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, Godge (Griffin Gluck) got the Key he’s been angling for all season.  

Related: Locke & Key  Recap: (S02E07) “Best Laid Plans”

“Shame on you for … not even inviting me in for a cup of tea!”

We open Locke & Key Season Two, Episode Eight “Irons in the Fire” on:

Ext: Keyhouse. Matheson, Massachusetts. 1775.

It’s snowy, and we pan in slowly to the ye olde house. A dapper young man (Carson MacCormac) crunches through the snow towards the shed, where his father (Joseph Kathrein) is forging weaponry. The young man laments that he hasn’t inherited his father’s gift for metalworking. What is his purpose? he wonders. Seriously, this kid is comically bad at striking iron. 

That night, the young man awakes to the sound of horses neighing. The British have come! Oh, hey, it’s the captain from the cave in the season opener. I’m sure nothing bad’s gonna happen. The young dude goes to alert his father, but he already saw the men. He sends his son into town to alert the revolutionary captains. His father, whose name we now learn is Peter, sends his wife and daughter, Miranda (Chloe Avakian), to hide. 

The dude from the cave introduces himself as Captain Frederick Gideon (Kevin Durand), and he’s arrived at Keyhouse because rumor has it that Peter’s been manufacturing colonial weapons. Peter tells Freddy that rumors are ugly (just like his face!) and that he’d better go, ’cause the Locke family is sleeping. 

So, Freddy kicks dear old Peter to the ground for his insolence. The British officers go into Keyhouse to search. They find “the belongings,” ie the weaponry and Peter’s wife and daughter. Even grosser is, Peter gets mad at Freddy and Co for “stealing” what doesn’t “belong to them.”

“Anyone get any rest?”

Back to present-day Keyhouse, which, by the way, got a major glow-up at some point between the Revolutionary War and now. 

The Lockes, minus Nina (Darby Stanchfield), are in the kitchen, blinking their eyes from exhaustion. Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) wants to know why Godge hasn’t attacked again. Kinsey (Emilia Jones) thinks he’ll probably create a demon army first. Tyler (Connor Jessup) suggests they warn all their friends, or else they’re gonna be first on the list. 

Kinsey and Tyler arm themselves with the Hercules and Matchstick Keys, respectively. They send Bode off to school. When will they learn that sidelining that kid is not a good idea? He starts screaming at them because duh. He doesn’t settle down, even when Duncan (Aaron Ashmore) insists he’ll protect Nina.

Her ears burning, literally and figuratively, Nina walks into the kitchen to find out what all the commotion’s about. Duncan is the worst liar and tells Nina a half-truth that Kinsey and Godge have been having trouble and that that’s been rough on Bode since he and Godge were buddies. 

“I’m the ‘funcle,’ what can I tell ya?”

Nina’s parent-jealous that her kids are going to Duncan with their problems, rather than to her. He brushes it off, tells her not to worry about it. I get that Duncan, Kinsey and Tyler are just trying to protect Nina and Bode, but pushing people out doesn’t solve problems … 

Duncan tries to make Nina feel better by offering to be her intern for the day. Does Duncan not have a job? (Again, why didn’t he just go to Japan with his partner? The holes, the holes …)

Meanwhile, Javi (Kevin Alves) pulls up to a house that literally hangs over the sea. Guess mudslides aren’t an issue in Massachusetts. Evil-den (Hallea Jones) pops out of the woods and walks in after him. 

As it turns out, Godge has created a demon army and has prepared for them a feast of fast food. Evil-den makes a grand entrance with a quip about not having been invited to brunch. Godge is like, How many times do I have to break up with you? Evil-den threatens to kill Kinsey in retaliation. In retaliation to that, Godge threatens Evil-den with his demon army. Geez, make out already. 

“Did I do something wrong?”

