"The Librarians" Recap: "And the Cost of Education"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

One thing that is always wonderful for a show that is granted a second season is the fact that everyone involved gets to try new things. The show can experiment with some new exciting stories and in the process, new things can be done with our favorite characters and they can grow and evolve at last and that's exactly what happened on this week's episode of The Librarians. 

In fact season two of this show has done an impressive job with this, wasting no time on taking us inside the heads of our characters and what makes them tick before letting them discover new things about themselves and making them better people along the way and while last week gave us a strong focus on Mister Stone, this week was all about Cassandra and we were able to see her in new light as she turned out to be quite the big time hero in "And the Cost of Education".

Actually, this may be my new favorite episode of the show with everything that came to pass last night. It was bold, it took some chances with the story and well...it also threw in a little bit of horror by harkening back to the works of H.P. Lovecraft as the Librarians converged on the mysterious Wexler University, a school built upon the principles of magic, and one that caught the eye of the Library after a school mascot went missing. The group learned that the cause for all of this came about from a brilliant student's science experiment gone wrong, since in the process magic combined with science and managed to summon a tentacle monster from another dimension that fed off of ego and pride.  

But the plot is immaterial because like I said, this was a different kind of episode for the show and that's all thanks to its Cassandra centric storytelling since she went all out to save the day. Not only did she figure out how to close the portal, she found some new strength within by jumping into the alternate dimension to save a life. That was actually one of the episode's coolest moments with the surreal nature that played out around us but it also set up a few important pieces for the future, more on that in a moment because not only did Cassandra play the hero and set things right...she stood up to Jenkins, something we don't often see her do, pointing out the fact that magic is everywhere and spreading and that the Library and its heroes need to find a different way of dealing with this fact other than just doing their best to hide the fact that it exists.

If anything, this episode felt like a game changer, specifically in the fact that magic is spreading like wildfire and Cassandra is the first to really address that issue and also because...there are other nefarious forces now keeping an eye on her. There was that moment in the alternate dimension where it seemed like she was done for...before a group of mysterious Ladies of the Lake, masters of science and magic offered Cassandra a chance to join them, something she declined. Jenkins pointed out his concerns over their similarities to Morgan le Fey and the fact that they were fully aware of her now and it was ominous to say the least, and one has to wonder how these Ladies of the Lake will come into play down the road.  

Either way, what an awesome episode this turned out to be. I love everything they did this go round, I love how each Librarian is getting their chance to take the center stage and show off their intelligence and prowess and more importantly, the fact that the show took a few risks and put a few dark clouds on the horizon in addition to Prospero is pretty impressive. Where that foreshadowing goes just yet, we don't quite know, but I can't wait to find out. Until next time.

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