This recap of Locke & Key contains spoilers, so reader discretion is advised. Welcome back to another recap of season two of Locke & Key, the show based on the comic book series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez. Last episode, Tyler (Connor Jessup) made a Key to save Jackie (Genevieve Kang) but ended up killing her instead. Whoops.
Related: Locke & Key Recap: (S02E09) “Alpha & Omega”
“I still gotta borrow your mum’s drill.”
Locke & Key Season Two, Episode Ten “Cliffhanger” opens Ellie-as-Dodge (Laysla De Oliveira) wandering the streets, looking confused and nervous as all get out. She goes to her house, which is dark and empty. She calls for her kiddo, Rufus (Coby Bird), but he can’t hear her all the way in Nebraska. It’s now that Ellie sees her reflection for the first time.
Over at Keyhouse, Kinsey (Emilia Jones) interrogates Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) about his adventure in the sea cave the episode previous. Why are Mansplaining Weasel (Brendan Hines) and Evil-den (Hallea Jones) even friends?
Before they can solve that mystery, the Locke sibs have bigger fish to fry. Mama Nina’s (Darby Stanchfield) home and she’s brought her friend, Detective Daniel Mutuku (Martin Roach). He’s there to borrow a drill.
Well, that and threaten the kids. Mutuku wants to know if Kinsey’s decided to join the dark side yet. The way Martin Roach shifts from warning the kids he could rip their throats out to telling them “see you soon!” in a cheery voice is lolz.
Kinsey calls Tyler to ask where he is. He is in living Hell, that’s where.
“I don’t need sympathy. I need to end this.”
Back home, Tyler and Kinsey process Jackie’s death and who’s responsible. In essence, The Alpha Key does work, just a bit better than it should. Still, says Kinsey, Godge (Griffin Gluck) is the one who Turned Jackie to begin with, so this death is on him.
Tyler decides he needs to kill Godge. He can’t just sit around; he’s headed back to the Cliff House. Nina hears the yelling and comes into his room. She comes in to console her child. She starts with the “I know how hard it is to lose someone you love …”
Tyler doesn’t react well to that, because she doesn’t understand. And, actually, that’s generally not great comfort to anyone experiencing a loss. Tyler and Kinsey bounce. Bode’s left to comfort his mom.
Kinsey tries to get her older brother to see that Nina was just trying to be supportive, but Tyler’s a doer, not a talker. So, he’s on a warpath at the moment. Kinsey physically blocks him and tells him she has a better plan.
“Here I am obsessing over this horrible person.”
Meanwhile, in his office over at Matheson Academy, Mansplaining Weasel is ripping apart all his “research.” Then, Evil-den saunters in and wants to know why he’s destroying his life’s work. Because! His ancestor Freddy Gideon (Kevin Durand) was a jerk face, a creator of chaos. Evil-den thinks that’s hot.
Mansplaining Weasel tells Evil-den their little pact is over. She argues that she kept up her part of the bargain by showing him the Door. He can’t remember that, though, because it’s magic, baby.
I’m just gonna quote this next part, because omg YASS:
Evil-den: Get me the Omega Key!
Mansplaining Weasel: Are you insane?
Evil-den: I would kill you if it wouldn’t make my life so much more difficult.
Mansplaining Weasel: What? Do you wanna get expelled?
Evil-den: [laughs] Firstly, like I could give a s***. And secondly, let’s tell the administrative board that my teacher invited — no, insisted — that I go down to the sea caves with him.
Mansplaining Weasel: That is not what happened. You took me there.
Evil-den: Go screw yourself, Josh.
That is the high-quality camp-horror-comedy I signed up for.
“She’s not gonna become one of us. She’s just gonna be dead.”
Over at the Cliff House, Godge is laying out the plan for his evil minion demon army. After dark, Mutuku is gonna lead them to Keyhouse. To return the drill? Oh. No. To kill Nina.
Mutuku and Godge have a lil huddle, in which Godge gives the former detective permission to kill any Lockes who aren’t Kinsey. Speak of the devil! Kinsey’s arrived at Cliff House.
Godge, dressed straight out of a J Crew catalog, is very happy to see his lady. He hadn’t expected her to show. She tells him she feels trapped by his offer, it’s not a true offer. Godge counters that he may be a demon, but he’s still got a human soul. If he didn’t love her, he’d already have killed her. I’m swooning.
