The Librarians S03 E01: And The Rise of Chaos

In season one, it was the Serpent Brotherhood, in season two it was the Fictionals, now it’s finally time to see what big bad we’ll be fighting in the season three premiere of The Librarians.

Lessons Learned

I think we can safely say that we learned two things at the opening of this episode.

• If your museum audio tour starts talking to you directly in an menacing voice, you should not obey it.
• Don’t take mummy selfies

The museum visitor who did both of the above things becomes possessed by the Egyptian god, Apep, better known as The Lord of Chaos. I was instantly on board, being a bit of a fan of things Chaos related.

Besides wandering about spreading discord between humans, Apep is searching for a key that will open the “portal of pure evil.”  The gang’s mission is to get to the key first and stop The Lord of Chaos from opening said portal.

Of course being the awesome working together team that they are, The Librarians are able to secure the key, thus saving the world from pure evil. Unfortunately Apep escapes, and it is confirmed by Jenkins that the ultimate battle between good and evil has only just begun, thus setting up the conflict for season three.

A new addition this season is the government agency D.O.S.A (Department of Statistical Anomalies). D.O.S.A seems to be a sinister version of the X-Files unit. They have been tracking unexplained phenomenon, and all of the phenomenon  lead back to one Flynn Carsen.  It’s unclear if there is a more ominous intention behind the organization than just wanting to get to the bottom of the unexplained.

I think D.O.S.A is an interesting addition to the advisories to be battled this season. It should be a fun play on which is the most villainous, a shady, unscrupulous, government agency, or a soul eating Egyptian god.

Episode Fun

There were some fun nods to Doctor Who in this episode. First when the janitor at the science museum is being taken over by the museum exhibits, there are two Autons in the mix. Also most discerning Whovians were able to hear how the music in this particular episode of The Librarians paid homage to the song “I Am the Doctor.”

I appreciate the love the show gives to geeky, overly enthusiastic, adults. From everyone being excited to investigate at a science museum, to Cassandra geeking out over and then being upset by everyone stealing her clock thunder, to the boys racing to the submarine.

I’m pretty much the same way when it comes to the things I’m passionate or excited about, so those scenes made me feel a little less like a weirdo.

I love that the show references itself and can recall little bits and pieces from previous episodes. Like Ezekiel, I was rather attached to Stumpy. R.I.P. Maybe it’s not the best for a newbie to the show, but as a fan, the throwback references make you feel part of the gang.

In order to thwart The Librarians, Apep uses his power to create discord between them.

Once the gang figures this out, they decide the best way to defeat Apep is with harmony, literally, cue musical number. Definitely the best scene in the episode. I especially enjoyed Cassandra’s use of jazz hands. I’m assuming it was the actors actually singing, and if so, they were pretty darn good.Of course the only problem with having a fantastic musical number in an episode is that now fans are longing for an entire musical episode, a la “Once More, With Feeling” from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Slight Concern

The Rise of Chaos was an excellent premiere for season three of The Librarians. The show continues to be smart, clever, hilarious, and a lot of fun to watch. My only concern is, if in this season we’re engaging in the “ultimate” battle between good and evil, and if it is going to be truly epic, where do you go after that for a season four? There were already murmurings last season that the show would perhaps end, so I hope the battle isn’t too ultimate, and isn’t spelling out an epic end to the show altogether.

Next week’s episode, “And the Fangs of Death,” hints towards Egyptian shenanigans of the canine variety and of course more ultimate battling.