User Reviews

I enjoyed this season even more than the first.

It's a fantastic world build and I really liked how they looked at some of the repercussions of the rules of the world on other characters, Especially Duncan having a melt down over partial memories, and Mum (Nina) feeling something was up but being on the outside of it due to adults not being able to remember, and now Tyler choosing that path to deal with killing Jackie.

It makes the world a lot more detailed and shaded than a simple magic keys story.

I liked bringing other characters back into the story, Ellie, Lucas, the kid stuck with Fredick etc.

FX were pretty decent, the house looked great. The terrible waves at the entrance to the cave were hilarious, ie someone throwing regular cups of water across the opening way too fast looked ridiculous. I'm hoping that was on purpose.

Waiting almost 2 years to get the next 10 episodes was way too long. I had forgotten many important aspects, but probably should have re-watched S1.

There were only a couple of plot armor mcguffins this series which was a relief after S1s groaners. Writers learned a little from that. Hopefully they can keep that up. It still wasn't perfect but for me it was passable.

Gay uncle Duncan was a bit of an unnecessary double diversity grab. The reveal and introduction to his boyfriend was a wtf moment, as in "wait, What?' Why?, Then Huh?, and then it had zero relevance to anything in the story and we never saw the bf again. It just seemed pointless and distracting from the story. Embarrassingly crowbarred in for what ever non-reason.

A small bit of flab in an otherwise pretty well planned story arc.

Bring on season 3 (and 4).

So what exactly is the downside of being an echo? So far it seems they are just immortal, but otherwise exactly like they were before they died.

So... why doesn't Tyler play with the idea of bringing Jackie back?

Anyway, solid finale. Not sure I like that they set up a completely new villain for season 3, but we'll see how it plays out.

Bode and his mom story part are the best of all. Other characters in this season 2 doing much better by making less stupid decision than season 1. As always, Kingsey still underestimate Bode and feels only she can do/handle all the things kind of annoying.

They did not waste time getting started with the plotline of season 2. Action elements set the tone with Fantasy soon following suit in S02 "Locke and Key" on Netflix.

Writers Meredith Averill, Aron Eli Coleite, and Carlton Cuse re-established all the major characters from season 1. Gabe (played by Griffin Gluck) and Eden Hawkins (played by Hallea Jones) are close to a major diabolical discovery. Gabe dove into his role as the 'bad guy' quite well. Dodge (played by Laysla De Oliveira) was playing her usual dangerous games in this season disguised as Gabe.

This season saw the Locke family taking things up several notches. Bode (played by Jackson Robert Scott), Tyler (played by Connor Jessup), and Kinsey (played by Emilia Jones) had several Keys in their possession, and were making interesting use of them. As the show progressed, demons manifested in bolder ways, and made for great viewing. New keys also came into play, adding to the wonder and captivation.

Meanwhile, the mother Nina (played by Darby Stanchfield) and uncle Duncan (played by Aaron Ashmore) remained incapable of remembering anything magical they may have seen in connection to the kids. Apparently, once you're over eighteen years of age you lose the ability to hear or use the keys. Duncan Locke, however, is made to remember, with help from Erin Voss. Things got mighty interesting after that.

Scot Cavendish (played by Petrice Jones) and Zadie Wells (played by Genevieve Kang) brought in some nice 'new friendship' angles. There was some prevailing tension between Scot and Kinsey - it was nice to see them later settle their differences and get back together again. Jackie Veda (played by Genevieve Kang) had a flame going with Tyler - it was sad to see her go. These were nice coming-of-age portions to watch in a series known for harbouring multiple 'magic fantasy' elements.

Josh Bennett (played by Brendan Hines) brought a wonderful sense of academia to his role, and a deep appreciation of history. He was a great 'new character' to introduce in season 2. His getting closer to Nina Locke was at once suspicious and charming. The two of them had good chemistry, though.

Doug Brazelle (played by Jesse Camacho) was a witty character - Jesse had a good sense of comedic timing. Erin Voss (younger version played by Nicole James and older version by Joy Tanner) became a majorly important character, seeing as how she finally woke up from her coma. Her dislike of Dodge gave her plenty of reasons to join the fight in season 2. They gave her a noble death.

Keyhouse, the Locke's ancestral home, sits near a sea-cave containing an active inter-dimensional portal. Several key (no pun intended) mysteries gradually bloomed as each episode began and ended. They actually figured out Dodge's agenda involving the keys, and why she took on Gabe's physical guise. I'm glad they did this (around epi 6 itself) and didn't put it off till next season. It kept the suspense going steady.

