SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2, Episode 9.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter will delight fans with the return of Lindy Booth as Cassandra Cillian—her first appearance in the TNT spinoff. But “And the Toy Phone” is more than a Librarians reunion. Booth and Christian Kane return to actually support Next Chapter star Jessica Green.
It’s a setup that the creative team deserves a lot of credit for. TV fans know how many series botch episodes with big-name guest stars, particularly ones who are alumni of that particular show. Either the guest character takes over the entire episode and leaves the current main characters in the dust—somewhat understandable given that viewers are excited for the old hero’s return—or the writers don’t use the guest star enough and they feel wasted. It’s incredibly hard to get the balance right, but “And the Toy Phone” does that, with a keen script by Rebecca Rosenberg.
This isn’t quite a bottle episode, but it’s close. It writes out all of the other Next Chapter regulars by sending them away on a Library initiation, then brings in Booth and Kane to fill the void. And after having slimmed down the ensemble, it then traps Cassandra, Kane’s character Jacob Stone and Green’s character Charlie Cornwall in a haunted house for ninety percent of the hour. It probably saved the show some money budget-wise, and it’s a standalone break from the ongoing Merlin plotline, just ahead of the Season 2 finale.
Those tuning in for Lindy Booth and Christian Kane won’t be disappointed. Librarians fans already know that Kane slides right into the spinoff, thanks to his recurring role in Season 1, and the episode hands him two things he does very well: being exasperated at everyone else, and a quiet scene with a child—in this case Jovan, the young boy who draws them all to the house with his plea for help. Booth, meanwhile, is as bubbly and charming as ever. And not only does Cassandra play the key role in solving the mystery, she’s also the mentor who essentially spells out Charlie’s character development.
That’s because “And the Toy Phone” is, at its core, an individual story for Charlie with Cassandra and Stone there to move her along. Rosenberg utilizes Cassandra’s experience with fear, via her “brain grape,” to have her literally tell Charlie that it’s okay to be afraid and fear is constructive. And the solution to the bogeyman is for Charlie to physically stand up and face her fear. Those last ten minutes are particularly on the nose, which is the episode’s one weak spot—it’s very clear what the script is trying to say. Plus, by Librarians standards, a bogeyman isn’t the most interesting monster of the week. (This one looks like it came over from a Saliva concert.)
But the episode is satisfying because of Green’s ability to show Charlie’s more vulnerable side, which does indeed get lost sometimes because of her role as the Guardian. And because it makes actual use of Christian Kane and Lindy Booth, so Stone and Cassandra don’t feel like props in Charlie’s story. Stone has that lovely scene with Jovan and provides the bulk of the episode’s comic relief—Christian Kane deserves more credit for his comic talent—while in explaining herself to Charlie, Booth illustrates how far her character has come.
And it’s a really lovely thing that Rosenberg saw the connection between Cassandra’s story and Charlie’s story, instead of just trying to tell this plot by creating a one-off guest character. The fact that it’s Cassandra who mentors Charlie is what gives the overall arc its meaning, in addition to being entertaining for the fans. There’s nothing more disappointing than a TV show bringing back a fan-favorite character and then not doing them justice. But The Librarians: The Next Chapter does that and moves its own story along in one neat, if occasionally familiar, package.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter airs Sundays and Mondays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on TNT. Photo Credit: Courtesy of TNT.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
