‘Locke & Key’: Why Connor Jessup Felt ‘Frustrated’ With His Character, Tyler
As the oldest son in the current generation of Locke kids, Tyler Locke faced tough decisions heading into Netflix‘s Locke & Key Season 3. He was on the cusp of turning 18 years old, which meant he would soon forget everything about the magical keys, if that’s what he wanted. Season 3 became a major turning point for Tyler, giving him the chance to show off his growth. And though Tyler has come a long way since Locke & Key Season 1, the actor behind him, Connor Jessup, sometimes found himself getting frustrated with the character. Here’s why.
[Spoiler alert: The following story contains spoilers for Locke & Key Season 3.]
Tyler Locke faced a personal debate in ‘Locke & Key’ Season 3
In season 2, the Lockes found the Memory Key, which allowed them to remember magic even into adulthood. However, after the death of Tyler’s girlfriend, Jackie (Genevieve Kang), he opted not to use the key. By season 3, Tyler had moved away from Matheson, Massachusetts, and grown apart from his family.
When Tyler returned for his uncle’s wedding, he faced flashes of memories from before his 18th birthday. Still hurt by Jackie’s death, he refused Kinsey’s (Emilia Jones) offer to use the Memory Key. However, this further separated him from his family, as he was now the only one who couldn’t remember magic. Despite how much it pained him to be reminded of Jackie, he ultimately chose to remember, allowing him to reunite with his family and understand their battle with Frederick Gideon (Kevin Durand).
Connor Jessup felt ‘frustrated’ with his character at first, but applauded Tyler’s growth
In a recent interview with Yahoo Canada, Connor Jessup revealed that he was “frustrated” with Tyler in early seasons because of the way he refused to communicate with his family.
“I just felt like he started as such a mopey teenager and by season 3 I felt like he just was more of an adult, he felt weightier and calmer, and he just felt more mature to me, especially by the end of the season, and that was really satisfying to have traveled that distance with him,” he explained. “I think I was more frustrated by Tyler in the first couple of seasons … because he’s not always very great at communicating, especially when it comes to the danger that they face, he’s not the one who’s plunging headfirst into things.”
Still, Jessup appreciated how much Tyler changed with season 3. He showed how much he truly cared for his family.
“By the end, I felt Tyler has a really good heart and he cares so much, and a lot of his pain comes from the fact that he feels so much responsibility for his siblings and his family,” Jessup added. “It’s something that I feel like I wish I had more of in me, that he looks at things that are happening head-on.”
Connor Jessup found ‘Locke & Key’s ending ‘really satisfying’
Many viewers felt disappointed that Locke & Key would come to an end with season 3. Still, the writers had long planned to wrap up the show in three seasons. They brought the story to a clean conclusion where the Lockes could continue a normal, healed life without magic. Jessup said he found the ending very “satisfying”:
“I think part of it, as I was reading the seventh and eighth [episodes], I was like, it still feels like there’s still so much to resolve and we’re still so in the middle of this chaos, and then, as eight turned along, our writers had really beautiful ways of not only bringing the story of the season to conclusion, but I think …bringing the emotional journey of this family, over the course of all three seasons, to a really satisfying end.”
All three seasons of Locke & Key are now streaming on Netflix.
