As always, the season finale of The Librarians came too soon. It seems like we just got the premiere and we are already looking towards season 3. Thankfully there is a season 3 to look forward to. While this is the end of the season, it's not the last roundtable review though. We will be doing a season 2 wrap up later in the week. If you'd like to be part of it, let me know in the comments.
What was your favorite thing about this episode?
BlueStar - The ending. It was nicely wrapped up like it was the first finale, and everyone was happy. I love the cheeriness of this show compared to the dark, dramatic, and heartbreaking shows I usually watch. The Librarians is so much fun.
Emma - The end - Eve giving Ezekiel, Stone and Cassandra assignments, Cal back to his old self and Flynn calling it "our" library. That was a big step for Flynn and I hope we see more of that team mentality from him next season.
Ivan - My favorite thing about this episode was Flynn and Eve and seeing Flynn's excitement over meeting Shakespeare. I always love seeing Flynn's excitement over this job and also Flynn and Eve's relationship. I hope he becomes a regular now that he can because it's always so awesome to see him here.
Kris - The time travel room. You had the TARDIS, the DeLorean, the dinosaur time traveler, and Cassandra's reaction.
Matt - The way they brought everything together and made it work. Stone, Cass and Jones working together. Flynn and Eve kissing for 400 years. Jenkins understanding that it was not Arthur, but Flynn who came back to save England. Moriarty turning out good. The return of Excalibur. So hard to pick one.
Dahne - The twist was my favorite simply because I did not see it coming at all.
If you could change anything about this episode, what would it be?
BlueStar - It feeling a little rushed. This is due to the overall pacing of the mytharc this season though. There wasn't enough balance between the mytharc and stand alone cases this season.
Emma - I wish Moriarty would've survived. He would've been a fantastic long term villain that could pop in to harass Eve and the Librarians from time to time.
Ivan - One thing I would change would be for them to have used the DeLorean instead of the glass ball to time travel. No, I'm kidding. I wouldn't change a thing; this episode was the best of the best.
Kris - Once again, when Flynn shows up, the rest of the Librarians are basically shoved to the side to make it his show. I would instead give the Librarians the "A" storyline, and relegate him to the "B" storyline.
Matt - Flynn's audition was a little cringeworthy.
Dahne - My biggest issue is that the fictionals storyline had to be rushed because they didn't include it more in the overall season. I'm also not a big fan of time travel or the focus being so much on Flynn at the expense of the other librarians even though he was much, much better this time than normal.
Time travel is a tricky concept to get correct. How well do you think The Librarians did it compared to other shows? Did the concept work within the framework of this story? Why or why not?
Emma - I think it worked, if only because they all admitted that it was confusing and that they hated it! I knew they would figure out a way to get Eve and Flynn back to the present timeline but I'm glad that it wasn't easy - 400 years as a statue so they could return to their time without the chance of altering the past is pretty brilliant.
Ivan - The Librarians did very well in the time travel concept. I think it worked because Flynn kept an eye on nothing changing and because it made sense for them to have to find out when Prospero was created. The paradox not allowing Eve and Flynn to come back to the present at that time is also pretty new in the time travel concept.
Kris - I think that it worked very well in that they weren't allowed to change things unlike other shows where the characters are allowed to do what they want willy-nilly, and time will handle it. Time travel worked for the story, as it brought together several things that occurred over the season: the locked room, the note, and there was something else that I forget right now.
Matt - I loved the tongue in cheek references to other time machines - the DeLorean, the TARDIS, etc. Yes, they got it right! Flynn and Eve returning via an alternative and clever means is a perfect Librarians-style solution.
Dahne - I always have trouble with the logic behind time travel but this one worked better than most for me. Having Baird and Flynn as a statue was inspired. Also the time machine room was hilarious.
In the episode, the twist is that Prospero is really Shakespeare turned into his own character by words of anger. Did the twist surprise you? How effective did you think it was?
Emma - It did surprise me but it's likely because we haven't seen Prospero since the beginning of the season so there was no movement on his story line that could've allowed me to figure it out sooner. It was a good twist but I think it would've had more of an impact if the mytharc was better paced through the whole season.
