In the pilot episode of TNT’s The Librarians, a mysterious individuals seems to be killing potential Librarians. Will Flynn Carsen and the new guardian, Eve Baird (Rebecca Romijn) be able to stop the murders?

As the show opens, Eve Baird and a group of officers raid a building in Berlin. She holds two men at gun point, when she is introduced to Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), who is after an artifact, which summons demons. Flynn walks Eve through the process of defusing the bomb, while he works to defuse his own. Eve questions how Flynn knew all of that, to which he responds, “I am the Librarian”.

The next day, we meet up with a man, who is attempting to make contact with Flynn. He is killed before he can do so. After a break, Eve contacts her boss, which gives her a month on leave, since she seems to be talking crazy. She returns home to find nothing in her fridge, besides a bottle of water. She finds a letter on the floor, which invites her to interview for the Metropolitan Public Library. When Eve visits the library, she encounters Charlene (Jane Curtin).

Charlene reveals that each library has a guardian, who is skilled in combat. After entering an elevator and reaching the lowest floor, Eve finds a mysterious library, which is filled with secret artifacts. Eve reunites with Flynn and Excalibur. Flynn isn’t interested in Eve, but she doesn’t give up so easily. Eve is introduced to the spirit of Judson (Bob Newhart), who is a former Librarian that now acts as a mentor. He tells her that the guardian faces evils that only the guardian can face. Eve and Flynn work together to attempt to solve the earlier murder.

The pair discover that Jonas Shier, who was killed earlier, was a potential Librarian ten years ago, which makes them believe someone is killing all potential librarians. The group heads to New York, where they find the first potential librarian, Cassandra Cillian (Lindy Booth). Cassandra appears to be a genius, who is capable of solving complex problems in seconds. She has a photographic memory, which also mixes up numbers as colors, science as music and math as food scents. The pair split up, with Flynn heading to Geneva to find Ezekiel Jones (John Kim), a master thief.

Next, we discover Jacob Stone (Christian Kane) in an Oklahoman bar. After attempting to speak with Lamia (Lesley-Ann Brandt), he is caught up in a bar fight, before Eva arrives and rescues him. The pair make their escape and return to Flynn, who provides them with an understanding of the library. Each discuss their skills and reasons for visiting the library.

The group talks about the Serpent Brotherhood, who are attempting to gain the crown of King Arthur, in order to bring magic back into the world. The group is given their next destination, the Munich museum, where we get to see some wonderful works of art. By using their skills and the painting, the team is led to the Black Forest. Lamia is scouring the forest by helicopter, while Eve and the group attempt to find the Crown on the ground. The ground finds a henge, which is the second clue. After cracking the puzzle, the group finds the crown of King Arthur.

After the break, the group fights with Lamia and her assassins. They blow up the plane and escape with King Arthur’s crown. Back at the Library, the Brotherhood attempt to enter. Flynn has Excalibur, but Lamia has Cassandra held hostage. Lamia takes the crown from Cassandra and puts it on. Judson and Charlene work to seal the library. Lamia uses Excalibur to stab Flynn in the stomach. While Lamia makes off with Cassandra, Eve and the others show up and save Flynn. He drinks some Oil of Bathsheba to slow down his bleeding.

After they cannot find Judson and Charlene, the group enters a door, which puts in in a forest in Oregon. Jenkins (John Larroquette) shows up and whisks the group away. Flynn becomes depressed that he didn’t notice the Brotherhood’s action,which worries Eve. They believe Flynn Carsen could potentially die within twenty four hours, if he continues to bleed.

Afterwards, Lamia introduces Cassandra to Dulaque (Matt Frewer), who believes the Librarians are awful. Lamia contemplates killing Cassandra, but is stopped by Dulaque. After remembering that Lamia called Excalibur a key, Flynn suggests going to the Tower of London and stealing the Stone of Marrakesh, in order to track Excalibur. Using a half baked plan, the group steals the stone and is led in the direction of the gem. Cassandra is led through an underground chamber by the Brotherhood. The group is led to a charity ball, where they discover a hidden passage. They find themselves in the same passage, as Cassandra was previously.

Lamia attempts to use Excalibur to break through the protective barrier, but it doesn’t work. While Flynn continues to bleed, Lamia is recruited to solve a puzzle, which opens the barrier. Afterwards, Lamia returns Excalibur, which imprisons Cassandra. With Cassandra back, the group comes up with a MacGyver plan to stop Lamia. Using magnetics, Flynn is able to steal the crown from Lamia. He also recovers Excalibur, who is dying, since magic is coming back into the world.

Flynn offers Excalibur, as a way to heal her tumor, but he lays it on his wound. Excalibur is dead and is absorbed back into the stone, but Flynn’s wounds are healed. Flynn decides to work on connecting the library to reality, while the new Librarians handle the daily operations.

Eve becomes the guardian of the library, before kissing Flynn and demanding he come back alive.

Review


The Librarian movies were successfully, which built up hype for the television series. While fans of the movies might enjoy the TV reflection, it doesn’t hold up. Most of the dialogue is chaotic, fast and dizzying. At this point, none of the characters are compelling, or even interesting for that matter. In fact, I found Bob Newhart to be the most interesting character, despite getting less than 10 minutes of airtime in the first two episodes.

The special effects were a little cheesy. Overall, I don’t see how a lot of people can like this series, despite a massive audience, during the premiere. Most people will find The Librarians to be silly and downright annoying. The first two episodes deserve a 5.5 out of 10.