Next, Kinsey and Tyler are on their way to school when they get stopped by Detective Mutuku (Martin Roach). Surprise! He’s a demon now too! (Are we really surprised this show has Turned another Black person evil?). Tyler speeds the eff out of there. 

Look, I’m not mad, I’m disappointed. I really like this show and believe in its potential. That’s why I’m so harsh on this point. Minorities suffering in horror is already such a trope, wouldn’t it’ve been nice for Locke & Key to have subverted that? Unfortunately, they’ve already filmed their third season, so I doubt any of these issues will be addressed or changed. 

Over in his office, Mansplaining Weasel (Brendan Hines) is reading his ancestor’s diary, which transitions us back to 1775. 

The British soldiers have loaded up the weaponry and ammo. They’ve got one task left: burn the witches women!  Luckily, the younger Locke arrives with reinforcements in the nick of time. Bang bang bang! Down go the Brits. They’re going to retreat, the Revolutionaries have won this small battle. But, Peter is out for revenge. 

“And worst of all, your death will mean nothing.”

Too bad, so sad, that when the actual time comes to plunge his knife into Freddy, Peter can’t do it. So, Freddy steals the knife and lays waste to Mr. Locke. Peter’s whole family witnesses it. 

The British soldiers escape and take refuge in the sea caves. Here we begin to repeat the events of the season opener. Outside the cave, the revolutionaries realize where the British have run off to. 

In the cave, Freddy pulls at some rock to reveal the Black Hole-Door-Whatever. Some Whispering Iron shoots out and falls to the floor. They then hear the revolutionaries in the distance and know they’ve been found. 

The revolutionaries are understandably mesmerized by the Black Hole-Door thing, and the Brits take that opportunity to strike. So does the Hole-Door. A Whispering Iron bullet hits a Brit right in the neck. He turns demon, but the Revolutionaries shoot him back into the blue-black abyss. 

Freddy wants some of that sweet iron. He raises his arms, Jesus-style, and gets shot through the heart with a demon pellet. The Revolutionaries capture him before he can go off to create any chaos. He’s v. angry. 

Back to the present. Hold up. We see the book Mansplaining Weasel’s reading and it’s called Massachusetts and the Revolution … How much of this story was in that book?

There’s a knock on his door. Jamie (Liyou Abere) enters to tell him she’s on her way to school. He lost track of time (father of the year, y’all). At least his complete distraction gives Jamie a chance to snatch the Small World Key back from her dad. 

“Try and take this from me.”

Elsewhere at Matheson Academy, Kinsey and Scot (Petrice Jones) are filling in the rest of the Savinis on the whole Godge is Dodge and Evil-den’s a demon news. The level of surprise is mixed. 

All right, so here’s where I’m confused. Kinsey tests her friends’ human status by holding out a Key and telling them, “Try and take this from me.” Is that not an offering? Is it about intent? In any case, none of the Savinis are demons. 

Abby (Leishe Meyboom) wants to know what they’re supposed to do if a demon comes after them. Smart lady. Kinsey very matter-of-factly tells her friends they’ll have to kill them. ‘Cause, it’s that easy. Abby is perturbed, considering they may know these demon-people. Zadie (Asha Bromfield ) is thrilled her life has turned into a Romero movie. And Doug (Jesse Camacho) just wants to know if vampire rules apply (kill the sire, kill them all). 

Meanwhile, Tyler’s testing his friends. Logan (Erice Graise) isn’t a demon, but he does have questionable judgment. He liked Javi? And so did Tyler? I mean, sure be sad that an innocent-ish person got Turned, but Javi was not a likeable person, per se. 

Further confusing me about Key lore, Tyler asks Jackie (Genevieve Kang) if she “wants to see” the Key he has and shoves it in her face. How is that not offering the key? She takes it easily. Tyler asks Logan to keep an eye on Jackie since she has no clue as to what’s going on. 

Duncan and Tyler meet up in the hallway, and Tyler fills his uncle in on demon Mutuku, telling him to keep Nina away from her former friend. 

