#combe carey hall

[thoughts-of-the-unheard]

ik yall heard the "Nice to see you here, Kipps. What's that third time this week, is it?" "Twice, by my count." but did we all catch what that meant? i definitely missed it the first couple times, overwhelmed by george kicking ass but lockwood says third time this week, counting combe carey hall, kipps says twice, ignoring it, which is what bothered lockwood so much in the beginning and why george immediately steps in

[bella-rose29]

I can't stop myself from fangirling every time I watch the traitors on bbc because it looks so much like Combe Carey hall and I keep expecting lockwood and co to pop up

OH MY GOD THE FIRST PERSON TO TURN UP WAS CALLED ANTHONY

sorry it's on while I'm searching for images

they aren't the same place but they're so similar I want to think they're the same

Combe Carey hall (Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire):

and the Traitors castle (Adross castle, Scottish Highlands):

I know they aren't the same but I keep thinking that they are and my little lockwood and co obsessed brain gets them muddled up

[zipadeea]

was wondering why combe carey hall looked so familiar, guess who else was hanging with the monks (and bats) under the building????

[futureheartswithbooks]

As I was rewatching episode 3 (for about the fifth time), I noticed something new about Lockwood, Lucy and George's reactions to the fallout of what happened a Combe Carey Hall. I think I had vaguely registered it before, but it really stuck out to me this time, and it wouldn't get out of my head, and someone has probably already said this, but I needed to talk about it.

Lockwood is far more concerned with the fact that they can't talk about what happened there. It's all that matters to him when he's signing the NDAs and while they're driving off. In the show it seems that perhaps he hasn't lost agents on the job (unlike with the almost throwaway mention of Robin from the Screaming Staircase). He seems so unbothered by the fact that he was almost killed by the red room, the monks and Fairfax most likely because he does have a death wish in many ways, and is far more concerned that no one will know as evidenced about how he is still going on about it in the kitchen scene and in the next episode with the whole Kipps thing. Its as though once it has happened, he forces it to the back of his mind and his ambition strives for their recognition for what they have accomplished at Combe Carey Hall. He gets tunnel vision, hyperfixating on the disrespect he feels is being thrown his way by the lack of acknowledgement and not the fact that he along with his two closest friends almost died several times in one night.

Lucy, on the other hand, has lost people on cases before and very recently in the context of the show (and the book as well). She knows full well the horror of watching people die on the job and while Lockwood & Co have been in dangerous situations (i.e. jumping from a burning building into a bush) they haven't been in as bad a situation as either the red room and by the well. Lucy however has, and has seen these effects first hand at Wythburn Mill and she rightly is relieved that they're all alive at the end. It is far more important to her and she doesn't seem to care about the fact that no one will know about Combe Carey Hall, or at least is no where near as bothered about it. She seems disinterested with Lockwood's annoyance when he goes on about not being in the Times, which partially stems from her desire not to be in the spotlight, and more focused on the events that almost killed her. As well as that, she seems to be almost grieving Annabel's loss too, defending her and snapping at George before taking away the goggles he was examining. It is the end of a pseudo relationship between herself and the ghost and is very much weighing on her while the boys are eager to move on. As for George, he is far more used to Lockwood especially his ambition and his reckless behaviour by now, and seems more in shock rather than anything else when they're in the van. He doesn't say that much and gets distracted by the crates, as if trying to distance himself from the whole thing. By the time they're all back at Portland Row after the funeral, he is happy about the fact that their debt has been cleared and doesn't care about them not being in the paper. However, judging by the way he talks about Annabel's ghost, it is still weighing on his mind, though he has mostly moved onto a new obsession with Fairfax's goggles. In addition to this, when they are at the hall, while Lockwood and Lucy are often silent, he isn't, he can't seem to contain his fear or apprehension or even his disbelief after Lucy unleashes Annabel's ghost on Fairfax. I just found it fascinating to see the different reactions of them all with Lockwood on one extreme and Lucy on the other with George somewhere in the middle. This show and the book series (especially the books, Jonathan Stroud is a fantastic author) are just so detailed and I love how you can see the differences between all of the members of Lockwood & Co.