The historical flashback scenes (episode 8) of Keyhouse back in 1775 - it was such a different place - in Matheson, Massachusetts, was remarkable. So many interesting characters here, great performances by all of them. Frederick Gideon's (played by Kevin Durand) purpose in the plot found renewed meaning in these sequences. All of it imparted credibility to the goings-on at the house in modern times, and the Locke family in particular.

Varied writers and directors came on board to work on this much-anticipated series. I'm glad they didn't disappoint. Each episode brought something more than the last - no lazy loopholes or plot contrivances. Torin Borrowdale's musical scoring continued in its vein of subtle excellence. The soundtracks used were all good.

Crew in the stunts, VFX, hair and makeup, costume, art, set, and sound departments all did great work on season 2 of Netflix's "Locke and Key". Special shoutout to Dylan Macleod's cinematography. There was nothing over the top, and all scenes were in keeping with the theme and spirit of goings-on in this season.

The original graphic novels by Joe Hill continued to inspire and inform this second-season TV adaptation of "Locke and Key". Characterization remained consistent, and the plotline evolved by leaps and bounds. It started out slow but S02 picked up in earnest and raced to a captivating finish, paving the way for a thrill-packed season 3.

Showrunners Carlton Cuse and Meredith Averill have already teased the third season of "Locke and Key" with some juicy hints and details. Here's hoping they deliver. As far as season 2 went, it was better than the first one and genuinely lived up to the hype. The finale turned out unexpectedly great, and left ample room to play with plotlines going forward.

How are our main characters not realising there's still loose ends. Like they just let Eden go with the keys? So stupid.

This show is OK. Season one was definitely better imo. Writing is still incredibly cheesy at times. The keys are the only thing keeping it interesting enough to watch.

SEASON 2

The first season of Locke and Key was criticized for not having the edginess, violence and gore present in the comics and for it's slow pace, and of course for characters acting irrationally and taking stupid decisions. With the second season, the creators have tried to change that. Pacing of the season is much better, the episodes are not always family friendly and the whole season feels more eventful. Characters still act irrationally sometimes, but not as much as the first season.

WHAT'S GOOD :

1. Finally we are made aware of what the motive of Dodge/Gabe is. In the first season we see how fierce and menacing Dodge can get, but without a clear motive it always felt like an incomplete story, her motive and intentions were the missing part of the story.

2. Turning people into demons was an interesting concept, and would have really turned the show into a proper horror show, if the creators had gone full scale. This plot could have easily spilled into the third season, but I guess the creators didn't want to turn this show into another zombie based show, no one has the patience to endure such shows anymore.

3. The head key has so many different possibilities, a whole new world to explore and create, basically it turns you into a god; so it's always fascinating to see how far your imagination can take you. I really liked how Kinsey used it to spend some relaxing time at her dream destination. The usage of head key also gave us an extremely spooky scene of some faceless plastic models chasing Kinsey and Scott. That scene felt straight out of a horror movie and was very well executed.

4. I did not expect anyone important to die in this show, considering its family friendly vibe and children being the target audience; so when it happened, I was taken aback, it was a shocking moment and I felt really bad for Tyler and Jackie. Kudos to the creators for going the distance and giving this show a dark tone.

5. It was quite exciting to see the kids grappling with the giant spider in their house. For once we got to explore and enjoy an adventure that had nothing to do with Dodge or Gabe. I would have really loved to see more such side adventures.

6. It was great to see Kinsey and Scot getting back together. Kinsey's breakup with Scot and friendship with Gabe made no sense at all, so I am glad the writers fixed that mistake this season.

7. It was good to see Duncan getting involved with the kids in their adventure ride this season. Aaron Ashmore did a pretty good job this season, and I am really glad the writers decided to expand his role. Duncan and Bode coming across a drawer filled with Audio Cassettes and Bode looking at them with amusement with no clue of what they were, was a scene that was nostalgic as well as funny.

8. Despite all the stupid decisions and plot conveniences, it goes without saying that this is a very engaging and entertaining show. This entire season was quite eventful and never for a moment did I feel like quitting it. Once you get on the ride, you won't be able to get off it without reaching the finishing line.

9. The visual effects, cinematography and art direction were great as usual. The technical department has ensured that the world of magic feels magical.

WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD :

1. There is nothing more irritating than watching characters take stupid decisions and acting irrationally. Why was it necessary for Erin to go after Dodge on her own? What made her believe that she could handle a demon all on her own? Why was it so difficult for her to understand that four individuals fighting a demon will always be better than just one person fighting it out alone?

2. Duncan created the Demon key, using his own blood, so the people turned into demons listened to him in the end; fair enough, but then but why did they listen to Gabe initially? Gabe did not create them, he did not add his blood in the molten key, so then why were they taking his orders? Javi was the first demon, why did he listen to Gabe and follow his commands? That was a major plot hole in my opinion.