“Don’t say anything else.”

Next, Bode’s in class, texting away for constant status updates. His teacher, Mrs. Lafferty (Tara Nicodemo) catches him and gives him a warning. Jamie hands him the Small World Key back, and then his phone buzzes again. Bode’s teacher takes his phone away, telling him he can get it back at recess. 

Bode loses his s***. He yells for her to give it back. His teacher is so rude to him and threatens to send him to the principal. Ugh. I know, I know classroom teachers are overworked and underpaid. But, kids don’t usually lash out over nothing. Kids are human beings, and it’s important to treat them with the respect you’d give adults /end rant. 

Jamie pulls Bode back to his seat and tells him not to say another word. There’s a lot of fear in her eyes. As if this scene weren’t sad enough. 

Back in his office, Mansplaining Weasel is still reading Nina’s ledger (does he not teach?).

So, Freddy Gideon was brought to the Locke well house (dun dun dun!) after being captured in the sea cave. He’s a-writing in his diary that he found another realm, that its splendor should be allowed to take over Earth, etc. And he sticks the piece of Whispering Iron into his diary. 

Next, the remaining Colonial-era Lockes are gathered around the gallows to watch Freddy’s execution. Before he’s hanged, Freddy rages about how others from his world will rip this world apart. Typical villain stuff. 

Back in the present-day, Mansplaining Weasel reads that Freddy, his ancestor, was found guilty of murdering Peter Locke. He stares meaningfully at the dollhouse. 

“Are you okay?”

Over in the drama room, Nina and Duncan are preparing to paint. He realizes she’s not doing so hot. So, she says she’s worried about relapsing since she feels so disconnected and lonely. Duncan asks how he can help. Nina says focusing on something else is good, so they get back to the task at hand. 

Meanwhile, Zadie is studying when she spies Javi marching through the snow, like a demon on a mission. She calls Scot to warn him, but Scot’s already got eyes on Javi. Scot calls Kinsey, and she heads over to trail Javi.

Next, Bode and Jamie are walking through the halls, and he’s stressing about what might happen to Nina if something bad happened to one of them. She can’t remember magic, so she wouldn’t know what actually happened. Oh, sweetie. 

Bode gets his phone back and is updated about the Javi sitch. He tells Jamie to cover for him and runs out of school. 

Then, Tyler gets the text and heads to meet up with Kinsey. 

“Uh … Oh God.”

Next, Doug spots Javi, and we get more jokes at Doug’s expense. He preps to beat him up, but Javi just runs past him to chase Scot. As he runs, Doug yells after him: “Knew those Krav Mama classes would pay off!” Just … why?

So, Javi chases Scot, Kinsey comes up behind Javi to knock him out with a baseball bat. But, this was all a trap because soon the whole army of demons is upon them. They easily overpower Kinsey and Scot and take them to their leader. 

Godge tells Kinsey what he wants (what he wants, what he really, really wants), which is for her to join him. 

Meanwhile, Bode is on his bike, hauling butt to Matheson Academy. He uses Find My Friends Friend Tracker to locate Kinsey and Tyler. 

Back to Godge and Co. Godge isn’t gonna just Turn Kinsey. He wants her consent, he wants her to choose it. Awww, he really does love her.  Scot pulls a Belle a la Beauty in the Beast, offering himself up in her stead.

But, before Godge can Turn Scot, Bode arrives and pulls the fire alarm. Everyone has to evacuate. Dude, don’t sideline this kid. Kinsey, Scot and Tyler run into Bode outside and are very impressed with his skillz.

 Tyler tells him he’ll meet them at home because he has to find Jackie first. Unfortunately, Godge finds Logan and Jackie before Tyler can. 

In a rare moment of conscious parenting, Nina asks Duncan if they should check on the kids. But, Duncan gets a text from Kinsey filling him in on the happenings; he tells Nina the kids are already en route back to Keyhouse. Just then, Detective Mutuku rolls up to campus, so Duncan decides it’s time to GTFO. 

