So anyone that knows me knows how much I absolutely LOVE The Librarians. It’s my comfort show. I have no idea how many times I have rewatched it because it’s something I do constantly.
Anyway! I was apprehensive when they announced this sequel because how could it ever live up to the OG show?
I’ve seen the first two episodes now and I have thoughts. Spoilers under the cut 🙂
General show stuff
There’s a fan event for The Librarians (prompt month) and I think most years I submitted some variation of “what about the other annexes?” because that is a really good question – enquiring minds want to know! So the show is off to a flier straight away by picking that up.
My headcanon was always that there used to be lots of annexes because in the words of Jenkins “if the Librarian needed to consult the resources of the library but was far from the main door” and the days before jet travel, then it took weeks/months to cross the world. I figured those annexes got shuttered when planes became prevalent except for the Portland annex because Jenkins lived there.
I also had another headcanon that said that Judson, Charlene and Jenkins were NOT the only immortals tethered to the library. The candle room seemed to prove that because there were far more candles lit than for the people we knew about. Sure some of them could be for ‘librarians out of time’ like Teddy Chislington etc. but there was too many for that to be the only reason. Throw in Jenkins’ line of “immortals prefer the south of france this time of year” and the “sides in a very complex war” re: Judson vs Dulaque (in terms of figureheads) or Library vs Serpent Brotherhood (to put it another way). I headcanoned that Judson’s side had founded the library but over the centuries most of them had drifted away from the library. Jenkins himself said he had taken breaks (like during Shakespeare’s time) so another immortal caretaker is right in line with all of this – makes perfect sense!
I absolutely love when shows use their own lore. It feels deep and engaging.
BUT (and I know I probably shouldn’t do a but because the show hasn’t been out a week and if we want more Librarians, it’s best to be positive, but I have feelings ok). So yes BUT
I deeply dislike and still do not really understand this whole “magic well bringing back the annex and then spilling magic out in Belarus” origin for this show.
I can try and make sense of it by thinking it through. The annex in Belarus was established where it was precisely because of it’s proximity to this well. Maybe the well of magic is a nexus point of ley lines that are much closer to the ‘surface’ (due to how deep the well is). I complained bitterly when the show was first announced that it didn’t make sense that the premise was “magic escaping back into the world” because that had already happened. Dormant ley lines got juiced to kickstart the Librarians show and they never got unjuiced, that’s why they had a new artifact wing starting in season 3, and were finding new artifacts in season 4. So how could magic therefore escape again. But perhaps it’s less magic itself, and more wild magic or concentration of magic. It seemed to be a local phenomenon based on the map, like a supercharge for the area. The issue with that is if there is a greater level of wild magic, then why does technology still work?
As a side note on the location did they film in Serbia? I remember reading that Miss Scarlet moved filming there from England because it was so much cheaper. I’m not complaining because it’s nice not to be US-centric for a change. I just figured having adventures in Belarus probably had a reason, as it’s probably not the most well known of cities to a US audience.
Anyway! Levels of magic in the world is a curious thing. The way Flynn explained it is that magic in the ley lines got drained off into artifacts over time and then there was very little left. When Excalibur did the whole stone thing (kickstarting the Librarians show) that woke up the ley lines. However, it was obvious that the very low levels of magic was a relatively new phenomena anyway. Jenkins said about how London was a “hotbed of magic” during the 19th century when they dealt with Dorian Grey. Perhaps it goes back to what Lamia said about bringing magic back “magic returns, technology ends” – maybe the rise in technology is what smothered magic? Which still begs the question of levels of magic and how technology is still working and I also need to return to the Well. I said perhaps it was a nexus of ley lines close to the surface that the Belarus annex watched over. Maybe twenty years ago if Vik had opened the Well nothing much would have happened, as the ley lines went dark with the rise of technology (after his time), and stayed that way until Excalibur. So it was just unfortunate timing.
I still don’t get why the Well made the annex reappear. It was completely unstructured wild magic – except for Vik’s intent and also his connection to the library. We saw the library ‘manifest’ because it lived in the librarians in the season 4 finale. So maybe it was something like that.
I still don’t really like it as a plot point. I feel like it was unnecessary. The OG Librarians show established that magic was back in the world and creating new artifacts. Kickstarting this show with a new librarian and satellite annex was more than enough of a reason. The extra magic spill I can try and headcanon but they didn’t need it.
