Hello Multiversity readers and welcome to our weekly recap for Locke and Key. There’s lots to unpack and prepare for in the penultimate episode before the end of season two. The Locke kids make their moves in preparation for the final showdown with Gabe.
1. Kinsey Frost
Throughout this episode, Kinsey seems to be alone, still reeling from the fact that her whole relationship with Gabe was a complete lie and deciding whether she should take his deal to be by her side if it means keeping her mom still alive. Gabe has shown how ruthless he is by killing Erin, kidnapping Bode, taking her uncle to make his key, and even dropping Eden like she was nothing. So his threat to kill Nina Locke seems pretty valid. During her time alone, a cold element keeps happening; her cup of tea freezing, mirror in the bathroom frosting over, and a fire going out and turning ice-cold while she is with Scot. Thanks to his supernatural movie knowledge, they figure out it is a ghost, possibly her ancestor from the graveyard on the property, trying to send her a message. These clues end up leading the two of them to not only a strange lock but a new key hidden in a birdhouse near the graveyard. The twist of it all is that it isn’t her ancestor telling her but the boy who killed her dad, Sam Lesser. After “dying” after using the ghost key, he has been trapped on the property, and he’s shown up once earlier this season trying to get possession of Gabe’s body, but since then, he hasn’t reappeared. He may be still trying to get back in their good graces after breaking free of Dodge, but it’s curious where these clues will lead and what this new key will do.
2. Mr. Bennett’s Quest
Mr. Bennett is slowly becoming a pawn in Eden’s plan to screw Gabe over. She continues to tease him with clues on the Black Door, and with all the journals and information he’s read about Matheson and the Lockes, he’s getting even itchier to find the truth of it all. The only thing is, like most of the adults in this show, he’s getting played without even knowing that he’s getting screwed over. Eden takes him to the Black Door, thinking it will be enough to get him to do her bidding, but Gabe comes in after getting word the two of them were working on something. He reminds the audience that he has a crown that gives him power over shadow demons and his newly formed people-demons, thanks to his new key. Luckily thanks to Bode Locke and the Hercules Key, he rescues Mr. Bennett and doesn’t have to worry about explaining too much because as soon as the questions started coming, his adult mind was wiped clean. It makes me wonder if his quest for the truth about the Lockes will ever end because even if he does get the answers he wants, his mind will just be wiped clean.
3. Nina’s Pain
Most parents in shows where the teenagers are the main focus don’t get too much screen time or storyline, other than being held hostage, but Nina has been in the middle of it from the very beginning. With Mr. Bennett starting to fall into the same stuff her husband and kids are involved in, she’s beginning to feel a little crazy. Nina is also a former alcoholic, so it’s messing with her psyche that everyone is involved with something and feels like she’s going crazy and that no one is telling her the truth. The kids see a little part of it and feel like by not telling her anything, they are protecting her, but the reality is that they should have used the same key they used on Duncan to help their mother. She’s going out to AA meetings trying to make sense of everything around her and then ends up going on a coffee date with her friend, now possessed by a demon. The empathy built up for Nina is essential and valid because she is trying so hard to keep her family together and even re-entered the dating scene again only to get blindsided by magic. I appreciate the idea that she may not remember why everything happens but the feelings because it creates this significant depth to her character that season one did not provide for her.
Continued below4. Tyler’s Key
Now that Jackie has been turned into a demon by Gabe and become part of his army, Tyler asks Duncan to help him make a key that could turn her back. After a few Rocky-like montages showing the process, they finish a key and need to put it to the test. Tyler follows her until she is alone and then tries it on her; it works…momentarily before she dies. It’s heart-breaking for the audience because he’d been trying all season to maintain her memories of magic and even respected her wishes to stop trying, only to end like this. I thought it would be successful and part of the weapons used against Gabe to save the others, but it seems like it will end up with innocent people being killed. I wouldn’t think it would be a necessary death, but it could be the final straw for Tyler during whatever happens in the finale next episode.
5. Twist Before The Finale
The episode’s final scene is the “Oh dang” moment. During Nina’s visit to her AA meeting, she mentioned Ellie Whedon and how she’d gone missing, but everyone had seemingly given up hope of finding her. This was the first mention of Ellie since Bode had gone to see Rufus mid-season, and so it may have been purposely mentioned to remind the audience because the show flashes back to the cave, and we’re shown. “Dodge,” AKA Ellie’s escape from the Black Door. It’s a solid twist gearing up for the season finale because it could be a wrench into Locke’s or Gabe’s plans. If it is Ellie, she may have acquired some new information from the other side, or if it’s a demon, it could be the missing piece for Gabe. Either way, this person coming from the other side ups the ante for the finale.