Ivan - I was completely surprised by the twist of Shakespeare being Prospero but it also made sense because of what Moriarty said about his plan not being from "Tempest".
Kris - Yes, it did. I thought that Shakespeare would accidentally call forth Prospero, see what the character was like, and change the story, binding Prospero. Instead he becomes Prospero, something I didn't see coming, making it very effective.
Matt - It was an amazing twist, I never saw it coming. It was perfect in a way though, because it made sense of how Prospero materialized in the first place.
Dahne - The twist was the best thing of the episode for me simply because it took me completely by surprise. I knew something was up when Moriarty talked about the forest being Prospero's dream but I did not put two and two together. It was a smart plot choice and a whole lot of fun.
As the season finale, how well did you like this ending? Do you feel the season has sufficient closure? How does it compare to you with season one's finale?
Emma - I liked the ending and I feel the same closure as I did with any other case of the week episode. Of course, that's not necessarily a good thing. This was supposed to be the season long mytharc - it should've held more weight than a case of the week villain. Season 1 finale was definitely better.
Ivan - I liked the ending very well. It gave us closure but at the same time we know it's coming back. That's what I like about Rogers; he doesn't leave us in a cliffhanger like other show runners. I liked this Season Finale because the Librarians were all together. It showed the family they have become and not like last year with them being separated.
Kris - I thought that the ending was...okay. It brought together several items that occurred over the length of the season, but it focused too much on Flynn being Flynn. Season one's finale instead focused on Eve, her relationship to the Library and the other Librarians, and her finally feeling like she belonged there.
Matt - It was better than season one's ending because it kept them all together. I would like to see the secondary villain survive in future if they have a moment of redemption though - Moriarty and Lamia have both died after discovering the good in their own souls.
Dahne - I have mixed feeling about this finale compared to season 1. I like how in both the story is closed so no one has to worry about if the show ends on a cliffhanger or not and it's refreshing to have a happy ending for once. I also think that the twist was bigger since many people had already guessed Dulaque and Jenkins' roles in season 1. However as a whole I like the season 1 finale better because the focus stayed on Jenkins and Baird as opposed to sharing the focus with the romance of Baird and Flynn. That was overdone in my book and I hope they do not make Flynn a regular next season.
What grade would you give this episode? Why?
Emma - B, saw some growth in Flynn and it wrapped up the season so if we hadn't gotten another season, I would've been OK with it ending but the overall execution of the season long mytharc was very much lacking.
Ivan - I'm giving this episode a A+, i loved everything about it.
Kris - B-. While it was fairly decent episode, with a bunch of little things to fan over, it felt too much like it was vehicle to show off Flynn. To put it another way, Prospero was Shakespeare's empowerment fantasy, while Flynn felt like a writer's empowerment fantasy.
Matt - A+, it just tied everything together so perfectly. My second favourite of the season after the Jones-video game episode.
Dahne - B because what they got right they got really right. What they got wrong was in large a bigger problem for the season instead of focused on this episode. Well, except the Flynn acting filler and the eye roll worthy romance issues.
Anything you would like to add?
Emma - I'm glad we have a S3 but since it's only for 10 episodes, I hope the writers decide to go one was or the other with it. Either make all 10 episodes case of the week type mysteries or make all 10 episodes about an overall mytharc (or do 5/5 on two different mytharcs).
Ivan - Thank you TNT for giving us a 3rd season of this show, we don't have shows like this anymore. They're always just dark, gritty and moody. Not to mention it's very family friendly and that's very rare nowadays.
Kris - 1) Eve's Lady of the Lake moment, while it didn't make a lot of sense, was very nice.
2) Excalibur is still tripping me up. If Flynn received Excalibur in 1611, shouldn't that have been the Excalibur of 1611, and therefore when he brought it with him to the future, wouldn't that have removed it from the normal timeline so that he couldn't have it in episode 1.1?
Matt - MORE EPISODES IN SEASON 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dahne - I am glad that we have a season 3 and I'm really looking forward to it. However I think they need to block out the season better and not throw the mytharc as bookends to the season. It would be better to not have any overarching mythos at all than to rush it as badly as they did this season.
Screen caps by Screencapped, Three If By Space, and me.
