The Ending Of Locke & Key Season 2 Explained

"Locke & Key" starts out as a thrilling look in a world of mysterious keys, demons behind mysterious doors, and magic that you could only see until you become an adult. After all the world-building of the first season, Season 2 could let its hair down and go all in. The sophomore season's 10 episodes of no-holds-barred tales of demonic possessions, key-themed superpowers, and epic confrontations between good and evil make for a thrilling tale for fans of scary fantasy. 

Season 2 has now ended, but with a finale that's aptly called "Cliffhanger," it's pretty clear that the story of the Locke family and the Keyhouse is far from over. After all, as hardcore "Locke & Key" fans may already know, the show's third season started production right after the filming of Season 2 wrapped. Still, fans will likely have a bit of a wait before Season 3 drops, so in order to get an idea of what the show's future brings, you must look into the secrets the Season 2 finale holds. Here's the ending of "Locke & Key" Season 2 explained. 

The very end of "Locke & Key" Season 2 marks the modern-day resurrection of flashback sequence star and monster extraordinaire, Captain Gideon (Kevin Durand), as well as the apparent demise of the possessed Eden Hawkins (Hallea Jones). Before we get to Gideon's arrival and its implications, it's worth looking at the borderline casual way "Locke & Key" removes the infamous, echo-summoning Echo Key from the game. Gideon drops Eden in the Wellhouse well and departs with the Anywhere Key, and the Echo Key drops with her — ending up at the bottom of the very well it uses to summon echoes. 

It remains to be seen whether this removes the Echo Key from the game altogether until someone stumbles upon Eden's remains and rediscovers the key, or if Eden survives the fall, and manages to use the key to her benefit somehow. Who knows? Perhaps Eden herself will become a spooky echo, as a nice callback to Laysla De Oliveira's Dodge in Season 1 ... though, since Gideon now has the Anywhere Key, don't expect her to go anywhere in a hurry. 

Dodge, aka Gabe (Laysla De Oliveira and Griffin Gluck), is a shape-shifting, malicious, demonic entity who's constantly two steps ahead of every other character, and whose endgame is to open a portal into a world full of monsters just like it. What's more, it becomes increasingly creepy about Kinsey over the course of Season 2. Luckily, the Lockes manage to defeat Dodge's demons by cleverly using various keys, and a final revelation that Duncan (Aaron Ashmore) can control the demons turns the tide of the battle for good. One demon-banishing Alpha Key later, it's bye-bye for the show's main villain. 

Well, this particular main villain, anyway. Unfortunately, the possessed Eden realizes that the first finder of the Black Door, Captain Frederick Gideon (Durand), is also a demonic presence, and decides to summon him and bend him to her will. This doesn't go as planned, as Eden immediately realizes that Captain Gideon is far more powerful than expected, and suffers unfortunate and likely fatal consequences. 

So, while Dodge is now quite likely gone, the imposing Gideon is roaming the world once more ... and the demon possessing him is something else. If the flashbacks of the British military man's first run in the 18th century aren't enough to convince you of the danger he poses, co-showrunner Meredith Averill has told Decider that Gideon is far beyond anything the Lockes have even dreamed of facing. "What you're going to learn is that there is a bigger, badder demon than Dodge, that comes from that other side," she said. Actor Connor Jessup, who plays Tyler Locke, concurred. "He makes Dodge look like a dime store imitation villain," he said of Gideon. "He does not mess around."

Nina Locke (Darby Stanchfield) and her children Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) have gone through a lot over the show's two seasons, and will presumably continue to do so in Season 3, as well. However, they're now stronger and wiser than ever– which is good news, considering the emergence of a new, mighty villain. 

Bode has proved himself to be resourceful throughout the season, and ups his game in the finale by providing his mom a much-deserved modicum of happiness with the Head Key. Now free from Dodge's machinations and more knowledgeable about the keys than ever, Kinsey is likely to be a force to be reckoned with, too. What's more, they have plenty of new and returning allies. Nina and Uncle Duncan have both joined the "can remember magic" camp, courtesy of the Memory Key. Ellie (Sherri Saum) has escaped the demonic dimension, and the echo of Lucas (Felix Mallard) is now free of Dodge's influence, so both are back on board — and, presumably, on the side of the angels. 

One "key" change to the key keepers' dynamic is Tyler, who loses Jackie (Genevieve Kang) to a mishap with his very own Alpha Key. As such, he quite understandably wants out of anything key-related. Instead, he intends to hit the road until he becomes of age and forgets all about that magic. However, in an interview with Collider, Jessup has noted that forgetting might not be an option for Tyler in the long run. " His relationship to these keys and his relationship to himself, by proxy, is not finished," the actor said. "So, going forward, he can run, but he can't hide, as the saying goes."