The Librarians and the Final Curtain – Director: Marc Roskin/Writers: John Rogers, Paul Guyot
This one continues directly from last episode, with supercharged ley lines in the sky disrupting the internet and the world’s power supplies. Flynn likens it to the Carrington Event of 1859, when solar flares disrupted telegraphy all over the world … except this is a magical Carrington Event, so it will wipe out all technology. Cassandra figures out that Prospero is replacing the modern world with a vast forest and it’ll soon be too late to stop him. Eve realizes the note they
found (way back in the second episode of the season) was actually written by Flynn himself in the past and he figures they have to travel to the past to retrieve Prospero’s Staff before it’s broken so they can use it to stop him. In England, Prospero gloats about his plan to Moriarty, who realizes this endgame doesn’t fit Prospero’s character and he’s actually living out someone else’s story. That deduction gets him 
blasted by Prospero. At the Library, Flynn and Eve use one of numerous time machines to head back to Elizabethan times to see how Prospero was first created and hopefully get hold of his Staff before it’s broken. Flynn warns Eve about violating causality and tells the others they should be back within seconds. But the crystal orb they use to go back in time shatters, which means they have no way of returning to the present.
Prospero soon figures out that someone has gone back in time to interfere with his plans, so he sends Moriarty back to take care of them. The other
Librarians examine Flynn’s note for clues, knowing he wouldn’t be able to state anything outright but may have hidden extra information in the note itself. They soon figure out it came from Wilton House and the Countess of Pembroke, a well-known patron of literary artists, including Shakespeare. Back in 1611, Flynn and Eve are 
quickly attacked by servants and knock them out. They’re putting on the servants’ (rather filthy) clothes when Moriarty shows up and saves them from being skewered by a crossbow bolt. They find Shakespeare and Flynn gets all fan-girly, but when Moriarty decides to expedite matter by killing the Bard, Flynn has to act quickly to save his life.
Moriarty is taken into custody and Shakespeare (who seems a bit infirm) thanks Flynn and says he can audition for the play he’s putting on. Eve
confronts Moriarty, who says killing Shakespeare is the easiest way to stop Prospero. Flynn auditions for Shakespeare (and really hams it up) and they notice he has a very special quill to write his plays with … a quill given to him by the sorcerer John Dee and supposedly carved from the Tree of Knowledge (like Prospero’s Staff). When they find out the play Shakespeare is premiering for King James isn’t called The Tempest but The Triumph of Prospero, they get even more worried. In the present, the Librarians search Wilton House and Jenkins 
wishes he could see King Arthur again, musing about the prophecy of he who wielded Excalibur before shall wield it again in England’s hour of need. In the past, Flynn ad Eve realize the new version of the Tempest (with Prospero conquering the world) is Shakespeare’s way of working out his issues over being forced into early retirement. Their hypothesis turns out to be right and they witness Shakespeare turn into Prospero right in front of their eyes.
Prospero starts blasting people with his Staff, but Flynn and Eve realize he
can only do magic depicted in Shakespeare’s plays because he basically is Shakespeare … or at least has possessed Shakespeare. In the present, Jenkins and the others find a box hidden by Flynn and Eve in the past that contains clues to let them know that Prospero is really Shakespeare, and the elements needed to exorcise the spell binding him. In the past, Flynn and Eve release Moriarty from the 
stocks so he can help them against Prospero. Eve figures they can end Prospero’s story by drowning his book and breaking his Staff (assuming Flynn and Moriarty don’t come to blows in the meantime). Moriarty distracts Prospero so Eve and Flynn can grab the artifacts, but Prospero comes back in time to get the Staff back from Flynn. In the present, Jenkins and the others use the binding objects to summon Prospero so they can expel him from Shakespeare.
In the past, Prospero blasts Flynn and throws Eve into the pond where she’s trying to drown his book. She’s saved by the Lady of the Lake, who gives her
Excalibur. Moriarty tries to stop Prospero and is dissolved, but Eve gives Excalibur to Flynn, who duels Prospero with it (thus fulfilling the prophecy Jenkins mentioned, since Flynn has wielded Excalibur before). As the others carry out the exorcism in the present, Flynn breaks Prospero’s Staff in the past and he turns back into 
Shakespeare, who’s understandably confused. Because of the paradox of Shakespeare being in the present, a hole opens in time so he can go back to 1611, but it’s one-way only so Eve and Flynn are stuck in the past. As the Librarians try to deal with their loss, a message appears on the door that’s always been locked, having been hidden until it oxidized (time-delay metallurgic cryptography, as Ezekiel calls it) saying that Jenkins has the key. Once he opens it, they find a statue
of Flynn and Eve kissing, which soon breaks open to release Flynn and Eve (and Excalibur) none the worse for having been in stasis for four centuries. After setting up all the clues and stuff they used in this adventure, they had Shakespeare use his magic quill to turn them into statues to be awakened by the sound of Cassandra’s voice. They all start planning on how to get the Library back to normal and prepare for the next crisis.
This was a really good episode and a fitting way to end the Prospero saga. 
Having Prospero be a transformed Shakespeare was cool, since they couldn’t just kill him (no matter what Moriarty said), so they had to find a way to restore him. I liked the real-life references to the Carrington Event and the Countess of Pembroke, who really did host Shakespeare’s company at Wilton House, though it was probably for As You Like It, not The Tempest. As usual, there were some great humorous touches too, like Flynn and Moriarty’s slap-fight, Eve’s claim that she and Flynn were from Flanders (giving Rebecca Romijn the chance to speak Dutch), the reference 
to the first time-traveller, Dr. Pinkerton Chantisaur (apparently an intelligent dinosaur), and the room full of time machines (which seemed to include the one Rod Taylor used in the movie, as well as the TARDIS and Doc Brown’s Delorean. Flynn fulfilling the Arthurian prophecy was cool and it was interesting to see the (or a) Lady of the Lake again, as I’m assuming this was one of the ones Cassandra met.
Favourite Quotes:
- “There are no good bicycle-pant choices.” Eve letting Flynn know how she views his 1980s fashion sense.
- “Come with me if you want to live.” Moriarty ripping off the Terminator.
- “Was there a dinosaur me?” Cassandra very intrigued with the idea of intelligent dinosaurs.
- “I also have a plan, and a much more convincing British accent.” Moriarty getting a solid burn on Flynn.