I have recently finished watching the first season of Locke & Key and I must say that it is in my personal untainted opinion an amazing show so far and each episode managed to keep me glued to the screen to learn more about the background characters and the mysteries, after each episode I 100% wanted to watch the next, which isn’t super often for myself, I have also finished watching Peaky Blinders and each season of that only had six episodes, but often it wasn’t something that desperately had me wanting to put the next episode on – don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great show as well, just one that I choose to watch and digest slower and of which took me over a month.
But Locke & Key really drew me in much more and I finished it in less than a week, practically about 3 days, perhaps as there was a consistent air of mystery around it that left you wanting more and more, to learn more about the family, the lore and all the rest that comes with it – trying to not say too much here.
Another thing in the show I really liked is the prominence of a character – called Rufus – who has some kind of learning/mental disability that has him remaining dependent on his mother and who plays a role that is somewhat prominent. I liked this as it does bring more awareness to the fact that there are people out there with learning difficulties and mental health disabilities and introducing or having characters in shows that represent that is a good idea as it can enable some kind of insight – obviously not full insight as everyone with a learning difficulty or mental health disability is different, for example many can go on to live independent lives, but it still gives some perspective to those who have little to no experience on the subject.
What’s even better is that the actor who plays Rufus (Coby Bird) also has Autism himself, which is obviously the genius behind it, as who else could play a character with a learning disability better than an actor with has such themselves! It’s excellent to see an actor with Autism having such a prominent role in a show.
I also like how the show didn’t portray him as entirely useless and incompetent or entirely stereotypical, sure there were parts which did show the dangers that people with learning difficulties can present as they may not always have the ability to comprehend the difference between letting an adult or child have a bear trap and the consequences between those two choices for example, that portrayal does have truth to it, but at the same time the character played a role in which showed their special interest and certain heightened sense came in handy and helped advance the plot at points as well, showing that while the character can possibly cause some accidents, they can still use other parts of their condition to the advantage.
Locke & Key is an example of a show that has enabled a character with a clear learning difficulty/mental health disability to be portrayed in what I would say is a fair light by an actor who nails it due to knowing exactly how to act, of which many other shows and movies which have included such characters have not portrayed fairly or have been portrayed in a stereotypical fashion and on top of that by actors that are neurotypical, I’m not saying of course that all characters have to be played by someone who has exactly what the character has, I’m just saying that we should let more of those with such conditions have a go at it and give fair representation.
I hope to see more similar character roles in TV shows and movies as I do think it really helps with awareness and other shows and movies even with a lead of such character with one of these conditions would also be great and even better if the actor themselves can fully represent it from their own experience of having it.
Now I do know that Locke & Key is based on the comic book series and so I am not sure if Rufus had been portrayed similarly within that or if the Netflix adaptation has changed anything on that front, but I am merely talking currently about the Netflix Adaptation as that is the one I have seen and I like the portrayal in that, but of course I cannot comment on how ever it is in the comic series as I have not read it.
I do notice though that people who have read the comics and are a fan of them mostly don’t seem to be a fan of the Netflix adaptation and I guess it makes sense. I will probably at some point get around to reading the comics myself and try and get both perspectives down. But my main point was that I liked the portrayal of Rufus and I didn’t have too many gripes with the show, except for maybe how a few of the characters could sometimes make blindingly stupid choices. But all in all, if you go in with a clear and untainted head you probably will like it.
Netflix Originals can either be really bad at times or they can be good. This is one that I say is good overall, at least in my opinion.
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