At this point it's clear what Dodge's goal is: to open that black door in the seacave. Why? That's what we still don't know. I'm getting curious on what's the real deal with Dodge. She's this entity with supernatural powers (she could talk to people through pictures wtf) who's after the Locke's keys. I hope we find clarity on this part in the rest of the episodes.

And so for Sam, his past gets revealed (he has an abusive father) and he showed some mental health issues in general, but I'm guessing these are just his ways of coping with all the shits that he had to deal with at home. Father Locke (ok so I just got spoiled of the plot while googling for their father's name dammit.) was a teacher in Tyler's school also, and he was assigned to help Sam with his problems because the students/teachers are getting worried about him because of his weird behaviors and impulses. The actor that plays Sam is so good, I find his character very effective at being annoying, so kudos to you sir (I'm not googling his name for now fvck you Wikipedia).

Sam trespasses to the Keyhouse and finds Nina, Bode, and Kinsey inside, demanding the head key from them. I love the scene sequences that followed because the thrill was so intense. I just couldn't imagine having a burglar at home. 😭 In another note, I'm really starting to like the mansion. I would want to visit it and just look closely at all of its intricate details. Okay back to the story -- so I just find the scene where Sam was feeding the family some dinner so so weird. I don't know, maybe this is to show the audience that he's still a good person deep inside, and just being hopelessly manipulated by evil forces (yes you Dodge 😡). When Kinsey babbled about the head key being buried out of the woods, it immediately clicked to me what her plan was. After a few minutes, we see them walking to the woods with Kinsey leading the way (this kind of reminded me of a Harry Potter scene again involving Umbridge, Harry, and Hermione). And the next sequence of scenes were exactly what I predicted -- Kinsey dug up Fear again and it started attacking Sam. This gave Kinsey and Bode the chance to duck and hide. 

Meanwhile at the Keyhouse, Tyler arrives after escaping from Dodge using the anywhere key (which he accidentally discovered from her). Infuriated, she followed him to the Keyhouse. I'm surprised to see that she has supernatural strength as she knocked down two Locke members easily. Dodge successfully retrieves the head key, stabbing Sam in the process. The worst-case scenario has happened: Dodge escapes holding a number of keys that the Locke kids have discovered. To escape from the police that arrived at their house, Sam runs through the ghost door (which Bode left open after going up to her mom). He then transforms as a ghost leaving his body behind the door. The police officers discover his "dead" body and unfortunately closes the door, leaving Sam trapped in ghost form outside. I'm curious what role Sam would have for the rest of the story now that he's in this form.

Episode Rating: ★★★★★

Things are getting better and better. We're up to the climax guys!

Episode 8 - Ray of F**king Sunshine

The tragedy the Lockes experienced that night left them all visibly disturbed. Matheson is just a small town, and because of that everyone already knew what happened at the Keyhouse mansion the next day. We see the Locke family receiving a lot of food as their neighbors' way of comforting them. Even the police officer that worked on the English teacher's case stopped by the house to talk and check up on Nina.


Nina was the most affected one among them. Seeing again the person who killed his husband has triggered a lot of trauma in the past for sure. The worst thing was that in her perspective, Sam died because of her. Another thing that was bothering her is the part about the magic and how things are not making sense to her. She then turns to alcohol to escape reality. Her kids discover this, and grows worried for her. It was heartwarming to see Kinsey and Tyler looking out for their mom.

The family receives visits from people close to them: Jackie, Gabe, and Ellie (Scot also drops by later, and it is one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the series for me huhu I feel for him). Bode encounters "Lucas" in Ellie's house while he was playing with Rufus. When I first saw Lucas, I immediately noticed that he looked so similar to that of the friends photo, like he didn't age a day. Well it is later confirmed that he is actually Dodge, transformed to look like Lucas using the power of one of the keys.

