Josh Bennett

Josh Bennett
Biographical information
Status	Alive
Occupation	History teacher
Gender	Male
Family information
Family Members	Nicole Bennett (Wife, deceased) Jamie Bennett (Daughter) Frederick Gideon (Ancestor)
Appearance
Played by	Brendan Hines
Episode Count	17
First seen	The Head and the Heart
Last seen	Farewell

Josh Bennett is a character from Netflix's adaptation of Locke & Key. He is the new History teacher of Matheson Academy and a love interest of Nina Locke.

Biography

Early Life

Josh was previously married to a woman named Nicole, and had a daughter with her named Jamie. Unfortunately, Nicole was killed in a car crash.

Josh's ancestry traces back to the British colonists who lived in Matheson, Massachusetts during the 1700s, thus he harbored a fascination with Matheson. When Josh inherited a journal belonging to his ancestor, Captain Frederick Gideon, he learned of a portal to another world, alongside Whispering Iron shaped into a musket ball. Josh, motivated by his ancestor's passages of the Black Door's power, became intent to somehow reconnect with his late wife through the mysterious portal.

Life in Matheson

Josh eventually moved to Matheson with Jamie around a year after losing Nicole, and accepted a job as a history teacher at Matheson Academy. The job also provided him an apartment in the student dormitories. At some point, he also purchased and kept a dollhouse replica of Keyhouse Manor which he recognized from Matheson's history.

As Nina renovates Matheson Academy's theater hall, Josh Bennett, observes and treats her methods with condescension, causing the two to part on uneasy terms. Unbeknownst to him, Bode befriends his daughter since both are in the same fifth-grade class. Later, Josh apologizes to Nina about his attitude, and shares that he and Jamie moved to Matheson after the recent death of his wife. He and Nina manage to hit it off, and agree to arrange a playdate for their kids at his apartment in the school dorm. Later, he inspects a scale model of Keyhouse in his study.

Josh walks in on Bode and Jamie's playdate. Afterwards, Nina Locke refuses to take the dollhouse with her when Josh offers it, but schedules a date with him in the near future. The next day, Josh hauls Scot away after he assaulted Gabe. During Nina and Josh's date, the two bond over their grief for their lost loved ones, and they share a kiss before parting ways. At the same time, a house spider finds its way into the dollhouse in Josh's apartment while its key is still inserted, translating to a giant spider terrorizing Tyler, Bode, Erin, and Duncan in Keyhouse.

Nina gives Josh advice on catering for the dorm social he is hosting that night, and the two share a quick kiss before parting ways. At the dorm social, Abby tells Kinsey about Scot not getting into his choice of college. Josh displays his historical artifacts to the students, and Gabe spots a piece of Whispering Iron among them. Kinsey catches them in the act when he and Eden go to steal it.

Nina Locke and Josh's relationship becomes physically intimate. She gifts him a ledger documenting the daily activities in Keyhouse when it was used as an intelligence base in the American Revolution. After she leaves, Josh discovers that a musket ball (actually a lump of Whispering Iron), passed down from his ancestor Captain Frederick Gideon, is missing.

The next morning, Nina is in high spirits after having spent time with Josh. In the Matheson Academy dorm, Josh announces his displeasure at having one of his artifacts (actually a piece of Whispering Iron taken by Gabe and Eden) stolen. To Eden's chagrin, her mother Carol Hawkins turns up unannounced for Winterfest, the town's winter festival. At the fairgrounds, Josh receives an anonymous tip as to the identity of whoever stole his artifact, and forgoes spending time with Nina in favor of pursuing the lead.

He pursues the anonymous tip as to the theft of his historical artifact, Josh confronts Brinker Martin, only to discover the tip was a prank by Javi. Josh reveals to Nina his reasons for wanting the artifact back: it belonged to his ancestor Captain Frederick Gideon, to whom the portal to the demon world first opened in the 18th century. Gideon recorded his experiences with the portal in a journal, and Josh hopes to use the artifact (actually a piece of the Whispering Iron, unbeknownst to him) to locate the portal to the supernatural world and somehow reconnect with his dead wife. Drawing from personal experience, Nina warns him not to lose himself in his grief, but Josh admits he is not ready to move on. Later, Josh forces Jamie to stop playing with the dollhouse and confiscates the Small World Key, freeing Eden in the process.

Josh delves deeper into Gideon's journal and suspects the Drowning Caves to be near Keyhouse. That night, Eden offers to reveal the location of the Black Door if Josh steals the Omega Key from the Lockes for her.

Josh asks his daughter to get information about the Omega Key from Bode. Although, Josh is conflicted about deceiving Jamie and Bode, but agrees to let Eden take him to see the Black Door. She stumbles into Javi spying on her, and kills him in the ensuing fight, taking the Anywhere Key. Jamie later sees her father leaving school with Eden. Gabe breaks into Josh's apartment and deduces that they are heading to the Black Door, and Bode and Jamie reach the same conclusion later. At the Drowning Caves, Josh has a bad feeling about the Black Door and gets suspicious of Eden. Gabe turns up to cause a cave-in with the Crown of Shadows, trapping Josh underground while Eden flees. Bode and Jamie then arrive and use the Hercules Key to dig Josh out, after which he promptly forgets the entire incident.

Josh disposes multiple historical documents out of shame for being associated with his ruthless and cruel ancestor Captain Frederick Gideon. Eden attempts to persuade him to get the Omega Key for her, but she is chased away. A week later, Josh visits Nina to apologize to her for brushing off her advice to not get lost in his grief over his wife's death. He tries to schedule a dinner date in the near future, but Nina asks for more time to sort out her own feelings of being alienated from her children.

Crossing Paths with Gideon

The Lockes are busy preparing for Duncan's in-estate wedding to his fiancée Brian, and are conflicted about Tyler not responding to their attempts to reach out. Uncertain about whether he will attend the event, Kinsey suggests that Nina invite Josh instead. Later, Josh accepts Nina's invitation to Duncan's wedding.

During the reception, Nina and Josh share a dance, and their relationship deepens. As Duncan and Brian leave for their honeymoon, Bode notices Nina and Josh sharing a kiss.

Josh runs into Tyler in town and invites him to a tour of the historic Matheson Meeting House. Tyler impresses Josh with his historical knowledge of Matheson during the American Revolution and confesses that facts about that time period simply pop into his head.

At Bode's school, Josh confronts Nina over her not telling him about the break-in on the night of Duncan's wedding, and asks for her trust.

Since Gideon sends James Bolton to kidnap Jamie in order to force the Lockes to reveal the location of the last key. Josh is shot in the process, but warns the Lockes about Bolton's mission. When Bolton appears, Kinsey and Tyler persuade him to release Jamie in exchange for the location of the final key, and Nina rushes Josh to the hospital. She explains the gist of their ordeal in non-magical terms, and is relieved when Josh believes her.

Bode warns Josh and Jamie that Gideon is out and about. Subsequently, Josh blindsides Gideon with a car to allow the Locke siblings to get away. Sometime later, Josh and Jamie Bennett move in with the Lockes, and Bode finally warms up to the former.

Appearances

Season Two

• The Head and the Heart
• Small World
• Forget Me Not
• Past is Prologue
• The Maze
• Best Laid Plans
• Irons in the Fire
• Cliffhanger
• Alpha & Omega

Season Three

• The Snow Globe
• Deep Cover
• Wedding Crashers
• Five Minutes Past
• Siege
• Free Bird
• Curtain
• Farewell