Locke and Key spoilers ahead!
We already covered the Easter eggs and references in Locke and Key Episode 1, “Welcome to Matheson.” Now we’re moving onward through the series, to Episodes 2-5, where we found plenty more to examine and obsess over.
As alward, if you’re here reading this, we assume you’ve watched the series already, and you want to know more about all the juicy Easter eggs and references Locke and Key Season 1 contains. The series is an adaptation of the comic books of the same name, created by writer Joe Hill and illustrator Gabriel Rodriguez. The show follows the Locke family as they move into their family’s ancestral home, Keyhouse, following a family tragedy, and discover magical keys that unlock powerful abilities. And besides all the references back to the comics, there are tons of Easter eggs for diehard fans of the series, and of horror in general.
If you missed it, check out everything we spotted in the series premiere. Be warned–throughout these articles, we’ll discuss events from throughout the series. Consider this your spoiler warning.
Are you a fan of the comics, the show, or both? Let us know which Easter eggs and references are your favorites in the comments below. Then read our Locke and Key Season 1 review and check out the latest Locke and Key news–from the fact that work on Season 2 has already begun, to Joe Hill’s recent announcement of a new Locke and Key one-shot issue.
Read more: Every Key In The Locke And Key Comics (And What They Do)
1. “Only kids can get into Narnia”
In C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, various groups of children enter a mythical land called Narnia. Bode isn’t far off with this comparison, since adults have a much harder time perceiving and retaining memories of Keyhouse’s magic in Locke and Key. The first Narnia book is called The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, a name that Kinsey can’t quite recall.
2. Vegetable lady
There’s a reference here to a lady who entered Keyhouse, turned into a “vegetable,” and lives in an asylum now. He doesn’t have the story quite right, but he’s definitely talking about Erin Voss, who we meet later in the season.
3. Bode=Rufus
At this point in the show, we’ve met Rufus only briefly, when the Lockes entered the ice cream shop in Episode 1. But Bode’s mannerisms as he explores the house, acting like he’s on a mission and talking with his action figure, are more like how Rufus acts in the comics.
4. Bode’s swords
The shot of Bode climbing up to get the swords down from the mantle is taken almost directly from the comics.
5. Lucas’s introduction
Ellie’s mention of Lucas here as her boyfriend and Rendell’s best friend is the first time the character is referenced. In the comics, Lucas plays a much larger role than in the show. On a rewatch, though, Ellie’s haunted expression as she stares at the picture makes a lot more sense.
6. The Ghost Door again
In his attempts to figure out what the Head Key does, Bode tries it in the Ghost Door, which won’t come into play until later. The camera lingers on the doorknob for quite a while though.
7. Tom Savini cameo
The Savini Squad should really get out of their basement and visit the local hardware store more often. They’d be pleasantly surprised to find that the proprietor there is none other than their idol, horror filmmaking pioneer Tom Savini himself.
8. Whispering Iron
We get another clue to the fact that the keys are made out of a special material here, when Savini says the key is “lighter than any iron [he’s] felt.” But that’s a mystery for another day.
9. Welcome to Gabeson
If you’ve watched the whole season already, you’re aware that Gabe, introduced here, is hiding a secret. The fact that he’s also new to Matheson, as Scot points out, is a small hint.
10. Mr. Robot
The prop dummy that the Savini Squad has constructed to fill in for Scot when they pull its head off actually looks less like actor Petrice Jones and more, for some reason, like Mr. Robot star Rami Malek. Go figure.
11. The Invisible Man
If you look closely on the Savini Squad’s set, you can see a poster for The Invisible Man on one wall. The 1933 original is considered a classic, and there’s a reboot coming out this year.
12. The Head Key
The Head Key works differently in the show than in the comics. In the source material, users open the tops of their heads like the hood of a car and peer down into it, plucking out memories and emotions personified as little creatures and humanoid beings. The show goes for the slightly less gruesome effect of a door or other entrance (in Bode’s case, a toy chest) opening somewhere in the room.
13. Bode’s toy chest
Bode’s mind realm is full of fun toys and games, but it’s the massive screen playing Spyro the Dragon on the walls that sticks out to us. We know from the first episode that Bode is into Fortnite, but we had no idea he also appreciates games that came out many years before he was born.
14. Unreliable memories
Throughout Episode 3, the Locke kids remember a story their dad used to tell them, each recalling a slightly different version. The idea is that memories are unreliable, which is a theme throughout the series. In the books, this is communicated by the fact that Bode’s memory of the monster that lived in the well is very different from the version they eventually meet.
15. I’m a PC
Dodge clumsily typing on this guy’s computer is a funny nod to the fact that she’s been locked in the wellhouse for decades, and thus has zero idea how to use a computer.
