‘Locke & Key’ Recap: ‘Trapper / Keeper’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Over the course of our last discussion about Netflix’s new series, Locke & Key, we spent a lot of time reflecting upon how sometimes death prompts people, or in this case an entire family, to try and start over fresh. Which is a powerful exploration, one that set the tone for a emotional opening chapter to this tale, and it helped to properly demonstrate how much the Locke family is hurting right now. But while all of that was supremely important to setting up this unique tale, it is obvious that the pain the Locke family carries isn’t something that will be going away as the series progresses, nor will this saga back down on its exploration on the aftermath of death, as evidenced by everything its next episode dives into.
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For ‘Trapper / Keeper’ is a story that took the time to also remind us that sometimes in death, secrets that people thought they were taking to the grave, are brought to light as we grieve and remember them. For as it turns out, a surprise encounter with a childhood friend of Rendell’s allowed for Nina to learn that her late husband told her very little of his time in Matheson. Because somewhere along the line in high school, a few members of the group he used to roll with, died tragically and everyone in town seems to recall this horrific event, except for Duncan. And at this point it would seem that Nina is going to continue to investigate this matter, and it was fascinating to see the story toy with secrets in this manner and remind us of how death can indeed reveal all.

Yet while this was an intriguing storyline in its own right, there was plenty more to explore in this tale. For this story also took full advantage of the opportunity to show us how badly Tyler and Kinsey want to move on from their pain and how they are trying to reinvent themselves out here in Matheson, with mixed results. Because Tyler’s attempts to lose himself in a new identity as a cool jock, didn’t jibe with his moral compass in the slightest and Kinsey, well her desire to embrace life as is and pretend that there is no trauma flowing through her veins ended in outright disaster when she tried to take part in the Savini Squad’s splatter-tastic short film. If anything, this was equally as fascinating a segment of the story simply because it reminds us that we cannot escape our grief as easily as we might like and that dealing with it is the only way to heal.

But all fascinating lessons on loss and grief aside, the true centerpiece of this particular tale involved Bode and the mysterious woman from the well. Because we came to learn in this particular tale that she was overjoyed over having that powerful key in her possession since she was able to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, without a consequence in the world and she wants more and Bode isn’t quite good with that. Because he worked hard to try and trap this vindictive lady in order to get the key and stop her from causing any more harm with unfortunate results. But thankfully, Bode has indeed learned his lesson and is keeping the discovery of any further keys a secret from her now, and it would seem his most recent find is going to lead him and his brother and sister on quite the wild ride.

In the end, this really was quite the solid follow up episode to that stellar premiere. For it featured character development, it puffed up the plot for the future since we now know our villain wants all the keys for something nefarious and of course… this episode featured a cameo from freakin’ Tom Savini. So, you cannot really go wrong with that and it’s safe to say that plenty of us, this reviewer included, likely clapped and hooted and hollered when he appeared on screen. But all fan service aside, what’s nice about this series is that it really is doing a fine job of assembling a grandiose story for us to enjoy, one that truly has something for everyone and it should be interesting to see how all of this comes together as the mysteries of Key House continue to reveal themselves. Until next time.

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