Warning: SPOILERS forThe Librarians: The Next Chapterseason 1, episode 9, “And the Feast of the Vampir.”
Vampires are nothing new toThe Librariansfranchise, butThe Librarians: The Next Chapterepisode 9 breathes new life into them while giving Charlie her best episode yet. WithThe Librarians: The Next Chapterseason 2already filming and the first season rapidly approaching its end, it’s only fitting that the series is beginning to (rather literally) raise the stakes.
Unlike episode 8, everyone inThe Librarians: The Next Chaptercastmakes a sizable contribution in this episode. Episode 9 also features the bestcameos in the spinoffto date, all whilethe side plot helps to perfectly set up the last few episodes of the season. It’s just the jump-start the spinoff’s needed for a while.
Charlie Shows Off Her Fighting Skills As The Librarians: The Next Chapter Takes Vampires Back To Their Roots
Jessica Green Gets To Play Two Distinct Sides Of Her Character
Vampires already featured in one ofThe Librarians’ best episodes, but with the twist that they’d discovered a way to walk among the living in daylight unharmed.The Librarians: The Next Chapterepisode 9 explores the very roots of vampire lore, building its story around the real-world legend of Serbian peasant Petar Blagojević, allegedly the first documented vampire in history.
Charlie’s by far the standout of the episode. Between the dual threats of vampires and a Van Helsing clan that regards Vikram’s outdated demeanor as vampiric,Charlie gets to show off her skills with her two best fight scenes in the spinoff thus far, although the choreography is a bit overshadowed by an overabundance of cuts in the editing room.
The newest Guardian also gets to show off her lighter side when exploring a Serbian vampire festival with Connor, giggling over “blood-flavored” snow cones and tacky souvenir t-shirts. Combined with the scene in whichConnor encounters a new creature and learns a bizarre new fact about online trolls, it’s one of theThe Next Chapter’s most on-brand episodes in terms of humor.
Best of all, afterThe Librarians: The Next Chapterepisode 8largely shoved Lysa into the background of her own episode,“And the Feast of the Vampir” makes excellent use of each core character’s defining traits. Lysa even manages to help save the day using nothing but her knowledge of photosynthesis, which somehow comes up in two separate life-threatening circumstances.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter Episode 9 Is A Nostalgic Treat For Original Series Fans
An Unexpected Cameo Makes Up For One Predictable Disappointment
When Connor’s bitten by a vampire early in the episode, his search for a cure leads him to an artifact that he discovers was already found and cataloged by franchise mainstay Flynn Carsen.This search leads Connor to the original Library and a suit of armor resembling one Flynn wore in the previous series, although Flynn himself sadly remains absent.
It would have been nice to see Flynn again, or perhaps another character such asThe Librarians’ Cassandra Cillian. But, while even John Larroquette’s Galahad was evidently too busy to make an appearance,The Next Chapterstill makes the most of its nostalgic trip to the Library by having Connor meet with an energetic (and slightly threatening) Excalibur.
Some of the spinoff’s previous episodes failed to earn enough goodwill on their own to justify this kind of trip down memory lane. Still, this one works in part becauseepisode 9 in general already feels like an old-schoolLibrariansadventure in all the best ways. The nostalgia angle only really falls short due to a couple of sadly missed opportunities.
Noah Wyle’s appearance inThe Librarians: The Next Chapterhas already been confirmed as highly unlikely, butmentioning Flynn without providing any update as to what he’s been doing over the years is a bit disappointing. The episode also mentions daywalking vampires living in California twice, yet misses the chance to reference the South Carolinian daywalkers from the original series.
“And The Feast Of The Vampir” Beautifully Sets Up Season 1’s Ending
The Series’ Main Story Finally Has A Clear Directional Focus
Episode 8 got the ball rolling on the series’ overarching story more than any other recent episode, promising Gregor’s return as Lysa planned on selling the castle.The Librarians: The Next Chapterepisode 9 considers each character’s future after the Library while heavily suggesting Vikram’s next move, leaving the perfect amount of room open for suspense.
Although it was only brought up a couple of times within the first four episodes, the biggest point of contention has been whether going back in time to see Anya would ruin the timeline.The only major question has been how Vikram would travel back to the 19th century at all, which hasn’t recently been addressed much.
The Librarians: The Next Chapterepisode 9 doesn’t provide a full answer, but Vikram’s last conversation with Charlie suggests that his plan should be carried out rather soon. Moreover,a hint involving one newly introduced artifact suggests that Vikram’s plan could endanger more than the timeline, which has been Jacob and Elaine’s primary concern.
Despite some struggles with fight choreography and a few regrettably missed opportunities,The Librarians: The Next Chapterepisode 9 is the funniest and most thrilling episode to date, even inching out episode 3’s ghost train adventure. It not only pushes along the future of the story, but it also, and more importantly, spells great promise for the future of the series itself.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter Episode 9
Cast
The Librarians: The Next Chapter features a time-traveling librarian from the past who becomes stranded in the present. Upon returning to his now museum-castle, he accidentally unleashes magic across the continent. To address this, he assembles a new team of Librarians tasked with restoring balance.
