"Locke & Key" Crown of Shadows (TV Episode 2020) Poster

(TV Series)

(2020)

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8/10
Annoying parts, but overall really awesome
motek_699 May 2020
I don't get why these reviews are so terrible. People are just so judgy for no reason. Yes, some of the writing could be a bit better. And Yes, the kids make WAAAAY too many stupid decisions, but that's not what makes a show good or not. The story is extremely intriguing and makes you wanna know more. Except for the mom, the actors are great! The show has action throughout the episodes that keeps you on your edge of your seat. Like it's a GREAT show! I just hope that the locke kids make better choices in the second season... definitely A MUST WATCH THOUGH!
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8/10
Not a perfect season, but a very enjoyable one for sure.
Perspicuity17 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
SEASON 1

When I first watched this season of Locke and Key, I didn't like it that much, but on a second watch it didn't seem that bad at all, in fact I liked it a lot. I think the key problem is that viewers were expecting something like Stranger Things in this show. We thought this show would be as fast paced and action packed as Stranger Things, with confident, intelligent and overactive kids dealing with monsters. We were not expecting a show that wasn't in any kind of hurry to move on and had a very relaxed feel to it. The viewers found it difficult to digest that the children lacked enthusiasm for pretty much anything and everything. Some critics have also complained about the show not being as scary and violent as the comics; well I haven't read the comics, so I can't really compare the two but I do believe that a show needs to be interesting, no amount of violence, gore and bloodshed can save a show that doesn't have an engaging story; fortunately this one does have that. Once you become familiar with the universe, it becomes much easier to understand the characters. Two different shows cannot be the same, the children in Locke and Key had just lost their father and arrived in a new city, so it's understandable if they don't come across as very cheerful and enthusiastic. Of course, it has its fair share of flaws, characters taking stupid decisions, but overall it's quite an enjoyable show. Locke and Key is not at par with Stranger Things, but it has its own charm, all that you need to do is give it a fair chance.

WHAT'S GOOD : 1. Locke and Key has the perfect atmospherics for a mystery show. One look at the massive mansion that is Key House, gives you the feel that perhaps a thousand secrets are buried underneath it. Surrounded by water and a dangerous looking cliff, the setting is perfect for a scary horror movie.

2. The production quality of the show is top notch. The awe inspiring front end of the castle that we see in the show was created just for the show. The inside of the key house has been created with a lot of detailing. The visual effects of the show are as good as that of a movie. The beautiful mind palaces, that one sees after someone uses the head key, make your jaws drop. The art direction team as well as vfx artists have done a truly commendable job.

3. It's one thing to see something in the comics or read it in a novel, but completely different thing to bring all that to life by using your own imagination. The creators of the show have done an amazing job in creating the mind palaces. As a viewer, it was something very unique to experience and the amazingly beautiful visuals left me completely speechless. I found Kinsey's mind palace to be a stunning piece of art. The bright and colourful glass containers used to store memories were a sight to behold. The depiction of the head space was easily one of the strongest aspects of the show.

4. The screenplay keeps you intrigued with the discovery of new keys every now and then. Every time there is a whispering sound, your mind starts wondering what kind of magical key are the kids going to discover now. Just like Bode, you are also intrigued to find out what kind secrets are hidden in the key house. The show has a lot of teenage drama in its storyline, but just when you think that the story is losing focus, the supernatural aspect of the show cuts right back in. This season may be called a slow burn by some, but for the most part it remains a very engaging watch.

5. At its core, this show has magic as well as mystery, so naturally a number of questions arise in our minds as go forward in this journey. Thankfully, the show answers most of them quite satisfyingly by the end of the season. Of course, some of them are supposed to be left for the future seasons, but quite often shows don't provide any kind of answers and leave us high and dry. A good suspense thriller should not only leave the audience with intrigue but also offer its viewers some sort of fulfillment.

6. Among the actors, the youngest one of them makes the biggest impact. Bode, played by Jackson Robert Scott, is easily the best character of the show. He's always filled with enthusiasm and inquisitiveness to find out about hidden secrets of their magical house. Young Jackson proved himself to be a very promising talent through a very confident portrayal of Bode, one that felt very natural.

