THE LIBRARIANS: THE NEXT CHAPTER Series Premiere Recap: (S01E01) And the Deadly Drekavac

Geek Girl Authority

7 days ago

From the moment the news of The Librarians' cancellation was announced, showrunner Dean Devlin swore he'd find a way to bring it back. And here we are. It's 2025, and The Librarians: The Next Chapter hits the ground running with inadvertent time travel and fish-out-of-water awkwardness.
Meet Vikram Chamberlain (Callum McGowan), The Librarian from 1847. Charming, clever, and capable, but a Librarian who plays by his own rules. Vikram, meet 2025. Thanks to a time bubble and current Librarian Jacob Stone's (Christian Kane) helping hand, Vikram arrives in the present day with no context, next to no understanding of the modern world, and a driving desire to return to his own time. Pictured: Christian Kane in The Librarians: The Next Chapter – Image Credit: Aleksandar Letic The Librarians: The Next Chapter, 'And The Deadly Drekavac'
We begin in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1847. General Gregor (Adnan Haskovic) leads his army under the banner of Gregor's Hammer. Vikram rushes to his side. Four black-clad men with swords strapped to their sides stand together in front of a stone formation, hands raised high, with glowing blue magic emanating from them. Vikram asks Gregor if it's true his men have found the lost tomb of Attila the Hun.
RELATED 5 Great Books About Libraries and Librarians
Inside the tomb, the black-clad sorcerers stand in a ring around the sarcophagus and chant. Gregor directs Vikram to stand at his side as the sword on the sarcophagus's lid begins to glow. Vikram identifies it as the Sword of Mars, which gives its wielder the power of the Roman god of war. Gregor plans to use it to conquer all of Europe. Plans Change
As Gregor prepares to take the sword, Vikram suddenly slams the sword back onto the lid. The sword instantly becomes one with the lid again. Gregor wonders why a librarian would defy him. Vikram explains that he is The Librarian, and his oath to The Library binds him to keep evil people from wielding powerful magical items like the Sword of Mars.
Gregor doesn't see himself as evil. 'I simply want to bring peace… through an autocracy of fear and brutal intimidation,' he states, unironically. Vikram invokes the Scarab of Horus, creating a time bubble around them. He tells Gregor that his assistant will be pulling him out, leaving Gregor frozen in time forever.
RELATED: Read our The Lazarus Project recaps
Outside the bubble, an arrow kills the assistant before he can pull Gregor out of the bubble. Inside the bubble, Vikram kills time as the wait is longer than expected. Gregor uses the time to swear he'll find The Library, sack it, and use its magical items to rule the world. Just as Gregor strikes at him with his sword, Vikram is pulled out of the bubble. The bubble disappears with Gregor. Back in the tomb room, Vikram discovers his rescuer is Jacob Stone, not his assistant. Welcome to the Future
Jacob introduces himself. They both introduce themselves as The Librarian. Awkward.
Outside, in present-day Belgrade, Jacob follows Vikram through crowds of people. Vikram tells him to stop telling him about the world, as he must have no foreknowledge when he returns to his own time.
Jacob somberly explains that there's no going back. As he explains how magic is no longer something Librarians can use on a regular basis, Vikram slips away. Jacob phones Jenkins (John Larroquette) and asks where Vikram's Library Annex was in 1847.
RELATED: Read our Leverage: Redemption recaps
Vikram rushes into the Belgrade Castle (watch for the On Location article this week on the IRL Belgrade Fortress!), now a museum open to the public. Out front, a woman hands out flyers for a concert. As he makes a beeline through a gift shop for his annex, he passes Lysa Pascal (Olivia Morris) telling Ms. Astolat (Caroline Loncq) that she doesn't want the castle. Ms. Astolat informs her that the fact is that she has inherited one. Lysa explains that she's fundraising a company to develop multi-dimensional predictive algorithms with quantum computing. Ms. Astolat is underwhelmed and directs Lysa to the basement to review the records. Collision Course
As they proceed to the basement, Connor Green (Bluey Robinson) cuts through, recording a selfie video of himself for his Spectral Snoops podcast. He tells viewers they're about to prove the existence of The Library. Using a map he 'liberated' from the National Archives in London, he heads through an ancient-looking door.
Vikram arrives in the basement first and finds nothing but a shrouded painting on an easel. He decides to use the magic of 'the well' to bring his annex back so he can access The Library. Pulling the cover off the painting, he vows, 'I will return to you, my love,' before rushing off. The woman in the painting looks exactly like Lysa.
