‘Locke and Key’ Season 1 Review

Locke & Key (2020) is a fantasy, thriller, and family drama that follows three siblings and their mother as they move to their father’s ancestral mansion, Keyhouse, where they discover a number of magical keys that may be connected to his murder.

Locke & Key is a fun show whose fantastical elements really stretch the imagination. However, it was not perfect by any means, as its mystery and villains were not fleshed out enough to make them interesting.

Warning: Some spoilers ahead

Fun with Magic Keys

The hook of this show are the magical keys. The children, Tyler, Kinsey and Bode find them hidden in their ancestral house. Each key has a special power, and, one of the best parts of this show is watching the kids try them out.

The “head key” in particular is quite exciting, as it allows people to go into their own minds. The show was creative in its visual portrayal of the keys’ powers. In the case of the head key, a person sticks a key into the back of their neck, they freeze in time and enter a magical dimension. Each place is unique to each individuals personality and way of thinking. The keys were also an interesting way to explore themes of trauma, especially with Kinsey’s storyline.

Kinsey (Emilia Jones), the middle sibling, developed fear and shame after her father’s murder, which makes it difficult for her to socialize. Kinsey uses the “head key” and literally removes fear from her mind. Removing her fear and the consequences of that (both positive and negative) was such an interesting metaphor for mental health. For instance, how fear can stop us from living, but also how fear is necessary for our survival.

Some of the other keys’ powers were really interesting, however, the show didn’t use them creatively. And, some of the keys were kind of dumb, like, the pyrotechnic key. You have these cool keys that can change your identity, allow you to teleport, to go into your mind, or to control other people and then, there’s the key that just starts fire…

This made the keys feel like they were random and not methodically created with a true purpose in mind. Which brings me to the biggest problem with the keys: the show doesn’t explain who created them and why they exist. Were they meant to be used for something important, or just for entertainment purposes? Because of this, it makes the children’s motivations to keep them safe and the villain’s motivations to have them seem superficial.

The Characters and their Relationships

The relationship between the siblings was one of the strongest parts of this show. The kids all had chemistry and they were at their best when they were together, collecting keys and trying out their magic. Their individual storylines were also interesting as each sibling struggled to fit into their new town. However, their mother was like a ghost.

Nina Locke (Darby Stanchfield) was there, but it’s like she wasn’t really there. Not only did she seem physically and mentally isolated from the children as she lazily tried to learn more about her husband’s past, she only became interesting towards the end of the season when her alcoholism emerged. That is when I began to feel empathy for her.

The Weak Villains

One of the shows major weaknesses are its villains. There are two main villains: Echo/Dodge and Sam Lesser.

Echo is a “demonic” force that takes the form of humans—in this case, a young woman named Dodge. Dodge’s evilness is at times unbalanced. One minute she’s shoving a kid onto an active subway track, another time she’s traveling through doors stealing fashion gowns and jewelry. Her motivations are not very clear. She wants the keys, but we never learn what she needs them for.

Then there’s Sam Lesser, Dodge’s recruit. In my opinion, he’s your typical “bullied into villainy” antagonist. He was meant to be a friend to the Lockes, but his weaknesses were exploited to turn him against them. My issue with Sam, apart from how predictable and annoying he is, is that he felt sort of pointless. Since Dodge can already take human form, why not just impersonate someone that the Locke’s already know?

The Weak Mystery

The mystery of the father’s murder and its ties to his childhood friends was kind of dumb. The lore says that the keys belong to the Locke family. They’ve been there for generations and the Lockes are its guardians. However, the children’s father, Rendell Locke, shares these keys with his friends. My question is, why would Rendell, who is the true guardian of these keys, give them out to his friends who can’t truly guard them? Because the premise for the mystery is dumb, when the main characters end up putting all the pieces together, it doesn’t seem all that interesting. In the end, the true mystery is about their father’s guardianship of the keys and the family’s history. Rendell’s crew was sort of tacked on.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Locke & Key is a fun show with interesting elements of fantasy that play with our imaginations. Sure, the mystery was one of the weakest parts of this show, along with its villains, whose motivations were not very clear, but it’s the siblings relationships and how they cope with the trauma of their father’s murder that makes this show worth the watch.

Did you watch Netflix’s Locke & Key? What did you think of this adaptation? Tell me about in the comments below!

Hi! Shantal here. I’m a writer and a storyteller. I created Shantal Writes to share my experiences with writing fiction. I also provide new writers with tips, tools, and writing advice. I hope you find something helpful while you’re here!