What actually happens
A house that whispers and a well that talks back
After Rendell Locke is shot by one of his students, his widow Nina moves Tyler, Kinsey and Bode from Seattle to Rendell's family home in Matheson, Massachusetts. The house is called Keyhouse, and it is full of keys. The Anywhere Key opens a door to any place the user has seen, the Mirror Key opens a portal inside a mirror, and the Head Key lets people walk around inside a mind. Bode's mind turns out to look like an arcade, and Kinsey's looks like a shopping mall. In the well house, Bode meets a woman who says she is his echo. She tricks him out of the Anywhere Key and escapes. She later introduces herself as Dodge. She wants the rest of the keys, and she is working with Sam, the man who shot Rendell, who is still in prison. Meanwhile Kinsey joins a group of kids filming a low-budget horror movie, Tyler beats up a bully, and the Music Box Key lets whoever holds it control another person's actions.
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A hostage situation with a very specific demand
Sam burns down his prison with the Matchstick Key and heads for Keyhouse. In the seventh episode of season one he takes the Locke family hostage and demands the Head Key, because Dodge wants it to open the Black Door, a door hidden in the sea caves. This is the scene to brace for. Tyler attacks Sam and loses, Kinsey lures him outside, and Tyler uses the Head Key on him. Inside Sam's mind, his inner self weeps, and they learn that Rendell's murder was never planned. Then Dodge appears, stabs him, and takes all the keys. Sam's body is left behind and his ghost fades above the house. Later episodes explain that Dodge is a demon that came through the Black Door and possessed Ellie's boyfriend Lucas years ago. In the season finale, Dodge sends shadow monsters against Keyhouse, and the kids push her back through the Black Door. They do not know that Ellie is the one who went through. Kinsey starts dating Gabe, who is Dodge in another form.
Gabe and Eden need a key and have a lot of free time
Season two starts with Gabe and Eden trying to forge a key of their own out of Whispering Iron, while Bode picks up the Hercules Key and the Small World Key. The Small World Key turns a friend's dollhouse into a remote control for Keyhouse, and a spider that crawls into the dollhouse becomes huge in the real house. Tyler and Kinsey free a younger version of Erin who has been trapped inside her own head for twenty-three years, and they give Duncan his lost memories back. That goes badly at first, so they track down the Memory Key to fix it. Kinsey and Scot use the Head Key on Eden and learn that Eden is a demon too, and that Gabe is really Dodge. Erin then tries to fight Gabe alone in the Snow Maze at Winter Fest, and he chokes her to death. The Lockes hold a memorial for her and set a plan in motion.
A flashback to 1775 and a key that undoes demons
The eighth episode of season two goes back to 1775, when Captain Frederick Gideon raids Keyhouse and his touch opens a portal in the sea caves. Benjamin Locke makes the Black Door and the Omega Key to seal it. In the present, Gabe uses a Demon Key that Duncan was forced to make, which turns people into demon slaves, and Jackie is one of them. Tyler forges the Alpha Key, which pushes a demon out of its host. He uses it on Jackie, and she dies in his arms. Eden kills Javi, who had been spying on her, and Gabe brings down the caves with the Crown of Shadows. Ellie, still looking like Dodge, emerges from the rocks and shuts the door. In the finale of the season, Kinsey flees with the Angel Key, and it gives her wings. Tyler kills Dodge with the Alpha Key, the real Lucas returns, and Ellie is restored. Eden uses the Echo Key to bring back Gideon.
Gideon wants two worlds and a very large chest
In season three, Nina and Bode try out the Snow Globe key and free two demons. The demons go to Gideon, who has set up in the woods close by and is trying to merge the human and demon worlds. At Duncan and Brian's wedding, Gideon and two resurrected soldiers hunt for keys. Bode travels back in time with the Timeshift Key and comes home with Dodge, who traps his soul as a ghost and takes over his body. She finds that all the keys are in the Harlequin chest. When the Lockes catch on, Dodge tells them Gideon is a demon far stronger than she is, and the Lockes let her help them. She kills Coffey but is yanked back to her own time, and Bode's body vanishes. Gideon opens his portal, and the Lockes flee Keyhouse. Bode, now a ghost, learns that Sam has been helping the family, and Sam is secretly inside a soldier named James. Gideon stabs Gordie Shaw, because the last key is hidden inside his head.
The ending, explained
Tyler, Kinsey, Ellie and Gideon escape from inside Gordie's head before Gordie dies. Sam stays trapped in there and dies with him. Gideon chases Tyler and Kinsey back to Keyhouse, and he breaks free and destroys the well house. Kinsey uses the Creation Key to get the Alpha Key out of the Harlequin chest and stabs Gideon with it, and Nina shoves him into his own portal, which sends the dying demon home. The Lockes find that throwing keys into the portal shrinks it, so they decide to give up the magic. First they use the Timeshift Key to say goodbye to Rendell in the past, and they use the Memory Key so they will always remember all of it. Then they throw the keys in and the portal closes. Kinsey thanks Sam in the credits of The Splattering II. Ellie goes back to coaching at Matheson Academy, Kinsey plans to study overseas near Scot, Bode accepts Josh, and Tyler goes back to Montana. The last thing heard is whispering, so Keyhouse may still have a key or two.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Locke & Key scary?
Locke & Key is a 4 out of 10 with low dread. It has jump scares, a demon villain and some violence, and it plays like a teen fantasy with a body count.
How does Locke & Key end?
The Lockes stab the demon Gideon with the Alpha Key and send him back through his portal. They throw all the keys in to close it, and use the Memory Key to keep their memories of the magic.
Does the dog die in Locke & Key?
No, no dog dies in Locke & Key. A classroom scene shows the dissection of dead baby pigs, and a giant spider gets killed.
Is there a post-credits scene in Locke & Key?
Nobody has confirmed whether Locke & Key has a scene after the credits.
Who is Dodge in Locke & Key?
Dodge is the demon that came through the Black Door and possessed Ellie's boyfriend Lucas. Years later Ellie used the Echo Key to try to bring Lucas back and got Dodge instead, and Dodge spends season one hunting for the keys.