RELATED: TV Review: Leverage: Redemption Season 3
Meanwhile, Lysa and Ms. Astolat enter the basement from a different direction. Lysa's on the phone with a business partner, but she loses her cellular signal. In an adjacent passageway, Connor also loses his signal. Vikram runs to a viewing platform and looks down into the castle's well. Who Are You?
When Lysa and Ms. Astolat arrive at the annex space, Lysa sees the portrait. She turns around to ask Ms. Astolat about it, but Ms. Astolat has disappeared.
At the well's bottom, Vikram begins digging through the rocks on the ground. Back at the annex space, Connor finds Lysa looking at the portrait. At the well, Vikram lifts a heavy rock and releases a stream of blue light, aka magic. He laughs in triumph. Connor and Lysa hear the laugh and turn to see the stream of light swirling into the annex space, transforming it into Vikram's Annex. The Librarians: The Next Chapter – Image Credit: Aleksandar Letic
Vikram arrives to see the Annex restored. Introducing himself dramatically as The Librarian, he snaps his fingers and all the candles and torches ignite. 'And this,' he states, 'is The Library.' Connor raises his arms in victory. Vikram approaches Lysa, startling her and causing her to back up into a table, knocking an object over. She tries to catch it and passes it to Connor when it burns her hand. It burns his hand as well.
RELATED: A Leverage: Redemption Primer: Get Ready to Steal Season 3
When Vikram tells Lysa the Annex was revealed by magic, she refuses to believe it and leaves. Connor introduces himself and extends a hand to shake Vikram's. Vikram sees a wolf-like visage burned into Connor's hand. He realizes Connor touched the Stone of Kraljevic and rushes after Lysa. Finding her pacing outside, he confirms she also has a wolf burn on her hand. The Deadly Drekavac
Vikram explains to Connor and Lysa that their touch summoned the spirit of the drekavac. They hear an inhuman screech. Vikram directs them to cover their ears because the drekavac infects its victims with its cry. The drekavac chases them back into the Annex, where Vikram barricades the door. Liquid seeps in under the door. Vikram tastes it and pronounces it tears.
RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Leverage: Redemption 's Parker
When they try to escape through a second door, the sounds of a battle outside stop them. Jacob bursts in, his jacket vest shredded in multiple places. He berates Vikram for summoning a drekavac. Jacob states that the drekavac will keep hunting them until Lysa and Connor are dead. Vikram offers to deal with the drekavac while Jacob works on sealing off the magical stream. Jacob agrees and tells Vikram to take Lysa and Connor with him. New Rules
Outside the castle, Vikram whips out a magical scrying glass to track the drekavac's tears. The trail takes them into the heart of modern Belgrade, emphasizing to Vikram how much has changed since his time. The Librarians: The Next Chapter – Image Credit: Aleksandar Letic
After filling a container with holy water at the Church of St. Mark, they find the drekavac terrorizing shoppers near an outdoor cafe. They chase it into an alley, but the drekavac gets the jump on Vikram, who spills the holy water. When the drekavac smells Lysa and Connor nearby, it goes after them. However, before it can attack, a motorcyclist appears. After sliding the bike into the drekavak, the motorcyclist fights it, wounding it with a knife and scaring it off.
RELATED: Read our Doctor Who recaps
Removing the helmet, the motorcyclist introduces herself as Charlie (Jessica Green), Vikram's Guardian. She goes on to provide a lot of Vikram's backstory, verbally summarizing his file. She takes the scrying glass off him. As he and the others head off on the hunt, she checks in with Jacob. The Librarians: The Next Chapter – Image Credit: Aleksandar Letic
On the ground outside the alley, Connor notices a pool of the drekavac's green blood next to one of red human blood. Vikram realizes the drakavac is possessing a human. Time for Research
Returning to the Annex, the team researches the drekavac, the lost soul of an unbaptized child, abandoned and alone, alternating between grief and rage. It reproduces by infecting others with its scream when it reaches a terminal volume. They narrow the human host's identity down to the descendants of people suspected of being possessed by drekavacs. In 1862, a drekavac possessed Yakim Lynch. Lysa finds some Lynch descendants living in Belgrade using an ancestry website. The Librarians: The Next Chapter – Image Credit: Aleksandar Letic
As they approach the address, they hear what could be cult chanting. Charlie and Vikram take the lead. On the door, they find the symbol for Gregor's Hammer. Vikram is horrified, fearing the Cult of Gregor's Hammer has survived to the modern day. However, all they find inside is a heavy metal band.
