The Librarians and the Christmas Thief – Director: Noah Wyle/Writer: Nicole Ranadive
This one starts with a couple of thieves bringing something to the head of the Bank of Thieves, hoping he’ll admit them to his exclusive club. The item is something he’s wanted for a long time, except it turns out to be a fake and the two wannabes are dragged off to be “liquidated”.
At the Library, Cassandra, Ezekiel, and Jacob are excited that Santa (who’s going on vacation with Flynn, Eve, and Jenkins) has left his sleigh there to
recover its mojo after the holiday season. After admonishing them not to touch the sleigh, Jenkins and the others leave (although Eve’s not too jazzed about going on vacation, even with Santa Claus). Cassandra gets right into the Christmas spirit, decorating the Annex and giving the other two the requisite horrible sweaters. Ezekiel slips away to Australia to see his mom (Lenore) and foster-sisters. They’re a family of thieves who celebrate Thankstaking Day and leave offerings at a 
shrine to the Saint of Thieves. Lenore is offended that Ezekiel bought her a gift instead of stealing it and none of them seem to know that he’s a world-renowned master thief. He gets tired of their taunts and freaks out, telling them about all the wild stuff he’s seen and done, but of course they don’t believe him. He’s so tired of his mom’s derision that he takes her back through the magic door to the Library. Ezekiel quickly realizes his mistake and shoves his mom back through the door, but she wedges it open with her foot so she can get back in.
Lenore steals the globe that controls the door (because Ezekiel stupidly told her it can open a door anywhere on Earth) and when they notice, Ezekiel
begs the others not to tell Eve or Flynn. He figures he can get the globe back, but since they can’t travel to Australia by door they decide to use Santa’s sleigh. Lenore has been busy, using the globe to let her steal Christmas presents from all over the world. Ezekiel recognizes a painting she stole as a valuable one that was stolen from an art gallery by a very dangerous thief, the head of the Bank of Thieves. He says they have to return it immediately, but the globe catches 
fire so they won’t be using it. They (including Lenore) take the sleigh to Geneva where Ezekiel opens the entrance to the Thieves’ Bank by playing a really screwed-up game of chess. Ezekiel wants his mom to put the painting back exactly where she stole it from, so Jacob and Cassandra cause a distraction to let them get into the vault. Along the way, Lenore realizes her son is a much better thief than she thought. Unfortunately, they get caught right after replacing the painting.
Their captor turns out to have the power to compel thieves to answer him because he’s not just the head of the Thieves’ Bank, he’s the Patron Saint of
Thieves. He’s also the guy who appeared in the opening and by a strange coincidence, the item he was looking for turns out to be Santa’s Sleigh, which he now has within his reach. (The Saint of Thieves is also Santa’s no-good brother.) When Cassandra and Jacob see the Saint’s men bringing in the sleigh, they call Jenkins for help, begging him not to tell Flynn and Eve. The saint tells Ezekiel and Lenore that he can only accept the sleigh as a gift from the person who stole it, but 
Ezekiel refuses to hand it over. Lenore (who’s pissed off at him for not sharing any of the loot he’s stolen over the years) pickpockets the key and hands it over to the Saint. He shows his gratitude by tying her and Ezekiel up in preparation for killing them. Jenkins tells Cassandra how to fix the globe, but they still have to get the sleigh back and return to Australia, so they might need to use a bit of magic.
Ezekiel and Lenore get out of their bonds and Ezekiel tells his mom he didn’t keep any of the millions he stole, instead donating it to people who
needed it. Cassandra uses magic to appear in a mirror in the Jones family home, terrifying Ezekiel’s sisters into fixing the globe. Before they can get the sleigh through the portal, the Saint shows up to stop them. He wants to let the sleigh run out of Christmas cheer so Santa won’t be able to deliver any more presents. But Jenkins comes through the door with a letter from Santa gifting the sleigh to his brother. Since the Patron Saint of Thieves can only accept items that are stolen, not freely given, he can never possess the sleigh. The Saint is so 
pissed off that he throws a temper tantrum and regresses into a whiny kid. They bring the sleigh back to Australia and after the others go home, Ezekiel takes his mom all over the world to return all the gifts she stole and spread some holiday joy. Lenore actually gets into the spirit and she and Ezekiel part on great terms. The sleigh gets back to the Library before Flynn and Eve return and Jenkins agrees to keep quiet about everything, in the spirit of the holidays.
When I saw the title of this episode, I was hoping to see Bruce Campbell as Santa again, but he’s not in the episode at all. Stephen Weber almost makes
up for it with his over-the-top portrayal of Santa’s brother. I think he had a good time doing this character, as he really gets into the evil nature of the Saint of Thieves. It was cool to meet Ezekiel’s sisters and especially his mom Lenore (played with a lot of verve by Gia Carides). It’s interesting that Ezekiel hides his true self from his family, just like Jacob does; Cassandra probably does the same thing, so I hope we get to see her family in an upcoming episode.
Favourite Quotes:
- “That explains the accent.” Cassandra upon hearing that Ezekiel is from Sydney.
- “Comet, Cancer, Flasher, Nixon.” Ezekiel trying to name some of Santa’s reindeer.