7. Flashbacks are often considered boring and unnecessary, but this show makes good use of them to not only unlock some mysteries of the key house, but also provides us an insight into the kind of relationship the children shared with their father.

WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD : 1. Even after the end of the season, it's not quite clear as to what Dodge wants. She wanted to open the doorway to the other world, but when the portal actually opened, she helped the children in closing it. So what exactly is her ultimate plan?

2. Dodge cannot take the keys directly from the Locke's, but if someone else is holding it then she can just snatch it from them; isn't that a rather half-baked security measure? Also, Dodge was able to strangulate Bode in the second episode, when she was trying to scare him, which means that she can actually hurt him. What we can conclude from this is that either the writing is inconsistent or the creators of the keys were not the most intelligent of people.

3. Characters not acting intelligently was used as a very convenient plot mechanism by the writers. In the penultimate episode of the season, Ellie goes alone to get the all-powerful crown from her house along with the key, knowing very well that Dodge can easily snatch it from her; after all she's not a Locke. The Locke siblings, despite knowing everything, allowed Ellie to go out with a key. Also, after the big fight in the end, the children didn't bother to think as to why Dodge's body didn't have the crown. They were aware of the Identity Key, and also the fact that Dodge was roaming around by changing into Lucas; so why not analyze and check if they did actually kill Dodge? Also, they could have simply called Ellie to check if she was ok, and ask as to why didn't she come back, that could have really clarified a lot of things.

4. The pacing of the show takes a beating when Nina Locke starts to sink in a state of depression. The creators could have cut down on the scenes involving Nina, because quite frankly she was the most boring character of the show.

5. Why didn't Ellie inform the Locke kids about Lucas staying in her house? As per her own statement, she had figured out that Lucas was actually a demon, so why not take help from the children in sending him back to where he belonged? Well, that would have brought an early end to the show I guess, that's why.

6. The music key holds so much power, but the kids never made use of it after having fun with Eden using it. They could have used it on Sam Lesser when he entered their house; if it was difficult for Kinsey then perhaps Tyler could have used it, but instead he chose brute force even when magic was all around him.

7. Sensible people overcome their fear to do the right thing, lack of fear should not make you stupid. Why did Kinsey start acting irrationally after taking out her fear? Too much of fear can make you act foolish sometimes, but lack of fear will always allow you to see things more clearly. She wanted to date both Scot and Gabe; you don't need fear to realize how wrong that is. That character arc created some drama for sure, but did not make much sense as such.
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7/10
Season One Review
southdavid12 March 2020
Long gestating, this adaptation of the graphic novels finally hit Netflix in early 2020. Though it feels familiar to a lot of Netflix output at the moment, it's well-made and enjoyable enough that we made it through and would be back for a second run, if it's produced.

Following the murder of their father, teenagers Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), their younger brother Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) and mother Nina (Darby Stanchfield) move from Seattle to a small coastal Massachusetts town, to renovate their father's family home. Upon arrival, the kids discover the house contains a series of magical keys each of which have a different effect or power when used. However, young Bode meets Dodge (Laysla De Oliveira) a mysterious character seeming trapped at the bottom of the estates well. Dodge knows about the keys and their uses and requests that Bode brings her a specific one.

I feel like my list of complaints is going to be longer, so for balance I do want to say again, as you can see from the score - I liked the series. It's particularly well made, there are a large number of CGI shots to be done and all are nicely done. Most of the casting is pretty good though , and dunking on a child seems super harsh but, Jackson Robert Scott is occasionally a bit too "aww shucks guys" for any child, let alone one who's had his father murdered and whose life is under threat at several points. I was never less than entertained by the plot, I liked how the plot revealed its backstory as it went along and even managed to surprise me with one of the plot twists in the finale.

There are some weird choices in the story telling though. Ideas that aren't explored that you think, in the real world, they might have been. Characters disappear, or appear, sometimes without much justification. The older son, Tyler, undergoes several character changes across the season without the correct justification for it. The biggest issue though is that I'm unsure exactly who the show is aimed at. Plot wise it can be pretty basic at times, and spends a lot of time focusing on the teen high school aspects of the kids' lives, but there are also moments of violence and horror that would be unsuitable for younger children. Also, the series is quite similar to a lot of shows on Netflix at the moment, where some otherworldly element is mixed with a group of children, or young adults. "Stranger Things", "I'm not OK with this", "Sabrina" to name just a few.

