Locke & Key season 1, episode 6 recap: The Black Door

New keys and discoveries at Key House lead the Locke children to make questionable choices, putting themselves and others in danger, in episode 6 of Locke & Key.

Magic can be dangerous—something the Locke children find out the hard way in the sixth episode of Locke & Key. With Kinsey basking in her fearlessness and Tyler choosing to not engage with the keys at all, the Locke family finds themselves more vulnerable than ever before.

Answers for Nina

Content Warning: Discussion of suicide

In the previous episode of Locke & Key, Nina had been left with a number of questions. Who killed Joe Ridgeway? Why did Ellie have the same scar as Rendell? What happened in Rendell’s childhood in Matheson?

Some of those questions are easier answered than others. For instance, the police have ruled Ridgeway’s death a suicide, despite Nina’s insistence that Ridgeway seemed to be anything but suicidal. She plays Ridgeway’s voicemail asking her for help from the police and tells them about hearing someone in his house.

More. Locke & Key season one episode 5 recap: Family Tree. light

More from Show Snob

But that isn’t enough evidence for the police—the evidence points to a lonely man who couldn’t cope with the upcoming anniversary of his wife’s death and took his own life. The police haven’t been helpful, though they do bequeath Ridgeway’s collection of yearbook photographs to Nina, who looks through them for something anomalous. It will take her some time, and the fact that Duncan doesn’t remember anything doesn’t help.

As for Ellie and Rendell’s secret, Nina ends up confronting Ellie at Ridgeway’s funeral. Not the best timing but Nina can’t think of any better time. The answers she gets do not appease her—Ellie and Rendell’s scars were the same because they branded themselves to honor their fallen friends.

Rendell’s childhood, sadly, continues to remain a mystery that eludes Nina. Knowing what we do from Duncan’s memories, perhaps those memories are better left unfinished.

Dodge’s Machinations

Dodge has been AWOL for a while but that’s only because she’s been biding her time. She corners Bode at the Key House cemetery and threatens his family. She may not be able to do anything to the keyholders, but she can hurt everyone else. And one Locke member is about to find this out the hard way.

Kinsey attempts to jog Duncan’s memories by showing him a jam jar of his memories from the previous episode. He seems to recall them but not entirely and the moment he looks away from the jars, Duncan forgets that he’s even seen the memories.

While Kinsey attempts to figure out what to do about Duncan’s memories, Tyler decides he wants nothing to do with the keys. But bequeathing the keys to his siblings has dangerous consequences.

Tyler wants to live his best life and ends up at a party with alcohol. There’s an unexpected guest at the house—none other than Dodge. She strikes up a conversation with Tyler and the two spend the majority of the party together. They also meet later on, and though Dodge is cryptic about her life, Tyler falls in line with her. This won’t end well for Tyler—he is disposable without any keys.

The Sea Cave

Tyler isn’t the only one making bad decisions in episode 6 of Locke & Key—Kinsey invites her friends to shoot their horror film in the sea-caves where Rendell’s friends had died. She insists she knows the terrain though she has never actually been inside. But there is something magical here, and it’s calling to her.

Kinsey takes the group deeper and deeper until she finds a blue light behind a black door. The door has the omega symbol on the knob but the Omega Key has yet to be found. For Kinsey, the door is magnetic and she does her level-best to open it.

In the meantime, the water levels in the caves rise and Kinsey’s friends have to scramble. Gabe pulls Kinsey back and they make it to safety. But Scot and the others are furious at having their lives risked and for losing all their gear. The group part ways, though Gabe sticks around and he and Kinsey end up together.

Lesser Returns

Dodge had handed over the Fire Key to Sam Lesser in episode 4 of Locke & Key and he is making good use of it. Not only does he escape his cell, but he sets fire to the whole block and even to an unsuspecting security guard. The keys really are dangerous in the wrong hands.

As if it isn’t bad enough that Lesser has killed people on his way to freedom, his next port of call is Key House, on the very night that Duncan decides to head back to Boston and leave Nina alone at home.

Final Thoughts

There’s an interesting gender swap in this episode of Locke & Key—in the comics, Dodge found a way to be with Kinsey because Dodge looked like a male teenager. Here, the opposite happens—Dodge goes after Tyler because she looks a bit older.

Next. 10 Netflix originals to leap into this February. dark

Nina and Ellie’s relationship is sadly at an end, which is unfortunate, but true to the source material. It’s great to see strong female relationships so the end of this one is a blow.

This episode was strong and brings in some elements from the past, though not as much as was in the books. It will be interesting to see how the arcs from the present and the past from the books will be rendered on the show.

Home/Netflix