'Locke & Key' Season 3 Ending Explained: Did the Locke family give up all the keys or Bode had different plans?
‘Locke & Key’ has undoubtedly one of the most unique shows on Netflix and garnered a lot of success with extremely well-conceptualized two seasons. But like people say, “every good thing must come to an end”, it’s time for the fantasy series to bid adieu with its third and final season. The stakes are very high and the Locke family is set to fight a new, menacing villain like Gideon (Kevin Durand) this time around.
The third season starts almost nine months after the events that took place in Season 2. The Locke family is trying to adjust to normalcy now and Tyler (Connor Jessup) has gone away to start a new life because he has no memory of what happened in the past. However, a new baddie has emerged and is looking out for the keys, especially the creation key and the Alpha key. A lot of things take place during the season and we see characters like Ellie making a comeback to the show even though everyone believed that she is dead. Ellie has no memory of what happened in the recent past and wants to start a new life with her son Rufus.
RELATED ARTICLES
'Locke & Key' on Netflix: Date, cast, plot, and all the latest buzz around third and final season
Soon, things start getting intense as Gideon makes his way to the real world and starts looking out for the keys. Did he get the keys or the Locke family was able to defeat the villain? Let’s take a look at how Season 3 ended.
‘Locke & Key’ Season 3 Ending Explained: Did Gideon find all the keys?
In the final episode of Season 3, we see that Gordie Shaw is dying after a brutal knife attack by Gideon. He is lying on the floor while Ellie and others use the Head Key to retrieve one key that’s inside Gordie’s head. The name of the key is ‘Creation Key’ and it can bring anything to life once you draw that thing on the paper, on the road, or anywhere else. Gideon wants the key to ruling the world by creating something that would give him all the power.
However, Kinsey, Tyler, and Sam are not ready to give up yet. Yes, Sam has returned in a different body that belonged to a guy named Bolton, an ally of Gideon. At first, Nina is not at all happy with him being at the Locke House because of what he did and he let them out of the pantry. Sam says that he won’t make excuses even though Dodge manipulated him to do that and apologizes to everyone. The Locke kids forgive him for saving them and take him inside Gordie’s mind to find the creation key.
As they travel Gordie’s mind, we get to see what kind of colorful and unique ideas he had in his mind. While trying to find the key, they see Ellie running up to them as well. They get together and start finding the key. However, Gideon soon finds a way to enter Gordie’s mind as well and looks for the key. Even though Gideon manages to find the group, he is unable to do anything because Sam comes in between and attacks him. Kinsey, Ellie, and Tyler manage to run away, but Sam stops there in order to make sure that Gideon doesn’t get to them. Sam is no match for Gideon’s power and is defeated easily.
Tyler, Kinsey, and Ellie manage to get the key and get out of Gordie’s mind. A few moments later, Gideon also gets out and kills 2 police officers who were trying to shoot him. Ellie and Rufus stay together while Kinsey and Tyler run away with the creation key.
Gideon follows the Locke siblings as they create new things to get out of the situation. Kinsey draws a bike on the road so that a bike will appear and it actually does. On the other hand, Ellie and Rufus have reached Josh to take help. The menacing villain was this close to getting the key from Kinsey and Tyler when he is hit by a speeding car. It turns out Josh has reached there at the perfect moment, giving the Locke siblings time to run away. Gideon punches Josh and takes his car to follow the siblings. After a great chase sequence, Tyler is able to outsmart Gideon by taking a sudden left turn and leaving him inside the burning car after he loses control of it.
Elsewhere, Gordie has died.
‘Locke & Key’ Season 3 Ending Explained: Did the Locke family get rid of the keys?
Gideon comes out unharmed from the accident and is looking to finish the quest. Meanwhile, Kinsey and Tyler have reached the Locke house and are planning to finish the game as well. They tell Bode about the creation key and use it to lure Gideon. However, the plan backfires when Gideon uses his power to destroy the machine that the Locke siblings made with the help of the creation key. Gideon, who is in rage, forgets that he needs to get the keys and lets the siblings get away from there. They enter the house and believe that the only way to survive is to kill Gideon and throw away the keys.
But they still need the alpha key to kill Gideon and the chest is not opening. So, Kinsey used the creation key to make a small door on the chest and opens it to retrieve the Alpha Key. Gideon comes inside the house and starts a fight. He uses Kinsey as bait to get the key and tells others that if he doesn’t get the key, Kinsey will be thrown into the pit that’s inside their house. However, Kinsey uses the Alpha Key to attack Gideon and stabs that into his heart. He starts feeling weak and Nina just pushes into hell beneath the surface. Interestingly, two keys go inside with him and the portal starts to decrease in size. They realize that they have to throw every key away if they need to stop the madness.
But Bode says that they need to do one thing before they throw them.
‘Locke & Key’ Season 3 Ending Explained: What did Bode do with the keys?
Before throwing them, Bode used one key to travel to the past and meet their father Rendell one last time. The entire family sits together and shares how they miss him. Bode asked his father if there was a need to give up the keys and if they made him feel special. Rendell says that they did make him feel special, but in the process, he lost the most important thing in his life: family. So, it’s better to throw these keys away.
They hug each other for one last time as the Locke Family returns to the present timeline.
As soon as they return, they throw all the keys away and close the portal. The series ends with Bode telling others that he can’t hear the whispers now. However, as soon as the door of Locke House closes, the whispering continues.
'Locke & Key' Season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.