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This article is about Nina Locke from the Netflix adaptation.. You may be looking for Nina Locke from the graphic novels.

I can't move on from things that still make no sense to me.

–Nina

Nina Locke is the deuteragonist of Netflix Locke & Key. The matriarch of the Locke Family, she returns home following the untimely death of her husband. She suffers from being an alcoholic and was warned to return her family to Keyhouse should anything happen to him. She is played by Darby Stanchfield.

Biography[]

Early History[]

Nina eventually met Rendell Locke and took his surname following their loving marriage. They eventually had two children, Tyler and Kinsey. While Nina was pregnant with their third child, she would occasionally watch Rendell tell Tyler and Kinsey stories.[1] Several months later, their third baby would be named Bode. Nina was painting when Sam Lesser arrived at their house and gunned down Rendell. Nina retaliated and incapacitated him with a hammer.[2]

Experiences in Matheson[]

Move to Keyhouse[]

Nina relocates her family to Keyhouse Manor, Matheson, following the death of her husband, Rendell Locke. She struggles with the concept initially, and is appalled by the condition of the property following numerous years of disrepair and neglect, but is warned by Duncan that Keyhouse is no ordinary place.[2]

She struggles with the idea that Rendell is truly gone, and looks through his property often, attempting to figure out if there is something sinister about the whole ordeal. When she befriends Ellie Whedon — a childhood friend of Rendell's — she begins asking more questions about Rendell's childhood; particularly, she questions the events surrounding the drowning of their friends when they were children almost twenty-five years prior.[3] Ellie dismisses the whole ordeal as a freak accident in the Drowning Caves, and Nina has no option but to believe her.

Experience with the Keys[]

Nina was not a member of the Keepers of the Keys[4] when Rendell was younger, therefore knowing nothing about the existence of the keys, nor about magic. When she comes face to face with the effects of the Mirror Key, however, she is bemused but merely passes the ordeal off as a hallucination.[2] It would later be revealed that adults over the age of eighteen cannot remember magic, therefore Nina has a hard time comprehending the situation but later forgets it ever happened.[5]

Nina would later come into contact with magic once again, however, when she breaks the mug given to her by Rendell accidentally when drunk. She puts the mug into the Mending Cabinet and locks it with the Mending Key, believing the cabinet to be ordinary and wishing to hide the broken mug from her children. When she opens the cabinet later, the mug is completely restored to its previous state. She later tears numerous things (including books) to pieces and is amazed when the cabinet is able to restore them. Grieving for Rendell, she puts his urn into the cabinet, and is disappointed when it does not bring him back from the dead; this reveals a limitation to the cabinet as it cannot bring things back from death.

Nina is later able to remember the effects of magic when drunk, revealing that adults who are mentally impaired — with drugs, alcohol etc — are temporarily able to remember the effects of magic. Nina again remembers being trapped within the mirror, however forgets shortly after.[6] When the Locke Family are attacked by Sam again, however, and she is privy to details surrounding the keys and Dodge — including witnessing Dodge stab Sam — she forgets them the following morning, believing instead that it was Tyler who stabbed Sam.[4]

Obsession with Rendell's death[]

Joe and Nina talk — 105

Nina talks with Joe about the events.

Nina becomes obsessed with the events surrounding Rendell's death when she looks through his yearbook and notices omega symbols scribbled on the back few pages; she recalls that Sam also had an omega symbol on his wrist. She questions Joe Ridgeway about the whole ordeal, however he brushes her off and tells her that she is perhaps having trouble coping with the traumatic event that is Rendell's death. Nevertheless, however, she continues to investigate, however finds nothing out of the ordinary.[7]

She later believes Ellie to be involved in the events leading up to Rendell's death when she notices she has the same scar — shaped like a keyhole — on her chest as Rendell did. She questions Ellie about the scar, and Ellie reveals that she had an accident on her bike when she was younger. Nina doesn't believe her, however, and later questions how she and Rendell could have the exact same scar by two different accidents. Ellie tells her to forget about the situation, and explains that they gave themselves the scars as a way to remember their fallen friends.[8]

Nina's investigations later lead to the death of Joe at Dodge's hands — although in the disguise of Lucas — when Joe takes a photograph of Lucas and Ellie together. Nina finds Joe suffocated at his house[7], and believes Ellie to be responsible, however she dismisses Nina, telling her that she was good friends with Joe and would never hurt him.

She later becomes angry a the whole situation and breaks Rendell's urn, inadvertantly allowing Tyler and Kinsey to find the Omega Key and open the Black Door. When they firmly believe Dodge is gone, Nina suggests moving back to Seattle, however the Locke Children tell her that they'd rather not as they like it in Matheson.[4]

Seeking Guidance[]

To be added.

Rediscovering Magic[]

To be added.

Personality[]

If you harm my children, you will wish I only had a hammer! Do you understand me?!

–Nina

While Nina was initially a cheerful, perky, and extremely charming woman, she took Rendell's death even harder than her offspring due to not understanding the circumstances or mystical ramifications of the gory event, yet still maintaining these desirable traits regardless. At her core, Nina is a true friend with a heart of gold and a loving and protective parent. Due to suffering from alcoholism, she began seeking therapy until Bode reintroduced her to magic.

Appearances[]

Season One
Season Two

Trivia[]

  • She is able to remember magic when drinking alcohol, as this negates the Riffel Rule.
  • Nina breaks Rendell's urn thereby exposing the location of the Omega Key.
  • She is seen pregnant with Bode in episode Head Games while Tyler and Kinsey went through Kinsey’s memories with their father Rendell.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Locke & Key, Episode 3: Head Games
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Locke & Key, Episode 1: Welcome to Matheson
  3. Locke & Key, Episode 2: Trapper/Keeper
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Locke & Key, Episode 10: Crown of Shadows
  5. This is attributed to the Riffel Rule, which states that nobody over the age of eighteen can remember magic — except the Keepers of the Keys. This is not explained during the first season, however, but the logistics behind the rule are.
  6. Locke & Key, Episode 8: Ray of F*cking Sunshine
  7. 7.0 7.1 Locke & Key, Episode 5: Family Tree
  8. Watchers may be aware that this is a lie. Nina takes this as the truth, however as she knows nothing about the keys or the existence of magic. Later, Ellie notes that "we found a way to remember" — this could be a reference to the scar.
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