The inaugural season of Netflix‘s adaptation of writer Joe Hill and illustrator Gabriel Rodriguez‘s bestselling comic series took a more whimsical approach to the material. The first ten episodes saw the Locke children discover the magic and secrets of the Lockhouse estate. At the same time, demonic Dodge (Layla De Oliveira) sought to obtain the magical keys for nefarious purposes. If season one was a family-centric, methodical ease into the loosely adapted material, season two takes a heady plunge into the undertow of fast-moving exposition and plotting. It makes for a wildly uneven, overly dense, yet often engaging continuation that raises the stakes.
Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) feel comfortable resuming their everyday routines and playing around with the magic keys after believing they’ve stopped Dodge. They don’t realize that Kinsey’s boyfriend Gabe (Griffin Gluck) has been Dodge all along, that a demon infected Eden (Hallea Jones) during the confrontation, or that they sent the wrong person through the portal. As Dodge conspires with Eden to gain control once and for all, the Locke family contends with a whole new set of magical problems, including the realization that all memories of magic fade at legal adulthood.
Showrunners Carlton Cuse (Lost, The Strain) and Meredith Averill (The Haunting of Hill House) cover a lot of ground this season and struggle to keep multiple plot lines spinning at once to uneven effect. Tyler, Kinsey, Bode, and mom Nina (Darby Stanchfield) have their personal woes to contend with, and Aaron Ashmore‘s upgrade to series regular status means that Uncle Duncan plays a more prominent and pivotal role in the overarching story. Then there’s the matter of loose ends, Dodge’s manipulations, and a slew of new characters brought into the fold. All while new keys create even more supernatural obstacles for the bunch.
With so much story to relay and only ten episodes to tell it, pacing becomes a massive struggle this season. Once again, the front half of the season feels like information overload as it sets up major character arcs and groundwork laying for the central battle against Dodge, redux. This time, the Lockes are a little savvier, which means they’re quick to spot the red flags. They’re also very prone to making monumental mistakes that take an exacting toll. It all converges in the back half, culminating in a rushed but action-heavy showdown.
The inability to let some of the most important emotional moments have time to breathe for impact is consistent across the board. The stakes are higher, and the tone much darker this round. It comes with a body count, yet “Locke & Key” doesn’t have the time to let grief take root or for some of the most shocking deaths to sink in. Just when it becomes too dizzying to keep up, the show occasionally screeches to a halt.
The overlying lesson this season wants to impart to Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode is that magic requires responsibility. Not just how it’s wielded, but in who to trust with the knowledge of it. By season’s end, it’s not entirely clear just how much of that lesson stuck. Despite season two’s unevenness, major chapters wrap up in satisfying ways and set up for season three intrigues. The Lockes’ playful embrace of the keys also makes for a season highlight, especially with episodes that feature more monstrous foes- like the giant spider that brings a suspenseful battle during dinner. “Locke & Key” has a way of drawing you in, even when it frustrates, and the messy growing pains of season two instill curiosity for a much darker season three.
Netflix premieres the new season on October 22, 2021.
