The Librarians - '...and the Curse of Cyndi', '...and the Eternal Question', '...and the Fatal Separation' and '...and the Wrath of Chaos'

"I'm a bloodsucking fiend; look at my outfit."

Okay, it's been a little while, but I've got the rest of Season 3 of The Librarians watched now, so let's bring it on home.

'...and the Curse of Cyndi' (or possibly 'Cindy'; the character in question changed her name one way or the other,) takes the entire team to a cult compound in search of an artefact responsible for the cult's meteoric rise. The Centre of the cult is Cyndi, a seemingly ordinary young woman and unlikely focus of absolute devotion, who effortlessly sucks Flynn and Jake into her orbit, although she has no effect on Ezekiel. Jenkins suggests that the cause is an obsession potion, and that Ezekiel is immune because of his total devotion to himself. As the team seek out the maker of the potion, however, it is Ezekiel who is able to reach Cyndi herself, convince her of the lie of her existence and that there is a better way to live with loss and rejection than mass ensorcelment.

MVL of the Week: Totally Ezekiel. This is one of those episodes which reminds us that Ezekiel is more than just a one-note trickster, and like '...and the Point of Salvation' it once more does so in a way that emphasises his determination to hide his better self from his teammates. He would rather be thought of as too much of a selfish jerk to be affected by a love spell than have it be thought he possesses a sensitive soul. Moreover, it is critical that he presents himself to Cyndi as a friend, and the show never suggests that he might have done otherwise. It is established that he is in love with her, and clear that she is utterly for any kind of affection. Ezekiel gives her the validation that she needs in an utterly selfish fashion and, and this is rare, without anyone ever making a big deal about it. It would be utterly reprehensible to take advantage of Cyndi, but not doing so is not admirable, it's just right.

Also, I love that the moral of the story is 'when other people cast you aside, seek solace in egoism.'

"I actually am a bloodsucking fiend."

Solace is also being sought in '...and the Eternal Question', as Cassandra learns that her mathemagical tumour is about to kill her. She invites Jenkins on a date, which is kind of awkward, as he explains that as fond as he is of her, he swore his love eternally to another, who did not choose him. He is also a little distracted, helping Flynn to decoy Eve off on holiday.

Back on the ranch, as it were, a golfer and his wife spontaneously combust after his cancer was miraculously cursed at a spa, the Librarians discover that the spa is run by vampires, but vampires who walk in the sunlight and do not appear to feed on blood. They learn that the owner of the refuge came there with her children from Spain and found that the place seemed to free them from the curses of vampiric life. Cassandra forms a bond with the daughter of the family, Estrella, who is shocked that the golfer and his wife seemed to have been turned, let alone that they were able to survive away from the sanctuary. When Estrella's brother turns out to be experimenting on guests to try to become an unstoppable, daywalking predator, Jenkins appears to settle the hash of his goons, while Estrella and Cassandra take down the brother.

Cassandra collapses and agrees to surgery, despite knowing that she might lose her gift and fearing that she might then become a liability to the team. In fact, she soon discovers that her gift has grown with the removal of the tumour, allowing her to project thoughts into other people's heads.

MVL of the Week: Actually, all three of these episodes are pretty easy, as they each focus on a different character, much as '...and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy' was Baird's and '...and the Trial of the Triangle' Flynn's. This was Cassandra's show, exploring both her fear of irrelevance and her openness to the supernatural world. Where Jake and Ezekiel immediately begin collecting crucifixes, she doesn't need to be told that Flynn once loved a vampire to put her trust in Estrella.

Honourable mention to Jenkins for being a total badass.

"We're relic hunting fiends; just look at our outfits."

'...and the Fatal Separation' takes the team to Shangri-La, where Jake has been training for a month with the Monkey King, because of course he has. When Shangri-La is invaded by ninja, Jake summons the team to help. Cassandra and Ezekiel hilariously pose as relic smugglers, but Eve is dummied away and accosted by her ex-boss and mentor, a general who now runs DOSA and wants her to betray the Library to them for the good of the nation. She also claims that Eve was placed in the Library by arranging her encounter with Flynn, although that seems hinky given that she received a magical invitation and all. Back in this week's plot, Jake has to fight his sifu, who has been driven into a rage by a relic, while Flynn discovers that Charlene arranged to be captured by the ninjas as the ideal place to hide from Apep. It all ends well, but then Charlene has to sever her connection with the Library so that she can not be used to attack it, which results in the loss of her immortality after a fond farewell to her knight, Jenkins.

MVL of the Week: Jake takes a serious level in badass this week, but he does have to share the spotlight with a arc-service far more than the others did.

"Just look at our outfits."

Which brings us to '...and the Wrath of Chaos', as the team are dummied into the wilds while Eve lets DOSA into the Library. Flynn attempts to hide as many artefacts as possible, while Jenkins tries to delay the invaders, only to be confronted by the head of Medusa, nicked by Eve for the purpose. The three Librarians rescue Jenkins from a cage designed to be Librarian proof (the right answers trigger security measures; only the exact opposites will work,) while Eve's insistence that DOSA's Apep containment is substandard causes the General to check and be possessed. She then brings a bomb to the Library, where Eve reveals that she has been working with Flynn to set a trap for Apep, although only Jenkins knows that Eye of Ra-ing the God of Chaos requires that Flynn sacrifice his own life.

In the final confrontation, the Librarians unleash their secret weapons on Apep - the 'gift of inner soul' awarded by the Monkey King, Cassandra's ability to transmit thought, and the last of Cyndi's love potion so that Apep can 'have a heart'. The god is thus granted all the essential qualities of a human being, and his life can be sacrificed to contain the evil he sought to unleash in the Eye of Ra. Flynn and Eve point out how easily the General was tricked into becoming the host of Chaos and rather gleefully take back all their things, while the Librarians swear off using magic save as a last resort, having seen how easily it can corrupt or be abused.

MVL of the Week: The ensemble, for sure.

This final batch of episodes are a slightly mixed bag. '..and the Curse of Cyndi' is top notch, as Ezekiel episodes often are. '...and the Eternal Question' is decent, but '...and the Fatal Separation' is trying to do too many things at once and the finale does not cap off the season as beautifully as the first two seasons. I still love the show, but that's probably why I'm tougher on it than I might be if it were purely disposable to me.