The Librarians - And the Sword in the Stone

After successfully recovering the crown of King Arthur, the show's second episode, and second-half of its opening story, offers a twist where the Library is breached by a traitor in the new team's midst leaving Flynn (Noah Wyle) cut off physically from both Library itself and his closest compatriots (Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin who, from what little we see of them here, aren't likely to show up much over the course of the series). If retreiving both the crown and a stolen Excalibur from the Serpent Brotherhood wasn't enough, the new team also must deal with Flynn's mortal wound which can't be healed.

The show certainly cuts some corners here in terms of making its budget work as the heist at the Tower of London in broad daylight is pretty damn ridiculous. The walk through Buckingham Palace during a gala is pulled off better, although it quickly returns to cave sets which I have no doubt we'll see reused over the course of the season. The theft helps explain why the team needs a thief (John Kim) while also showing how far Flynn is willing to go to save the world.

Given that so much of the set-up is done in the first episode, "And the Sword in the Stone" moves at a better pace. Lesley-Ann Brandt returns as the lead assassin of the Serpent Brotherhood as does Matt Frewer as the shadowy head of the organization who will no doubt see again later in the season. And John Larroquette is introduced as the remaining Library Annex's caretaker who will continue supplying the team with what they need over the course of the series. Although I enjoyed both the first two episodes, the second sold me more on the concept and team dynamics of the new group (even if the love subplot between Flynn and Eve felt oddly shoehorned in). Now TNT just has to sell me on episodes of the show in which Wyle, Newhart, and Curtin won't be appearing.