The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 Premiere Review: A Merry Time Was Had By All

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

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In this increasingly unpredictable world, it’s a delight to know that The Librarians: The Next Chapter will always fulfill three essential things with a season premiere.

There will be magical hijinks a-plenty. A new Big Bad will appear. And Vikram will pursue (and/or be pursued by) something at high speed.

Welcome back to the world of the Librarians. We are so fortunate to be here.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter “And The Burning Heart”

Having made Lysa and Connor official Librarians on The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 1 Finale, The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 Episode 1, “And the Burning Heart,” picks up with the team in the middle of an adventure.

Upon their triumphant return to the Annex, it’s clear that everyone’s a bit on edge. Well, maybe not Vikram, but that’s his superpower, isn’t it? Obliviousness.

Almost immediately, they’re on the move to the next pendulum target, an international boarding school where a custodian became so enraged that he burst into flames and was reduced to a pile of ash.

As they investigate, an interesting and interested figure lurks in the background.

Hello, Merlin

Unlike General Godgan Gregor, the big bad of The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 1, Vikram’s only heard of Merlin by way of reputation and doesn’t suspect the wily wizard of any malfeasance.

And by anyone’s standards in the context of this case, Merlin is very helpful.

As a reminder, the world of the Librarians has always heavily intersected with Camelot lore.

The original series, The Librarians, established Flynn Carsen’s friendship with Cal, aka the Sword Excalibur; Jenkins’ previous life as Galahad; and the Librarians’ conflicts with the Serpent Brotherhood led by Dulaque, aka Lancelot du Lac.

And they face off with Dulaque when he was still commonly known as Lancelot.

Now, we have Merlin. And from Mrs. Astolat’s reaction at the conclusion of the adventure, this is not a good thing.

If her lividness wasn’t enough to worry us, Merlin’s jaunty little stroll into the modern world — echoing Gregor’s upon gaining physicality — is a surefire warning sign that he will be back and will be trouble.

Anger Feeds Anger

In dealing with the premiere’s Monster-of-the-Week, the pint-sized Anger Demon, the team vents a lot of pent-up frustrations thanks to the little clay figure in the school’s display case.

What they learn is that venting angry feelings is not cathartic the way a good cry is.

In fact, expressing anger usually begets more anger, stoking a flame that, in this case, will literally burn you up.

Defusing the anger through distraction or a stronger, more positive, or productive emotion is the key.

Lysa manages to save the custodian’s daughter by empathizing with her grief, sharing the feelings she had when her parents died.

This is probably when she realized that it isn’t anger feeding the demon; it’s fear.

One by one, the team members confront their fears and overcome them before they consume them.

Charlie’s fear of not being able to protect everyone and having to choose who to save hits the hardest because, as their Guardian, it’s a very real possible scenario.

But voicing those fears does help manage them, not least because the others are there to listen and support.

It’s a solid team-building exercise to kick off the new season with.

Requisite Shenanigans

No installment of The Librarians: The Next Chapter is complete without an energetic chase sequence, and this is no exception.

At peak anger escalation, the little demon figurine escapes the display case and leads them on a merry(!) route through the school.

The grotesque little beastie evokes all the nostalgic Gremlins, and Small Soldiers feels than you could possibly ask for.

But of course, the Librarians manage the mischief and contain the magic through their special combination of physical, if comedic, prowess and Lyra’s supernatural-specialized tech.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work… Someday

As fun and heart-warming as it was to see the team bond and support each other, we don’t expect smooth sailing, do we?

Lysa’s need to find scientific explanations for every phenomenon flies in the face of the very existence of the Library.

Connor’s obsession with archaic knowledge and his fanboy reaction to all historical/mythological persons — including Merlin — overrides any sense of self-preservation he may have.

Charlie’s paranoia about her team’s safety is grounded in very real dangers.

Life as a Guardian with what amounts to a herd of headstrong Librarians must be exhausting.

And Vikram’s impulsive and untethered decisions, combined with his baseline egocentrism, can only propel their adventures to new heights of peril and improbable conflict.

Wow, this is going to be so much fun.

Is the Magic Back?

Over to you, Fanatics!

Was the premiere of The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 up to snuff?

Did it hit the sweet spot or trigger some rage?

Hit our comments with your key takeaways and rate the episode in the poll below!

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