‘The Librarians: The Next Chapter’ Boss Explains Finale Ending

Meredith JacobsTue, September 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM UTC

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- TNTWhat could happen in a Season 3.

The team — Librarians Vikram (Callum McGowan), Lysa (Olivia Morris), and Connor (Bluey Robinson), Guardian Charlie (Jessica Green), and Elaine (Caroline Loncq) — has a major choice to make about Merlin (Dominic Monaghan) in The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 finale. TV Insider spoke with creator Dean Devlin about that and much more. Warning: Spoilers for The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 finale ahead!

While at first it seemed like Merlin had succeeded in traveling back in time and changing the past so that he, using magic, was the one to pull the sword from the stone and become Camelot’s king, it became clear very quickly that something wasn’t quite right about that world. For one, everyone on the team kept getting killed. Once Merlin learned his lesson, though, the truth was revealed: The team had put him into a dream state, using an artifact, and made him see the error of his ways. And once he had, they had a new role for him, one that kept him adjacent to magic but with Excalibur keeping a close eye on him: categorizing and preserving the Library’s magical artifacts.

Below, Dean Devlin explains that ending and shares what we could see in a third season. (Plus, read what Dominic Monaghan had to say about the finale here.)

The door was left open for Dominic to return…

Dean Devlin: Listen, the guy is an absolute joy to work with and he elevated the character and I would do anything to get more of that character. Are you kidding me?

Speaking of that door being left open, that’s because the team decides to help Merlin when they put him in that dream state when they really could have just left him like that. Do you think any of them were torn by that?

Oh yeah, for sure. For sure. I mean, they all, by the end of the season, feel like they’re doing the right thing, but they have very complex feelings about it.

What had you wanted to show with that dream/nightmare state and that version of Camelot for Merlin?

Well, I mean, the idea is to take us through a redemption story and with any addict, they got to hit rock bottom. So, the question was, could they get Merlin to hit rock bottom? And that’s what that whole journey is all about.

Yeah, because also the more people you killed off, the more obvious it became that something would have to be reversed or nothing was quite as it seemed. But at the same time, it also felt like you had to go through to the end of that.

That’s right. You had to experience it.

Has Merlin really changed enough to be given this new role, even with the threat of Excalibur?

In the very first episode of the very first season of The Librarians, Vikram turns to the others and says, “Thank you for reminding me that empathy is the most important tool that a Librarian can have.” And that’s what that’s all about, is to show the power of empathy. Now, sometimes we’re wrong when we’re empathetic, but it’s better to be an empathetic person. And it is the most powerful tool that a Librarian has.

Did you ever consider really killing off one of the team?

I always tell actors on their first day of shooting before we’ve gotten to know each other and before anything else happens, “I have your death scenes written already, so behave yourself.” [Laughs] But this crew of actors could not be more of a joy to work with, sweeter people. So, those death scenes will be put away for a little while.

And also it’s just like this isn’t the kind of show where you really do that.

No, I’ve got The Ark for that. [Laughs]

Where had you wanted to leave everyone heading into a possible third season?

Well, the first season was all about them desiring to be part of the Library and being part of this life. And the second season was really about be careful what you wish for. So, the whole season, everything that’s happening is about them coming to terms with what they’ve committed to. And the hope is, the feeling is that by the end of it, they’ve really made peace with the decision they’ve made and who they are going forward and they’re excited to go forward. What happens in Season 3? Well, we’ll have to see.

Absolutely loved seeing Lindy and Christian back and Cassandra and Stone’s dynamic now and comparing how far they’ve come to the new team. What had you wanted to do with them this season?

Well, it was a very funny thing doing that episode because while we were making it, at some point, it felt like, well, wait a minute, are they guest starring on our show or is Jessica guest starring on the old show? You know what I mean? It became a little bit unclear at some point. And it was really kind of fun because Lindy and Christian, they fell right back into step as though not a day had passed, except they had added this color that they’d somehow become an old married couple, so they bicker with each other. And it was so delightful. So, yeah, I think it just started out with, wouldn’t it be great to have them on the show? And then it kind of morphed into, oh, this is a world’s collide. This is an episode of the old Librarians.

