The Librarians: And the City of Light
January 18, 2015 7:02 PM - Season 1, Episode 9 - Subscribe
An investigation into a missing person uncovers what appears to be an alien invasion in a small town.
I think you're either not supposed to look too closely at that or expected to figure out a way it works out. I have a sense of them saying the old town was bulldozed/destroyed in some way but that doesn't survive inspection too well; that would have meant removing buildings and leaving the lamps. Could a bunch of possession-capable creatures have meddled in ways that would smooth things over? Maybe.
I personally have a hard time imagining that such a group would not have simply started possessing everyone will-nilly as the impulse struck them. That place would have been a non-stop ghost bacchanalia straight out of a nightmare after those people were stuck for a few years, much less decades.
All that said, I liked this episode. It was an interesting little bit of SF hand-wavery, presented an interesting moral conundrum that it had the integrity to leave a little open-ended, and the primary antagonist was likeable and interesting. It was light and fun without being completely absent of anything to chew on.
posted by phearlez at 10:42 AM on January 19, 2015
I personally have a hard time imagining that such a group would not have simply started possessing everyone will-nilly as the impulse struck them. That place would have been a non-stop ghost bacchanalia straight out of a nightmare after those people were stuck for a few years, much less decades.
All that said, I liked this episode. It was an interesting little bit of SF hand-wavery, presented an interesting moral conundrum that it had the integrity to leave a little open-ended, and the primary antagonist was likeable and interesting. It was light and fun without being completely absent of anything to chew on.
posted by phearlez at 10:42 AM on January 19, 2015
Tesla is always a fun figure to resurrect or illuminate (ha ha....eh), and for the most part I enjoyed the episode. I was mixed on the Jake and 130 year old lady romance, but his visit to Paris wasn't in any way forced at the end. Awkwardly, I didn't really miss Beaird after she vanished. I'm far more interested in the Librarians and Jenkins.
"If magic was precise, it would be a science!" Oh, snap, Zeke.
I also agree that it was nice that they went through with the heroes taking the less than happy choice at the end, rather than let the process go forward when it appeared to be working. Likewise, Ezekiel's concern over whether the townspeople deserved help based on the theft of victim's bodies by the light beings, as it wasn't a bad argument at all.
The lamppost in the woods definitely had echoes of Narnia and the parallel that it helped indicate an alternative dimension/world where others existed.
posted by Atreides at 4:42 PM on January 25, 2015
"If magic was precise, it would be a science!" Oh, snap, Zeke.
I also agree that it was nice that they went through with the heroes taking the less than happy choice at the end, rather than let the process go forward when it appeared to be working. Likewise, Ezekiel's concern over whether the townspeople deserved help based on the theft of victim's bodies by the light beings, as it wasn't a bad argument at all.
The lamppost in the woods definitely had echoes of Narnia and the parallel that it helped indicate an alternative dimension/world where others existed.
posted by Atreides at 4:42 PM on January 25, 2015
Awwww. That was a sad one. Those poor schmucks, one way or the other.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:15 PM on January 6, 2019
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:15 PM on January 6, 2019
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I don't think the plot holds up to any scrutiny (if Mabel has looked exactly the same since 1915 and could never leave town, wouldn't someone have noticed? How exactly did the new town happen when the old town's buildings all remained intact?), but all of the character stuff was nice.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:41 PM on January 18, 2015