Locke and Key season 3 recap guide: All 8 episodes explained

Locke and Key season 3, episode 2 recap: Wedding Crashers

Duncan Locke (Aaron Ashmore) is getting married! Think back to the season 2 premiere, Duncan mentioned that he and his boyfriend Brian Rogan (Milton Barnes) would get married after Brian returned from a work trip. Well, now it’s finally happening! With the help of some Locke magic, Nina, Kinsey and Bode prepare a beautiful event for the grooms at Keyhouse.

But it can’t be all good news, especially since this episode is titled “Wedding Crashers.” The “crashers” in question turn out to be Gideon and his newly summoned Echoes, Coffey (Jeff Lillico) and Bolton (Ian Lake), whom he calls up from the Wellhouse and transports into the world via the Anywhere Key. Since Coffey and Bolton are not demons, unlike Gideon, they can take the keys from the Lockes.

And even though he’s been ghosting his siblings, Tyler does come home for Duncan’s wedding, although he only intends to stay for the one day before returning to Montana. Not long after returning home, Tyler visits the Wellhouse and notices the window bars are bent out of shape and the door is hanging open. He mentions this to his family.

Before the ceremony officially begins, Bode gets another surprise in the form of Keyhouse’s telltale whispering, leading him to the grandfather clock and the Time Shift Key. This key allows the user to time travel, although they cannot actually change the past. Josh’s daughter and Bode’s friend Jamie (Liyou Abere) arrives just in time to see Bode travel back.

He ends up in Keyhouse during the time Benjamin Locke (Carson MacCormac) was alive and witnesses him show his sister, Miranda (Chloe Avakian), how to use the Harlequin chest. The chest is indestructible and impenetrable. Bode even gets to talk to Benjamin for a second until his time runs out. On the next trip back, he takes Jamie with him and they return to the time when Duncan was a teenager.

Bode is eager to see his father, Rendell, but again, he runs out of time before he can. This time when he returns to the present, Duncan catches him and warns Bode away from the Time Shift Key, as it can be unstable. He gives it to Nina for safekeeping and asks her to keep it from Bode.

The wedding is a gorgeous and touching affair complete with Bode (as the best man, of course) giving an emotional toast that includes a hilarious nod to the show’s running “Aloha” joke, Kinsey singing a cover of The Waterboys’ “How Will I Love You” and a fun reception filled with dancing and laughter.

While the wedding is happening, Gideon, Coffey and Bolton ransack Keyhouse. Bolton finds the Plant Key in Nina’s bedroom and Gideon stumbles upon Bode’s journal where he draws and catalogs all the keys as they find him, plus the magical Mending Cabinet where they are hidden. They start searching for the Mending Key to open it.

At the reception, Tyler drinks enough tequila to start remembering magic (remember, Nina had a similar situation in the first season when she was drinking frequently). Kinsey uses her opening to ask Tyler if he wants his memories back permanently, but once he recalls what happened to Jackie, he shuts down and refuses.

Needing some air, he retreats inside the house, only to run straight into Gideon and his Echoes. They attack Tyler and interrogate him about the cabinet key, but Tyler has no clue what they’re talking about. Just before they can kill him, Kinsey arrives and saves him by using the Chain Key on Bolton and Coffey. Then Gideon and his lackeys escape out the front door.

Bode and Kinsey realize that Bolton and Coffey are Echoes based on Tyler’s intel regarding Wellhouse in disarray. Since the Echoes are out in the world, Kinsey deduces that they have the Anywhere Key and Nina informs them the Plant Key is gone, too. They also need to find a new place for the other keys since the soldiers know about the cabinet now. Bode recalls Benjamin and the Harlequin chest and shows them to it in the basement. The only problem is, they don’t have the chest’s key yet.

Poor Tyler loses his memories once again. He assumes the whole thing was a robbery gone wrong. But on the plus side, the incident convinces him to stay home for a few more days to make sure his family is okay.

Odds & Ends from Locke and Key season 3, episode 2

• The wedding really was a sweet and emotional sequence that felt very fitting for a final season as a way to see everyone happy and having a good time for a while.
• Did anyone else notice the bottle of “Wheeler Sisters” gin?
• Bode sees Nina and Josh (Brendan Hines) share their first kiss. Given his near-miss of seeing his father earlier with the Time Shift Key, I have a feeling he’s going to have a hard time accepting Nina moving on and giving up a chance to see Rendell again by going back to the past.
• During the wedding reception, Ellie reconnects with Gordie Shaw (Michael Therriault), who offers her a job back at the high school as the track coach.
• With Duncan and Brian getting married and going off on their honeymoon, and Aaron Ashmore being downgraded to guest star status again, I’m assuming we won’t see Uncle Dunc much this season.