This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The past two seasons of Chucky have offered a pitch-perfect blending of tension, horror, and utter absurdity. What with the hordes of killer dolls, increasingly convoluted plotlines, and over-the-top massacres, it’s hard to imagine where else the show could go after such insanity. And yet, creator Don Mancini still finds new avenues to explore in Chucky’s third season. Once again combining a tense, almost political murder mystery with a healthy dose of camp, season three of Chucky brings all the kills, frights, and delights you might expect from your favorite murderous doll. In many ways, it’s a lot more of the same. But when the recipe is so good, why bother changing it?
Season three of Chucky picks up about a year after the events of the season two finale. Jake (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Björgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) have turned to social media to cope with their trauma while trying to find Lexy’s missing sister, Caroline (Carina London Battrick), and the final remaining Chucky (Brad Dourif) doll to finally put an end to his reign of terror. But finding Chucky proves to be about as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. Except, as it turns out, Chucky has infiltrated the hallowed halls of the White House and attached himself to the hip of President Collins’ (Devon Sawa) son, Henry (Callum Vinson). What chaos does Chucky have planned for the leader of the free world? And how on Earth can three teenagers from New Jersey stop him before it’s too late?
A Tense Murder Mystery…
Put simply, the first four episodes of Chucky’s third season are an absolute delight from start to finish. A perfect mixture of grounded character work, tense and compelling mysteries, and utter absurdity. As Chucky begins picking off White House employees one by one, the season takes on the tone of an Agatha Christie mystery – just with a bit of Curse of Chucky and Scandal thrown into the mix. You’ve got the White House officials desperately searching for a killer in their midst while the killer lurks in the shadows. And you’ve got Jake, Devon, and Lexy frantically trying to get someone to follow all of the obvious clues pointing straight toward a certain red-headed killer doll. It’s not that the season goes full Hercule Poirot or anything, but it definitely leans a bit more toward murder mystery than outright horror.
Alongside those Agatha Christie vibes are some major soap opera meets political thriller vibes. You’ve got Devon Sawa’s President, a very idealistic man who thinks he can heal all the country’s wounds. And you’ve got his supportive wife, Charlotte (Lara Jean Chorostecki), and sons, Grant (Jackson Kelly) and Henry. They make for an immediately likable cast of characters that mesh nicely with all of the returning characters. Surrounding the president, however, is a whole cast of untrustworthy power grabbers just destined to find themselves at the sharp end of Chucky’s knife. And that makes for a really interesting dynamic. For the first two episodes, Chucky even takes a bit of a backseat to all of the political machinations of these characters. But he’s not kept at bay for long. After all, you can’t keep a good guy down.
…That Takes a Turn for the Absurd
As you might expect, that grounded, character-driven mystery takes a turn toward utter insanity pretty quickly. In fact, it only takes a couple of episodes before that all-too-familiar Chucky absurdity fully shows up once again. To go into any real detail about any of that would veer far too close to spoilers. But let’s just say that if you’re wondering how Chucky resolves Tiffany’s (Jennifer Tilly) cliffhanger from the end of season two, you won’t be waiting very long. And it’s a very Chucky sort of plot, too. Utterly outrageous in both premise and execution, but perfectly performed by the likes of Jennifer Tilly and a handful of other new and returning characters. Tiffany’s plotline plays like the B or C-plot of a sitcom, often taking a backseat to Chucky’s ongoing White House plans. But every time the show cuts back to Tiffany, she easily steals the show.
The same rings true for Chucky’s plan, too. The show doesn’t wait particularly long to explain just what Chucky’s up to, and for good reason. Because the second that shoe drops, everything comes alive. And there’s this palpable sense of, “Oh my god, is this really what we’re doing?” that proves utterly delightful. Equally delightful, of course, are the kills. Mancini spent a season working on Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal, and that influence shows up in droves. The Chucky franchise has always had a penchant for over-the-top, gory kills, but somehow season three manages to up that game even further with a perfect mixture of utter silliness, immense amounts of gore, and unabashed creativity. It’s lovely to see that Mancini and his team can still find ways to keep things feeling both fresh and lively, even playing with exactly how far they can push the envelope.
The Character Work Ties it All Together
The character work, however, manages to mix all of this absurdity and pulpy horror into a cohesive whole. At times, Jake, Devon, and Lexy got lost in all of season two’s excesses. There were just so many characters to keep track of that it was nearly impossible to give all of them anything really meaty to work with. But that’s not the case here. Jake, Devon, and Lexy take center stage once again. But this time around, there’s a bit of hope to their actions. It’s not all doom and gloom, even if they’re still largely driven by their trauma. For example, we get to see Jake and Devon continue stumbling through their relationship in a very heartwarming, relatable way. And there are a lot of other quiet, sweet moments between all three of them that help keep everything grounded.
Even when the show veers closer to absurdity, with Tiffany and Chucky’s plotlines, there’s still this underlying sense of emotional truth to their characterization. A real sense of fear and dread. The idea that all of this, all they’ve ever lived for, might finally be coming to an end. Dourif and Tilly bring a lot of vulnerability to those moments. Of course, that vulnerability is caked underneath layer upon layer of camp and bravado. But it’s there, and it’s nice to see. That kind of weight gives these characters a genuine sense of reality, as though they’ve really been living. And it’s that underlying layer of emotional truth that helps tie together all of the silly plotlines, soap opera-worthy backstabbings, and over-the-top killings. Chucky’s always been at its best when it wears its heart on its sleeves, and that remains the case with season three.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, the first four episodes of Chucky’s third season offer exactly what you’d expect from this show – a healthy dose of pulpy horror and utter absurdity. Everything’s somehow even darker and sillier than ever before. And yet, this season feels far more focused than season two did, and that sense of focus helps drive the story forward. Combined with some lovely, grounded character work, of course, and a host of truly impressive performances from the entire cast.
Perhaps most surprising, though, is the sense of finality that permeates the entire season. It’s as though the curtain’s beginning to close; as if Chucky’s story is finally reaching its end. Whether or not that’s truly the case remains to be seen. But what’s obvious from the first four episodes is that Chucky’s third season is every bit as horrific, campy, and delightful as the previous two. And honestly, what more can you ask for?
Season three of Chucky airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on SYFY and USA Network.
In season three of "Chucky", everyone's favorite killer doll sets his sights on the White House. And the results are exactly as tense, horrific, and over-the-top as you might expect. Season three is a campy, horrific delight that's sure to please Chucky's legion of fans.
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