Warning: SPOILERS forThe Librarians: The Next Chapterseason 1, episode 9, “And the Feast of the Vampir.“Once current villain Gregor is dealt with,The Librarians: The Next Chapterneeds to bring back episode 9’s best new antagonist with the potential to become a conditional ally in the future. While they likely can’t return untilThe Librarians: The Next Chapterseason 2, it’s already exciting to think about the complex role they might play down the line.
Now that the spinoff has brought back vampires, it’s exciting to think about other villain types that might return from the original series, such asThe Librarians’ Fictionals. But the new series still needs to establish new characters and lore to stand on its own. And one new addition toThe Librarians: The Next Chaptercastachieves that goal perfectly.
Ivan The Hunter Learns About The Library In The Librarians: The Next Chapter Episode 9
Vampires May No Longer Be His Only Prey
AlthoughThe Librarians: The Next Chapterepisode 9reveals“world’s first vampire”Petar Blagojević as the twist villain at the end,the most urgently dangerous antagonist throughout most of the runtime is Van Helsing descendant Ivan the Hunter. Somewhat ironically, Petar’s reveal as the “true” villain is what ultimately makes Ivan the most dangerous vampire hunter in his lineage.
He might seem like a goofball when unnecessarily interjectingThe Vampire Diariesinto every conversation about daywalkers, butIvan’s hatred for vampires makes him dangerous enough to nearly murder two tourists in the episode’s cold open for wearing rubber vampire teeth. And, albeit with little context, he now knows the missing tooth that held Petar’s strength came from the Library.
This could affect Ivan’s future in two non-exclusive ways. First, since he gives Vikram the tooth back after Petar’s death,Ivan, at least, understands the Library has something to do with harboring vampire-related artifacts. After the embarrassment of his followers running from battle, Ivan could decide taking the Library’s resources is the first step in redeeming the Van Helsing name.
However, even if he doesn’t storm the annex as a direct threat, it’s established that there’s at least enough available information about the Library for Connor to have found it on purpose.Learning more about the Library would reveal to Ivan that vampires aren’t the only classic horror monsters in existence, setting up his most interesting potential character arc.
How Ivan Is The Librarians: The Next Chapter’s Best Future Ally (And Also Its Best Villain)
Vikram In Particular Is Bound To Clash With Him
If set against the wider world of magical creatures, Ivan doesn’t need to act as a threat to the Library itself to become Vikram’s greatest frenemy in the show. After watching Petar disintegrate,Ivan wouldn’t know that Librarians prefer resolving issues without violence unless necessary. Meanwhile, Ivan’s very much the type who’d slaughter anything from trolls to fairies.
The Library and the Van Helsings might not always agree on how to deal with such creatures, butthey at least agree that magical beings need to be prevented from significantly influencing the human world. This means that Ivan could make a fantastic ally, but he and Vikram would likely come to blows regarding how to handle certain weekly threats.
Additionally, while Ivan hasn’t witnessed it himself, one of the biggestdifferences betweenThe LibrariansandThe Next Chapteris thatVikram occasionally uses magic in a highly reckless way that Ivan would likely find dangerous. If Ivan decides that Vikram himself is a threat to the human world, he could put Charlie’s skills as a Guardian to the test.
Even the core cast ofThe Librarians: The Next Chapter, or“the band”as Lysa calls them, could find their alliance fractured by Ivan Van Helsing’s influence.The characters have already disagreed multiple times on how to handle various conflicts of the week, and adding an outside voice to those debates on occasion could drive their views even further apart.
Why The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 Is Ivan’s Best Time To Shine
There’s More Room For Him Once The Current Story Is Resolved
As fun as it would be to see Ivan enter into a constantly shifting position as both rival and reluctant ally of the Library,there’s really not much room the bring him back inThe Librarians: The Next Chapterseason 1. With only a quarter of the season left, the series has other story beats that it needs to address.
This became immediately apparent when the preview at the end of episode 9 confirmed that the next adventure would pay offThe Librarians: The Next Chapter’s time travel storyline.It’s been foreshadowed since the beginning that Vikram would likely attempt traveling through time to reunite with Anya, and there’s no reason a character like Ivan would participate in that plotline.
Furthermore,The Librarians: The Next Chapterepisode 8established thatVikram’s nemesis Gregor is close to finding a way out of his time prison. Ivan might conceivably develop enough of a relationship with the Library over time to assist with fighting villains like Gregor, but human threats aren’t currently established as a primary area of interest for a Van Helsing.
Thankfully, assuming Vikram’s storylines with Anya and Gregor are resolved by the season 1 finale,The Librarians: The Next Chapterhas boundless space to explore all manner of fresh magical monsters in season 2. Incorporating Ivan into at least a few of those adventures could make for one of the more intriguingly complex group dynamics in the series thus far.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter
Cast
The Librarians: The Next Chapter features a time-traveling librarian from the past who becomes stranded in the present. Upon returning to his now museum-castle, he accidentally unleashes magic across the continent. To address this, he assembles a new team of Librarians tasked with restoring balance.
