Locke & Key Review: Unlock The Door To A Fun, But Flawed, Adventure
Locke & Key, the Netflix series based on the graphic novel by Joe Hill and illustrator Gabriel Rodriguez, holds the trauma of grief at its center. Unlocking that grief lies in the three Locke children facing both their past and the past of the house they now call home.
After tragedy strikes their family, a new start at the long abandoned Locke home in Massachussets sends the family into a flurry of discovery and magic, as Bode, Tyler, and Kinsey Locke look to uncover the mystery their new home holds while struggling to fit in at a new school.
The lead trio, Bode (Jackson Robert Scott), Tyler (Connor Jessup), and Kinsey (Emilia Jessup), hold the show together by bringing such varied energy with their performances and characters. They each face their grief in different ways, where coping or acting out comes as mostly earned as they struggle to make peace with their new surroundings while battling things beyond their comprehension.
It’s classic family friendly fare, down to the chase of adventure, the thrill of finding the next thing, and fighting the supernatural while the adults are busy with their own lives. All of these aspects are hit with expert precision, and it’s where the show shines most. When the show wants to be fun, Locke & Key knows how to entertain.
The titular keys are downright fun, their different functions and learning to use them becoming an exciting event, even a number of episodes in. The show knows how to keep its mystery side interesting, and knows how to dole it out without leaving things either too scarce or too overwhelming.
There’s method to their reveals and how they play into each episode, providing a sense of security that you’re in good hands with the writers.
But all of the good is mired by some difficult character choices and wild shifts in tone.
The character choices are, for the most part, completely believable and fit in with the events the show is conveying; but there are moments that come as completely out of character or come as choices made to give the adversary the upper hand when it’s clear the heroes have their shot. These sorts of things can be disappointing in the moment, but come as frustrating when it happens multiple times.
Strange tonal shifts plague the show at inopportune times. The lighthearted adventure tone and the darker aspects don’t always meet in the middle, Locke & Key feeling as though it’s wanting to be a family show while taking on a more violent edge at times, leaving some whiplash over who the show may be for. There’s also the high school drama, which bogs down the story for stretches.
One especially jarring shift is the use of modern pop and alternative songs that come out of left field and don’t match the show or the scene that it plays over. Some work during high school scenes, but one, during a somewhat dark moment, hurts the scene and the impact it’s meant to have when using the incredible score by Torin Borrowdale could leave a far more lasting impression.
The production is tremendous, lavishly popping on screen with the gorgeous Locke house as its centerpiece. The house is much like the one of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, something to bask and take in as you’re swept through its nooks and crannies.
It’s not only the set design and house, though. The camerawork is fluid, at times gliding through the house as it follows one of the Locke children or taking on beautiful, elaborate locations that are more fantastical in nature. The show loves to take in its more elaborate effects, and it’s sometimes rather impressive in scale.
There’s also the use of lighting and color to accentuate key images or moments. One particular flashy use of color is Bode’s rainbow-colored light sword, which clashes against the darkness and really adds to the scene as the only source of light against a foreboding threat.
Locke & Key finds its most success when it’s about young adventure and tackling the thrill of running around with friends or siblings trying to uncover a mystery or to solve the use of the next key. Those moments sing and stand out far above the more mundane aspects of the show.
But unfortunately, the show almost hinges on these other aspects to glue everything together, leaving Locke & Key as a show with promise but with a need of tightening some of its issues up if it is to continue.
As a fun adventure series, the show does hold its own and is satisfying as a whole. When it hits its highs, it hits them well. But the show, in the end, is a little lacking as it tries to artificially lengthen the threat with poor character choices and last-minute twists that end up dragging it down a little on its way out. Hopefully a potential second season can course correct and alleviate some of this along the way.
What did you think of this season of Locke & Key? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Locke & Key premieres Friday, February 7 on Netflix.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.