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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​You know, I’m always excited for the opportunity to sit down and write about TNT’s The Librarians, because it’s simply an incredible show and there’s so many wonderful things to discuss when it comes to this sweeping saga. But today, there’s another level of excitement that comes with this particular Retro Recap because in a few short hours, the season four premiere of our favorite show will arrive at last and we can bask in the wonder of brand new episodes.
 
But that magical hour hasn’t quite arrived just yet, which means we still have a little bit of time to revisit my personal pick for the top episode of season three and oddly enough, while I struggled mightily when it came to picking a specific episode to write about for season two, it was incredibly easy to find my episode of choice for season three. Because the instant I looked at my Hulu queue, my eyes instantly gravitated to one particular tale…’And the Tears of a Clown’.
 
Now this is the episode where the Librarians had to deal with a mystic carnival and a madman of a magician named Kirby Goulding who used magic for his own personal gain and really, what caught me off guard about this story and why it continues to stick with me to this day, is the fact that it featured such genuine everyday characters, who were caught up in the unexpected power of magic and in all honesty, that kind of twist served as an incredibly refreshing change of pace for this majestic series. Don’t get me wrong, I love the incredible places that we go in this saga, but it’s never a bad thing to try new things and this story went for broke when it comes to that.
 
After all, Kirby wasn’t some mystical creature, or monstrously evil man with machinations for world domination. He was an everyday Joe, and a guy whose life had turned out so sour and so disappointing, that his only hope for joy lay within a distant memory and his story arc not only provided us with a fascinating villain, but a tragic one as well. Because to this day, I’m still wondering if there could have been a way for the Librarians, or even Charlotte to save his ailing soul, but alas we will never know since Kirby refused to let go of his pain or his anger and paid the ultimate price for his shortsightedness.
 
Either way, it is the quality writing of that character and this episode in general that allows for it to continue to stay with me since it was the first episode of season three to really dive into the idea of what everyday people would do with magic, and the series would go on to explore that notion as this particular season wore on and in the end, what I love about this story the most…is that it was bold and daring and it really signaled the beginning of a vastly different year for The Librarians. One that I truly believe stands as the finest season of the series to date, unless of course, season four finds a way to outdo season three, and I guess we will find out if that’s the case, tonight. Until next time.  

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