#Chucky Episode 6 Review (TV Series, 2021)
content warning: gore, violence against women, blood, gun violence, foul language, grieving
This week’s Chucky in-episode recap is something else. We now have Tiffany as Jennifer Tilly recapping all the events of the series so far. That’s a big distinction. Nica and Tiffany were reintroduced in episode five, officially, but the show hadn’t brought up the Jennifer Tilly plays Tiffany who is obsessed with in-universe Jennifer Tilly yet. Now they have. The Jennifer Tilly featured in the series is Tiffany’s soul inside Jennifer Tilly’s body.
Speaking of returning cast members, Alex Vincent and Christine Elise make their onscreen return as Andy and Kyle. He is posing as a census worker to investigate the appearance of any mysterious dolls in local households. Kyle is his foster sister, previously featured in Child’s Play 2 and Cult of Chucky. They arrive at a house where the sweetest girl you’ll ever meet has befriended a Good Guy doll named Charlie. A few bullets later and another one of Chucky’s alternate bodies is down for the count. Andy reveals that there is only one doll left, but Chucky didn’t just split his soul into dolls.
Back at school, Ms. Fairchild, the science teacher, is charged with all the murders. I can’t imagine it’s standard operating procedure to arrest a middle school teacher in front of a packed classroom, sending all the students scattered to the winds, but it’s effective. Jake, Lexy, and Devon try to stop Devon’s mom from making the arrest but can’t reveal the truth about Chucky. Instead, Devon suggests they reach out to Andy for help.
And back at the motel, Nica-Chucky and Tiffany are trying to dispose of the body from the last episode. They have a lover’s quarrel, which results in Nica-Chucky flashing back to Hackensack, 1987. They find the perfect blood red car for sale and finish the purchase as only they would. Tiffany finds out about Chucky’s interest in voodoo and is told not to worry.
This episode of Chucky is spectacular. I could spend this entire article just doing a play by play of every scene and what it means for the show. This is not a reset for the back half of the series, but it does set the stage for the remaining episodes. Everything that needs to be revealed is revealed and everything that can’t be revealed will define the rest of the show.
This includes the emotional sequence where Junior’s mother reveals her cancer diagnosis to the family. I’ve said it throughout this series. The reason why we get to have these quieter moments is the fact that Chucky is a TV series, not a film. The rhythm and pacing of the two mediums are entirely different and not stopping for these slice of life moments is what causes so many long-form narrative horror series to jump the shark. You need more substance than just the scares to make a narrative TV series work.
Case in point, Tiffany bought a house in Hackensack; Chucky’s childhood home, to be exact. She wants to settle down with Nica, not Chucky. Chucky gave Tiffany attention; Nica pretending to be Chucky for her safety and survival shows Tiffany kindness and affection. Tiffany is still a psychopath in her own right, but she wants a healthier relationship.
That’s the greater theme of the episode. Everyone is trying to open up and heal themselves. Relationships change for the better, even if that means relationships ending. Trusts are forged and broken. Part of this is developing characters and part of it is shifting the focus of the series to open up new potential victims in the slasher. There’s no guarantee that that things will go any predictable way on Chucky, but slashers do love to take down characters who start to turn their lives around.
New episodes of Chucky premiere on Syfy and USA Network at 10PM on Tuesday nights.
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