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The long awaited TV adaptation of Locke and
Key has finally come to fruition at Netflix.
>> Aloha.
>> And, according to the little Netflix executive in our heads it's absolutely
binge worthy.
>> You've watched six episodes already, just let it ride, yeah, baby.
>> The graphic novel series ran from 2008 to 2013.
It was illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez and penned by Joe Hill,
who continues his family's legacy of generating nightmares.
>> I'm proud of you, son.
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>> At face value, the adaptation follows the comics very closely.
Most of the changes can be boiled down to Netflix's aim at a younger audience,
while also taking different narrative paths to keep the fans guessing.
>> The fans are going to love it and you will too,
after I finish building this Netflix shrine in your mind.
>> So what do you say, Casey?
Shall we open up this adaptation and poke around?
>> I think we better but fair warning there are spoilers ahead.
>> Hah!
>> It's time to ask what's the difference?
>> Season one pulls its arc primarily from the first three volumes of the comics,
the Locke family suffers a tragedy when the father Rendell Locke is murdered by
a troubled student.
The family moves to Rendell's ancestral home Keyhouse Manor,
where the Locke children discover magical keys and an evil demon named Dodge who
terrorizes the family in search of the mysterious Omega Key.
>> It's still a story about grief and loss, blending elements of horror and
fantasy with a dash of mystery at the center.
But the show removes the most mature content from the books.
The murder of Rendell Locke is a perfect example.
Rendell is shot through the eye, Nina is violated by a second accomplice.
Who later takes an axe to the head while Tyler nearly
beats Sam to death with a brick.
It's pretty icky.
>> The show drops the sexual assault of Nina, Rendell is shot through the stomach
and Nina clocks Sam over the head with a hammer.
>> I'd want to move after that.
>> And so the family moves to Key House Manor which in the show is located in
Matheson, Massachusetts.
Well in the comic the town is called Lovecraft.
The town name in the comic of course refers to the famous horror writer
HP Lovecraft, whose influence can be found all over the comic book series.
>> The town's name Matheson refers to another of Joe Hill's heroes.
Richard Matheson whose novels touch on everything from haunted houses to
erotic ghosts.
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>> Hello there. (Music)
>> The show generally features the same characters but
the Locke family matriarch Nina takes on a more investigative role.
>> In her grief, she obsesses over the why of her husband's death
looking into his past and the mysterious deaths around town.
>> We're still investigating Joe's death.
>> It wasn't suicide.
The show even invents a suspicious omega mark shared by Rendell and his friends for
her to unravel.
>> But Nina's main concern in the comic is safety.
She is mostly isolated in fear and paranoia waiting for
her husband's murderer to return.
Sure, she collaborates with Detective Matuko but
he's the one trying to solve the murder puzzle.
Not like his Netflix counterpart.
>> I don't want to sound dismissive, but I've got to go with the evidence.
>> What a useless bag of donuts.
And while the show touches on Nina's descent into alcoholism from the comic,
it adds a twist of irony by giving up her sobriety Nina is able to retain
the magical events that otherwise would have left her memory which is good for
investigation but detrimental for her family.
>> Kinsey and her friends skew more pop culture nerd-
>> Wizard of Oz, Ninja Turtles.
>> Rather than the punk outcast from the comic.
>> Take a hike San Francisco.
>> Which opens the door for
some good old fashion teen hijinks not at all present in the comic.
Such as punishing the school bully.
(Sound) >> But
of course number one in the bully department is Dodge.
In both mediums Dodge is a corrupted spirit from the past who escapes the Locke
well house and
uses violence and manipulation in a Machiavellian quest for power.
But the show gives her new abilities that simultaneously make Dodge more powerful
and less imposing on one hand, Netflix Dodge is
invulnerable to conventional weapons and appears to have super strength.
>> Hey whoa.
>> Okay, stop rolling.
Stop rolling, stop, aw, aw.
>> But even with all that new power,
Netflix Dodge is unable to steal the key from a member of the Locke family.
>> You can't take them from us.
>> Dodge has no such abilities or restraints in the comic.
Stealing, murdering, manipulating.
Whether Dodge is a woman or a man, he usually risks his or her own skin.
