'The Librarians' Recap: 'And the Tears of a Clown'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

As much as we would like it to not be part of our lives, emotional pain is a necessary experience. We need those moments of heartbreak and the tears that come with it because without those experiences we learn little about who we are or what we are made of and more importantly, without heartache, we will never grow as a person and find ways to move forward in life. 

But while so many of us use those moments in positive fashion and look back upon what that specific moment in time taught us about life, there are those who simply cannot handle that level of pain. It consumes them, haunts them and drives them to set that moment right and surprisingly that is the kind of storytelling territory that The Librarians delved into last night, giving us a villain that discovered that magic could indeed perhaps heal all of his emotional wounds and finally give him the happiness the rest of the world denied him and it made 'And the Tears of a Clown' one of the finest episodes the show has ever put together.

Because up until this point, the villains of this show have truly been attached to magic in some form or fashion, making it a touch easier to figure out how to defeat them week in and week out, and while that's something we all clearly love because we keep tuning in, it was quite refreshing to see the series introduce a new kind of bad guy and a new problem for them to deal with since this episode introduced us to Kirby Goulding, a man who in 1996 saw a golden opportunity at romance blow up in his face when the girl of his dreams, Charlotte; left him holding the bag at a local carnival to flirt with another magician. That moment of utter heartbreak sent Kirby down a dark path, one where he spent years trying his hand (unsuccessfully) at becoming a world famous magician...until he discovered the power of real magic.

This discovery allowed for Kirby to find ways to control people to do his bidding, and recreate the carnival where his heart was broken...all in the hopes of finding Charlotte once again, in order to win her heart and give her the magical life he believed she sought and one day later, this whole episode continues to fascinate me. To see a villain that is human for a change is already a new and exciting venture, but to see one be able to create a modern artifact for their own gain...well that's a game changer for this show. Because now opportunists with darkness in their heart can find ways to make their wildest dreams come true and the Librarians will have their hands full as more people discover what magic can do for them.

If anything this is also the first episode of the series where the Librarians more or less took a backseat to the villain and well...I'm glad it worked out that way. Kirby was simply a stunning character to watch on screen and credit is due when it comes to guest starts Sean Astin and Felicia Day for their performances this week because they brought to life a pair of flawed characters, ones that had both seen their share of heartbreak, but walked two different paths because of it since clearly Charlotte learned how to deal with the hands she had been dealt, whereas Kirby was forever trapped within his pain and it was his undoing. Either way, this episode was simply stunning to say the least and went to new places storytelling wise and this kind of unique tale is something that I hope the series revisits from time to time in future episodes because this one allowed for magic to take on new life and it took the series to new heights and it's always wonderful to see stories like this and it's clear this show is just now starting to discover it's true potential and it makes me extremely excited to see what other treats season three has in store for us. Until next time.

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