When Locke & Key arrived last year, I mentioned how exhausting and tired its whimsical, Harry Potter-like approach to a darker source material felt to me. The second season delves deeper into the lore, and thankfully, does bring more darkness to the story than before. However, the series is still marred by CW-level teenage romance subplots and the general dumbness of its characters.
Three months after the events of the first season, the Locke children are living it up and having fun with the Keys. Kinsey (Emilia Jones) is relaxing inside her own head and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) is using a newly discovered Hercules Key that grants super-strength to move furniture around the house. However, their bliss is soon disrupted as they realize that Dodge (Laysla De Oliveira) is still around, this time in the form of high schooler Gabe (Griffin Gluck) who also happens to be Kinsey’s new boyfriend. Gabe is joined by Eden (Hallea Jones), who got possessed by a demon at the end of the first season. Soon, the Lockes have to contend with Dodge as they try to gain mastery over the Keys and raise their own army.
The show tackles some poignant issues this season, such as the terror of growing up and forgetting about magic. Tyler’s (Connor Jessup) girlfriend, Jackie (Genevieve Kang) is starting to forget magic and Tyler is trying his best to find a solution before time runs out. Duncan (Aaron Ashmore) starts to get flashes of his lost memories and eventually recovers them. Nina (Darby Stanchfield) is trying to move on from her husband’s death and get into dating again.
The darker elements, like an exploration of the history behind the Keys and how the Lockes came to create them, as well as the higher body count, work for the most part. Some horror moments, such as Keyhouse being attacked by a giant spider and Kinsey having to fight off deadly mannequins inside Eden’s head, also harken back to the tone of the dark source material.
But the most glaring flaw of this show is how dumb the characters can be during many crucial moments.
The Lockes continuously make stupid decisions.
Bode, in particular, is egregiously gullible. Apparently, he hasn’t learned anything since last season and when Gabe drops by to investigate Keyhouse, Bode just lets him do as he pleases. Erin, one of the original Keepers who wakes up from a catatonic state after a couple of decades, tries to take care of Dodge by herself and gets killed for it. When the Lockes try to apprehend Gabe, their plan is undone by a random mistake and Gabe promptly kidnaps Duncan and Bode. To be fair, even Gabe isn’t on their best behavior as a despicable mastermind. Griffin Gluck’s presence doesn’t match up to the sinister air that followed Dodge wherever they went.
Maybe Locke & Key will improve in the future, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
The third season has already wrapped filming, and it’s likely to be more of the same.
Like another Netflix show focusing on teenagers and magic, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Locke & Key is a fun show but it’s riddled with flaws. But if you can ignore them, you can enjoy the fantastical nature and lore of the Keys. The second half of the show is rushed and the ending, which neatly wraps up multiple loose ends, feels unearned. With Tyler going off to college, maybe things will change for the better in the third season.