TV Review: Locke & Key Season 2 Is Locked & Loaded
Locke & Key Season 2 is so good, and picks up right where we left our beloved Lockes… in a false, happy ending. At the time, they thought they had “dodged Dodge (Laysla De Oliveira),” but the demon knows how to escape hell, and Griffin Gluck, as Gabe, becomes the new embodiment of her “badassery.” Yet, what is a new season, out October 22, without a “love twist?”
Something about bad guys falling in love is always fascinating. It is enamoring to see villains oddly placing their dark hearts into the hands of someone, because we, as an audience, cannot understand how evil and love live together. How can you say you care for someone while destroying them? Case in point: Gabe/ Dodge is falling for Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and she is fearless enough to sniff out the dichotomy. After all, how close can you grow to a demon? These are the questions Season 2 asks as the Lockes wonder whether growing up with magic has oddly stunted their growth.
Need a key that gives you wings? How about one that turns high school jocks into your demon army? Ugh! …. the possibilities. Upping the visuals and the danger, Season 2 feels like a Spiderman promo of “With great power, comes great responsibility,” and while Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) gets a new friend, you see that power can be childlike and fun if you are a child. For Tyler (Connor Jessup), growing up with power is not such a blessing, especially if you have a girlfriend that forgets you have it . His journey into realizing that, perhaps, a “normal” adulthood could be nice contrasts that of Kinsey, who emerges herself, even more, as the KWEEN she is, even if Scot (Petrice Jones) does not see he is her king, yet.
God, it sounds like I am speaking to a high school drama…. well…. technically I am. If Season 1 dealt with trauma, Season 2 speaks on letting it go and how embracing your new life is the only way to do so. From new friendships to romances, each of the Lockes, including mom, (Darby Stanchfield as Nina),are smiling more and feeling revived, even if Dodge is trying to destroy their Uncle Duncan (Shawn Ashmore). Honestly, Gluck’s Gabe steals the show, and his interaction with Demon Eden (Hallea Jones) keep the show afloat from what can feel like a yo-yo of a storyline.
With flashbacks abound, we see the history of the Lockes and how their family always faced tragedy, but, somehow, managed to get up and live a better life. Now, THAT is magic. Still, between the past, present, and thinking of our futures, along with some lucid “dream sequences” that could make an Acid Trip jealous, Locke & Key manages to sift through confusing, plot details to give you a good binge watch. Honestly I repeated this binge, it was that entertaining.
