THE LIBRARIANS: Reading Between the Lines

In recent interviews, the cast of The Librarians revealed a few tidbits that we can look forward to in this new season, some of which we’ve already enjoyed in the first few episodes.

They’ve resolved the “getting to know you” Season One theme, and now that our new Librarians have all embraced each other as a family (albeit dysfunctional), they can now work together as a team. Well… that seems easier for some than others. Grumpy Jenkins (John Larroquette) seems to be warming up to his new colleagues (although with guarded affections), but Flynn (Noah Wyle) continues to be a loner, preferring to work alone instead of embracing the new team. We can expect that his story arc this season will see him eventually rejoin his fellow Librarians to ultimately defeat this season’s villains, who are manifesting from literature: some even from within The Library itself.

The primary villain of this season is Prospero, the master wizard from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, played by Richard Cox. He’s invoking some of the worst (or best) villains of fictional literature to join him in his evil plot to regain his magical strength and rule the world (why is it always “rule the world?”). We’ve already met James Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes (David S. Lee), who begrudgingly plays second fiddle to Prospero, along with some added brawn to go with his brainy side-kick. Able to call forth any villain from literature, he’s called upon Frankenstein’s monster and the axe-wielding Queen of Hearts, and we can expect Bo Peep, and possibly Dorian Gray in upcoming episodes.

Lindy Booth, a.k.a. Cassandra Killian, the preppy Librarian with the mad math skills, is an avid reader in real life. She’s stoked about the Fictionals coming to life this season. “It’s like a dream come true for me…it’s the best possible version of magic.”

She acknowledged the “brain grape” in that it will always be there, but instead of focusing on her character’s life-threatening tumor, Cassandra has accepted her impending demise, and has decided to embrace life (and death) on her own terms. Will there be a romance between her and Jacob? Their relationship is evolving and the feelings are there, but Lindy was a little cryptic about the shape that friendship will eventually take.

Aside from the literary fun, a timey-wimey episode is promised this season that will highlight Ezekiel Jones’ leadership qualities—wait, what? Apparently, according to John Kim, who plays the character, Ezekiel always knew he had it in him.

The Library is undergoing some weird transformations as a result of being hidden in another dimension last season. These are long-term changes that may permanently affect The Library as we know it. The possibilities for mayhem are endless as the Library loses magical artifacts and creates new rooms without warning. This metamorphosis promises to distract Jenkins and possibly Eve (Rebecca Romijn) as they focus on protecting it, leaving the new Librarians to rely on each other to form a new team without an assigned Guardian. Eve seems to be more like an equal team member this season, taking on a much softer persona and showing more brain than brawn (or at least a balance of the two).

What about repeat performances from some of last season’s guest stars? Despite the producers’ desire to bring Bruce Campbell back for a repeat performance as Santa, it just wasn’t in the cards this season. Shooting schedules collided, and Campbell had to turn down the offer.

So where will the Librarians go from here? Christian Kane tells us that we’ve already had a glimpse into their futures from Season 1’s finale, “And the Loom of Fate.” He says, “Cassandra was very magical, Ezekiel was a super spy, and me — I’m gonna turn out to be like Indiana Jones.”

Only time will tell if past episodes can foretell the future fate of our favorites, but one thing is for certain: it will be a fun ride.

When asked about producing another movie in The Librarian franchise: Noah Wyle answered that there has been talk, but it’s unsure if it will become reality. The main concern is budget-related. If they do another movie, they want to make sure that they have the resources to make it right. We can say for certain that the fans will tune in, but now that we’ve had a taste of the “next generation” Library and its new team, it will interesting to see what cast and story line that a new movie might include.