>> Hey, I don't know what the point now is?
(Sound) >> Rendell Locke is dead.
>> Season one unravels a present day cover up that would not be possible in
the comics.
It begins with the news of Rendell's death and a man familiar to fans of the comic,
Mark Cho, who uses a key to destroy himself along with his entire house.
>> He was the most trustworthy of us all, so
it made sense that he should know where all the keys were hidden.
That's why he killed himself so no one could ever get inside his head.
To protect the keys.
>> None of that's in the book since Mark Cho died back in 1988.
And his friend Ellie couldn't be in on the plan because adults don't remember magic.
But that's pretty easy to change with a quick line of dialogue.
>> We found a way to remember.
>> Magic.
>> Speaking of magic, let's talk about the keys.
>> You love the keys.
I do love the keys.
>> Yeah I know you do.
>> The majority of which make it to the screen pretty faithfully.
>> However the skin key and the gender key from the comics are combined to create
the identity key in the show.
>> And that's what you chose.
>> The head key,
which is pivotal in both mediums has the same ability but is presented differently.
In the comic, the top of one's head pops off and
materializes a miniature world full of memories and anthropomorphized emotions.
In the show however the key opens a doorway into your mind
which is represented by meticulously crafted sets.
>> Am I just super high?
>> And since everything is life size,
the anthropomorphic feelings found inside one's head pose morally
physical threat than their miniature comic book counterparts.
Speaking of size season one does not include the giant key,
which plays a huge part in the comic if you'll pardon my pun.
Instead the show invents the matchstick key and the mirror key.
>> Mom.
>> The mirror key traps one's self in a reflective prison.
It's a clever portrayal of losing yourself in despair.
>> Cody?
>> The matchstick key is pretty self explanatory, but
its secret ability is to replace the bloodier moments from the comic.
For instance, Sam Lesser escapes prison in the comic by introducing a guard's
eyeballs to a pair of scissors.
>> Needless to say they did not care for each other, but in the show wow, look,
whoa, look.
It's magic.
>> You're not going to make me drink this alone, are you?
>> Regardless of whether you read the comic, Netflix hopes to keep you in
the dark in their villain's full scheme by changing Dodge's strategy.
>> You have no idea what's coming.
>> They even throw out a false lead with Kinsey's friend, Zadie Wells.
>> Could this be a reference to Zack Wells, Dodge's alter ego in the comic?
>> By the end of the season, it's revealed that Gabe is Dodge.
By utilizing the identity key, the show is able to combine the romantic triangle
between Kinsey, Scott and Gabe with Zack's infiltration and seduction in the comic.
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>> Season one's climactic square off between the Lockes and
Dodge's Army of Shadows is derived from the comic's third volume.
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>> In the show, Dodge is defeated all too easily by the Locke kids and
using the omega key they open the mysterious door that corrupted Dodge
in the first place and throw her inside.
(Sound) The season finale reveals that it was Ellie who was tossed through
the door after Dodge changed her appearance with the identity key.
So rather than Ellie's gruesome demise that occurs much later in the comic,
the show utilizes her end as a bit of a misdirection.
>> Didn't see that coming, did you?
>> It's a long while before the Omega door is opened in the comics.
Instead, Tyler uses the giant key to defeat Dodge.
Dodge simply just has to try, try again.
>> Finally, the show sets up Season Two arc that has the potential to
take the series into a different direction.
A demon escapes into Eve's body, giving Dodge err, Gabe,
an ally in his quest for dominion over the keys.
>> While the comic does feature other kids infected by the omega door,
it doesn't occur until the final book.
So its possible the show has an altogether different ending in mind for the series.
>> Obviously Netflix hopes Locke and
Key will be another long running hit like Stranger Things.
>> Fans are going to love it.
>> The show offers more investigative opportunities for
our heroes to explore and alters the villain's evil plan.
>> Leaning into fantasy so that every member of the family can watch and enjoy.
>> Hey, kids, it's me the Wizard of Netflix.
>> Actually, I think you've been in there long enough.
>> Hey, hey, watch the suit.
>> Let's just take you. >> Watch the suit.
My second favorite suit.
>> So what do you think of the changes?
Sound off in the comments below.
Don't forget to like this video and
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