My theory of ASOUE is similar to AmantisAsoko idea of theory of mind. I’ve just gone back and started watching the show again and I heavily relate to your frustrations and Eev123 makes a good point too.

I think the series of unfortunate events takes place in a parallel reality to our own where most humans stopped evolving and peaked at below average intelligence (70-80 iq and lower), my points reinforced with something Olaf said early season 2 when he says to his trope that he’s smart and has a high double digit iq (90’s) and everyone was surprised and in awe when in our reality 90 is on the low end of average. I think everyone in the ASOUE is just a little slow and a bit dumb except those involved with the VFD and secret society’s that’s why the Baudelaire children are so smart rivaling if not surpassing most adults they encounter, it’s due to their parents genes having evolved and then pursuing knowledge which may be a contributing factor to their substantial wealth. It’s easier to make a fortune when you’re one of the smartest people on the planet and you’re involved in a secret organization made up of the more intelligent people in the world. My Second thought is their reality and ours is the same except there’s been some sort of disaster/war and it’s just many many years in the future where the world has been altered and the average intelligence is muted in some way (possibly a virus that effected those with “smart genes” leaving only a slow and less intelligent population). Which would explain why most locations wether it’s a town, a school, a hospital or even a carnival most locations are beat to hell and run down looking like a bomb went off, also looking at just the overall dark and gloom of every dismal location they visit makes nuclear war or at least at this point post nuclear fallout a decent possibility.