WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Locke & Key Season 2, now streaming on Netflix.
As the second season of Locke & Key opens, the Locke children have settled into an easy existence -- one, seemingly, without the threat of Dodge, in which they can employ Keyhouse's magical keys in relatively mundane tasks: to move furniture, to study for the new school year, to relax, unencumbered by the concerns of the world. Yet, danger lurks and, if they listen, the keys still whisper.
Based on the award-winning IDW comics series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, the first season of Netflix's Locke & Key followed the Locke children as they moved with their mother to their ancestral home in Matheson, Massachusetts, following a family tragedy. There, they discovered magical keys that unlocked wonders -- and mysterious demon named Dodge, who would do anything to possess their powers.
Although Dodge was seemingly vanquished behind the Black Door in the Season 1 finale, the fight continues in the second season, with the demon disguised as Kinsey Locke's boyfriend, Gabe. And that requires additional keys, including two newly forged -- and extremely dangerous -- ones. Here are all of the keys introduced in Locke & Key Season 2, and what they do.
The Hercules Key Imbues the User With Great Strength
Already in possession of Bode Locke (Jackson Robert Scott) as Season 2 opens, the Hercules Key is precisely what its name implies: When inserted into a leather weightlifting-style belt emblazoned with the head of a lion, the Hercules Key imbues the user with superhuman strength. In the Locke & Key comics, the key is paired with a necklace instead of a belt.
When viewers are introduced to the key, in the season premiere, Bode is using it to try to move an antique sofa out of the room Duncan (Aaron Ashmore) will stay in when he moves back into Keyhouse. However, its usefulness goes far beyond such mundane activities as rearranging furniture; the Hercules Key proves essential to uncovering another key, to say nothing of fighting Gabe and his minions.
Small World Key Provides a New Perspective on Keyhouse
The Small World Key whispers to Bode, but doesn't fit any lock in Keyhouse. Instead, it's designed to be inserted into the door of a magical-dollhouse replica of the Locke family home that Erin Voss (Joy Tanner) indicates belong to Duncan when he was a child. Now, however, it's in the possession of Josh Bennett (Brendan Hines), Matheson Academy's obsessive new history teacher, who purchased the dollhouse at an antiques store. That origin seemingly differs from the comics, where the dollhouse was commissioned by Chamberlin Locke -- the great-great grandfather of Tyler, Kinsey and Bode -- to instruct his daughters in domestic duties.
On the Netflix series, the key permits the user to observe the activities of Keyhouse's residents in real time, and interact with the home, albeit in a different scale. We see that in Season 2 when Bode inadvertently destroys some of his bedroom furniture from miles away, in the Bennett apartment, when when Josh's daughter, Jamie (Liyou Abere) traps Eden in Keyhouse's kitchen with a drinking glass.
The Memory Key Finally Makes Duncan Locke Whole
Only vaguely referenced by Ellie Whedon (Sherri Saum) in Season 1, the Memory Key is the way the Keepers of the Key retained their memories of magic after they aged into adulthood. It was forged by Duncan, then the only known person who could make keys, before his own memories were removed using the Head Key, and then hidden in the Locke family cemetery. Intended to spare Duncan the knowledge that
Created for the Netflix series, the Memory Key was hidden by Rendell Locke beneath a bench at Matheson Academy dedicated to his friends who died. With the key uncovered by Tyler, Duncan's memories of magic, childhood and key making are restored.
The Chain Key Is a Formidable Weapon - But Not Enough to Stop Gabe
Found where it was cleverly hidden by Rendell, in an Alice in Chains cassette case, the Chain Key's use perplexes Duncan and Bode. However, Erin knows that, when paired with the Great Lock, the Chain Key creates a formidable weapon: a seemingly endless chain is released, binding an opponent as powerful as Gabe/Dodge.
In the Netflix series, the Great Lock is, effectively, a palm-size metal box found by Nina wedged above a fuse box, but its much larger comic book counterpart is positioned as the guardian of the catacombs beneath Keyhouse.
The Demon Key Is Forged to Create Dodge's Army
Gabe (Griffin Gluck) spent months searching for the secret to forging a magical key, only to meet with failure, primarily due to being misled by the ghost of Chamberlin Locke. (We went dwell too long on the poor fisherman, who was left nothing but ooze and bones following the first attempt.) With is identity as Dodge exposed, Gabe forces Duncan to make what becomes known as the Demon Key.
Intended to supply Dodge with an army, the key effectively binds a demon to the soul of a victim, beginning with academy bro Javi (Kevin Alvi) before expanding to include dozens of Matheson residents, most notably, Detective Matuku (Martin Roach) and Tyler's girlfriend, Jackie (Genevieve Kang). But while Eden is frequently defiant of Gabe, these minions carry out his every command, up to a point: Just when it appears as if Dodge's force are about to overwhelm the Lockes in the Season 2 finale, a desperate Duncan yells "Stop!" -- and they do. He concludes that, because he forged the key, and used his own blood as sacrifice, the demons are bound to him, overriding Dodge's authority over them.
The Angel Key Allows Kinsey to Take Flight in the Season 2 Finale
Led not by the usual whispers but instead by a series of haunting-like events, Kinsey (Emilia Jones) finds a harness in a chimney of Keyhouse before then discovering the associated Angel Key in the birdhouse at the family cemetery. Originating in the comics, the key activates the harnesses' enormous white wings, and allows the user to fly and carry more weight than they would normally be able to lift (for instance, Kinsey carries Tyler while in flight).
In the comics, the Angel Key was found by Bode, not Kinsey, at the same time and place he discovered the Hercules Key and the Harlequin Key, the latter of which has yet to appear in the Netflix series.
The Alpha Key Can't Save Jackie - But It Helps to Save the Day
Desperate to save Jackie by separating the demon from her soul, Tyler sets out to creating a new key, forged from Whispering Iron hidden within the fishing lure attached to his father's ball cap. Under the careful instruction of Duncan, Tyler creates the Alpha Key, intended to counteract the effect of the Demon Key. It appears to work, too, if only briefly; the Alpha Key frees Jackie, at the cost of her life. Tyler is, of course, devastated, but later uses the key once more, to equally deadly effect, in the final fight against Dodge.
Locke & Key Season 2 is streaming now on Netflix.