Since the previous issue was released in early April, Locke & Key has been the subject of an unexpected announcement: Omega, the sixth and formerly final arc of the series, is being cut short to end with issue 5. The series finale will instead consist of a two-part arc, Locke & Key: Alpha, the first oversize issue of which will release in August, in keeping with Omega‘s schedule.

This makes Locke & Key: Omega #5 the end of an arc. How does it fare in that regard? Here’s the official description from IDW:

In the Drowning Cave, the black door is open at last, and for the kids trapped down there, the choice is simple: resist and die, or pass through the door and be lost forever. In the hole beneath Keyhouse the stones run with blood, the living shadows run riot, and time runs out… as Locke & Key enters its final chapters.

Once again, Joe Hill jumps us back and forth between Kinsey and Tyler’s scenes. Tyler’s portion is pretty spoiler heavy from the get-go, but I will say that Nina Locke gets some of her best scenes for the entire series.

For me, however, the events down in the Drowning Cave are much more interesting. Kinsey, Jamal, and Jordan are trapped on that same pesky catwalk, forced to watch their classmates march down into the darkness. The first kicker comes midway through, when Scot and Jackie reemerge from the depths of the cave, possessed, and armed with the Hercules and Angel Keys, respectively. Their dramatics shifts in character are truly terrifying, and their interactions with Kinsey and Co. cut with a razor’s edge. The build-up to the issue’s climax is incredibly ominous, but even when we can sense what’s coming, Hill is able to catch us off guard.

Gabriel Rodriguez is once again in top form. The living shadows have been a strong presence in several issues of  L&K, but perhaps never more than here. The fact that Rodriguez inks his own work undoubtedly makes these images stronger, with the area of illumination around the catwalk getting smaller as the torches go out. Jackie’s black suit also vanishes into the background, leaving her as a disembodied head and wings and reinforcing her appearance as a dark angel.

Locke & Key: Omega #5 is another great issue for this series, but in no way does it feel like the end of an arc, because it’s really not. The unfortunate re-branding of the final issues may make this issue’s ending feel strange, but nothing’s really changed.

4.5/5

Zac Boone went to a wedding last weekend. The band was awful. Follow him on twitter.