3. When the cave starts collapsing in episode 9, the portal to the other world gets opened and Ellie falls out, unhurt, after being there for months. What happened to her inside that world? If the demon world has demons, as per it's name, and it keeps shooting demonic bullets every few seconds, then how did Ellie survive in there for so many months? All this while she just kept hanging in there, near the gate? How did she even stay alive without food and water for so long? She is one strong woman, because she not only survived but had the strength to walk from the cave to the key house. Logically speaking, she should have turned into a demon. There can of course be other scenarios, but the show didn't provide us with any explanation.

4. The Doll House was an insanely powerful yet criminally underutilized weapon. In episode 7, when Jamie was tasked with trapping Eden, she could also have easily flicked or dragged Gabe into the room that the Locke's wanted him to go. One of the Locke's could have used the anywhere key to connect the door to the well house. Everything was visible to Jamie, and it was as tiny as a toy, she could have crushed Eden to her death, that's how easy it was for her to harm Gabe and Eden; and yet all that the Locke's could think of was to put a glass on Eden, while they struggled with Gabe.

5. When Josh asked his daughter Jamie to stop playing with the Dollhouse, she was doing something very important, it was a life and death scenario, and she just pulled out her hand like it was a game! Jamie is shown to be a very intelligent girl, but in that moment she didn't act like one. She should have explained everything to her father and helped the Locke's. Adult can't remember magic, but they can definitely see it, isn't it? In that moment he could have got involved and done something. That was a very frustrating scene to watch.

6. Why was the Dollhouse out of the Key House? Duncan didn't like the house, but he had kept everything intact, why would the Locke's sell or donate such a powerful and dangerous thing? Selling the Doll House to an antique shop endangered the lives of the Locke's, why would any of the descendants of the Locke family put their own life at risk?

7. Why didn't the children use the memory key on their mother soon after Duncan? That woman was under so much stress, and yet her children didn't bother to help her. Nina Locke's scenes were the dullest scenes of the season; every scene involving her felt like those filler episode that no one is interested in watching. Why not make her a part of the adventure, like Duncan, by fixing her?

8. The character of Josh felt quite mysterious initially, but it turned out that he existed only to give us a history lesson about the Locke's. Also, why exactly was he following the orders of Eden towards the end, that too without talking about it with anyone; not even his daughter. He went to the dangerous caves, where he could have died, but he didn't bother to mention it to his only daughter, who has absolutely no one in the world after him. Josh's behavior just did not make any kind of sense towards the end of the season.

9. Why did the key fail to work on Jackie? I am sure Tyler's intention was to bring Jackie back to her normal state and remove demon that was inside her. Even though, the keys are powered by demonic power, they never really trick the Locke's; every time a Locke made a key, it has turned out to be exactly how they wanted it to be, without any catch; so what happened with Tyler then? It killed the Demon, but it should not have killed Jackie, the demonic power should have completely vanished from inside her.

10. The character of Jackie, played by Genevieve Kang, remained a single note character till the end. It was quite strange to see her character not getting much attention and development, considering the fact that she was Tyler's girlfriend. Also, her reasons for not using the memory key did not make much sense; she would have remembered everything and also it's always better to be aware about the dangers that exist around us. She clearly did not see the hot mess that Nina Locke was, otherwise she would have never said no to the key.

11. How did no one in the school notice that Gabe was never really a student there? Did he do his homework? Did he give any tests or exams? Surely, during the exams the teachers must have noticed something off? Gabe was always visiting Kinsey at key house, why didn't she ever think about visiting his house?

12. In episode 4, Bode conveniently forgets to take back the Ghost key from Gabe; in fact this event never comes up for discussion in the future! It's amazing to see these children act so careless with the keys. Bode is generally a very sensible kid, but sometimes he acts extremely irrationally. I was quite shocked to see Bode shout back at his teacher when she took away his phone; I don't know how aggressive children in America are, but Bode was way out of line there.

The end of this season felt like the end of this series with almost every single thread coming to a close and the main villain gone. The role of Fredrick Gideon seemed fine when he appeared in the flashbacks, but bringing him back in the present as the new villain did not come across as a good idea to me. Of course, some new adventures in the lives of the children as they explore their magical world would always make for a fascinating watch.

Honestly I lost interest after episode 7; Duncan able to make a key do anything and instead making it do exactly what Dodge asked it to was just gob-smackingly poor writing and I skimmed through the rest of the season. Finale was otherwise ok; tied up a few loose ends nicely enough but Eden having the Echo and Anywhere keys and another demon-nobody-will know-is-a-demon-released feels too much like a rinse and repeat for season 3. I'm looking less forward to season 3 than I was for season 2 but will probably still check it out.