It’s been a month exactly since the second season of Locke & Key premiered on Netflix, so I think it’s a good time to share this review of the series. I must confess that before knowing that there would be a show with this name, I had never heard of the comic created by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez, but I took on the task of reading a little about the plots developed in the original material to have a broader context and thus be able to share with you a more complete review.
After we were presented with the general approach to the story in the first season and we had the opportunity to get to know each of the main characters, as well as have an overview of the keys and what can be done with them, with this new batch of episodes we were able to discover the origin of the keys and the demons that haunt the protagonists and we had a glimpse of the way in which all the characters are linked.
The season begins by taking us to 1775, when some soldiers of the British army find the portal that in the present time is hidden behind the black door, and there they receive the “bullets” (demons) that come from the other side which make them stronger. In the following episodes, we return to the past and discover that this same situation is linked to the fact that the Locke family are the only ones who can create the keys.
In relation to this topic, but also towards the personal side of the characters, this season we meet Josh Bennett, the new history teacher at Matheson Academy, who after become a widower, moves to town with his daughter, who turns out to be Bode’s schoolmate and who doesn’t doubt from the very first moment to believe in the magical world to which her new friend introduces her and becomes his accomplice in many of the adventures he lives this season. Josh also, and although at the beginning he clashes with Nina as he criticizes the work that she is doing in the remodeling of the school theater of the Matheson Academy, a romantic relationship develops between them that eventually ends, although it remains open to maybe continue later. But Josh is also a character that we discover is in some way related to the origin of the keys and Key House, as he turns out to be a descendant of one of those soldiers who became hosts of the demons, and as if that were not enough, he is the owner of a miniature replica of the mansion, which also happens to have its magical part and it is the protagonist of some complicated moments for the Locke family.
Regarding the moments that I think should be highlighted this season, I think it is important to mention the fact that Kinsey and Tyler manage to “rescue” Erin, their father’s ex-girlfriend from their own mind, in which they had been trapped since she was a teen, and it is thanks to her that Duncan finally recovers his memory using one of the keys, although this process is not free of hard and dark moments that the Locke’s uncle goes through, before being able to become an ally of the children in their fight against the dark forces that haunt them.
I really liked this situation, because I enjoyed seeing the youngest teaming up with the adults in their adventures, both with Duncan and Erin, unfortunately she fulfilled her role very soon and ended up succumbing to the evil of Dodge who, although this season we miss his appearance in the form of Laysla De Oliveira who returned only in the last episode for the final battle, was also very well played by Griffin Gluck, as the echo that as Gabe, created a somewhat fun alliance with Eden, which in the previous installment had a more secondary role, but this time she could stand out more.
And this evil complicity between these two demons posing as high school students, leads me to talk about what undoubtedly seemed to me the most emotional plot of Locke & Key 2, and that was Tyler and Jackie’s. I liked the approach we were presented with when Jackie decided not to remember magic, even if it meant losing good memories, because for her it was more important to have peace and tranquility by forgetting the bad things that magic also brings with it. And in the end, I consider that her death, although it was very sad and unexpected, ends up being a good reminder that the “good guys” do not always win, no matter how much they, or we as viewers, want it, and that this magical world is not a field of roses either. I also think that this situation is the fuel that perhaps Tyler and the others needed to dare to face Dodge once and for all.
Although the story develops in a fast and active way as in the first installment, I did not miss moments of frustration with some of the actions of the characters, I could even say more than in the previous season. And as I just mentioned, it is obvious that the main characters can not always win, there comes a time when it becomes difficult to accept that nothing goes well for them and that they lose valuable opportunities to get ahead of the villains. The example of this that seems the clearest to me is when they try to set a trap for Gabe in Key House to lock him back in the well, but they forget to take care of the little details and the group of four (five, if we count Jamie who was helping them through the miniature mansion) ends up being overtaken by Gabe and Eden.
Another thing that frustrated me and I didn’t enjoy was Nina’s situation of feeling isolated and disconnected from her children, and one of the things I was looking forward the most through the whole season, was her children deciding to include her in the magical memories, so I was relieved that in the end we are left with the idea that Bode will use the memory key on her so she can finally remember the magic.
This finally brings me to talk about what I hope we see in season 3, and I start precisely with this plot. I think there is a lot of potential in the fact that Nina is also included as part of the group and I hope this helps her character have more importance in the stories of the next installment. I don’t know if there will be more seasons, but from what I read about the comic book plots, there is not much left to explore from the source material, so I think that maybe the third installment could be the last, so I imagine a more epic battle could come, considering also that in the last scene of this season it was clear to us that we will have a new villain, even more powerful than the ones we have met so far, and I think that then the good guys will have to count on all the help they can get, so in addition to Nina, I think it will be interesting that we see again the ghost of Sam Lesser, who this time already gave them a little help to find a new key. It will also be interesting to see what happens to Tyler now that he decided, in a way to honor Jackie’s memory, not to remember magic after he turns 18, because I have the slight suspicion that he will have to put these plans aside when his family needs him fully invested in the magical world.
Anyway, I think in general Locke & Key had a good second season and I hope that for the third we get a good batch of new episodes.
This is the end of my review, and I thank you if you made it this far and now I ask you to share your thoughts in the comments section.