..and the Horns of a Dilemma

On their first case without Flynn’s help, the new Librarians meet a very old foe…

The dynamic of the series is inevitably rather different now that Noah Wyle’s Librarian is away (off in Budapest, according to a line of dialogue in the episode), with Eve Baird trying to assert her authority as Guardian over the Librarians, and them not willing to accept it. Although some of the issues are resolved by the end of the episode, not all are, giving some needed tension between the team members.

A few handy time-saving devices are introdced, including a wormhole between Oregon, and pretty much anywhere else that has a door – but of course (although it doesn’t come into play this time around) there’s a time limit on it. The bad guys also rather handily create a labyrinth that exactly resembles the basement of a local building, a hospital corridor, and the streets of a town – and even turns their pet creature into humanoid form when it’s out on said streets (for no reason other than budgetary, as far as I can see).

With Noah Wyle’s wacky Librarian out of the mix, a lot of the episode does feel rather like a Warehouse 13 script with the serial numbers filed off – which isn’t actually a complaint, as I miss Warehouse 13 – but we need something that emphasises the magic elements of this series for it to create its own identity. At the moment, the cast are giving it everything, but it’s not quite clicking into place. However, there’s certainly enough already present to warrant sticking with it for a few more weeks.

Verdict: Harmlessly entertaining fun. 7/10

Paul Simpson

Check out our review of the opening two episodes here