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Yeah. I talked to Lindy and she said it was so easy to just fall back into that dynamic with Christian.

It was crazy. I thought there’d be some rust they had to knock off, but not at all.

You can see how they had been doing this for a while. And like you’d said, you want it to seem like the original team has still been doing what they do and we’re just not seeing them. You really feel that and you also feel like the new team and Charlie as Guardian are slowly growing to that.

It was really important from the very beginning that this show is not a replacement for the old show and it’s not a reboot of the old show. This is just another story going on in the world of The Librarians. And so by having an episode like this, it really gives you this feeling that, oh yeah, there’s been a whole bunch of other episodes of The Librarians that we never just got to see. But that story’s continuing, this story’s going, and there’s probably other stories going on in that world. So, this episode more than any, I though really illustrated that because there was huge character growth for Charlie and the fear that she’s had this whole year, dealing with that. And yet it was like a throwback to the old series. So, this was really an attempt to show that there’s a larger universe happening and not just this is the new version of the old show.

Did you ever consider cutting to the Library retreat?

No. We really wanted to stay with Charlie on this. She was without her team, but in a weird way she had a different team and what would that be like? We really wanted to not let it cross over. We wanted to be isolated with her.

How are you feeling about a third season?

Listen, if somebody says they want one, I’ll make it because I love making this show.

And also when you have magic, the possibilities of what you can explore are endless.

Yeah, exactly. And the endless metaphor that you can have, so you can tell so many different stories. I mean, this is a show where you never really run out of ideas because there’s magic in the world and it’s just, how are we going to portray it in our show? And almost always the magical story is really there to reveal something about our characters, whether it’s our lead characters or our guest characters, but the magic is always a window into a character revelation.

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Which episode of the season are you most proud of?

Oh, that’s so hard to say. Who’s your favorite child? I will say that the episode that Tom MacRae wrote, where Olivia’s characters gets to say goodbye to her dead parents, I mean, that one just slaughtered me. When I read it, I was sobbing. When I saw the first cut, I was sobbing. When it aired, I was sobbing. I think it’s just such a beautifully written, beautifully performed by Olivia. I think it may be the most powerful episode we’ve ever done. So, I could say that that’s definitely the one that I find to be the most powerful. As far as pride, I’m proud of all of them.

No, I agree. That episode, Olivia was so, so good in every single scene with Lysa’s parents.

And that’s a difficult one to pull off. I mean, it so easily could have gone into a melodrama, but she just took it right to the edge and made it so powerful.

What can you say about what we could see in a third season?

More fun, more magic, and surprises with characters and people returning that you were always hoping would return. That’s what I can say if we get a third season.

Can you say anything about what you’re excited to explore with any of the characters?

I try not to think about that stuff too far in advance because I always like to walk into the writers’ room with everybody and say, “Alright, here’s where we left off. Where do we want to go?” I think if you overly plan, then you don’t leave yourself open to the ideas of others, and this is the greatest writing team I’ve ever assembled for any show. So if I could get these guys back in a room together and start brainstorming on Season 3, that would just be more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

You said characters returning — are you talking about from the OG series or from these two seasons or both?

Both. There’s people we’d love to bring back from Seasons 1 and 2, and there’s still a bunch of characters from the original that we haven’t had a chance to bring on.

Speaking of, what are the chances of getting the full OG team back together in some way, whether on here or their own movie or series?

Well, it’s hard because television now has shrunk, and the amount of money they’re willing to spend is very small. So, it’d be hard to put everybody back together again, but I’d love to try. I mean, I know that the team still loves each other and they love being with each other, but it’s a hard one to pull off because there’s not a lot of money in independent television today.

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