The Librarians Season 2 Episode 6 Review: And the Infernal Contract
Kathleen Wiedel
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The story may have been about Colonel Baird more than anyone else, but The Librarians Season 2 Episode 6 definitely gave some love to Jenkins, too, for which I am definitely grateful, because Jenkins is awesome.
John Larroquette's character went from helping Jake with his Chupacabra jerky to brazenly walking into a death-trap to save the Librarians' lives to tenderly ministering to their physical needs (and Eve's emotional needs) back at the Library.
Jenkins has always occupied a unique, hard-to-define space in this series; he is not a Librarian, nor is he a Guardian. "And the Infernal Contract" finally describes him as a Caretaker, which is as apt a description for his role as any I could think of.
He both takes care of the Library itself, assisting the Librarians, and Guardian whenever the situation calls for it. Compare the Jenkins of this episode with the solitary, crotchety researcher of the The Librarians Season 1 Episode 2!
It's always entertaining to get Jenkins out of the Library, and he played an essential role in the events. Plus, he shared that quietly touching moment with Eve at the end, when he clarified her job description.
The Guardian's job is not to save the Librarians' bodies. It is to save their souls. And you did that admirably today, Colonel.
Jenkins
We also learned that Jenkins is, in fact, unkillable and not just immortal. So unkillable, in fact, that not even a demonic contract can do him in, much to the frustrated confusion of John deLancie's devil Cecilman, or "Cess," as Eve likes to call him.
Ah, yes, John deLancie, best known to millions the world over as the mischievous all-powerful Q from the Star Trek franchise. One could almost imagine that maybe this was an alternate reality in which Q was an extra-planer crossroads demon instead of a Q.
The way Eve dealt with him (wishing him human) felt reminiscent of Jafar's fate in Aladdin, only in reverse; in the Disney movie, Jafar was tricked into wishing he was a genie, forgetting all the rules that come with being a genie, i.e., being stuck inside a lamp.
Instead of having ultimate power and being unable to use it for himself (like genie-Jafar), Cess has all his magic stripped away, leaving him a completely impotent human. There's something of a paradox at play with him being unable to enforce the contract anymore, to add to the fun.
The episode featured some really funny dialogue; I actually had to pause a few times to stop giggling so I could continue taking notes. Here's a sample of what you can find in The Librarians quotes:
Jenkins: Mr. Stone, the thing to remember about devils is they will never appear in a cape and horns, they will come dressed as everything you ever wished for.
Ezekiel: So, we should look for...
Jenkins: Katy Perry, wearing the Crown Jewels, holding a wad of cash, with an unnatural attraction to young Aussie boys.
If I had a major complaint, it was in the mind-blowing idiocy displayed by Sam Demming in signing the demonic contact. He actually signed a demonic contract, when Eve had been telling him this whole time, in no uncertain terms, that magic was Bad News. She served with this guy?
If Demming was that desperate to be a hero, I think that maybe he should work on his serious self-esteem issues before he actually steps into elected office. All joking aside, it took the space of one commercial break for a used-car salesman of a devil to convince him to sell his soul!
Happily, Eve did get to punch Demming in the face, but it was little enough for the Karma Houdini to endure after putting literally hundreds of people's lives at risk for his need to be a hero.
Some final notes before I turn the discussion over to you:
- Jenkins references the Librarian who preceded Flynn as having given in to the lure of magic; this was Edward Wilde, played by Kyle MacLachlan in "The Librarian: Quest for the Spear."
- Michael Trucco, who played Sam Denning, previously played a romantic love interest for the female lead on another show, Castle. His character's name? Tom Demming. Distant relatives? Trucco also played the third part of a love triangle in Battlestar Galactica, as Sam Anders.
- Now that the Keating family's infernal contract is null and void, what will happen to them?
- The look of annoyance/disbelief/horror on Ezekiel's face when Jake accused him of becoming a good guy definitely rated a snicker.
- Cassandra once again demonstrated her aptitude for magic when she busted the blocking spell on the phone.
I will leave you with this lovely bit of banter from the start of the episode:
Jake: Get ready for Chupacabra jerky!
Cassandra: Ew, you're cooking it?!
Jake: [excited] No, he's making it! The Chupacabra, he's *awesome*!
Ezekiel: [dubious] Is that *safe*?
Jenkins: As long as we keep it away from the goats on Level Four.
Cassandra/Ezekiel: [simultaneously] We've got goats?!
To relive all the hilarious banter and magical adventure, be sure to watch The Librarians online! The Librarians Season 2 Episode 7, "And the Image of Image," is scheduled to air December 6, 2015 at 8/7c on TNT.