[thepalerimitation]

I’ve always had the theory that Lucy narrates the early years of Lockwood and Co for a biography or historical account for the Archives. Throughout the whole series, she’s compared to Marissa, who is mainly known for her memoirs.

The way she describes Lockwood and George definitely feels as if she’s older and looking back fondly, especially with how she talks about the smallness of the agency. And she closes out the fifth book after they start to establish themselves as the best agency in London because at that point, the Archives is keeping official records of their cases and requested a memoir.

(IE: Lucy narrates Lockwood and Co because it’s her memoir years later. And she ends it not because the story has ended, but because everyone knows the rest of the story. It is as well known as the story of Fittes and Rotwell.)

[penultimatestalematewithdeath]

Lockwood & Co. fandom heLp pls! I don't have my books on me and I need to know the name of the supply store where l&co. gets their flares and such. Satchels? Sachels? Something like that? I cannot find it on the googles! I know Fairfax Iron and Sunrise Corp. are suppliers, but the go to a specific store that I Can't Remember. pls help!

[cassiopeialake]

wowww the second half of this season is like waaay better than the first one like episode 5 was just incredible start to finish

[personinthepalace]

#I will NEVER shut up about George's smile#and excited little wiggle via @contagiousgrace

you belong here

[desos-records]

The part I appreciate the most in the Lockwood and Co show is how it handles depression and suicidal thoughts in teenagers. As a theme, it’s not often (ever) done well. Lockwood and Co is the only story I can think of that depicts it in a nuanced, realistic, non-romanticized way

but first, before I get into it: [if you’re in crisis or need someone to talk to and don’t want to/can’t use your national hotline, highly recommend Samaritans, genuinely saved my life] okay, let’s go

Lockwood is the most obvious, with his general disregard for his own life and admitted suicidal ideation. Lucy struggles with her self-worth and the intensity of the emotions she’s subjected to. George worries that he doesn’t belong, that there’s something useless or wrong about him. The show depicts these thoughts and feelings in a way that isn’t overblown or dramatized, it’s all but casual. Which is how it happens. Depression or suicidal thoughts don’t crash into you all at once, they creep into your life without you noticing

But more importantly (and again, something I’ve never seen anywhere else), the show also offers counterpoints to those thoughts and feelings. It shows that there is a way out, even though you may feel trapped and hopeless. This is crucial for the show’s target demographic. Bad media depictions of depression or suicide get internalized, contribute to the stigma, and make it harder for people to ask for help. This show doesn’t do that. This show tells its audience that, yes, things are scary and painful and it fucking sucks, but it’s not hopeless. And it says it so well

In the second episode, when Lucy wants to quit, she admits something that I’m almost certain she’s never told anyone

“sometimes I just think I’d be better off dead”

And when I watched this the first time, I expected Lockwood to react the way I’ve seen people react in my own life; with silence or panic or downright dismissal. But he didn’t. He stays calm and he says something that is so so important to hear when you’re struggling under the weight of feelings like this

“I understand that”

Saying this tells someone several things: that you’re on their side, they aren’t strange or monstrous for feeling like this, and that you’re not going to attack or abandon them because of it. And you can see the impact it has on Lucy, the way her face clears. She went from struggling to breathe and near tears to calm and steady. It’s no mistake that in this moment we hear his and Lucy’s theme for the first time (those simple, beautiful guitar strings)

The next thing he says is also important

“and it’s not true”

Simple, to the point, directly addressing her feelings, and (the most common mistake) doesn’t make it about him. Telling someone that you love them or that they’d be upset to lose you might sound nice, and it can be later on in the conversation, but in a moment like this, it’s infinitely more helpful to confront the thought itself

