The Librarians S03 E05: And the Tears of a Clown

Slow-mo clown walks, sassy second heads, and Sean Astin are just a few of the awesome things in this week’s episode of The Librarians.

Plot

Boy loves girl. Girl rejects boy at a carnival by running off with a magician. Boy becomes a magician, and stumbles upon real magic. He recreates the exact carnival so he can win the girl and transport her, and the carnival,to another dimension where they can live happily-ever-after.

Playing Dress Up 

I think my childhood obsession with Scooby-Doo spurred my affection for creepy carnivals.

In a film like Something Wicked This Way Comes, you get a chill just looking at the carnival at a distance. In “Tears of a Clown,” at first glance, things appear to be jolly and fun, it’s only when you take a moment to really observe that you realize the carnival’s nefariousness.

I was afraid of clowns, before it was cool to be afraid of clowns, but thanks to The Librarians, I now I have new fears, like being forcibly transformed into an evil clown henchman, or perhaps growing a sassy second head like Eve.

The gang’s sideshow outfits were the right combination of beautiful and weird. I love that no matter how bizarre something is, the actors fully commit. Lindy Booth especially committed to being a porpoise speaking mermaid one-hundred-percent.

The entertaining costumes didn’t end with the sideshow. We also get to see a Librarian clown posse. If clowns could be cool, and not absolutely terrifying, I think the wardrobe department pulled it off perfectly. I had a strong yearning to wear Cassie’s tutu and wings. I think we’ve now learned from this episode, and last season’s episode, the Image of Image , that when the gang dresses up, it’s mandatory to engage in slow-mo walking.

Guest Stars

You can’t talk about this episode without of course talking about the two guest stars, Sean Astin and Felicia Day. Both have appeared as actors in television/movies that live in the hearts of the geekdom.

I thought that Sean Astin was amazing. His character Kirby is reminiscent of Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. He’s a young man who falls in love with a girl, and believes that this is the only person who could ever be his soul mate. The girl rejects the young man (in this case, or so he thinks), and he spends the remainder of what ends up being an unfortunately short life, building a lifestyle that he believes will impress the girl and win her back.

I think Kirby is a character that someone could really chew up the scenery with, especially with all of the wand waving and the cape swishing. The character could have been as over the top as his hat, but Astin was able to make Kirby feel real and relatable. You could sense more desperation than evil in him. I didn’t fear him, or hate him, I just felt sorry for him. You knew that there were complexities going on inside of him that he was never able to resolve. I felt for Kirby, psycho tendencies and all.

I promise I only yelled out,

“It’s  your Sam, don’t you know your Sam,” once.

You can’t help but notice that in the end Kirby’s death is Gollum like, so the show gave a subtle nod to Lord of the Rings.

It was fun seeing Felicia Day on an episode of The Librarians, though I have to admit that I wished she had been in an episode where she played a character with a bit more flair. Charlotte is the straight man/damsel in distress in this episode and didn’t have the most interesting or complex personality, or we at least didn’t get to spend enough time with her to see one. Day did a great job portraying Charlotte, but I think Vern, the scamp who briefly teams up with Jenkins, was a more memorable character.

Speaking of Jenkins, he’s becoming a regular Professor Snape this season, whipping up all of his potions. It’s heartwarming to know that no matter what trouble The Librarians and their Guardian get into, Jenkins will always come after them, though I feel this could be foreshadow as that scenario could be used in the future should someone want to empty The Library of its inhabitants in order seize it.

New Wing

I’m completely on board with the concept that now that magic is alive in the present world, new artifacts can be created. Kirby’s flower is the first, but given the size of the new store room The Library created, it’s prepared to welcome a myriad of new, magical artifacts. This recent twist opens up the possibility for numerous new storylines, and hopefully more show seasons.

Next Week

If this week was The Great Gatsby, next week we’ll continue the literary journey into Wonderland. This episode looks like a sparkly, dazzling gift. Really with a new The Librarians episode, followed by the Doctor Who Christmas special, what more could you want for the holidays?

Be sure to hop on twitter and join me (@SarahHMiduski) in live tweeting during the show.