One remaining quibble is the look of the annex itself. I know logically ‘out of universe’ the new annex doesn’t look like the OG annex because that set would have been dismantled years ago. The issue is that we saw the Portland annex was identical to the main library office. So why is the Belarus annex not like that? Either all the annexes are different fitting the locations/time periods they were established, or they should all be the same. I realise two annexes isn’t much of a data point and also that ‘out of universe’ the Portland annex and main library office was the same to use the same set, but ehhh it bothers me.
A return to the positive! I adore that they are using the same title scheme and a different, but the same style type of title card – so cool!
Episode ONE – and the Deadly Drekavac
The monster looked like a demented gorilla so that was at least understandable how they could cover it up jumping around the center of town.
There were some good moments like the “back beast” as Vik encountered a truck for the first time but ehhh. Some of this is contrast because I was immediately entranced from the moment I started the first episode of the OG Librarians. Rebecca Romijin captured my attention from the start and the chemistry she had with Noah Wyle in those steam tunnels had sparks flying. It was magnetic viewing. The show was instantly iconic to me and yes it’s hard to think about it objectively now. I’ve seen ‘and the Crown of King Arthur’ dozens of times, but I prefer to ‘try before I buy’. I think I was only about 10 minutes into the episode when I bought the complete set on DVD. I just knew I was going to love it.
Now as Flynn helped ground and kick off the OG show, they brought in Jacob Stone to do the same for Next Chapter.
Side note I reckon he kept his beanie on the entire time because he had Eliot Spencer length hair, and couldn’t cut it for the cameo due to Leverage filming commitments.
Anyway! No complaints at all about how they picked up with the OG stuff. They name-dropped Jenkins, Cassandra and Ezekiel. I feel like they respected the OG crew, so it’s all good there.
However, truthfully I felt like the first episode of Next Chapter was a bit lackluster. The plot wasn’t very good and the overly Christian-centric religious nature was uncomfortable. They clumsily explained it in the end about the power of belief so it wasn’t lacking baptism that made the child lost/turn into a monster, it was the stories they’d been told and internalised that had done it. I was also less than entranced by most of the characters but I’ll come back to them in a bit.
Episode TWO – and the Dance of Doom
Now this was a Librarians episode!
Night and day really in terms of vibes from the first episode. I went from being apprehensive to hopeful. This was a much better case, the interactions between the characters felt natural. There was banter and they also introduced properly Elaine Astalot (the immortal caretaker).
I have a few quibbles. Someone in the Librarian discord said “why didn’t they just pull the fire alarm?” to wreck the performance and that was a good question. However, I am prepared to overlook that. What I do question a bit is why Charlie danced when she was on stage. I feel like it must have been some kind of compulsion and she had no choice because otherwise it doesn’t make sense. Her dancing made it look like part of the performance as she was trying to get to the witch. If she’d sprinted across the stage, throwing elbows into faces, that would have been a lot more disruptive. Anyway, it’s easy enough to explain that the ‘dust everywhere’ made for a compulsion and the episode was so good otherwise that I’m willing to overlook the fire alarm thing. I don’t mind suspending disbelief if everything else works well enough to warrant it.
Side note it’s interesting looking at IMDB in that apparently Elaine is only credited in 5/12 episodes? Jenkins was in all of the OG episodes I believe. I wonder why it worked out like that. Just from Elaine in this episode I already think that she will elevate any episode she’s in – utterly fabulous character.
Speaking of characters…
Vikram Chamberlain
I feel like this sentence should maybe start with ‘unpopular opinion’ buuuut. It’s like tropes are good, I don’t knock tropes, but I also kinda feel like I have seen this done and done better :/
The whole ‘man out of time’, ‘lost love in the past’ – seen it. Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow instantly popped to mind and I’m sorry to Callum McGowan but he doesn’t have an ounce of the charisma that Tom Mison had. My general feeling on Vik is very meh. He feels flat to me. Like his story should be compelling but I just don’t feel it.
There are some very good moments. I laughed at the whole cat video thing in the first episode. I also appreciate where they seem to be taking his arc. With how Vik was all “I don’t need a guardian, never had one” etc. and wanting to be a lone wolf that did feel like they were mimicking Flynn a bit. The first episode was a bit clunky but I suppose it was trying to introduce/set everything up in a single episode, whereas the OG show did a two-parter opener. Maybe that explains it I don’t know. Anyway there was the quite powerful line from the Guardian saying that the biggest threat to Vik is himself, that he is far too comfortable using magic and this got picked up in an incredibly good way in the second episode.
