[Movie] Locke and Key – Season 3 Episode 6 “Free Bird” Recap & Review

Free Bird

Episode 6 of Locke and Key Season 3 sees the Locke’s rush away from Locke house. Bode is still outside though… but there’s a problem. It turns out Gideon doesn’t actually have all the keys so the portal doesn’t work. He senses that they still have one more key to collect, so Gideon tasks Bolton with heading off and questioning the historian (Josh) over the whereabouts of Nina.

It doesn’t take long for Bolton to show up, holding Josh at gunpoint and demanding to know where Nina Locke is. Of course, they’re not at Locke house right now but likewise, Josh is oblivious to the keys and the magic. Bolton shoots him down and takes Jamie hostage.

Meanwhile, ghost Bode speaks to Chamberlain and tries to find a way out of the graveyard. Sam is there too, trying to atone for his sins, but Bode demands he leave. That is, until Chamberlain encourages him to follow and speak to Sam about how he aided their family before.

So off Bode goes to the Well. He speaks to Sam about the past, who apologizes about what happened between them. He also perks up though, admitting he used the birds to help Kinsey find the Angel key. As a result, Bode decides to do the same thing, conjuring forth the birds with guidance from Sam.

Kinsey and Tyler are picked up by Rufus, who all discuss the different keys and try to work out how to fix this. Rufus deduces they could use the Timeshift Key to go back in time and stop things but Ty is completely against this. Instead, they come up with an alternate plan.

Now, the gist of this plan is that they intend to use Bolton as bait so Bode can temporarily possess his body by walking through the Ghost Door. Funnily enough, Bolton walks right in with Jamie at gunpoint, letting her go in exchange for taking the kids captive.

They’re both led into Key House, where Tyler makes his play to Gideon about the final key being stuck in the Ghost Plane, which can only be accessed by the Ghost Key. Ty tells Gideon it was the safest place for it, and he, in turn, sends Bolton off to get it.

Back at the house, a wounded Josh is rushed into hospital. Nina follows, where she promises to tell him everything, including how Gideon is back and opening that portal to another world. And bizarrely, Josh is absolutely fine with all this and believes her.

While Bolton wanders around the Ghost Plane, Ellie and Nina both rock up at Key House to try and thwart this foe. However, Bode also uses his newly acquired bird powers to distract Gideon in the process. He manages to slip back in the chimney, returning to how he was.

However, Rufus shows up and he’s held up at knifepoint by Gideon as a result. Ellie promises to tell the Captain exactly where the key is in exchange for him being let go. Gideon agrees, where he learns that the key is actually inside the head of Gordie Shaw.

James Bolton returns and he holds the others at gunpoint, locking them up in the closet. However, he lets them out when Gideon and Ellie drive off. He admits he’s not Bolton – it’s actually Sam possessing his body!

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The Episode Review

Locke and Key returns with another dramatic turn of events, as Bode is now back in his own body, while Sam returns in the body of Bolton. With Gideon desperate to get his hands on the final key, it all looks set to explode in a flurry of drama in the final couple of episodes for this season.

Some of the acting in this episode isn’t great (namely that of Nina while escaping at the start, which felt really forced), while the character arcs have been pretty lacking this whole season. Ultimately, most of the drama here has stemmed from characters making stupid decisions or showing up to exude exposition before leaving.

Given this is the last season, it seems like the magic is gone from the show and we’re now lurching our way to the finish line. Can this one end on a high? We’ll have to wait and see!