Locke & Key

The writing explores recovery in an accessible way, and a diverse cast helps create an inviting new world. This combination of fantasy and horror provides opportunities not just for scares and imagination, but for astute reflections of society: that self-imposed burdens can leave everyone bowed. Locke & Key weaves a silver lining into an otherwise foreboding tapestry.

Luckily, the solid performances, like the crackerjack conceit, keep things from falling totally flat. Jones and Jessup are particularly excellent, both alone and together. ... Edge is exactly what this series lacks, and not in a scandalous way.

Locke & Key may mete out its genre goofiness over the course of a slump-filled first season, but if you want more than morsels to sustain you, there are plenty of similarly-toned shows without the barrier to entry.

The series is a near-ish approximation of a lot of other things — including several Netflix shows in the middle of long hiatuses — without ever quite seeming inspired or essential in its own right.

The cast and script and direction and production are all as glossy you’d expect from a production like this. But it is frustratingly safe, at once too much and not enough. If Netflix won’t take a risk, viewers shouldn’t be expected to, either.