The Biggest Unanswered Question About Gabe From Locke & Key

Locke & Key's first season was a deadly horse race, with a shocking last-minute twist that dramatically raised the stakes for the Netflix series' second season.

On the finale, "Crown of Shadows," siblings Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) seemingly vanquish the demon Dodge after it stalked, manipulated, and intimidated the trio as it tried to acquire the magical keys hidden throughout Keyhouse manor. Or so the Lockes thought: in a shocking twist, the show revealed that the entity had not only survived the Lockes' attack, but had been hiding in plain sight all season long. With the power of the Identity Key, Dodge became Gabe, Kinsey Locke's classmate, love interest, and fellow new student at Matheson Academy.

It was the season's most exciting development — and its most confusing. Gabe had spent most of season 1 in the show's periphery, and within moments he was set up to become the series' biggest villain. And yet, as a threat perfectly positioned to be two steps ahead of the Lockes, so many questions remained about who the character was. Had Dodge hijacked someone else's face in Matheson, or had the demon conjured Gabe up just for Kinsey? In an interview with Decider, Griffin Gluck, the actor behind the friend-turned-foe, revealed that because the writers kept him in the dark, even he wasn't sure.

"That's something I'm interested in as well because I don't have the exact answers," Gluck said. "I know that the Identity Key can change you to look like whatever you want, I believe. It doesn't have to be based off of a real person. It's very possible that Gabe is completely made up by Dodge."

Gluck might not know, but according to one of Locke & Key's showrunners, one of the actor's guesses is closer to the truth behind who or what Gabe is.

In an Entertainment Weekly interview, showrunner Carlton Cruse provided the answer to the Identity Key's power. "Just to be specific: Gabe is always Dodge," Cruse said. "Gabe is an identity created by Dodge. This is not something you missed, this is just something we're clarifying. The Identity Key allows you to assume a new identity, but not the identity of an existing person."

Cruse is stating that Gabe was never real, which would explain how he was able to simply "appear" out of thin air and register as a new student at Matheson Academy without raising suspicions. Although it aided Dodge early on, that lack of a paper trail could become the demon's undoing if someone realizes there's nothing to prove Gabe existed before his appearance at Matheson.

Cruse's statement also explains how Dodge was able to successfully trick the Lockes into throwing Ellie Whedon (Sherri Saum) through the Omega Door. The demon took over Lucas Caravaggio's body, but used the Gender Key to appear as his female counterpart, who wasn't real. When Dodge used the Identity Key on Ellie, the demon swapped Ellie's real face for that of someone who never existed.

At any rate, with Gabe so successfully embedded within Kinsey's friend group, it seems likely we'll see far more of him as the Lockes collect more keys in season 2. What's less clear is what it will take for the siblings to realize that not only is Dodge not gone, there are now two demons among them, with Eden Hawkins (Hallea Jones) having caught a case of demonic possession while the Omega Door was open. It seems that uncovering the truth about Gabe may be the key to the Locke siblings' survival on season 2.