Episode two of Locke and Key introduces a few new characters for the Locke family. It’s also a chance to share the themes that will stick with the season and go back to a loose end storyline left from last season.
Spoilers ahead
1. New History Teacher
We’ve got a new character that seems like he’ll be in the mix for most of the Locke house family members. Mr. Barrett is Tyler’s history teacher at the school, a possible love interest for Nina Locke, and the dad of Bode’s new friend Amie. It felt rather convenient that he’s intertwined with so many characters so quickly; as we see him talking to Nina about restoration, it’s followed by him being Tyler’s history teacher and picking up Amie at school to run into Nina again awkwardly. Mr. Barrett has a similar backstory to Nina, being widowed and a single father that, again, just feels a little forced. If they didn’t show Amie, you might think he was lying about having a kid at all. Nonetheless, as the camera follows him back to his apartment, we see he has a model of the Key house, so either he’s a buff for the local town history, or he has got another sneaky motive in trying to befriend Ms. Locke.
2. Bode Makes A Friend
Speaking of Bode’s new friend Amie, they formed a quick friendship after Bodie’s “What I did last summer” presentation wasn’t taken seriously by the teacher when he mentioned he got “super strong” and lifted his brother’s car for fun. Bode quickly tests Amie by asking her to take one of the keys from his hand, so he knows if she’s a demon or not, and as soon as she passes, he tells her everything. You’d think he would be more cautious, considering he was more than willing to lie to his siblings about the keys and Dodge last season, and then on the first day of school, he goes and tells all of the secrets. It’s a quick reminder for the audience that he is only ten years old, so maybe staying hush-hush isn’t easy for him. Before Bode’s first day, Tyler reminds the audience that he didn’t make any friends when they first into town, so it also brings up the idea that Bode may be lonely for some friends his age.
3. Gabe Needs A New Key
Gabe and Eden made a skull key that they quickly tested on an innocent man that melted him to nothing more than a pile of bones. While this might be useful for their characters later on down the road, it isn’t their intended goal for the present. With little material left to make another key, they need to find out how to make one that does what they actually want correctly. Gabe tricks Bode into using the Ghost key to talk to their ancestor, a spirit who lives in the graveyard nearby. It turns out to be a lot less complicated than one might think to give a key its purpose by simply concentrating on what you want the key to doing while it’s in the mold. The creepy ingredient that Chamberlain Locke mentions is that it needs a drop of fresh blood. Now my question is whether Gabe and Eden’s blood is sufficient, given their demon status, but we’ll just have to see when they test out this new information.
4. Jackie’s Memory Loss
Jackie’s memory loss continues to be a theme that will probably be linked with Tyler’s journey during this season. She freaks out during a history test because rather than do the summer reading, Tyler put the book inside her head using one the Head key to give her automatic knowledge of the contents. However, with these lapses, she completely blanked and took a zero during the test. Jackie understandably starts to worry about memory lapses in young people since she now fully remembers the keys and everything she has done with them and Tyler. However, they both cannot help but still worry it will happen again. Then comes the idea of living in the 21st century that they start to do video recordings for her to watch if it happens again. This idea has the 50 First Dates kind of vibe to it, but for the time being, it seems like it is their best bet.
5. Erin Voss
Erin Voss is the last surviving member of the original Keepers of the Keys and, unfortunately, lives in a hospital due to an unknown mental state to doctors. Still, the truth is she was locked inside of her own head by Dodge, or so we’re led to believe. Kinsey visits Erin every week to talk with her before remembering Ellie had told them last season that the Keepers had found some way to remember the magic despite turning into adults. Kinsey and Tyler use the Head key to get inside of her head to find a memory that could lead them to the answer they’ve been looking for, only instead they find a teenage Erin unaware of how long she has been trapped. It was a great move by the creators because it gives the kids a chance to find what they want and presents them with an entirely new set of problems by trying to catch a person up to at least 20 years. It’ll also be interesting once she and the kids that Dodge isn’t gone but working on her plan for the Locke kids.
