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The Librarians: The Next Chapter – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

And the Deadly Drekavac Episode 1 of The Librarians: The Next Chapter begins in Belgrade, Serbia in 1847. A charismatic man named Vikram stands alongside the fearsome General Gregor. Four black-robed magicians move some boulders blocking a cave entrance, and down they descend. Deep underground, Gregor feasts his eyes on the Sword of Mars, which is an artifact allegedly powered by the Roman God of War. With this, Gregor is determined to rule Europe in his image. However, Vikram shows his true allegiance, announcing himself as the new librarian. As the librarian, he has sworn an oath to the library in order to protect powerful magical objects like the sword from falling into the wrong hands of evil men. It works quite well as an introduction to how magic works in this world, especially when Vikram pulls out the Scarab of Horus. This freezes its host in time, and that's precisely what happens to Vikram. Thankfully he's saved from the same fate by the most unlikely of people (and familiar to fans of The Librarians!) Jake Stone. He's the librarian in our era, and tasked with keeping Vikram in check. However, Vikram ignores all the ground rules, including the very real possibility that going back in time could bring about another apocalypse. Jake, Cassie and the others have had more than their fair share of those! Vikram doesn't listen though, as he wants to get back to his beloved, Anya. As he rushes off to the castle, intending to find that route back, we meet a couple of newcomers to the group. There's podcaster, genius historian and 'spectral snoop' Connor Green, who has been researching the artifacts inside the library and is determined to find out the truth. He's lost his job as a result of pursuing what many are calling a conspiracy theory, but Connor is adamant he's on the right path. There's also Lysa Pascal, a super smart science whizz but also a new inheritor of this castle, which also happens to be the old spot for the library. There's also the small subject of a startlingly similar portrait of her being painted in the basement (which we later learn is actually Vikram's beloved, Anya), and a disappearing realtor. Naturally, Vikram's desire to bring the library back crosses with Connor and Lysa's journey when he unleashes magic into the world. They're shocked when they find themselves inside the new Annex, which materializes around them. This connects to the Library itself but in the shock and awe of it all, the two newcomers have touched the stone of Kraljevic. Why is that a problem? Well, it's just the small matter of summoning the spirit of the Drekavac. Woopsie! Jake Stone is not happy when he finds out and despite stopping the monster temporarily in the hallway, this fight is far from over. The creature is lying in wait, rejuvenating its strength before attacking again, so it's up to this plucky trio to track it down before it's too late. Following Vikram and his scrying glass, they're side-tracked by a little excursion to the church to pick up some Holy Water, which is apparently what's needed to stop the beast. It doesn't take long before they find it terrorizing the city. Thankfully, they're saved by Charlie Cornwall, who happens to be the new librarian's guardian. She rides in on a motorcycle and immediately sends the monster reeling. There's another problem here though, as this Drekavac is now possessing the body of a human, so they need to set out and figure out who it is and safely contain the monster without killing its human host. Thanks to both Connor and Lysa's areas of expertise, they track it down to the Lynch family, who are living on the outskirts of Belgrade. Unfortunately, the cult of Gregor's Hammer happens to be at this address, marked by their familiar sigil, linking everything to the beginning of the episode. Charlie and Vikram race in anticipating a big fight… and find the place occupied by a heavy-metal band setting up their gear. While they try and track down exactly where Lynch – their head singer – may be, Jake is preoccupied with trying to plug the Well again, which is going haywire with magic spiralling around the castle. That night, Vikram and the others get a taste of heavy metal at the venue. Unfortunately, at that volume the Drekavac cries could be amplified and infect the 300 people in attendance. Connor and Lysa are going to be the bait here, bringing out the creature and dousing it in Holy water when it reveals itself. It doesn't seem to do the trick though and even worse, they lose the Scrying glass in the skirmish. Eventually, in the tunnels underground and with newly uncovered Holy Water, the group manage to freeze the Drekavac in place. It begins crying, prompting Vikram to come up with a solution. He realizes they need to absolve the sins of this creature by blessing it with its own tears and subsequently baptizing it. This would then give the creature eternal rest. This does the trick, freezing Lynch from the creature's grip and prompting the scars from Connor and Lysa's hands to disappear. The group eventually gets back to the library, courtesy of Jake's newly constructed teleporting door. After Vikram unleashed the magic into the air, Jake is concerned that this magic may have travelled thousands of miles and hit a bunch of different artifacts through time. Vikram takes responsibility and decides to help, joined by Lysa and Connor who have their own reasons for joining as the new librarian group. As they take off, we discover that Anya is actually Gregor's fiancé. To complicate matters further, the Lynch band members find Gregor, with help from the scrying glass, as he pops out from a painting and begins laughing maniacally. Uh oh! The Episode Review If ever there was a definition of a guilty pleasure series, The Librarians is it. The show's four seasons struck the right chord of cheesy drama and fantasy shenanigans, wrapped up with a tongue-in-cheek humour and self-aware tone that really leaned into all the tropes of the genre. The episodic format worked well and the eclectic cast bounced off each other nicely. It was never the best show on TV, nor was it trying to be. It was a family fun ride that never took itself too seriously – and it was all the stronger for it. The Librarians: The Next Chapter then is an interesting proposition. With an abundance of different shows on TV, Next Chapter is very clearly intending to channel the same energy and it does work reasonably well, albeit with a Pilot episode that feels quite rough around the edges. The introduction for our new librarian, Vikram, is quite good but the same can't be said for the new companions. Connor and Lysa are very archetypal and Charlie doesn't really have anything that helps her stand out. Some of the writing is also a bit clunky, like Charlie listing all of Vikram's virtues on her fingers, telling us rather than showing us his quirks. The vibe here between a returning Christian Kane as Jake Stone and the new librarian Vikram is arguably the best part of the episode, and feels quite reminiscent of Angel's final season with the feud between Spike and Angel elevating the material. Here though, it seems like Jake is only going to be in this for one episode so the real test will be the episodes that follow here. However, the comedy is intact, the action-packed plot is fun and fast-paced, and there's enough mystery and intrigue to keep this one interesting. Roll on the next episode! Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!