While that exchange is going on, Scot (Petrice Jones), Tyler and Duncan (Aaron Ashmore) sneak into the Cliff House.
Back to Kinsey and Godge. She tells him he doesn’t love her, he just wants to control her. But, she still has control over one thing. Her fate. She climbs up on a ledge and throws herself off.
But! Jay-kay! That Key the ghosts helped her find last time? Well, it’s The Angel Key and like Red Bull, it gives you wings. Godge doesn’t like her magic trick.
It’s now that the demon posse catches sight of the Lockes and friends, so Godge pulls the Crown of Shadows out of his pocket(?) to create some obstacles for the boys. Kinsey swoops overhead and grabs the crown off Godge’s head.
“Get Dodge.”
Duncan, Tyler and Scot use the Matchstick Key to break through a metal door, but it’s not easy and before they can finish, the demons catch up to them. Scot has the Hercules Key and Tyler, the Alpha Key, so they’re ready to fight while Duncan works on the door.
They knock some BIPOC demon extras out windows. Then, kill Mutuku (RIP). More demons come. Godge descends the elevator and uses the Identity Key to transform into Dodge for the final battle. Hurry up, Uncle Dunc!
Dodge finds her demons and orders them to get the three dudes. Then, Duncan tries something, perhaps on reflex. He orders the demons to stop. They pause. Mid-strike. It’s a fun little choreography moment.
Duncan is the one who made the Demon Key, you see. His blood is tied to it. So, he’s able to control the lil army. Duncan orders the demons to attack Dodge.
While the demons are busy with Dodge, Duncan finally finishes opening the vault and retrieves the Demon Key. They’re ready to bounce. Thing is, Dodge still has demon strength and pounds the wall, ready to knock the Cliff House into the ocean.
“You could’ve had everything.”
Back at Keyhouse, Bode’s texting for updates, when he sees Ellie-as-Dodge stroll up to the house. He’s freaked out for a moment, and pulls a sword on her, ready for battle. Ellie-as-Dodge tells him who she is. And Bode uses the old, “Can you take this Key from me?” trick to figure out she’s telling the truth.
The three heroes escape Cliff House, but Kinsey flies back inside to finish Dodge off. She puts on the Crown of Shadows, but it quickly falls off her head. Dodge uses the Chain Key to capture Kinsey.
Dodge wants to know why Kinsey didn’t just acquiesce to her demands; she could have had it all. But, now she has to die. Too bad for Dodge that she won’t, since Tyler has sneaked back in and Alpha Keyed Dodge in the back.
The two older Locke sibs escape just before the Cliff House falls into the water. Ha ha, cliffhanger. Get it. There’s hugging all around as they reunite with Scot and Duncan.
“The key question is, is this Lucas remnant of Dodge, is he good, or is he bad?”
Someone’s emerging from the rubble, though. It’s not Dodge or Godge. It’s not even Lodge. No, friends, Lucas (Felix Mallard) is back. Guess the Alpha Key works a bit differently on Echoes?
They know he’s a good guy because he returns all their missing Keys to them. Lucas was inside of D/Godge all along, forced to watch everything that happened.
Bode calls Tyler and tells them to come home, STAT. When they get home, Kinsey introduces Lucas to Bode, and he’s like, Yeah, we met when you were a demon.
Anyway, the Lockes have the Identity Key again, so they’re able to restore Ellie-as-Dodge to Original Flavor Ellie (Sherri Saum). Not gonna lie, it’s pretty creepy to watch Ellie and Lucas hug and stare at each other so fondly. Like, I get it, but also, he’s in the in-character body of an 18-year-old, and her character has a son older than him, so …
One Week Later …
At Matheson Academy, there’s a memorial up for Godge and Evil-dens’s smirking away at it. She kicks her way into his room. And takes the one Key he’d kept hidden away in there — The Echo Key.
At Keyhouse, Tyler’s packing a duffle, tears in his eyes. He’s gonna do some traveling over winter break. Boy needs some time away.
Meanwhile, Nina’s organizing an event to support the Cliff House victims’ families. Ding-dong, it’s Mansplaining Weasel. He wants to apologize for his behavior. Nina’s glad for him, but she’s not interested in dating him at the moment. She’s gotta work on Nina.