Again, I enjoyed the run and will definitely be back for the second season but it's not quite at the top level of TV, at the moment.
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10/10
WOAH
grynkewichjustin10 April 2021
To be honest, I don't love this show. BUT this episode is insane. It's worth watching the whole season just for this episode. Don't love the show, love this episode.
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6/10
A bad decision after another
Jaybcd13 February 2020
Every single problem they face in the show could be solved by using a cellphone or one of the keys. but they seem to forget they are in their pockets! Such a good concept ruined by absolute lack of logic
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7/10
Overall a satisfying first season
allnewsuperfake4 November 2021
It's close enough to the source material to keep the entertainment value, and while it's toned down to be more family friendly and everyone is a lot more attractive and accessible, it even adds some details, characters and aspects that fit in perfectly. It gets.the fairy tale of "Locke and Key" right, and manages to resist the temptation to go too deep into the teen drama aspect, but that's a demon that seems to lurk behind every series these days, trying to worm it's way into yet another interesting setting, a destroyer of world that makes this series' antagonist pale in comparison. Some additions seem rushed, and some plot developments demand everyone to be really stupid, but it's the exception.

But, just like the whole cast, everyone does a decent job, even if that job is being evil, or being annoying, or being brooding - I was quite taken.by Darby Stenchfield peformance, who I'd never heard from before, but there were no real lows here. The CGI does the job, just like the whole technical side - most of the time it's nothing to write home about, but it's all coming together nicely and manages to find it's own style and stick with it, and that's laudable these days.

If you find yourself in need of something to bingewatch during the cold and wet season, this is comfortable, but not boring. It doesn't have any big messages and is certainly not unforgetable, but it's also not just killing time. Given the harsh, unforgiving style of the source material it's surprising how wholesome and warm it is, how positive and in love with it's characters and setting, and if you are in the mood for something like that, you could do a lot worse.
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6/10
only bad decisions..........
maisg420 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Every step they took is a bad decision and leads to an other bad decison in a dilima. Every step ahead leads to three steps behind. I like the end because a charecter that deserves to die goes inside the black door but it was so obvious that She/He/It will survive. But does not make sense some things that happend ther.
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5/10
Needs better writing/plotting
ewf100021 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I've enjoyed this series, with its great production values, and the acting is good. But the writing, especially in this episode, leaves a lot to be desired. The Locke kids still have a key and the music box it controls that would allow them to make Dodge do whatever they want. They could have done this a couple of episodes ago and saved everyone a lot of trouble. Then there is the blatantly stupid decision on the part of Ellie and the Locke Kids bringing together the Crown of Shadows and the key that controls it right where Dodge can easily take both. Not to mention the fact they conveniently forget that Dodge has a key which allows her to change a person's appearance. Opening the Omega Door, knowing what would happen, was just plain dumb. I saw the plot twists coming from a hundred miles away. I love the concept of the series and hope the plot/writing improves in the second season.
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3/10
Such a pity
cilizadam14 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
It could have been a great series , but script without any sense of logic just destroyed it.

There were a lot of bad decisions during the series but "yea let's open the demon door and throw her there" might be the most stupid one. They knew that there were "Demon Bullets" behind that door but it took them about 2 minutes to throw the freaking body. I mean come on, yes you are doing something stupid, but at least do it right. Just be ready to throw the body there as soon as the door is open, and for god's sake after throwing , just get out from the front and close thh door from behind, what's wrong with this writing! Oh and that "surprise" reveal was so obvious through the series, I don't want to get into that.
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1/10
If you think ep 9 was bad...
acharrell10 December 2020
What an insulting wrap-up. And that's how this ends, it's literally a wrap-up. The writers think we're very stupid. It's the only explanation for that ending. A series of flashbacks is just lazy writing.
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1/10
So much potential wasted!!!!!!!
jllagunos20 May 2020
I'm really trying not to scream in anger. So much potential: really nice scenarios, effects, some epic scenes... But the writing of the characters are so damn stupid. They constantly take decisions that contradicts their previous scenes. And they always take the worst decisions, the ones that literally would endanger everything. This episode is just exposition to explain what they couldn't puzzle together along the previous 9 episodes. So frustrating. Really
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1/10
What??
Wilson-kavu23 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
How can Netflix allow this? With so many talented writers, please fire these guys and hire another.