RELATED: The Season 2 Rings of Power Trailer Breakdown: Entwives, Shelob, a Balrog, Annatar and More
The woman who was handing out flyers in front of the castle is the band's manager, Danica (Lana Ujević). The band is called Gregor's Hammer after they found the logo at a museum in the city. They ask her about Lynch. She tells them that's the lead singer and he's gone ahead to the venue they're playing that night, The Skull and Steel. Heads Will Bang
Back at the Church of St. Mark's, Connor and Lysa share their backstories as they refill Vikram's flask with holy water. Outside, Charlie warns Vikram that the greatest danger to him is him.
At the Skull and Steel that night, Vikram's concerned that the amplification technology will help the drekavac infect any vulnerable audience member. Vikram plans to use Lysa and Connor as bait to lure the drekavac back into demon form. The Librarians: The Next Chapter – Image Credit: Aleksandar Letic
Charlie and Vikram approach the lead singer, Winslow Lynch (Aleksa Samardžić), but when he sees Lysa and Connor, nothing happens. His bandmate comments that Winslow's sister is punking them. Realizing Winslow isn't the only Lynch descendant, they hear Danica screaming behind them and turn to find her transforming into the drekavac. The holy water has no effect. Charlie engages the drekavac and shouts for everyone to get in the van. She gets up, leaving the scrying glass on the ground where Winslow finds it. The drekavac jumps on the van's roof as they race away.
RELATED: Revival : Check Out 9 First-Look Photos From Melanie Scrofano-Led Series
The team ends up at the Roman Aqueduct Cave, detouring past an active underground waterfall. Vikram's new plan is to isolate and neutralize the drekavac. Lysa and Connor are concerned about Danica, who will also die. Puzzling It Out
Left to hide, Lysa and Connor try to figure out why the holy water didn't work. They realize that modern-day holy water comes from the local dam, not the river, like in the 1800s. As Charlie and Vikram take on the drekavac, Lysa and Connor refill the flask with water from the aqueduct's waterfall. They splatter the drekavac with it. It paralyzes the drekavac.
Lysa pleads for Danica's life. Vikram considers the drekavac, standing motionless, tears streaming down its face. He realizes that the original abandoned, unbaptized child believed the stories told about them and manifested the monstrous being they were told they were. To right the wrong, Vikram baptizes the drekavac, permitting it to end its sorrow because it isn't lost anymore. The drekavac falls over and departs from the band manager's body. Connor and Lysa's burns from the Stone of Kraljevic disappear. Try Not to Die
Jacob arrives in the cave through a portable portal. They use it to return to the Annex. Jacob informs Vikram that he's been recalled to the Main Library to live out his days. He tells Connor and Lysa to return to their lives. Jacob will stay behind to correct the problems Vikram started by opening the well.
RELATED: Revival : The Dead Have Rejoined the Living in Official Trailer
Vikram refuses to leave Jacob to clean up his mess. Charlie insists on staying too. Jacob gives them six months to set things right and leaves. Charlie takes Connor to gather his things. Lysa's looking at Anya's portrait when Vikram comes over and thanks her for reminding him that empathy is the greatest tool a Librarian has. She asks about the painting, but he lies, claiming it's just a coincidence.
Outside, Lysa stops before getting into her cab when she sees Connor confront Charlie and Vikram, insisting they make him part of the team. She tells her partner on the phone to tell the investors she's made a discovery that will change everything. She hangs up and joins the others. As they head off to deal with some reanimated mummies, they pass a poster for a new exhibition titled 'Anya, Gregor's Fiancée,' in the display case. Epilogue
At Gregor's Hammer band hangout, Winslow examines everything and everyone with the scrying glass. Looking closely at a print of Gregor's portrait, the scrying glass opens a portal into Gregor's time bubble. Winslow recognizes Gregor. Gregor sees his hammer logo on the band's drum kit and begins to laugh maniacally.
RELATED: New TV Shows This Week (May 25 – 31)
The Librarians: The Next Chapter 's premiere event continues on May 26, with Episode 2, 'And the Dance of Doom!' on TNT after NBA Playoffs coverage. New episodes will drop weekly after this on Mondays at 9 pm ET on TNT .
Prime Video Cancels THE WHEEL OF TIME After 3 Seasons Diana lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she invests her time and energy in teaching, writing, parenting, and indulging her love of all Trek and a myriad of other fandoms. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. You can also find her writing at The Televixen, Women at Warp, TV Fanatic, and TV Goodness.