Review: Locke & Key Season 2, Episode 2: The Head and the Heart

Now, THAT was a good cliffhanger! 

You have to feel for Erin in this episode. Imagine being trapped in your own head for twenty years and missing half your life! Where would you even go from there? How would you restart your life? Setting the magic keys and demon monsters aside, it's a lot to process! 

However, I'm obviously glad that she's out of her own head now. I think she's going to be a real asset to the Locke kids in figuring everything out and revealing that Gabe is Dodge and all that jazz. The kids in Rendell's time seemed much more serious about magic than our current protagonists. 

I'm actually kind of shocked that the Lockes never considered going into Erin's head before. I mean, Dodge thought of it pretty quick. But better late than never! I'm looking forward to seeing where this plot line goes. 

As you can probably tell, I really enjoyed this episode. I feel like we're really getting into the meat of the season, whereas the previous episode felt like it was just setting things up. I guess that makes sense; if there are only going to be ten episodes in a season, things have to move fast!

Speaking of moving fast, my dislike of Gabe is growing exponentially. Somehow I dislike him more than when he was just plain Dodge. I think it's the deception that bothers me. Pretending to be Kinsey's boyfriend is pretty despicable. At least Dodge was honest about their villainy in season one.

I have to admit, however, that Dodge is one of the most enterprising characters in the show. You have to hand it to the interdimensional demons, they do not fool around! I wouldn't be surprised if Eden and Dodge had made a succesful new key by the end of the next episode!

Speaking of which, testing that first key was very gross and horrifying. I hope Dodge was frustrated enough to get rid of it and doesn't keep using it to melt people! That would add a whole new dimension of problem to this show. 

On the bright side, Bode has a new friend! Hip, hip, hooray!

Seriously though, it must be tough to carry the burden of the magic as such a young child. Kinsey and Tyler have social networks and other hobbies and interests, but Bode is kind of alone with the power of Key House. I think it's going to be really good for him to have Jamie around, so I really hope this friendship works out. 

Although, I am annoyed that Jamie comes attached to such a creepy and sinister father! He reminds me a bit of Alaric in The Vampire Diaries, the history teacher/vampire hunter with a dark secret that connects him to the supernatural world. I guess that sort of thing is de rigueur for teen dramas. After all, where would we be if a history teacher was just a history teacher! 

What this show needs is more people who have a creepy interest in the Locke family and a scarily accurate model of Key House in their office! 

Seriously though, I'm keeping my eye on this new teacher guy. The last thing the Locke kids need is another villain who knows more about the keys than they do! 

I do wish the show could pair Nina with a more normal guy though. She's having a hard time in this show! So much magic to forget, so many confused expressions. It would be nice if she could find a normal guy who wouldn't involve her in all these magical shenanigans. I am glad that she has her restoration project at the school though. I don't know how the Lockes supported themselves last season, but some adult has got to earn a living at some point during this show!

Anyway, I think the only other noteworthy thing about this episode is that Jackie is getting more forgetful. I have a feeling the Lockes are going to be able to solve that problem, but it does make for an interesting plot point in the meantime. I'm not emotionally invested in Jackie and Tyler's relationship, so I wouldn't be crushed if she did actually forget everything (although, that would suck for Jackie!). However, it is a nice little mystery at the moment. 

I'm also not invested at all in the fate of the Savini Squad and Scot's film school application. If anything, those aspects of the show are actually pretty boring to me. So, I'm glad they weren't a big part of this episode. I did think it was a bit weird when Kinsey said that she loved that Scot's head was a mess, but we're going to skate right past that. I couldn't care less about their relationship. 

Overall, this was a great episode, and it didn't subject me to any teenage drama cringe, which is my least favorite thing about this show. 

Rating: 8/10