Locke & Key “Curtain”

Well, never let it be said that Locke & Key was going to go out gently.

I mean, it is still throwing out the crazy and going from there.  Besides, even if the series went somewhere new and different, the source material’s co-creator Joe Hill had a co-writer’s credit on this episode.

So, apparently, storing a key in the head of classmate who wasn’t really in on the whole key magic thing is maybe a problem when you can’t even trust each other in your own friend group.  That’s basically what happened here.  Ellie stashed the Creation Key, a key with a pen in it that brings whatever it draws to life, inside the head of the theatrically-inclined classmate Gordie Shaw.  Gordie hung around on the periphery with Ellie, Rendell, and the others, and he wasn’t quite involved, to the point that when he did discover the key magic, his friends and co-stars opted to use the Head Key to erase his memory, opting to leave the Creation Key in there.  Since Gordie’s mindscape took the form of a stage, Ellie dropped the key into the pocket of one of the costumes backstage.

Oh, and then another member of the group opted to move it to somewhere else, so no one really knows where it is.

That…is how this show rolls, really.

So, that means that as Gideon forces Ellie to take him to the last key, Sam has to earn the Locke family’s trust (and since there’s no real time to waste, that doesn’t take very long), and then has everyone but Bode and Nina go off to find that key.  Bode and Nina opt to open the cedar chest and get the rest of the keys.

You know, the magical cedar chest.

I actually think this was the best moment of the episode, and much of this episode takes place inside Gordie’s head as he lies dying (stupid Gideon).  I mean, this is an episode where Rufus has to stay behind to try and figure which of two Gordies he needs to do some basic first aid on to try and keep the guy from bleeding out since Gideon used the Head Key on him after he gave the poor man a lethal stab wound.  Since the Head Key makes a copy of a person, and both of them are bleeding…which one does Rufus need to help?

Oh, and one was taken away in an ambulance because Rufus did dial 911.

Why does leaving Rufus behind to take care of a fatally wounded man feel like a cruel joke?

May not matter since poor Gordie died anyway.

But while that was going on, Bode and Nina learned you can’t use modern power tools to open a magic cedar chest.  Fire doesn’t work because then a very localized rainstorm will show up.  You can’t even leave the thing in the wellhouse in case Gideon comes back.  Magic is very specific.

Or maybe Bode and Nina aren’t very useful in the grand scheme of things.

Eh, this is more unfocused than usual.  Next installment covers the series finale anyway.