The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 Finale Ending Explained: What Really Happened With Merlin?

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 finale, “And the Camelot Conundrum.”

The Librarians: The Next Chapter spent much of Season 2 making us wonder exactly what Merlin was planning, and the finale finally delivered the answer before pulling the rug out from under us. In “And the Camelot Conundrum,” Merlin seemingly succeeds in returning to Camelot and changing history, but his attempt to create a better world quickly proves just how dangerous his obsession with magic and control has become.

Instead of helping Arthur fulfill his destiny, Merlin decides he can do a better job himself. Armed with knowledge of both the past and future, he claims the sword, takes the throne and sets out to create a new version of history under his control. In Merlin’s mind, knowing everything that eventually goes wrong gives him the ability to prevent humanity’s greatest tragedies and build a better future.

Of course, there is one rather significant problem with that plan: Merlin has decided that he alone should determine what that future looks like.

Merlin’s New Camelot Goes Very Wrong

The Librarians attempt to stop Merlin before his changes completely alter the timeline they know, but the situation quickly becomes much darker. As Merlin becomes increasingly consumed by his power and his belief that he knows what is best, members of the team appear to die one after another.

Eventually, Merlin gets exactly what he thought he wanted, but his perfect version of Camelot comes at an enormous cost. Instead of creating the utopia he imagined, his actions demonstrate exactly why no one person, even someone as powerful and knowledgeable as Merlin, should have complete control over history.

Then the finale reveals that none of it actually happened.

Merlin Never Returned to Camelot

The finale’s biggest twist reveals that Merlin and the Librarians never actually traveled back to Camelot. Instead, the team turned Merlin’s own tactics against him and trapped him inside a dream state, creating the entire Camelot scenario to force him to experience what would happen if his obsession with magic and control continued unchecked.

Basically, the Librarians staged the magical equivalent of an intervention, and Merlin needed every second of it. The increasingly horrifying events in Camelot weren’t history being rewritten; they were designed to push Merlin to the point where he could finally recognize what his obsession had turned him into.

Creator Dean Devlin explained in a post-finale interview with TV Insider that Merlin’s journey was conceived as a redemption story. The nightmare forces Merlin to hit rock bottom and confront his behavior instead of allowing his pursuit of magic to continue unchecked.

Dominic Monaghan also described Merlin as being humbled by what the Librarians did to him. Rather than simply defeating their enemy, the Librarians managed to make Merlin understand why he needed to change and then gave him the opportunity to do it.

What Happens to Merlin?

Once Merlin wakes up and realizes what the Librarians have done, the team has another decision to make. After everything he put them through, imprisoning him or finding some other way to permanently neutralize the threat would certainly be understandable, but the Library instead gives Merlin something he probably wasn’t expecting: another chance.

Merlin is given a new role within the Library, where he will categorize and preserve its collection of magical artifacts. Giving a magic-obsessed Merlin access to a collection of magical artifacts might sound like a questionable HR decision, but there is an important security measure in place: Excalibur will be keeping watch over him.

It isn’t exactly complete freedom, but it also isn’t simply a punishment. Merlin gets an opportunity to put his enormous knowledge of magic to good use while the Library makes sure he doesn’t fall back into his old habits.

More importantly for the future of the series, Merlin isn’t gone. Monaghan has expressed interest in returning, and the finale leaves his character in the perfect position to pop up again if the Librarians ever need his expertise.

Does the Season 2 Finale End on a Cliffhanger?

Surprisingly, no. For a finale involving Camelot, Merlin potentially rewriting all of history and the apparent deaths of multiple characters, The Librarians: The Next Chapter ultimately gives Season 2 a fairly complete ending.

Merlin’s season-long storyline reaches a resolution, the Librarians survive and the team is ready to continue having adventures. That doesn’t mean the story is over, but viewers aren’t left with a massive unresolved cliffhanger that requires another season simply to explain what happened.

Instead, Season 2 closes one chapter while leaving plenty of room for another. It is the kind of ending that can work as a season finale while still providing several possibilities for the series to explore if the Library opens its doors again.

What Could Happen in Season 3?

As of the Season 2 finale, a third season has not been officially announced. However, Devlin is already thinking about where the series could go if it returns, including the possibility of bringing back familiar faces from both The Next Chapter and the original Librarians series.

Merlin is also very much available for another adventure. Monaghan has suggested there is still plenty to explore within Arthurian mythology, including Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere, while Merlin’s new position could allow him to become an occasional resource whenever the Librarians encounter a magical problem requiring his particular expertise.

After spending a season wondering whether Merlin would become the team’s greatest enemy, seeing him reluctantly become one of their allies could be an entertaining change in direction. It would also allow the series to continue his redemption story without suddenly pretending everything he did during Season 2 never happened.

For now, The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 ends with its central threat resolved and its characters ready for whatever magical problem comes through the door next. The Librarians survived Merlin, Merlin survived himself, and the Library is still standing.

All they need now is another season.

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