do nothing
As I keep on cutting
‘Cause you’ll be out under the knife
You’ve been caught, got you cold
You’ve been locked inside the door
But you stand there pleadin’
With your insides bleedin’
‘Cause you cannot run no more
We’ll need you for our dissection
They’ll make sure to find the vein
I’m so good with my stiletto
You won’t really mind the pain
You won’t mind the pain