16. (Cover) Band of Horses
In the show, Scot invites Kinsey to a concert by a Band of Horses cover band called Cover Band of Horses. He references several other cover bands: the Novemberists (for the Decemberists), Dead Lyft for Cutie (for Death Cab for Cutie), and Nerdvana (Nirvana). In the comics, Scot plotted to attend a Muse concert, but didn’t actually go.
17. A real Chad
The guy Tyler gets into a fight with isn’t named in the show, but according to the subtitles, his name is Chad, which, yeah–definitely a Chad if we ever saw one.
18. Kinsey’s head mall
The inside of Kinsey’s mind takes the form of a mall, and it has an incredibly detailed directory, including things like “dad memories,” “sleepovers,” “birthdays,” “concerts,” “Bode being Bode,” “boys I like,” “boys I DON’T like,” and many more. The one that made us laugh the most is inside her memory store, where you can glimpse the category “Dad’s Music I Pretend I Don’t Like.”
19. The sea cave
During Bode’s ghost flight, he soars by the sea cave, which will play an important role later in the season. This is the first time we glimpse it.
20. Chamberlin Locke
Ghost Bode flies to the family cemetery and encounters the ghost of Chamberlin Locke, a character who appeared in several one-shot issues of the comic books. Bode promises to come visit Chamberlin again, though that never actually happens.
21. Ellie in the well house
Bode spies on Ellie as she visits the well house to visit Lucas. This is the first hint we get in the show that Lucas and Dodge are the same person.
22. Yearbook quotes
There’s a lot of fantastic detail as Nina examines Rendell’s yearbook, especially in the quotes that each character chose. Erin Voss’s Mother Theresa quote has to do with echoes, Rendell’s is about Peter Pan (a boy who could fly and never grew up), Ellie’s is an Oscar Wilde quote about keeping love in your heart (like she did with Lucas all these years), Lucas’s is from Metallica (“Life is ours. We live it our way,” a selfish worldview), and Mark Cho’s is a Darth Vader quote about faith.
23. Rendell’s parents
Ellie’s claim that “Rendell’s parents were never around” is a meta reference to the fact that in the comics, we never found out who Rendell’s parents were, besides one small glimpse of his and Duncan’s mother, despite the many flashbacks to his time growing up at Keyhouse.
24. The Bends
When Nina and Ellie break into the secret room in the basement, there are relics everywhere of Rendell’s time growing up there with his friends, such as the Radiohead poster on the wall. The poster is for The Bends, an album released in 1995.
25. Chastity? Is that you?
In the show, Dodge gives the fake name “Chastity” when she visits Erin Voss in the asylum. We’re not sure, but we’re assuming that’s a reference to GameSpot’s Chastity Vicencio.
26. The British are coming
Rufus’s reference to the British using Keyhouse as a base during the Revolutionary War is straight from the comics–in the fifth volume, Clockworks, Tyler and Kinsey use the Timeshift Key to view events from that era.
27. Dodge in the well house
The moving, speaking ghost of Dodge that appears in the image of the well house is also straight from the comics. Now, as then, it’s unclear how Dodge actually accomplishes this trick.
28. Joe’s wife
Joe mentions his wife Callie, who comics readers met during flashbacks in the second volume, Head Games.
29. Jane Austen book
The Jane Austen book that Jackie tells Tyler about it is Sanditon, and the story is exactly as Jackie says: Austen never completed it, and other authors have made various attempts over the years.
30. Hadouken
Scot’s “hadouken” is a reference to the famous attack from the Street Fighter games.
31. Kinsey’s Metz poster
Kinsey has a Metz poster in her room. This is either a reference to the city in France, or the Canadian punk band–and with Kinsey, it could be either, though it looks more like the former.
32. The Music Box
The music box and its accompanying key play a much smaller role in the comics. It debuts in the issue “February,” part of the comics’ fourth volume, in a brief appearance. Writer Joe Hill then brought it back for one important purpose later in the series.
33. Gabe’s story
In retrospect, Gabe’s story to Kinsey here about his past is clearly 100% made up. If you know what happens later, then it’s obvious that “Gabe” designed this whole tale to be as sympathetic as possible to Kinsey.
34. Flower Key
The Flower Key–or whatever it’s officially called–is another invention for the show that didn’t exist in the original comics. Its exact function is unclear–it apparently allowed the user to hide memories in jars under the ground. That seems oddly specific and not terribly useful considering that the Head Key exists. Maybe it will get explained better in Locke and Key Season 2.
35. Identity Key
This is our introduction to another brand new key in the show, the Identity Key–which combines and replaces two keys from the comics, the Gender Key and Skin Key.