The premiere episode of Locke & Key kicks off with a man receiving a call from an unnamed caller informing him that “Rendell Locke is dead.” As he enters his home he inserts a key into his chest and immediately bursts into flames taking his home with him. We’re then transported to the back seat of a car where Rendell Locke’s three children and his newly widowed wife are headed from Seattle to Massachusetts, which sets up the catalyst to the events of the series.

The Locke children Tyler, Kinsey, Bode, and their mother Nina, arrive at their new home and are greeted by their uncle Duncan who gives them the grand tour of the very large house where they’ll be staying. While Kinsey bonds with uncle Duncan over their artistic talents and Bode goes on a hunt for his new room, Tyler slips off into the woods behind the house to sneak a smoke and bask in teen angst while dealing with his feelings about his dad and his death.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: Locke & Key is heavy on the pop culture references both in the visual callbacks and the conversations without being too heavy-handed or obvious. It’s a slow start for a series premiere but “Welcome to Matheson” sets off a nice slow burn that shows a lot of promise for things to come in future episodes. I also thought that it provided a nice starting point to get you familiar with the characters and an idea of the plot so even people who aren’t familiar with the source material can follow along.

WHAT WORKED: The writers and director truly understand that television is a visual medium, so they played heavily on that. The subtle visuals that foreshadowed all that was to come and the flashback showing what happened to Rendell Locke, how he died, and what happened to affect his widow and the kids were equal parts heartbreaking and informative.

I also like how they deal with Tyler and Kinsey’s trauma from what happened when their dad died and they didn’t try to sweep it under the rug or create a cliched existence where they are boilerplate and tragic (not that that doesn’t happen). I liked that the episode showcases that there is more than one way to grieve, or not grieve, and any grief can have lasting consequences that we might not even know about until something happens that triggers a memory.

EASTER TIME: There are so many Easter Eggs in this episode both book related and pop culture related. The book-related ones give a lot of hints as to what’s to come this season and the pop culture ones are just fun. I really dig that they didn’t make the pop culture related easter eggs

BEST MOMENT: When the older kids finally realize that Bode is telling the truth and work together to save their mom from the mirror. I know it’s cliched but there’s something to be said for the simplicity of this reveal and the way it sets the kids up as the heroes of the series. It wasn’t over the top or flashy, it was just common sense and teamwork which is a good starting point if they’re going to save the world.

BEST LINE(S) :

“Were you just flipping off the house” – Bode

” No, I was saying goodbye. There’s more than one meaning to the middle finger”- Uncle Duncan

“Like Aloha”- Bode

“Yeah, like Aloha” – Uncle Duncan

“Aloha” – Bode as he sticks up his middle finger

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“I like my fologna just fine” – Kinsey (regarding her faux bologna sandwich she’s eating alone in the stairway when Scott shows up)

“First of all fologna doesn’t even like itself…” – Scott

EPISODE MVP: Bode for being our guide into the world of the keys, for figuring out how the keys work and being a true believer in a house of skeptics. Sure, he makes some rookie mistakes but, he’s a kid and he seems to be lacking in supervision as he roams the grounds, and the city,  so he deserves an award for being so darn chipper and naive despite all the tragedy he’s been through. Yeah, he makes a lot of missteps but, there’s something refreshing about him not being a know-it-all or over precocious and I like that he’s just a kid trying to make his way through all the crazy things that are being thrown at him. Even though he screws up and hands the Anywhere Key over to the series big bad he is hella determined to make things right and he’s kind of fearless in the face of things that would destroy someone else.

OVERALL: 7.9