A similar moment in the first book stuck with me too, when they’re underneath Combe Carey Hall and Lucy almost steps into the well. What she’s hearing in her head (and the general phenomenon of malaise that ghosts produce) is very similar to depressive or suicidal thoughts. Before she can fall, Lockwood pulls her back

“no, Lucy, that’s not the way it’s going to be”

Depressive and suicidal thoughts deal in absolutes, so sometimes it takes an absolute to counter it

In the last episode, George has that heart-breaking moment where he says all the awful things he thinks about himself, partly because of the influence of the boneglass and Bickerstaff, but it’s also been building up, there in the background. Increasingly, it’s Lockwood and Lucy working together and George working on his own, which picks at old wounds (engineer, engineer, engineer, weirdo). He bonds with Joplin because he feels like she understands him in a way the others don’t

“it’s nice to have someone to show off to”

But Lucy pushes back against all that because she sees herself in all the ugly things George is saying, because she’s felt that way too. She understands that. She’s so surprised and horrified to hear him saying those things, resigning himself to dying down there, she’s not going to let him go on believing them

“you’re not a third wheel or an oddball or whatever it is that you think you are”

“you’re the best of us”

“we are not losing you, Georgie”

Flo called him that earlier too, but Lucy wasn’t there for that and coming unprompted from her it sounds so much like something you might call your slightly annoying younger brother. She’s so absolute about it all, with no opening for doubt, and you can see something like surprise on George’s face (but also pain because now Lucy’s in danger too)

For all Lucy knows, the boneglass will kill her. I don’t think for a second she genuinely believes her talent will protect her; she told Joplin that to protect George. It’s unclear when exactly she came up with the plan to use the skull, but she was willing to risk it anyway. And she knows, she knows, George will blame himself for this (because she would too, if it were the other way around), but even then, she’s very clear

“this isn’t your fault”

Their whole scene down in the catacombs is two kids trying to keep each other alive, physically obviously, but on the inside as well. And, oh god, George almost crashing down next to Lucy after he’s knocked over the boneglass, trying to wake her up. His voice

“Lucy, Lucy, it’s me, it’s me, say something, speak to me”

I think it’s down in those catacombs that George and Lucy really understand each other for the first time. In their own ways, they’re both curious and suspicious about the Problem and what causes it, trying to learn more about it (and stressing Lockwood out in the process). They both left their families; they both struggle with feeling strange and different than everyone around them. That connection pulls them both back from the edge

Lockwood, for all his confidence, is practically in crisis or was fairly recently (I suspect living with George helped). It’s fairly common, actually, for someone suicidal to overcompensate with an exterior shell to hide it, which can manifest in different ways depending on the person (they may not even realize they’re doing it, I didn’t)

And I love how the show handles it. He’s not made into this dark, tragic figure. He’s so full of life it hurts. He jokes around with George and Flo, fights with Kipps, admires Fairfax. He has dreams (plans) for the future. He’s struggling with trauma, they all are, but he’s not Broken™ in the way similar leading characters are often made out to be, in the way we often fear we are

And, of course, there’s Lucy, a wreaking ball through the precarious balance of Lockwood’s life. It’s not so much that she gives him a reason to live (although she definitely helps), but she holds him accountable in a way no one else does. This is the difficult part of recovery that no one talks about. Having people care for you (George) and sympathize with you (Flo) is great and necessary, especially early on. But at some point, you have to take responsibility for yourself and the noise in your head (you have to open your door on the landing)

What that looks like is complicated and messy and different for every person, but seeing it played out in a story is remarkable. I’ve never seen anything like it. This is a difficult thing for anyone to learn (many adults never even try)

That shot of George, Lucy, Lockwood (and Kipps) rising up on the catafalque sums it all up for me. Each of them fell into darkness alone and rose out of it together. They inspired each other to fight and win their individual battles, even when they couldn’t be there to help

[cate-deriana]

Currently rewatching the show and I'm wondering, just how many rapiers do they lose over those eight episodes?