Back in the Keyhouse, Nina discovers the power of one of the keys that Bode finds previously but fails to see how it worked. So this key opens a drawer. If you place a broken thing inside and locks the drawer, you will find it fixed like new when you open it again. This baffles Nina big time and since she still couldn't absorb the concept of magic (she thinks she's going insane), she tries placing different broken things inside. After a few attempts, she realizes she might not be that crazy after all. When I saw what she placed next inside that drawer, my heart just sank. It was his husband's urn. As if we already didn't learn this lesson from the other fictional worlds that we know, it gets iterated here again -- magic cannot bring back the dead. 😔

Meanwhile, Dodge successfully enters the mind of the father's ex-girlfriend Erin ,who was in the mental hospital, to get information of the location of the omega key. This is the key that would open that black door in the sea cave. Upon entering Erin's mind, Dodge finds the other her actually trapped inside. This is such a clever metaphor of her current condition. I really loved it! And so Dodge looks at the different memories stacked up on of the rooms and finds the memory she was looking for.

Episode Rating: ★★★★★
Actually this one deserves a 6/5. That ending... that revelation... just wow.

Episode 9 - Echoes
The needed conversation finally happens between Ellie and the Locke kids as she revealed her true connections with this entity named Dodge. Ellie initially backed away from Kinsey after their confrontation, but later she opened up to her about the true story of what happened to her friends after graduation, when they visited the seacave. This episode surely are wrapping up those conflicts that we see in the story. Kinsey and Tyler tell their friends about the keys and the possible ordeal that they are facing. Most of them were shocked - even Jackie had a hard time absorbing all the details that surrounded the events in the Keyhouse (uh she was the one who told Tyler to tell her what's wrong, and now we get this kind of reaction from her... I might say I am bit disappointed). And Kinsey contemplating on dating both Gabe and Scot? That scene was so hilarious. 😂


Kinsey's Fear does a comeback, this time attacking Eden, the school bully. Nina is still processing her anxiety, and I wonder if the Daniel, the police officer, has some sort of role in this story. How about Sam as a ghost, will we ever see him again? I really think Kinsey's Fear will have some role to finish Lucas and his evil doings (I find him handsome, if only he wasn't the villain here hihi). And lastly, what's beyond that black door in the seacave?

These are just some of the questions I still have, and I hope these gets answered in the last episode. So excited!

Episode Rating: ★★★★★
When Billie Eilish's song started to play, I felt goosebumps. Like really? Can things be even more literal than that?

🎵 you should see me in a crown
i'm gonna run this nothing town 🎵

Episode 10 - Crown of Shadows
We're down to the final episode of the season! As expected, Dodge, now wearing the crown of shadows, goes to the Keyhouse to find the Omega key. The scenes that followed are one of the most terrifying one in this series. It felt like I was in a game and the battle with the final boss has started. I screamed and shouted as the Locke kids battled those shadowy creatures by turning on the lights in the mansion.


Because of Bode's strategy of striking "Dodge" with the fire key, they end up finding her body unconscious. Bode was sharp enough to point out that it's weird because she's not wearing the crown. Ahh, this should have been a hint for everyone! Kinsey and Tyler seem to be unsuspecting at this point as they all just focused on bringing Dodge's body to the cave. They're planning to open the black door and throw her inside.

With the help of friends (uhm why is Eden there?), they all successfully bring the body to the cave. Through Rendell Locke's memories, they know that there are red beams that might start striking out of the door and they have to make sure none of them gets hit. And so their plan ensues. When they were about to throw Dodge, she finally wakes up and screams in terror. She calls out Tyler's name as she tried to grab and hold onto him (this was another hint!). They successfully throw her off and lock the door. And they all lived happily ever after, right?

Sadly no. We see in the next few minutes the dark twists in the story. Yup, it was not really Dodge -- it was Ellie -- whom they threw inside the black door. Dodge transformed her to look like her using the identity key. This was an expected twist. But the other one that was really a revelation? Gabe's true identity... and Eden's bigger role in the next season I guess. Hmm I honestly think this additional conflict is already uncalled for. But for the sake of a continuation to the second season, they needed to do this.


Episode Rating: ★★★☆☆
I expected a happy ending, but I realized I shouldn't have or else there's no need to continue the story, right? I don't want to watch the next one anymore. I'll just imagine that they killed the real Dodge and hid the keys for safekeeping and the Locke family lived happily ever after.


And that ends the season!

I really loved the concept of the magical keys. 🔑✨

My rating for this series: 3.7 (Recommended)