'The Librarians' Recap: 'And Some Dude Named Jeff'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

The more I’ve had time to think about it, the more I’ve come to appreciate the wonder of season four of The Librarians. Because in all reality, this has been hands down, the most unique season of this incredible series to date. After all, there hasn’t really been any kind of big bad to speak of as the weeks have rolled on, allowing for the series to truly take the time to explore the characters and everything that makes them tick and wouldn’t you know it, last night’s episode was no exception to that rule.
 
Because ‘And Some Dude Named Jeff’ allowed for us to take a walk in Jenkins shoes for a change and how exactly the show pulled that off is what made this particular journey so incredibly unique. Because as it turns out, a young man named Jeff, who just so happened to be obsessed with the Library (we’ll discuss more when it comes to that, later) accidentally got his hands on a powerful book that allowed for he and Jenkins to effectively switch bodies and well, that turned out to be quite the hilarious little twist to the plot.
 
I say that, simply due to the fact that this episode was hands down a lot of fun, since it was filled to the brim with awkward situations and side splitting moments since Jenkins was forced to endure a new life as a young man that lived in his mother’s basement and honestly, there are simply too many hilarious moments to discuss in a single recap when it comes to this particular episode, so really, let’s just highlight my personal favorite; that magical moment when Jenkins was forced to bust a move to ‘Gimmie That Boom’. Or maybe it was when he took the time to correct the vast amount of inaccuracies present in Dungeons and Dragons. Or maybe it was when he busted out the lightsaber. Okay, I take it back. I can’t settle on just one. 

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​So, I digress, because while this one definitely left me wiping tears from my eyes from laughing so hard, there were two other key elements in this story that stood out alongside the humor, like the fact that the Library, the Librarians and Jenkins have become legends in their own right. Because there was something supremely fascinating about the fact that DOSA documents had been leaked onto the web, and that a man like Jeff admired Jenkins so much that he flat out wanted to become him, because all of this in essence speaks to how important the Librarians are to the world, and how much their selfless actions have started to inspire everyday people.
 
As for the other element that caught my eye, well…what would an episode of this series be without some kind of underlying message, and that thankfully was on display in this story as well and boy did this particular tale deliver a beautiful one in that; we all need to learn to appreciate the beauty of our lives and embrace the wonderful things that surround us, and if by chance we don’t think such things exist in our world, we merely need to take a moment and look around because it’s all definitely there and when all is said and done, seeing Jenkins come to this realization on his own and share it with young Jeff in order to give him comfort, is really what made this episode so special.
 
In the end however, nothing in this story would have worked in the slightest without quality acting and directing, which means that serious credit is due when it comes to John Larroquette, because John put on an acting clinic in this episode since he was able to cycle through a gamut of powerful emotions in a matter of seconds and touch all of our hearts in the process and Lindy Booth needs a shout out as well since this was in fact her directorial debut and my goodness, she did an incredible job. Everything in this episode was seamless and quite frankly, this felt like the work of a veteran director and if this is what Lindy brings to the table her first time out behind the camera, I cannot wait to see what other wonders she’ll have in store for us if she decides to helm another story down the line. However, while this episode was fun and fluffy and joyful, it looks like the good times are coming to an end as we barrel toward the season finale. Because next week, it looks like the matter of the One True Librarian is going to be settled, and I know I’m not the only one who is nervous to see how on earth this will play out. Until next time… 

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