The whole season I watch things that would never - I repeat - never actually happen!

Why did Ellie went home with the key?? Honestly makes 0 sense man. Knowing that they had to sneak in and not be seen. Knowing that there's a chance they would be seen. And Netflix allows these writers to come up with this.... oh well

Please, if there's another season - change your writers! There's so much potential but Netflix has great shows with either bad actors or bad writers...
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3/10
Dont waste your time
striderm1 March 2020
Watching the trailer, it actually looks like a great series. Even at episode 8 it feels half decent & its building up pace, but that last episode has to be the biggest anti climax of any series. Please stop making these series that go nowhere by the last episode
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4/10
Really bad
mikeliturria4 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Episode with a tremendously poor script. From the beginning of the episode I already had bad feelings when I saw that Eden went to help them. Seriously? Didn't she realize that magic could have been what caused her ridicule in the cafeteria and that Kinsey was the responsible?

When she appeared, I already knew that something was going to happen to her. At first I thought she would die but what has happened to her makes more sense. The thing that doesn't make sense is that having the mirror key they wouldn't lock her inside, when they know it can't get out. At least they should have tried the head key and gone into her head to check that she is really Dodge, and that she hasn't used the key to the faces to make someone look like her. The plotwist was very predictable.

Also, Dodge desire is opening the black door, she kills people to archieve it and the first idea the Locke brothers have is opening that door? Without any idea what is inside of it? They are literally giving Dodge what she wants.

Lots of script holes. I hope the second season ends better.
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5/10
I hope season 2 gets better writing
Whtpm23 July 2021
Bad decisions one after another as other ppl have mentioned. Show overall is good but this episode is just a throwaway to make room for the next season, which i really don t like.
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5/10
What's with the flashbacks
sayersz-6836515 February 2020
The use of flashbacks in series has had its day, jumbled story lines for the sake of it just makes the series boring. I skipped every flashback as it gave no momentum to the storyline other than filling out an hour episode.

This series had potential it was in places dark then it was just real teenage drama, which just makes you drift off and forget what you are watching. You are just waiting for the episode to get on with the predictable story.
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5/10
Better writing needed
dfresh-013846 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Why do writers have to use the same boring storyline with a girl who can't choose between the two guys and says seriously about both of them dating her ! Imagine the roles reversed and Scot told Eden and the sister he wanted to date both at the same time ? Yeah be huge fight or both slap him .

Ellie is how old when she brings Lucas back ? A bit too old for a 17 yr old makes no sense . Guy kills himself at the drop of a call but she can't get over high school boyfriend please.

When Lucas kills the 2 friends then Lucas gets killed also why do they only erase Duncan's memories ? If they have all the keys powers why not erase Marks memory after hiding the keys in the house instead of committing suicide? Dodge didn't even need that guys info got the keys by other means ..

Get better with new ideas please .
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2/10
So senseless story.
deepakdst16 March 2020
Tell me which mother flirts with a guy when her children are fighting ghosts. Come-on you are a mother need to give your family time it looked like she is just for extending time of this series. Shadows can't live in light, wow that was amazing and unique idea, come-on buddy everybody know this and you are behaving like you discovered it. The story was predictable looked like they are just focusing on next season and this season is just for lazy audiences.
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3/10
Far fetched
jeroen-10622 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
On one hand the demon is very strong, but on the other hand all that magic and cunning is not the slightest bit effective. She could buy a teddy bear and try to beat the protagonists to death; at least that would make sense.

The whole character swapping at the end was another example of poor writing. I saw it coming from miles and it's yet another example of her not succeeding at anything despite being a demon with magical keys.
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5/10
Decent until season 1 finale
justthenaughtystuff-4469411 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The ending of season 1 was completely horrible. 1) The "death" part. 2) The 1st bullet you see comes out flaming hot. Yet the girl who gets hit(you don't see) doesn't make a sound. 3) The demons in the house fought each other over Kinsey but at the very end, all of a sudden 2 demons are supposed to be best buds eh? Makes no sense. Thanks for saving me further seasons of wasted time.
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