THE KEY

The rise of a rival coven spells both complications and loyalty conflicts for the young witches charged with saving the world from a demon invasion.

Concerned readers of the previous two doorstoppers will be relieved to learn at the outset that the three members of the Chosen Ones who were killed aren’t entirely dead. Instead, they roam a misty Borderland as channel-surfing silent witnesses to past and present incidents in the Swedish town of Engelsfors. Said incidents range from the pairing off of the still-living Chosen Ones and allies as high school seniors to the formation of a new set of supposed Chosen under the direction of Walter, the ruthless Council’s power-mad leader. Warning that the original Chosen Ones aren’t strong enough to close the demonic portal that is about to open, Walter recruits Minoo, the mightiest young witch in town—leaving her to choose between abandoning her friends and (presumably) saving the world. As before, heavy friction characterizes every relationship, even amicable ones, and there is at least as much effort spent in working through personal issues as in penetrating the heavy fog of lies and obfuscations that both the Council and the subtle demons have cast around the upcoming apocalypse. In the end, the common threat remains a nebulous backdrop to the fierce emotional tides of nascent adulthood.

Epic in length if not scale, the closer puts its small-town teen ensemble through the wringer.