Ep 8 “Irons in the Fire” has a genuinely important job to do… laying out the complete origin of the magical keys and the Locke family’s place in history – and it does that job thoroughly. Perhaps too thoroughly.
The 1775 flashbacks are well-staged and the mythology they deliver is fascinating, but they consume so much of the episode that the present-day tension built so carefully over the previous three episodes loses its momentum.
When the show finally snaps back to the present in the final act, it delivers two genuinely excellent scenes – including a reveal about someone Tyler loves that hits with real force, and a closing image rooted in Rendell’s legacy that quietly earns its emotional weight.
A necessary episode that could have been twenty minutes shorter. 6.5/10.