Review: Locke and Key comes back better than ever with action-packed S2

Enlarge / The present generation of Locke descendants-Tyler (Connor Jessup), Bode (Jackson Robert Scott), and Kinsey (Emilia Jones)-still have a lot to learn about the magical keys that are their birthright.

The Locke siblings face a demonic dynamic duo intent on bringing chaos to our world and must defend themselves, armed with only a handful of magical keys, in the second season of Locke and Key. In our 2020 year-end TV roundup, I wrote that Netflix's adaptation of the comic book series, by Joe Hill and Gabe Rodriguez, successfully brought "the fabled Key House and the darkly fantastical world of the comics to vivid life." The second season is even better: it's faster-paced, it has intriguing character arcs, and it delves a bit more into the history and mythology behind Key House and its magical keys.

(Spoilers for season 1 below. Some season 2 spoilers, but no major reveals.)

Longtime fans of the comics can attest to the powerful allure of the basic premise: three traumatized siblings whose father was recently murdered return to dad's ancestral home, Key House, with their mother and discover that the house is filled with hidden magical keys that "whisper" to the children until they find them. The TV series preserves that allure. Only kids can hear the keys whispering, and any adults who witness the "magic" of the keys in use quickly forget what they've seen. There is an Anywhere Key that can turn a door into a portal to anywhere in the world, for instance, and a Ghost Key that lets your spirit leave your body. A Head Key provides access to one's inner self, and an Identity Key allows you to change your appearance.

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