Episode 1: At least Lucy loses her's at Sheen Road. I am not sure of Lockwood's though. Does he still have it while jumping off the burning house?

Episode 3: All kit is lost in Combe Carey Hall?

Episode 4: Lucy throws her rapier at the cemetery and I think she leaves without picking it up because "the Skull talked to her"?

Episode 5: At least Lockwood would have lost his at Winkman's shop.

Episode 7: Lockwood loses his after being exposed by Winkman. And I think Lucy's is lost as well before they're jumping into the Thames?

Episode 8: Lucy's rapier is at least "god knows where" in the catacombs for a time being.

I don't know but that sounds expensive...😅

[emziess]

Lockwood & Co. + Combe Carey Hall Lockwood & Co, S01E03

[mytly4]

Interesting thoughts! I agree nearly 100% with you, especially re: George and how much he was sanitized (both literally and figuratively) on the show. And yes, I was thoroughly pissed at the lack of the glasses fakeout too! More than anything, I was annoyed that instead of letting George and Lucy be the undeniable heroes in the showdown with Joplin, the show decided to let Lockwood save the day yet again.

I really hope the show gets renewed, because I desperately want to see the show's take on the climaxes of The Hollow Boy and The Creeping Shadow - they're both so deliciously creepy, I'd love to see them in a visual adaptation. Also, I really hope the show manages to cut out the horrible cattiness between Lucy and Holly. The Hollow Boy is such a great book, but that nearly ruins it for me.

OKAY i finally watched the l&c tv show, and then promptly reread the entire book series, and i have THOUGHTS

first of all, I Love Them All Very Dearly

secondly: the tv show is a fantastic adaptation and i’m really really pleased with it! the changes they made from the book are either necessary to tell the story in a different format, or they are a really interesting new take on the original story.

i LOVE the addition/expansion of Norrie, and i hope she comes up somehow in the next season (perhaps she is why Lucy visits home in the Hollow Boy, instead of just to “see family” like in the books? and i hope ghost-lock is more of a plot point too!)

i absolutely do miss George Cubbins, but George Karim is a sweetheart and i love him too <3 still, i feel the show sacrificed the uglier parts of George’s personality to make him more likable, which…that’s understandable, but imo kind of misses some of the core aspects of who he is as a character. basically, i understand that the show is doing something different with George, and i don’t dislike it, but also Karim’s differences really made me appreciate Cubbins on my reread.

i feel the same about Flo Bones, too; she’s soooo much more likeable in the show, which makes her abrasive nature in the book so much more interesting and exciting! again, i don’t think the changes the show made are bad - they’re in service to telling the story in a different, interesting way. i’m very glad we have both the show and the books, to enjoy both versions of the story!!

i love that the show is giving more of a spotlight to characters other than Lucy! Lockwood and the Fittes teams’ fight with the relic-men is fantastic, and George’s obsession with the bone glass is so much more impactful in the show, imo. BUT that leads me to my biggest complaint about the show, which is how the bone glass is dealt with at the end.

it is really cool that the skull gets to see into the other side - that’s some really excellent foreshadowing that i’m excited to see play out in later seasons! but i cannot help but be massively disappointed that my favorite moment in the Entire Book Series got cut from the show :/// that, of course, being George’s saving the day because he wears glasses!! that iconic moment where gets back up from faking his own death - that amazing moment when he reveals his broken glasses allowed him to defeat Joplin!! i already loved George Cubbins, and that moment solidified him as my favorite character. so to not have that appear in the show…it was really really disappointing, and honestly kind of cemented the difference between Cubbins and Karim for me. Lucy got to be the big hero in the show, where George was in the books, and that’s a clear difference between the two versions.

