‘Locke & Key’ Recap: ‘Forget Me Not’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 204 of ‘Locke & Key’. To revisit Episode 203, ‘Small World’, click here.
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It really is quite amazing how the horror genre continues to evolve to properly explore that which we fear. For instance, this is a genre that is starting to understand that what truly scares us, is inside of our minds and our hearts and souls and the more intimate the scare, the more effective it is. Which is why we are seeing a bevy of horror stories now, that are digging deep into the horrors of the real world and the power of the past and trauma and everything in between. For these stories truly tap into something primal in our hearts and minds and this is so popular an angle, that it is even sneaking its way into horror themed television shows and for proof… look no further than the next episode of Locke & Key on Netflix.
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For ‘Forget Me Not’ takes the time to dive into a concept that is only now gaining traction in our world, specifically… the nature and the function of the repressed memory and what happens to the human psyche when that deeply buried traumatic event resurfaces unexpectedly and it accomplished this examination… by putting Duncan in a tough place mentally. For it turns out the memories that Kinsey and Tyler reinserted into his mind, took hold after all and well, having what was lost or ‘repressed’ return to the forefront of his mind, screwed him up, plain and simple. In part because the magic block on his mind made remembering difficult, but more so because he truly had to face some dark memories from yesteryear and that wasn’t easy for him in the slightest. Especially when it came to the ugly one that everyone feared.

Which brought forth some powerful moments. The kind that made it clear to the viewer that the repressed memory is no joke and having it return via some form of trigger can indeed be devastating and terrifying and well, when or if it does for a person… the best thing they can do to overcome such matters… is to have a support network around them. Which thankfully Duncan did here, and while it wasn’t successful at immediately healing Duncan, and was scary at times for Bode and the others… it was obvious that they wouldn’t let those memories consume Duncan and were ready to risk the future of the keys if it meant their uncle would be okay. And while this episode didn’t dive much deeper than that into such matters, it really does deserve a round of applause for taking the time to explore this concept in any capacity and shine a real light on something that genuinely happens in our world and devastates people in the process.

But while Duncan’s journey would have been enough to carry this story from beginning to end, there was still more it offered us. Such as more shenanigans involving Gabe/Dodge. Since our villain confronted the long-departed Chamberlin regarding the lie he told Gabe revolving around the keys and in doing so… nearly lost his life. Since Chamberlin and Sam worked together to stop his particular brand of evil and nearly succeeded in keeping him from returning to the land of the living. Plus, Kinsey came to realize that she needed fear in her life to properly function and reintegrated it back into her psyche and she also came to learn, that Scot is going to be sticking around for quite some time. Since he didn’t get into the film school program and basically kept it a secret and likely has known for some time, adding another interesting wrinkle to their already complex relationship. 

Not to mention, the danger is still real regarding Gabe’s plans to forge a key of pure evil. Because despite being foiled by ghosts and running out of whispering iron, he found a new source present within Josh’s house during a social event, giving him another shot at forging evil and who knows what horrible lengths he will go to in order to convince the Locke’s to help him in his quest. But while we wait to see where that twist takes us, we can revel once more in a supremely intelligent and moving tale. One that added realism to this story like never before by way of its incredible examination revolving around the repressed memory, all while giving us more of what we love from this series, and it will be quite interesting to see what other poignant examinations await us, as season two continues on. Until next time.

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