Vik brazenly squared up against the villain showing off his magical trinkets and boasting that no spell could touch him – the witch then tazered him. Librarians don’t win with magic, they win with their minds. I do look forward to seeing where they take this arc. The first season of the OG show was quite tightly plotted to sort of ‘come full circle’ and I hope they do the same with Next Chapter. Which means in the finale Vik will need to be faced with a choice and show he has changed by not taking the easy road of a magical solution.
Lysa Pascal
My initial impression wasn’t the best. I felt like they were trying to hard to make her like Cassandra but she didn’t have any of her charm. I’m also side-eyeing the whole “looking just like Anya (Vik’s lost love)”. I am intrigued as to who she inherited this castle from. I also feel like they are building towards a potential betrayal with her selling magic out (and who are her investors?). I would scream so loud if it’s The Lake making a reappearance as that plotline never got resolved in the OG show. However, I doubt it will be anything like that – can hope though!
BUT like the show in general she did much better in episode two. The banter between Lysa and Connor was great.
Charlie Cornwall
Her intro on the bike was great. Reminded me actually of the first Librarians movie and how Nicole picked Flynn up on the bike at the end. However, I got to be honest the moment she took her helmet off I got distracted.
Eve Baird was military, she could be as hard as the situation needed and yet just in how she held herself, the look in her eyes, she could turn soft and show emotion. True top tier A+ character of all time.
I feel like this is less a character fault of Charlie and more a fault of the director because her hair is killing me. Eve’s hair was regulation for a long time, and even when it wasn’t she kept it practical. When she was working it was often tied back and never in the way. When Charlie was fighting her hair was completely in her face, the way her bangs came down I was wondering how she could even see. Now I think Charlie is supposed to have a military background? Although we don’t get any details in the first two episodes. It just feels like they wanted the actress to ‘look pretty’ and didn’t think about reality which annoys me.
Also Charlie kicked the monster butt when she was fighting alone during her first scene, but when both she and Vik attacked the monster together at the end she was quickly beaten. I get this was so Lysa and Connor could come in with the ‘holy water’ but that was just badly choreographed IMO. There’s no reason to make one character look stupid, to elevate another.
Like the others she came across better in the second episode. She is still a bit too “yes sir” for me at the moment. I am curious as to how she is on her second chance with the library but that’s what the rest of the season will develop.
Anyway, I have rambled quite a lot because ordinarily Charlie would have been my favourite character, but I am quite meh over her at the moment. I want to like her but I’m not there yet.
Connor Green
I love him!
That is all haha 🙂 🙂
No ok I’ll get specific. He has so much charm. He’s funny, he’s real. I love his backstory. It’s very Daniel Jackson coded of “lost his job trying to prove aliens magic was real”
One question I always have for shows like The Librarians (or Warehouse 13) is how it works with the rest of the world. Who knows? What do they know? How do they cover magical events up? Etc. And so Connor’s very existence is like a little glimpse of that.
They had it a bit in the OG show with Lucy Lyons “there are magic hunters now” and then later on DOSA. There was still a lot unexplored. So much potential.
Anyway, Connor is so smart with his knowledge of history, but in an accessible way. Possibly because of the very modern angle of having a YouTube/Tik Tok (they weren’t specific) in which he explains his theories. He’s just COOL.
Conclusion
Well first off I can’t really make one. I have seen only two episodes. To really make a judgement I’d need to see at least a couple more. First episodes are often a bit janky so it’s important to see a few ‘standard’ episodes to get a real feel for things.
I had mixed feelings going into the show based on the summary of “man out of time, magic leak” etc. and truthfully I still have mixed feelings about that. What I am feeling more hopeful/confident about from the second episode is that I’m going to enjoy this show. I don’t expect that it will reach the heights of the OG show, that is so beloved to me that was always unrealistic. However, I think it’s going to be fun for what it is and we could all use a bit more fun.
Connor and Elaine are my favourite characters at the moment hands down which is a good sign. I sometimes have mixed feelings about Leverage: Redemption but I adore Breanna so much, and so I can’t ever think too badly on Redemption because otherwise there’d be no Breanna. I do hope that I bond more with the rest of the characters, especially Vik who is the one I’m least enthusiastic about at the moment (it feels like he’s the ‘main’ character and so it’ll be annoying if I’m meh over him).
What I hope to see moving forward is more stuff like in Episode Two. I want chemistry between the characters. Give me banter, give me humour, show me that these people are friends/becoming friends. Give me interesting and compelling cases. Also I’m a simple creature and I’m not immune to nostalgia. Slip in some easter eggs and callbacks to the OG – let the show use it’s own lore, and I will be very happy.
Looking forward to next week and episode THREE!