The third season of Locke and Key premieres on Netflix today. And despite being one of the best comic book adaptations on the platform, it will not continue further (spoilers beware)
The third season of Locke and Key is already available from today on Netflix, but despite being a tremendous show, there will not be a season 4, and surely if you are one of the many fans of the series you will wonder why it has run the same lucky than other productions on the platform that often produce shows that don’t go beyond a second or third season. Netflix’s comic book adaptations are often better than Marvel’s, with a wave of superhero and magic shows like it has never been seen in the MCU to date. Locke and Key, inspired by the dark comic book stories of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, is a perfect example.
The argument
locke and key tells the story of a family that moves into Keyhouse, a home with a supernatural history they are unprepared for. The Locke children discover that they have inherited the role of the Keepers of the Keys, sworn to protect the world from terrible danger should the magical keys fall into the wrong hands. There’s a wonderfully fantastical tone to Locke and Key, as childlike enthusiasm mixes with horror in amazingly effective ways. The third season is the most explosive yet, with the magic of Keyhouse potentially threatening the entire world. The series has been wildly popular and critically acclaimed: as of today’s date, it has a note on the popular review site Rotten Tomatoes 74% by critics and 65% by viewers. However, despite everything, the third season of Locke and Key will mean the end of the series. In April of this year the showrunners of Locke and key, Carlton Cuse and Meredith Averill through an official statement said: “Once we started working on the series, we felt that three seasons was the ideal length to carry the story of the series. Locke family and their Keyhouse adventures to a satisfying conclusion.” This means that the story logically concludes at the end of Locke & Key season 3.
Why will there be a fourth season 4?
As the sowrunners have already explained, they never considered going beyond the third season, and they make it very clear when they see the new keys of season 2 destroyed, which means that the story has come to an end. It’s a satisfying ending, because the Lockes have learned once again how dangerous these keys can be if they ever fall into the wrong hands, and destroying them is the only way to ensure reality is safe from a demonic invasion. , this was a story that could only last a short time; as part of the charm of Locke & Key lies in its young cast, and the actors are already getting older. Every comic book adaptation has a core concept that you shouldn’t deviate from and in the case of Locke & Key, the clock was always ticking because the innocence of youth is part of that core concept in comics. Netflix often cancels shows after than three seasons, probably because they don’t play a significant role for the company in attracting new subscribers. While the third season of Locke & Key may not have attracted new subscribers, viewership was clearly good enough for Netflix to agree to continue the series for another season, allowing the story to come to an end. Comparatively few Netflix original series last longer than three seasons, unless they’re hits like Stranger Things or The Crown. And even though Locke & Key is one of the best on the streaming platform, it doesn’t attract a wide enough audience to justify more seasons. A shame.