most of all: Cubbins is allowed to be gross, snide, and weak; yet he still comes in clutch, without sacrificing his less pretty character traits. Karim just has less flaws, and less to overcome, imo. cutting Karim out of the Fittes Ball, for example, was a way to make him (narratively and literally) more isolated - Cubbins got to go along with that heist (which in the books was actually spontaneous, not planned!) because he already had so many flaws and drawbacks, he didn’t need the extra push. Cubbins will always have a very special place in my heart, and while Karim is a great character and i love his snarky, sassy moments, he’s just not the same. that being said, his actor did a wonderful job and i still thoroughly enjoyed his performance and the character as a whole. i’m just probably always going to be a little more inclined toward Cubbins.

and i’m still salty about the glasses thing. THAT WAS THE BEST PART OF THE STORY. GAHHHH.

there are a lot of changes and cuts that i’m ambivalent about; for example, i thought cutting Wilberforce and the rats from the Bickerstaff house was a shame, but i loved Lucy’s foray into Bickerstaff’s actual work room, which wasn’t in the books and i think painted an equally grisly picture of the man. Joplin being a woman cast an entirely new light on the character; both versions are equally creepy, but show!Joplin was a lot more sympathetic from the get-go, which i thought was a good choice - and yet book!Joplin’s motivations felt a little clearer to me. and then there were some smaller choices, like the method of Lucy’s connection to Annabel Ward, that i thought were improvements overall, especially for a visual adaptation. also, all of Combe Carey Hall was way more interesting to me in the show; i could never really get a good grip on the layout in the books, and the show did a great job, especially down the staircase and the well. it was all very clear and spooky!

in conclusion: the show was very good, very enjoyable, and i definitely hope there’s another season! the Hollow Boy and the Creeping Shadow could both easily take up a season on their own, and have some fantastic visuals that i’m looking forward to seeing. not to mention everything going on in the Empty Grave! and also, i am very grateful that the books are still there for me to return to; they’ll always be special, and it’s great to have Two Cakes rather than just one!

[maarigolds]

Little details I love about Lockwood & co. part 2/?

This scene where, after getting the job at Combe Carey Hall, Lucy excitedly grabs George's arm with the biggest smile on her face. I mean look at her. She's the most precious thing in the world.

[lockwoodandconetflix]

Watching L&Co again, and Combe Carey Hall is creepy AF no matter how many times I've seen this episode.

Is it just me?

[jynersq]

if you saw him bring an industrial-strength flare to combe carey hall. no u didnt <3

[skullmakesmelaugh]

*in the Red Room of Combe Carey Hall*

Lockwood: I’ve always thought about this, but how do you eat pickles?

Lucy: What do you mean?

Lockwood: I mean, there's a whole process. It's not like you can grab them from the jar with your hand, because it's cold and the juice burns if you have a cut, plus, it's pretty unsanitary. And you can't use a spoon because you'll have to scoop it out, and it'll be way too difficult to grab more than three or four without taking 10 minutes along with half the brine in the jar, even if it's one with hole

Lucy: yeah, that’s why you use a fork

Lockwood: Okay, sure, but what if you don't have one of the big ones clean? It's weird to use a small one. But there is always one of those smaller sharp knives clean

Lucy: But the straight edge doesn't really fit the cylindrical shape, and you have to make sure you don' t break it, it's too much work

Lockwood: It makes me feel like I deserve the pickles though. Like, "Yeah, I did it. That's right. Good job me." It's empowering. But even after that, it's not like you can use a bowl

Lucy: I get that, it's not ascetically pleasing

Lockwood: Exactly! And it looks weird if you don't entirely fill the bowl, but you also can't eat that many. My solution: Use a mug

Lucy: *nods in agreement*

George: That is all very interesting, bUT WE'RE TRYING NOT TO DIE RIGHT NOW! USE YOUR LIMITED ATTENTION SPANS AND FOCUS!

Lockwood, defensively: alright George, keep your hair on

Lucy: yeah, stop yelling at us