Episode 3 of "The Librarians: Next Chapter" unfolds with Vikram diving into a whirlwind of historical figures, both real and fictional, spanning the past century. Amidst his diligent research alongside Charlie, Vikram is astounded to witness Lysa and Connor collaborating and lugging a computer into the Annex.
Having shifted the cumbersome boxes aside, Connor plants the seed of an idea: a journey through the doorway to Caucaslyvia, with Lysa as his companion. Charlie, sensing exclusion, eagerly expresses his desire to tag along, thereby splintering the group onto a fresh, exhilarating adventure.
At a cozy café, Lysa interrogates Charlie for information while Connor and Vikram seize the moment to slip through the doorway, alighting at a train parked in a sprawling train yard. Here, Connor unravels a tale of King Kavod, a monarch whose whereabouts remain a mystery from ages past. As they delve deeper, the clock's hands revolve counterclockwise, transporting them back in time and boarding them onto a phantom train.
Powered by temporal energy, the train is adorned with intricate loops weaving across its carriages. The trio must decipher the chaotic order and devise a strategy to reverse the anomaly.
Today marks the precise moment when Kavod vanished into thin air, as if swallowed by the ethereal tracks of a spectral train that seems to tread upon forgotten railways of yore. Vikram, undeterred by the ghoulish entities that accompany it, remains steadfast in his belief that these spectral wanderers pose no tangible threat.
King Kavod's clandestine dealings with Ava Ryba, alias Bella Goodridge, a British spy with secrets as deep as her deceit, unfold aboard this fateful conveyance. Bella, entangled in an illicit affair with Nikolai, Kavod's doppelgänger, brokered an exchange with the king—the Scythe of Time, a relic of immense power capable of bridging conversations with one's former self and altering the very fabric of history. This artifact, cunningly concealed somewhere within the train's confines, remains a mystery.
Tragedy strikes as Nikolai is gunned down, Bella refusing to divulge the scythe's location out of loyalty to him. In a desperate bid to escape, Bella tumbles from the moving train, her fate hanging by a thread. Charlie and Lysa, relentless in their pursuit, manage to locate Bella in the waking world, miraculously still breathing, and whisk her back onto the spectral train, transforming her into a vision of her younger self in the process.
Time itself becomes their adversary, every tick of the clock a reminder of their dwindling chances to halt the train's inexorable progress. Bella, drawing upon a memory long buried, retrieves the scythe from its clever hiding place—embedded within the face of a clock, disguised in plain sight. But as her fingers close around the artifact, Kavod emerges, seizing control with a demeanor as cold as the grave.
Realities begin to intertwine, the boundaries between worlds blurring. Kavod, now aware of the intruders aboard his spectral train, is more determined than ever to secure the scythe. Though he wields its power, Vikram, with a daring move, brushes against the scythe, a fleeting touch sufficient to dispatch a message to his past self, who in turn secures a vial of the Nectar of Niobe.
Earlier scenes revealed Kavod's cruel act of encasing a time sprite in stone, condemning it to an eternal stillness. Yet, with the Nectar in his possession, Vikram performs a miraculous reversal, restoring the sprite to its former glory, its ethereal light once again flickering with life.
The power of time energy proves futile against a time sprite, and Kavod is bested by the diminutive Tinkerbell. Bella seeks out Nikolai, securing a poignant closure with her long-lost love by bidding him a proper farewell, thereby halting the relentless advance of the train before any harm befalls anyone. Returning to the Annex, Connor engages Vikram in conversation, gently urging him to unburden himself about his past endeavors at some point. Connor empathizes deeply, acknowledging the immense struggle of being dislocated in time and separated from Anya. This heartfelt exchange takes on an even greater weight when it is revealed that Vikram is in possession of the Scythe of Time. What purpose will he wield it for?
