As the premiere of Locke & Key, this second episode kept reminding us that our babies are in danger. And we mean all our babies, not just the Locke kids. Personally, we didn’t think that could happen, the periphery characters being secondary for a reason while everything is happening to the Locke family. But Jackie…we can’t help but feeling for her and the situation that she’s in. Why? Because she’s sweet, kind, passionate, smart, and having the kind of adventures that are gamechanging. Forgetting that sounds terrifying.
Tyler shows that terror when he breaks down to Jackie what is happening to her. Sure, he cares for her and is in the stages of puppy love, but he cares for her as a person and as a friend as well. That’s why it hurts so much when he looks at Jackie and we’ve got to give it up to Connor Jessup for absolutely nailing that scene and showing us all how its done when it comes to emotional scenes that resonate. We really didn’t think that he had it in him and he went right and surprised us.
Then there’s the video that Tyler and Jackie recorded. We need a moment…it was the most adorable thing that we’ve seen in our lives. Here is this young man, eager to help the person he loves and cares for, all smiles and laughter even though he’s in pain inside. And here is this young woman, grasping at straws to keep a hold of the person she’s become by herself and by the side of this young man. It’s heartbreaking, beautiful, and really one of our favorite scenes from Locke & Key as a whole.
Then there’s the unexpected love triangle of Locke & Key: Kinsey, Gabe (Dodge), and Scot. Yes, we stand by it being unexpected because we didn’t think that Locke & Key would push this with Gabe obviously (for us) being Dodge. But here we are. If we pretend that Gabe is just Gabe, this love triangle is pretty fucked up. Kinsey looks cute as hell with Gabe and they look committed to each other. Her giving Scot “the eyes” isn’t fair to Gabe and makes Kinsey look indecisive and like she doesn’t know what she wants now that a prospect is leaving.
Now, let’s stop pretending that Gabe is anyone but Dodge. We’re glad that Dodge is experiencing these problems. She thinks she’s got everything down, everyone figured, and everything in the bag. Sorry, not sorry but you don’t. And seeing her experiencing roadblocks as innocent as teenage love, like, and indecision is actually kind of glorious. It’s also really curious. Faux Eden keeps teasing Dodge about liking Kinsey a little too much and maybe she isn’t that far off the mark. Maybe Dodge does like Kinsey and is missing things up.
Which brings us to that truly awkward making out scene. Awkward for us watching, not awkward for them actually doing it. We know Gabe is Dodge and we were just hoping and praying that Locke & Key wouldn’t take it that far, and we’re glad they didn’t. Instead, they threw a wrench into it all that was kind of unfair from Kinsey. People don’t owe each other access to their actual brains. And we don’t even like Dodge/Gabe like that and even we were like, “Woah, just because you’re having doubts about the relationships doesn’t mean you can force something like this on someone, Kinsey.”
No means no, even when it comes to evil psycho villains like Dodge that want to destroy the world. And we love that Locke & Key is toeing this complicated line where you can hate the villain with all your heart but understand that this is a big no no that we don’t cross because consent is consent. Hopefully, crossing our fingers and toes, that Kinsey doesn’t sneak it up on him because we’d lose major respect for her and side-eye her while still wanting her to win over Dodge aka the echo that wants to destroy things because reasons.
Finally, there’s Nina and newcomer Josh. We were not for the mansplaining. Seriously, as soon as Josh opened his mouth and started telling Nina how to do her job we were like, “Nope. Boy bye. Next.” Nina is a force to be reckoned with and deserves all the love in the world. And this basic man has no business being around her if he’s going to act like that. Good thing that he later on voiced his bullshit and called it mansplaining. We don’t like that Nina said “It’s okay,” in response but as women we’re taught to downlay our own feelings so we get you.
That reveal that Josh has a dollhouse (yes, we’re going to call it that) of the Locke house is extra creepy. The dude did not move to this small town because of tragedy. He moved because he’s after the keys, we just know it. There have to have been other families involved in the making of these keys of with knowledge of them. And what if this man is desperate to find them and somehow bring his wife back? Desperation and love are a potent combination that can absolutely move mountains. Until next episode, we’ll see.
Locke & Key season two is available on Netflix.
