Every ‘Locke & Key’ Key, Ranked By Real World Usefulness

The Omega Key has one use: open the Black Door, a portal to a dimension filled with demons. There is another sideways use for it that isn’t mentioned in the first season of the TV series, that is in the comics — we’ll leave that dangling right here — but unless you’re infected with a demon like Dodge, you have literally no use for the Omega Key other than as a nice accessory. Hence, last on the list.

The Mirror Key, introduced in the first episode “Welcome to Matheson” and original for the TV series, like the Omega Key, seems to only be useful if you want to die. It magically opens a keyhole in any mirror, an evil looking version of yourself beckons you in, and in a trance you enter a mirror dimension that clearly has claimed at least several lives. Only by tying a rope and closing his eyes is Tyler able to save his mom Nina Locke (Darby Stanchfield) from the Mirror Key. It only ekes out a win on the Omega Key by virtue of it being a fun party trick (potentially), but only if you can stop anyone from ever entering.

It’s possible that the Matchstick Key, another TV original, will prove to be more useful in the long run. Controlling fire? Very cool. Only problem, the way we’ve seen it used so far the fire often rages out of control, other than one time when Dodge creates a fire cyclone around her and Bode. Unless you’re a fireman or a pyromaniac, right now there aren’t a lot of places creating an inferno can come in handy on a daily basis.

Late in the series, Ellie Whedon (Sherri Saum) reveals she used this key to talk to her boyfriend Lucas (Felix Mallard) one more time. Things, naturally, went horribly wrong. But they don’t have to with this key, and the thought of talking to your deceased loved ones is an enticing one. However, having to have access to the well house near Keyhouse is a barrier; and ultimately this one could become very addictive. Not to mention, though it’s not specific in the series, it seems like you can only summon one echo at a time.

A powerful key that lets you control people with your voice while the music plays, there’s really no way to wrap your head around how to use this one for good (other than fighting bad guys). Controlling people and forcing them to do things against their will is not a positive thing. So while you could use this key to get your apartment cleaned ASAP, the way you’d get it done would be real bad.

An amalgamation of the Gender and Skin keys from the comics, the Identity Key is one of the most crucial keys, particularly when it comes to the last second twists that Dodge is Lucas is ALSO Gabe (Griffin Gluck). Like with the Music Box key, it’s hard to imagine using this for anything other than nefarious purposes — maybe a little cosmetic surgery, versus a total makeover? Regardless of how you use it, though, looking like whoever you want is doing something to yourself, versus others. So a slight advantage over the Music Box Key.

Now we’re getting somewhere. Upside: using the Ghost Key in the Ghost Door allows you to essentially astral project. You can fly anywhere (cool), talk to ghosts (super cool), and perhaps some other abilities that may be revealed later. Downside: if someone closes the door, you’re locked out from your body, and essentially dead. Not cool.

I wrestled with how high to put the Head Key, one of the more exciting and powerful keys in both the books and the TV series. Not only can you access your own memories and review them, which could potentially be very useful, but you can also throw things into your own head — i.e., books — in order to gain that information. The reason this is so relatively low on the list, though, is that as Tyler finds out, and Bode in the books, having the information and using it are two different things, because repeating facts is not the same as understanding them. For a more nuanced user, this may go higher on their list; for most of us, we’d probably mess it up as badly as Kinsey when she removed her own fear.

Unlike the Music Box Key, the Shadow Key and associated Crown of Shadows allows you to create and control shadow monsters, who are not people. In the books, the wearer of the Crown needs to ask the shadows’ permission to have them do something, which is also a step up from the Music Box Key. Granted, the shadows can be disappeared by a well timed flashlight; but if we want to get that gross apartment cleaned this is a better option than brainwashing your friends.

…My apartment needs to be cleaned, is what I’m trying to get at here.

Not exactly a new key for the TV series — it briefly appeared in the “February” issue of the comic — but the use for it is. The Plant Key allows you to control plants… But in this case, Rendell Locke (Bill Heck) and company used the Head Key to remove painful memories from Duncan Locke (Aaron Ashmore) as a kid, put them in jars, and hid them in a tree. Got that? The Memory Tree itself is a creation of the Plant Key, and not the only use of the key itself. In fact, you can use it to control all plants, which is a potentially extremely useful power to have. The only downside I can see is that you need to use it on the plants themselves, versus remotely like the Crown of Shadows, for example. But if you’ve got a green thumb, this key might be a dream come true.

The Mending Key and its associated cabinet have a devastating purpose in season’s seventh episode, “Ray of F**king Sunshine,” thanks to Nina’s attempt to resurrect Rendell. But pretty much any other use of the Mending Cabinet is fab. Break some dishes? Stick ’em in the Mending Cabinet. Got an old watch that doesn’t work anymore? Into the Cabinet! Other than the temptation to be purposefully clumsy to try out the magic, there’s really no downside to this one… Particularly since in the comics the Cabinet stretches to meet the size of whatever you put in it.

The second key we’re introduced to, but first in our hearts (apologies to Mark Cho), the Anywhere Key allows you to open a door to… Well, anywhere, simply by thinking about it, as long as you’ve previously seen said door. Instantaneous travel nearly anywhere? That’s amazing. Beyond being a time-saving device, think about the money you’d save by just walking through a door anywhere in the world. Yes, Dodge uses it to rob and kill, but you’re a good person, right? You’d never do that! Of course you wouldn’t…

Stream Locke & Key on Netflix