‘Locke & Key’ Recap: ‘The Black Door’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The truth is something that is supremely important to all of us. Because knowing it offers us closure and peace, especially when it provides us with healthy answers to questions that have eluded us for ages, and that sense of finality is why we go to great lengths to seek it. But while a quest for knowledge can indeed be a healthy thing, there are some inherent dangers that come with it. For sometimes, it can be a painful and ugly experience, since it can reveal things that perhaps we never wanted to learn in the first place, and it just so happens that the darker side to discovering the truth, served as the focal point of the next episode of Locke & Key.
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For ‘The Black Door’ saw several characters forge ahead to learn the truth about some of the revelations revealed in the prior episode with messy results. Nina for instance, went hard after Ellie for her apparent role in Joe Ridgeway’s death and well, her desire to get the police involved and to get Ellie to talk about what happened that night ended badly. Because the police could find no evidence of foul play and were forced to rule Joe’s death as an outright suicide and Nina’s only friend turned her back on her when all is said and done. Because Ellie wasn’t good with the implication that she was the one responsible for putting Joe down, despite the fact that she was indeed there that night and really, the only thing Nina has to show for her quest for knowledge, is that now she knows the matching scars were created in tribute to a fallen friend, provided of course Ellie is telling the truth.

But while that doesn’t exactly show us true dangers that come with finding the truth, Nina’s story more or less served to prepare us for the darker journey that was handled by Kinsey. Because she was determined to uncover the truth about her father, and her fearless nature and ability to forge ahead without a care in the world, finally put herself and others in genuine risk. For she firmly believed that the caves would answer a great many questions about dear old dad and when Tyler refused to go down there with her, she used the Savini Squad’s desire to find a good location to shoot the finale of The Splattering to lead them deep into the caves where tragedy befell Rendell ages ago. And while Kinsey was able to learn that a massive door in the shape of the Omega symbol resides within this cave, her quest for this door came at a great cost. Because the tide rushed in, forcing everyone to abandon the gear and make a dangerous trek back to the other side and once there, Kinsey more or less said goodbye to a majority of her friends since they weren’t keen on having their lives put at risk in the name of Kinsey’s quest for knowledge.

Yet while these were powerful plot points in their own right, the story also offered up a different perspective on how people handle their quest for the truth, in that… sometimes they simply don’t want to know said truth after all. Because they’re so hurt by what they’ve already discovered that that they simply shrink away and hide from the world and fester in negativity and that’s precisely what Tyler did in this tale. Because the thought that his dad might be a killer, combined with the pain already present in his heart prompted him to abandon the keys, and anything good in his life and that meant his budding relationship with Jackie came to a unfortunate and infuriating end and to make matters worse, someone evil is eager to take advantage of his broken mental state. For the woman in the well, who identified herself as Dodge, quickly swooped in and made an advance in order to get Tyler’s attention and it’s working and that’s terrifying. Because it is clear that getting close to him is part of the plan to get the keys and everything else, she wants within the walls of Key House, and that likely puts Tyler’s life in grave danger since Dodge doesn’t seem to care about anyone or anything outside of her quest and herself.

Plus, to make matters worse, Sam Lesser broke out of prison using the Fire Key, and he’s found his way to Key House and that is going to be bad news for the Locke family since he undoubtedly still has his heart set on unlocking its secrets, at any cost. But all of that aside, this really was quite the quality episode. Because it really did a phenomenal job of showing the audience how learning the truth can sometimes be a rough experience and it also excelled at moving the plot forward by having Dodge take matters into her own hands. If anything, it’s probably best to declare this episode to be the best that season one has offered to date, since it was perfectly balanced story wise and perhaps the best part of this particular tale is that it leaves you hungry for more. Because this one just upped the ante danger wise and it is going to be quite interesting to see how the family deals with the return of Sam and what will happen when Tyler discovers that he’s cozying up to a monster. Until next time.

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