Warning: SPOILERS for The Librarians: The Next Chapter season 1, episode 12, “And the Unfinished Business.”
As the first season draws to a close, The Librarians: The Next Chapter finale is undercut by balance and pacing issues that continue to hold the series back from reaching its full potential. With The Librarians: The Next Chapter season 2 already filming, however, these problems are hopefully not set to continue recurring in the future.
One of the biggest problems with The Librarians: The Next Chapter episode 11 was its tonal imbalance, and the season 1 finale largely does a better job at balancing between serious and comedic moments. There are bigger oversights at play here instead, and they happen to involve most major players in The Librarians: The Next Chapter’s cast.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter Episode 12 Only Partly Delivers On The Season’s Biggest Promises
Stone Wasn’t Supposed To Be The Spinoff’s Only Big Cameo
With Gregor free in the present and ready to fulfill his original plan to steal the Sword of Mars, it’s only natural that Jacob Stone returns in the season 1 finale to help Vikram end what they started. However, showrunner Dean Devlin previously assured fans that Stone would not be the last The Librarians character to appear in the spinoff.
Jacob certainly isn’t the only original series character mentioned throughout the season. Flynn, Cassie, and Jenkins are all mentioned in dialogue at one point or another, while Excalibur makes its second spinoff appearance in the season 1 finale. But when Devlin initially mentioned The Librarians cameos in The Next Chapter, he seemed to be painting a different picture.
Devlin mades it sound as if those additional cameos would occur within the first season, adding an unnecessary layer of disappointment to the finale for those who spent all season waiting for that promise’s fulfillment. But the bigger problem is that The Librarians: The Next Chapter’s season 1 finale doesn’t even completely pay off its own individual premise very well.
Since the series premiere, Vikram settling things with Gregor has been the titular “unfinished business” that would inevitably come back around in the finale. Unfortunately, the finale wastes the high-stakes premise of Gregor becoming a tyrant by showing curiously little of his rule. Even more unfortunately, Gregor’s lack of physical presence makes him an underwhelming villain.
Gregor’s not even supposed to be intimidating through his own power alone. It’s stated multiple times throughout the final that the Sword of Mars is potentially the most powerful magical artifact on Earth, yet we only see Gregor barking orders to one room full of people before losing the only fight in which the sword is actually used for combat.
And while it seemed the storyline about Anya and Vikram’s longing for the past had been concluded, The Librarians: The Next Chapter episode 12 brings Anya back in two different ways. The forms of her return feel more disconnected than one might expect, but both scenes are at least free of the season finale’s bigger recurring issue.
The Best Moments In The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 1 Finale Won’t Pay Off For Months
It’s At Least Successful In Generating Excitement For Season 2
Technically, the promised cameos are already on their way to resolution, since The Librarians: The Next Chapter guest star trailer shows that Lindy Booth will reprise her original Librarians role of Cassie Cillian in The Next Chapter season 2. But for those who find patience an especially difficult virtue, the season 1 finale is full of frustrations.
One such frustration is hidden in an otherwise fantastic story beat that sees The Librarians: The Next Chapter‘s episode 12 brings back the original series’ Department of Statistical Anomalies. It’s exciting to imagine Vikram and the band teaming up with a black ops government organization with a magic-tracking satellite, but DOSA plays no such role in this finale.
Instead, DOSA only appears in a couple of scenes to swap information with Vik and Stone. Their contribution to the story is minimal, not to mention unnecessary when Vikram and the Pendulum had already warned the others that Gregor had the Sword of Mars before DOSA even knew about it. But, fans wanting to see Vik and friends work big missions with DOSA will have to wait until season 2 at the earliest.
That’s also how long they’ll have to wait for the series to answer questions about a new character, introduced only in episode 12’s final moments. This character is inextricably linked to the world of magic and Arthurian lore, but also a figure so important that introducing them could hurt the entire series if not done with proper care.
Luckily, adding more Arthurian characters could strengthen the possibility of Jenkins’ The Librarians: The Next Chapter appearance. For the finale, however, it’s somewhat nerve-wracking to end on the cliffhanger introduction of a noteworthy literary character, particularly when the finale already had trouble balancing the story directly in front of it.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter Episode 12 Isn’t Balanced Enough For A Season 1 Finale
Even An Ending This Predictable Could Have Used More Setup
Before Vik and his friends even know that Gregor’s using the Sword of Mars to take over a nuclear-capable country, Jacob reminds them at the very beginning that they aren’t true Librarians unless chosen by the Library. The season 1 finale is the perfect time for the gang to earn that approval, but the episode doesn’t quite deliver.
Charlie does surprisingly little for what seems like it could have been a more action-heavy plot, throwing about as many punches as Lysa does. Meanwhile, Lysa accomplishes more through seduction than through her usual academic prowess, and Connor simply researches things that Caroline already seems to know about. Ultimately, Vikram saves the day alone.
Truthfully, given the Indiana Jones-style nature of the ending, even Vikram arguably doesn’t save the world as much as he simply fast-forwards through what appears to be an act of fate. Nonetheless, balancing the characters’ contributions should have been important to the season finale’s ending, which ultimately doesn’t land as well as it could have with a bit more care.
Aspects of the finale do land exquisitely, such as Stone repeating Flynn’s speech from the original series premiere. But even with invigorating moments like this, The Librarians: The Next Chapter remains a work in progress. Season 2 could turn out some of The Librarians’ best episodes yet. It’s just too bad the season 1 finale couldn’t be one of them.
The Librarians Season 1, Episode 12
5/10
- Release Date
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May 25, 2025
- Network
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TNT
- Showrunner
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Dean Devlin
-
Caroline Loncq
Elaine Astalot
-
Callum McGowan
Vikram Chamberlin
- Brings back 2 classic The Librarians characters.
- Fuels excitement for The Next Chapter season 2.
- Gregor is an underwhelming finale villain.
- The characters’ roles feel too imbalanced.
- Fails to deliver on the season’s full potential.
