Season 2 of Netflix’s Locke & Key made its debut earlier this fall. The fantasy thriller delved deeper into the mythology of the mysterious and magical keys that are hidden throughout the Locke family home. Because each key holds great power, a great evil is actively in pursuit of them and willing to do whatever it takes, no matter the stakes.
Locke & Key, a television adaptation of the best-selling comic book series, is a coming-of-age mystery about love, loss, and the unshakable bonds that define family. For one of the series’ stars, Genevieve Kang, the fact that the Netflix show features a lot of everything is what drew her to the role.
“It is a magic, horror, fantasy kind of genre, but it’s also rounded in the story about a family, and explores relationships,” Genevieve Kang tells PopWire in an exclusive interview.
“It’s about love and community and people coming together, especially the first season where we explore themes of loss and grief. While it has all those fantastical elements, there’s also this groundedness in reality in a sense. It’s got a little a lot of drama, but the mystery, the thriller, as well as comedic aspects. It has something in it for everybody.”
We couldn’t agree more. Our initial thoughts when diving into the series premiere of Locke & Key was that it’s a show made for kids and only kids. However, with Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel) and Meredith Averill (The Haunting of Hill House) among the show’s creators, they’ve crafted a series that even adults can enjoy. Needless to say, we became quickly hooked and addicted, and it became incredibly difficult not to binge through the entire seasons in one sitting.
Genevieve Kang Talks Asian Representation, Previews Season 2, & *Spoiler Alert* Reflects on Season 2 Craziness********
While Tyler Locke (Connor Jessup) tackles the magic of the keys within his home, it is the magic connection outside with his high school sweetheart Jackie Veda that has us swooning. “Jackie is very much the girl next door,” Kang says of her character. “She’s an overachiever, she is incredibly studious, and when it comes to her personality or sense of character, she’s someone who truly sees the best in people. At the end of the day, shie’s also willing to stand up for what she believes in. She’s very opinionated in a lot of ways. She’s very self-assured. In that, she’s also willing to call people out on their shortcomings.”
The BC-born actress shares that her favorite scene in the first season of Locke & Key is when her character confronts Tyler and calls him out on his shortcomings when he breaks a promise and fails to show up at a 5k run she had organized. “Throughout a lot of the first season, we see her just being so understanding of Tyler and what he’s going through and all her friends she’s close with — even at that point in the story,” Kang says. “So yeah, I really like that scene at the party where she gets to do some shots and give Tyler a piece of her mind.”
Heading into Season 2, Genevieve and her character are becoming much more prominent, and viewers will get to watch the struggle Tyler goes through as Jackie inches closer to becoming an adult. “This is a storyline that is very much the center of Tyler and Jackie’s exploration — Season 2 with the prospect of their upcoming birthdays,” Kang explains. “We get to explore what that means for them because as we learned in Season 1, once you become an adult, you no longer remember the magic. We see them trying to navigate that.”
For viewers who have yet to get into Season 2, brace yourselves for some crazy sh*t to go down. There are twists, turns, and surprising returns. “Season 2 is basically Season 1 times a thousand,” Genevieve Kang previews. “We really just take the volume and turn it up on every single thing. The action sequences, the magic, just higher stakes, there’s a lot more opportunity for conflict and tension. I think the audience is going to be, I hope, really satisfied with what we’ve done for Season 2.”
Locke & Key is now streaming on Netflix.