The Season 2 finale of The Librarians: The Next Chapter pulls off a deliberate con on its audience, using the suspension of disbelief established in Season 1 to lead viewers down a beautifully laid-out false path. Because the series previously featured an actual time travel episode, it was easy to believe that Merlin could will Reverie’s Torque to do the same, transporting him back to the moments before Arthur pulled the sword from the stone. The ruse works perfectly, and the reveal lands with the same satisfying surprise it delivers to Merlin himself.
As a finale, “And the Camelot Conundrum” fulfills the promise of the season. Camelot has been a cornerstone mythology of The Librarians and their mission since the original series premiere in 2014, “And the Crown of King Arthur.” Over four seasons of The Librarians, viewers learned that the Annex’s caretaker, Jenkins, was actually the immortal Galahad. The Serpent Brotherhood, the recurring villainous organization, was the brainchild of his father, Lancelot, now known as Dulaque. Morgan Le Fay appeared in Season 1 Episode 7, and Excalibur featured as a sentient artifact bonded to Librarian Flynn Carsen, saving multiple generations of Librarians on occasion.
When The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 1 Episode 10 revealed that Mrs. Astolat, Vikram’s Annex caretaker, was in fact Elaine of Astolat — the legendary Lady of Shalott — fans were surprised but not shocked. Making her one of the Round Table’s greatest knights deepened the character considerably. It only made sense for Merlin to join the melee in Season 2, and the finale gives him a central role in the action.
On “And the Camelot Conundrum,” Merlin transports the team back to the formative moments of Camelot. Only now, he has given up on playing the power behind the throne and plans to shape the future directly as a magic-wielding King Merlin. Every ensuing encounter with Merlin in Season 2 built an impression of an intelligent, ambitious, but frustrated schemer, desperate to set the world right with magic. Although it remains unclear why he reverses course in the final moments of the previous episode, viewers completely buy that his need overcomes his oath. He even plants the idea that Reverie’s Torque could transcend space-time with its power over dreams while he and Vikram were partnered up in Melk.
The episode functions as a wonderfully immersive red herring that teaches Merlin a lesson about how badly things could go if his wish came true. It also allows the production team to involve an actual dragon, pulling out all the stops to show how ubiquitous magic was in the time before Camelot compared to the modern day. The adventure gives each team member a chance to demonstrate their expertise and bravery in the face of insurmountable odds, serving as a grand hurrah deserving of fanfare.
That said, the body count is staggering. When Connor gets crushed in a cave, viewers immediately assume the Holy Grail will be used to bring him back. Then Lysa blows up, and surely a fail-safe magical shield must have protected her. By the time Charlie and Mrs. Astolat meet their fiery demise, the theory shifts to a do-over deus ex machina built into the script — a reset button or a reversal spell.
The “It Was All A Dream” trope usually invites eye-rolling, but it actually works here because the setup is so well executed. From Merlin’s first interaction with the team, various characters described his need for magic as undeniable and compulsive. The finale pays off that characterization with a story that feels both inevitable and surprising, cementing Merlin’s rock bottom while leaving the door open for what comes next.