THE LIBRARIANS:
AND THE WRATH OF CHAOS
Well, we close out Season Three of The Librarians with And the Wrath of Chaos, which ties a lot of threads together from this season into a pretty solid bunch. Many twists and turns within the hour, with hope that Season Four will be as bright and clever as this season.
Has Eve Baird (Rebecca Romijn) turned traitor? It looks that way when she's found leading DOSA Agents, headed by her mentor General Rockwell (Vanessa Williams) into the Library. It's all part of a plan to keep the actual Librarians safe in exchange for DOSA taking the artifacts.
Among those artifacts is Jenkins (John Larroquette), who is turned to stone when Baird pulls out Medusa's head (as he is immortal, he cannot be killed). Meanwhile, the other Librarians: Jacob Stone (Christian Kane), Cassandra Cillian (Lindy Booth) and Ezekiel Jones (John Kim) are too late to stop DOSA from taking the Library after they realize they've been led on a wild goose chase to get them out of the Library.
Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), meanwhile, is desperately trying to keep the artifacts in the Library, a harder and harder task as DOSA sweeps in. As DOSA takes more artifacts, Baird suggests that perhaps it isn't the safest place. Rockwell attempts to ease her mind by showing her technology trumps the Library's magic, but Apep, having bided his time, escapes from his sarcophagus and takes over Rockwell's body.
The Librarians manage to outwit DOSA's defenses by essentially playing dumb, rescuing Jenkins. All of them are enraged at Baird, but now we get the truth: Baird and Flynn had cooked up this scheme in order to draw Apep into the Library and defeat him. Baird, however, did not know it meant Flynn having to sacrifice himself to do so. They all race to save Flynn from Apep, who has freed himself from Rockwell and now is gaining more power. Baird begs Flynn not to sacrifice himself, but Flynn's mind is made up.
It's up the Librarians to save Flynn while simultaneously destroying Apep. Using their combined intelligence, they manage this seemingly impossible task, and an accord with DOSA is reached. The artifacts are restored, and things return to normal.
A strong scene is when the Librarians are rescuing Jenkins and making a right mess of it. It takes a while for them to figure out that the clues to unlock the super-vault actually uses their talents against them. Perhaps it's me, but the idea of using the reverse of their knowledge (Stone, for example, uses "water" rather than the correct answer to the riddle, "fire") sounds a bit simplistic.
Still, perhaps it is I that is now overthinking things.
One of the best performances is by Larroquette, who is allowed to show real anger and rage when he finally meets with Baird, unaware of her and Carsen's intricate plan. Larroquette also has solid moments of humor, when he remarks that he cannot allow DOSA to take the Library, referring to Colonel Baird and DOSA as "you and your backup singers".
For me, And the Wrath of Chaos shows that all the actors/characters are able to work together so well. Whatever fear or concern there might be in having Wyle's Flynn Carsen there should be abated. He works so well as both mentor and partner, so if he chooses to remain there for a full season instead of having him disappear for episodes on end it will work.
It is both interesting and smart to have various elements from past episodes figure in the resolution to the problem, a resolution that was logical (always a plus in my book). It looks like they are using what has been done in the past, but use it well.
It is a pity though that Bob Newhart, who was instrumental in The Librarian television movies, is allowed only a wordless cameo. Whether it will lead to him maybe guest starring in future episodes or not I don't know, but it is a shame.
Still, And the Wrath of Chaos was fun, zippy, and a wild way to end the season.
9/10
And the Complete Third Season
Dean Devlin is a genius that way! He gives you bits and pieces and keeps you guessing! Looking forward to more The Librarians and their magical adventures!
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