The series addresses Tyler's guilt and grief over the death of his father, but it is not as deeply explored as it was in the comics. Tyler and Sam fight, leaving Sam badly injured from a brick to the face. In the comics, Tyler discovers his father dead with his killer, Sam Lesser, standing over him covered in blood. The Lockes were subjected to severe trauma by the murder of their father, the alcoholism of their mother, and psychological damage, especially focused on the eldest son, Tyler. Netflix includes the scene, however, Bode's motivations and inner thoughts are largely omitted, making room for more eye-catching visuals like flying and floating. As a ghost, Bode observes his family members while an inner monologue reveals much about his perspective of his siblings. The key possesses magical qualities and allows Bode to enter a ghost-like state to drift around undetected until he chooses to return to a corporeal state. Bode, the youngest of the Locke children, is the first to discover a mysterious key in their new domicile. Upon his death, the children and their mother move to his childhood home in Lovecraft, Massachusetts, appropriately named Key House. Locke & Key is the story of a family who tragically loses their father in a grisly murder. Unfortunately, that was one aspect of the series that fell short of the comic.

Finding the right tone for the characters is an important piece of a successful story, whether it's a comic or a television show. Netflix chose to exclude the graphic aspects of the comic and focus more on youthful rebellion and the blissful independence of the teenage years. Hill and Rodriguez depicted scenes of violence and adult situations more aggressively than on film. Netflix geared its show heavily toward a young coming-of-age fantasy series as opposed to the darker tone of the comics. In the case of Netflix's Locke & Key, the reviews were mixed. Transitioning from page to screen can be tricky, sometimes with underwhelming results. Netflix adapted the series for television but was unable to harness the same delicate balance as the comics.

If done wrong, the outcome is obvious but Locke & Key managed to effectively meld horror and fantasy with a campy coming-of-age tale to appeal to a broader audience. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key accomplished a difficult task in the comic book industry: balancing multiple genres and styles to produce a compelling product.

Locke and key book