Back upstairs, Tyler watches the video he took with Jackie one last time before he deletes it. Actually, he can’t even get through the whole video. Duncan comes in and gifts Tyler the car he’s been restoring all season.
Downstairs, Nina gives Tyler some road trip essentials and apologizes for being a mom. Tyler gives her permission to be a parent, and they make up, exchange “I love yous.”
Outside, Tyler gives his younger siblings the Keys he’s been keeping safe in his head. They’re gonna have to protect them now. Tyler has decided that once he’s 18, he doesn’t want to remember magic; he just wants a normal life. And he trusts Kinsey can protect the family since she’s the one who effectively beat D/Godge.
Bode is not happy about Tyler’s decision. But, they hug each other goodbye, and the oldest Locke kiddo heads off for new adventures.
“A taxidermied ferret.”
In Nebraska, Ellie reunites with her son, and it’s very sweet. I love Sherri Saum. I missed her presence this season.
Down in the Keyhouse basement, Kinsey’s throwing Scot a going away party. Guess he was able to reclaim his spot in school after all.
Upstairs, Bode finds his mom crying in her room. He wants to give her a gift. He asks her to trust him and puts the Head Key into the keyhole opening on the back of her neck.
Nina’s nervous, but filled with child-like wonder when she sees what happens. Bode tells her he’ll explain everything, and they enter Nina’s Mind. I wonder if subconsciously there’s a memory of magic for those who’ve experienced it since none of them seem to freak out that much when they re-experience it?
Nina’s Mind is an antique shop. Her memories of her late husband, Rendell (Bill Heck), are stored in old jewelry. She relieves the morning she told her husband about being pregnant with Bode. He was a very welcome “whoopsy baby.” Nina tells Bode it was “the best” memory.
Back in the world of the living, Nina tells Bode she doesn’t want to forget what just happened. So, of course, Bode Memory Keys her.
“Captain Frederick Gideon.”
Outside, Evil-den sneaks into the well house and uses the Echo Key. She calls Captain Freddy Gideon. He emerges and asks who she is.
Evil-den recognizes him, not Freddy, but whoever is possessing his form. Freddy tells Evil-den to free him from the well house, but she says they’re gonna set some terms and conditions first.
Freddy may be a big shot in the demon world, but that’s not how it’s gonna work in this world. He’s gonna open the portal for her, all right? Evil-den uses the Anywhere Key to get them out of the well house.
Unfortunately for Evil-den, Freddy didn’t like her ultimatums, so he kills her. And, he peaces out into Matheson Academy.
All in all, I had fun watching Season Two of Locke & Key. That said, I am supremely annoyed with its portrayal of characters from marginalized communities. That’s clearly a greater problem at Netflix and nothing I fault the BIPOC/disabled/queer actors on this show for. Though I won’t be publishing it (see author’s note below), I had the chance to attend a roundtable and talk with a few of the actors from the show. They are all thoughtful individuals, who are proud of their work (and should be). Unless there’s a huge change in Netflix’s policies, I won’t be covering Season Three, but I do hope you enjoyed these recaps. What did you think of Locke & Key Season Two?
Catch all of our Locke & Key recaps, here!
Both seasons of Locke & Key are available now on Netflix.
Author’s note:
My recaps for season two of Locke & Key were nearly complete by the time that Netflix leadership’s transphobia came to light. While it is absolutely true that all corporations are evil to varying degrees and that everyone has their “problematic faves,” in my opinion, this situation is quite different. Netflix is an international company with a yearly revenue of $25 billion. Their behavior towards marginalized communities matters.
I am a nonbinary person. It was not an easy decision for me to post these recaps. I have canceled my personal Netflix subscription and following this season of Locke & Key recaps, will no longer be covering Netflix content, unless they change their ways. However, I believe that rather than staying silent, the most productive way to help my community at large is to publish these recaps and provide resources at the bottom of each article.
Thank you for reading.
More about the Netflix controversy:
- “Netflix trans employees and allies release a list of demands ahead of the walkout”
- “Netflix’s CEO Is Wrong. Transphobic Media Causes Real Harm“
Help save trans lives:
- Glaad’s trans resource page
- The Trevor Project
- National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition
- Transgender Law Center
- The Okra Project
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/27-queer-content-creators-of-color-we-love-and-support/
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