Diksha Sundriyal
The third episode of ‘Locke and Key’ further explores the minds of the Lockes and gives us another Key that allows its owner to do wondrous things. Not bothering to answer anything yet, it poses more questions in front of the audience, while assuring that our doubts about certain characters are not misplaced.
We are as clueless as Nina and her children, but more cautious than them. We wish they, too, were more careful, but then, where would be the fun in that? On top of that, they can’t really complain about the strangers keeping their secrets when one of their own had been hiding so many things from them.
Locke and Key Episode 3 Recap
In the last episode, Bode discovered another key that opens the locks to one’s head. The Head Key can be used to go inside anyone’s head and each’s headspace appears in a different setting. Bode, curious as ever, experiments on himself. When Tyler and Kinsey find out about it, he leads them, too, to the inside of his head. There they come across a memory of Bode with their father, and a story comes into picture. Bode doesn’t remember it completely because he slept midway, but both Tyler and Kinsey remember it differently.
Realising how dangerous it is for their younger brother to go around opening doors to god knows what, Tyler and Kinsey, each, keep one key with themselves. Bode is also forced to tell them about Echo and how she is after all the keys in the house. He is asked not to go after any other key, but of course, Bode doesn’t listen and discovers another key that sends him to the spirit world.
Meanwhile, Nina spends some time with Ellie, who discovers that Bode talked about a woman in the well. Ellie seems a bit disturbed by the fact, but later, we find her visiting the well and calling out to her high-school sweetheart, Lucas. Kinsey decides that she needs to take a look into her own head to find out what is going on in there, and she comes face to face with her fear. Echo pays a visit to Mark’s house, who has left behind another key.
Locke and Key Episode 3 Review
In the episode titled ‘Head Games’, we get to go inside the heads of two of the Locke kids, quite literally. The difference between Bode and Kinsey’s headspace shows how different they are from each other, while also revealing their fears and inhibitions. In the second episode, I had wished for the series to go a little bit on the dark side, and this one seems to have started that transition.
Even though the mystery of the keys and the house are still explored through the innocent perspective of Bode, we are finding out just how different they can be with someone else handling them. Kinsey’s experience helps uncover that potentially nefarious nature of the keys and explains why their father didn’t want the kids finding out about them.
This episode also builds upon its character arcs, the bulk of which is dedicated to Tyler and Kinsey. Both are eaten away by the guilt of the things that they did or did not do, and the lack of communication only makes it worse. We also get to witness another horrific side of Echo, while her connection with Rendell’s killer is still shrouded in mystery.
While adding another layer of questions and secrets to the story, this episode also reminds us of the things that one can easily let slip from their mind, if not overlook them entirely. The trend of presenting more puzzles is to be expected from the season, at least for the next couple of episodes. Unlike a number of other shows, ‘Locke and Key’ doesn’t stick to the “mystery of the week (or episode)” kind of storytelling. This approach can make some viewers restless for answers, but hopefully, the wait to figure out the truth shall be worth it.
