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<i>The Librarians</i> – Season 2 Premiere Part 2 “And the Broken Staff” Review. A Mad Magician.

Season 2, Episodes 2

Air Date: Sunday, November 1, 2015 at 8/7c on TNT

Rating: ★★★★★

 

As part two of the season two premiere of The Librarians continues, “And the Broken Staff” finds our intrepid librarians, Jake Stone “Stone” (Christian Kane), Cassandra Cillian (Lindy Booth), Ezekiel Jones “Jones” (John Kim), Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), and their guardian Eve Baird (Rebecca Romijn), regrouping after a turbulent adventure in New York. The brilliant way they came together to end the storm brought back a bit of the camaraderie that was missing at the beginning of “And the Drowned Book.”

Strange occurrences keep happening in the library in “And the Broken Staff” and Jenkins (John Larroquette) remains mum on the situation. I’m sure he has a grand idea that will fix it all…right? Then again, the way the library returned last season from the void has caused things to go out of whack. If you recall from season one, Flynn used blood in the story book to reopen the library’s doors. What happened to the library while it was in the void?

Meanwhile Prospero (Richard Cox) and his not so willing servant Moriarty (David S. Lee) continue to seek ways to restore Prospero’s broken staff. But instead of going after the scattered pieces to make it whole again, they go after the source material of the staff – the “Tree of Knowledge” – buried deep in the “heart of the library.” The only problem is, with the library out of sorts, the location of the heart isn’t quite clear to either Prospero or the librarians. Now our librarians must work together quickly to save the library and the Tree of Knowledge.

Throughout “And the Broken Staff,” many references to Shakespeare’s plays are used to decipher the clues to finding the original broken staff. The writers do a tremendously creative job in setting up the way Flynn and Eve must solve the riddle. Much to Flynn’s surprise, Eve knows a good deal about Hamlet. Touché! I am perturbed by Flynn’s assumptions regarding Eve’s knowledge of more than just hand-to-hand combat. She’s as smart as she is strong. But Flynn has been the only librarian for more than ten years now. Having a whole new team—each with their own way of doing things—and Eve trying to bring them together as one cohesive unit proves to be a bit challenging for Flynn. Eve and Flynn’s difference of opinions puts a wedge in their burgeoning relationship.

Prospero calls upon more fictional characters to keep our librarians occupied. His choices are not quite obvious but entertaining nonetheless. “Off with their heads,” the Queen of Hearts (Vanessa Vander Pluym) cries. And the way Flynn and Ezekiel, respectively, interact with Frankenstein’s monster (Michael Gladis) cracks me up. They both have their own approach…but I am not sure how well Frankenstein is going to do in the dating world. Swipe left; swipe right…really?

When Jenkins finally reveals the problem with the library to Flynn, things become a lot more interesting. Again, when the truth is revealed, the team collaborates, working together to find a solution. With their collective genius, Flynn and Eve find a way to the heart of the library and end up in a vast forest full of a variety of trees. Where better to conceal the Tree of Knowledge?

Flynn and Eve continue to argue over what’s more important – the security of the library or retrieving the lost artifacts for the library. Each has a valid point – without a secure library, where will you store the artifacts? But without artifacts, what’s the need of a library to store them in? Both are equally important but neither Flynn nor Eve can see the forest for the trees. Ironic, isn’t it? Can Flynn and Eve stop bickering long enough to thwart Prospero’s mission to obtain a new staff from the Tree of Knowledge? And will Jenkins, along with Jake, Cassandra, and Ezekiel’s help, figure out what’s going on with the library before more sinister artifacts go missing?

What did you think of “And the Broken Staff?” Will Flynn and Eve be able to reconcile?

 

Tune into The Librarians, Sundays at 8/7c on TNT.

For more on the show, go to http://www.tntdrama.com/shows/the-librarians.

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Photos: ©2015 TNT, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.