#Chucky Episode 5 Review (TV Series, 2021)
content warning: gore, blood, foul language, sexual content, violence against women
This episodes opens in a nightclub in the 1980s. A woman bites her boyfriend on the lip and tries to force him to have relations on the dance floor. He walks away, allowing Charles Lee Ray to make his move. I really like how the show is breaking up the new backstory for Chucky.
In the present, Caroline wakes up in the hospital and wants to see Chucky. She’s horrified by his appearance, so her father throws him away. Ironically, he lands in a pile of medical waste, injecting himself like he did to that poor security officer in the last episode. That’s not enough to kill the immortal doll and he starts to have a real good time.
Back at the school, Miss Fairchild, the science teacher, offers to help the grieving students out in anyway. The loss of Oliver is still being felt in the school. Junior is suspicious that Jake, Devon, and Lexy are getting along now and Jake feels guilty for Oliver’s death. These are the kinds of moments you don’t typically get to linger in during a slasher. Telling this kind of story over a multiple episode series allows for the more serious side of the story to be told.
The greater theme of this episode is betrayal. The positive relationships on the show that the kids used to rely on are forever changed by the fire. Lexy’s mother is taking an extremely antagonistic approach to her daughter, accusing her of not actually caring about her sister and blaming her for everything that’s ever been wrong in the family. Jake’s aunt wants him out of the house and Junior is jealous of his friendship with Lexy. Even Chucky is a little broken up about Caroline befriending a new Good Guy doll instead of him. Everyone is lost and lashing out in unexpected ways and no one feels good about it.
The character arcs and relationships in Chucky are really paying off. The bond between Jake, Devon, and Lexy is great. They may not be friends, but at least they can rely on each other. Devon and Jake drop everything to race to Lexy’s in the middle of the night when Chucky returns to her house. The two boys even share their first kiss the next morning because they feel safe enough to.
Then the show flashes back to the 1980s. A third has joined the party. Charles seems to know this redhead and invites her over. The two work together to kill the new girl. Turns out Tiffany used to be a redhead.
What’s great about these flashback scenes in particular is the voice over work. Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly provide the speaking voices for their younger selves. The actors playing the younger versions of the characters look close enough under the haze of the 80s setting to be believable.
A few minute after the reveal, Jennifer Tilly and Fiona Douriff return as Tiffany and Nica. This might require a little bit of catchup if you didn’t watch the last couple Child’s Play films. Technically, at the end of Cult of Chucky, Nica is possessed by the spirit of Charles Lee Ray. Tiffany goes on the run with her, happy that her boyfriend finally has a human body again. The episode does provide a bit of context for this, explaining how Nica can be Nica and Chucky at the same time. I’m excited that the series is going to explore her character more. Jennifer Tilly has been a scene-stealer in the Child’s Play series since being introduced in Bride of Chucky and that’s not stopping anytime soon.
We now live in a world where multiples of Chucky can be running around. It’s so preposterous that no one would ever believe it. Charles has perfected his spells and doesn’t need a long time to keep moving around as necessary. The reveals come one after another in the last few minutes of the episode and are promising a lot more mayhem in the future.
New episodes of Chucky premiere on Syfy and USA Network at 10PM on Tuesday nights.
