Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Lockwood and Co’ takes place in a world that looks like ours, but has a completely different set of problems. Fifty years ago, a mysterious event called the Problem let loose ghosts in the world. It turned into an epidemic and things got so dire with every day that millions of people lost their lives, and the way the world works were changed forever. Several discoveries were made along the way, with people discovering ways to protect themselves from ghosts to getting rid of them altogether. The story has three teenagers at the center, fighting some very dangerous battles. We also discover that the people on the front are also children, with adults relying on them to do the dirty work. If you are wondering why children are burdened with such a dangerous responsibility and why adults won’t take over from them, here’s what you should know. SPOILERS AHEAD
Why Aren’t Adults Ghost Hunters in Lockwood and Co?
In the world of ‘Lockwood and Co’, ghosts are not only real but also the most dangerous thing to come across. Their mere touch can kill a person, which makes it important for a person to try and avoid ghosts as much as they can. In fact, things are so dire that a curfew has been put in place so that people stay home at night when the ghosts are believed to be most powerful. The rules in this world have been set up by adults, but they are not the ones who are actually equipped with fighting ghosts.
It is revealed early on in the show that not everyone is born with the ability to sense ghosts. These people can gather the presence of a spirit in the same room by touching, hearing, or seeing things. It is something that you are born with. So, if a child doesn’t have any of the three talents, then they’ll have to go about their life never seeing any ghosts. However, that doesn’t exempt them from being harmed by ghosts. Evil spirits can still prove to be just as dangerous even if you can’t see them.
The children that are born with the talent are brought forward by their parents who enroll them in training school where they learn ghost hunting. Their talents are honed; they are made aware of all the ways in which to fight the ghosts, keep them at bay, and better yet, find their source and destroy them once and for all. All these children are trained by adults who had been ghost hunters when they were younger. This skill is passed down to the people who have talent so that they can save lives and make things easier for the world. While different children might exhibit different talents on varied levels, there’s one thing that remains common for all of them.
No matter how powerful or talented or skilled they are, there will come a time when their talent will start to fade. It happens at different times for different people. Some succumb to it early, while there are some who can hold on to their abilities for a tad longer. Still, sooner or later, they lose their sight, touch, and hearing in the context of ghost sensing and they become a normal person, just like everyone else. This is the reason why we see adults training and supervising teenagers, but they’re never actually on the field taking up the dangerous work. The more serious a situation gets, the farther the adults tend to be. As Lucy says, even if accompany children, they are useless and only get in the way.
The events in ‘Lockwood and Co’ are always volatile, with one or the other thing threatening to tear apart the world. One would wonder why the author of this story decided to give the responsibility to save the world to children. The reason behind this could be that children are considered more sensitive and open to things that are beyond the limits of a proper explanation. Children are also more curious and interested in taking up new challenges. Compared to this, adults are more set in their ways, as can be seen with several older people in the show. They are more invested in money and power. Younger people, on the other hand, are more interested in proving their worth, and that’s what makes them such great protagonists for a story like this.
Read More: What is The Problem in Lockwood and Co, Explained
