In "The Grim Grotto", Fiona meets him and it is revealed that they are siblings where Captain Widdershins is his stepfather. He joined Olaf and left Captain Widdershins after burning down Anwhistle Aquatics and killing Gregor Anwhistle. He also joined Count Olaf because Captain Widdershins always said "Aye!" which annoyed him. Fiona convinces him to steal Olaf's submarine which is successful as mentioned in "The Penultimate Peril" where Count Olaf claimed to the Baudelaires, Dewey Denouement, Justice Strauss, and Jerome Squalor that Fernald and Fiona double-crossed him. Their fate is unknown as Kit Snicket reports in "The End" that she abandoned them in the face of the "Great Unknown." It is also revealed that when he had to wait, he played a card game he made up named Fernald's Folly.