“Sorry, lover. I can’t do that.”

Next, Tyler heads to the cafeteria to find Jackie, who runs up to him to give him a big ole hug. She wants to know why he and Logan are acting so weird. Tyler has the presence of mind to do the Key test again. His hand is shaking as he holds it out to her. Unfortunately, Jackie doesn’t live here anymore. 

Demon Jackie urges Tyler to join her on the Dark Side. Kudos to Genevieve Kang, the shift in her acting was good. Too bad Locke & Key has never given her much to do. 

From over in a corner, Logan cries for Tyler not to listen to Jackie, for Godge Turned her into a “psycho demon chick.” Oh my, the layers of ableism. So, Godge didn’t Turn Logan — presumably because he’s a bilateral amputee since as a person of color, he’d be just Godge’s type. But then, Logan goes around using words like psycho? I can’t even. 

So, Tyler uses the Matchstick Key to keep Jackie at bay while he and Logan escape. 

“It scares me. Yet, I’m drawn to it.”

And, now we’re back in 1775. The younger Locke — Benjamin — according to the subtitles, and his sister, Miranda are staring at the Black Hole thing, which they realize is supernatural. They need to find a way to contain it. 

A piece of Whispering Iron shoots out from the void. Interestingly, Miranda can’t hear the whispering, but Benjamin can. Not that he can make out actual words or anything. 

Next, in the present, Mansplaining Weasel is hard at work in the library when Evil-den comes to him with a proposition (not that kind). She very seductively tells him she knows where his “little metal lump came from.”

Evil-den tells him he knows the portal he seeks is in a sea cave and that she knows the location of said sea cave. He assumes she can’t possibly know anything about it … because she’s a she? And so, Mansplaining Weasel humors her oh-so condescendingly. But, Evil-den has been dealing with losers of his ilk her whole life, both human and demon. She’s not giving her info for free. Her quid pro quo? Find her the Key that opens the door to the portal. 

Back at Keyhouse, Bode, Duncan and Kinsey camp out by the fire, doing a headcount. The Savinis are safe and accounted for. Tyler bursts in; he needs Duncan’s help. 

“A key turns both ways.”

So, Tyler starts frantically rummaging through the house. He believes they can save Jackie and is pretty sure they can make a Key to unlock the demon from Jackie’s soul, since it was the Demon Key that locked it in there in the first place. 

Duncan helpfully points out that you need Whispering Iron to make a Key. Tyler is all, This house is full of magical deus ex machinas; we’ll find some. 

Sure enough, that ball cap with a fishing lure that was so pointedly introduced a few episodes ago? Well, Rendell (Bill Heck) did always say that lure was there “in case of emergency.”  Tyler smashes the lure and sure ’nuff, it’s hiding a chunk of Whispering Iron. 

Interestingly, Tyler’s the only one who can hear the Whispering. Guess someone’s gonna learn how to make a Key. I really want to learn more about the sentience of these damn Keys. 

Case in point, back in 1775, Benji tells his sister that he is gonna use the Whispering Iron to make a door for the portal and it’s gonna make both a lock and key for it. He knows in his heart that it will work. It doesn’t.

Then, his sister suggests that he might need to sacrifice a bit of blood since that’s how alchemical rituals work and all. Or, at least, she has read that. This time, the Key works. 

The Colonial Locke siblings close the portal with the Omega Key and door. They find more Whispering Iron, and Benjamin is excited to find out what else they can make. 

We end in the present, with Uncle Duncan passing on the tradition of Key making to his nephew. 

All in all, I really liked getting more of the Locke history. Origin stories are always fun, and from what I know of the Locke & Key comics, this story has plenty. But, I want to know more about the way the magic works! What are you liking this season? What are you not liking as much? Click below for the next recap. 

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. 

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