The latest episode Chucky “I Like to be Hugged” continues the series trend of blending dark humor with well-written characters and great suspense. But it takes things into new directions, and goes down a path of no return…
Murder School
Opening last week’s Halloween party at Oliver’s house, Jake is understandably devastated after watching Lexy blatantly mock his dead father with her costume. After finally having enough of her bullying, Jake decides that he wants her dead and Chucky offers his services.
Chucky imparts his words of wisdom on Jake, telling him things like how to stalk your victim, how to know when and how to strike, etc. There’s a real dark humor to it in that Chucky is almost like Jake’s murder tutor and he really seems to relish in teaching him these things.
Granted, Jake’s more so motivated by pain and anger, which aren’t permanent. After realizing he doesn’t have the guts to do it himself, Chucky steps in (almost gleefully) to the “dirty work” and winds up at Lexy’s house in the possession of her little sister.
Lexy herself almost has a redemptive arc when she apologizes to Jake for her tasteless Halloween costume, but it’s all for naught as he only did it get get Chucky for her sister and immediately expects Jake to do this favor for her, believing he owes her for apologizing.
Nature vs. Nurture
All the while, we’re treated to a series of flashbacks as Chucky speaks with Jake candidly about his past. We see a young Charles Lee Ray in what appears to be the 1960’s. He has loving parents, friends who come to his birthday party, and a seemingly normal overall existence.
In a departure from most serial killer origin stories, Chucky wasn’t made by years of abuse and neglect, rather he was simply a rotten egg to begin with, going back to his genes. It goes against the usual trope that villains need to have some tragic backstory and establishes him on similar footing with Michael Myers, in that he’s just evil at his core.
It makes him all the more despicable, but also reveals why he simply couldn’t give up killing like Tiffany wanted him to in Seed of Chucky. He’s evil at heart, and he’s simply acting upon that. And while he seems to be really friendly with Jake and even wants to see him thrive, it doesn’t mean he won’t turn on Jake without hesitation.
Fiery Cliffhanger
Proving to be just as ineffective as Jake was, Chucky accidentally kills the wrong person at Lexy’s party. And when he finally does corner her, things don’t go as planned. She manages to fight him off, but because she was smoking a joint in her room, it gets thrown into the curtains thus starting a fire.
So at the end of this sequence (and episode) not only has Chucky failed to kill Lexy, but he’s also revealed himself to her. Thus sparking a likely alliance between Jake and Lexy. Given their enemy status, it would make things interesting, plus it would pit two teenagers who have more in common than they realize against the show’s true villain, the homicidal maniac trapped in the doll’s body…
What did you think of this episode? What do you hope to see next week? Let us know in the comments!
For more horror reviews, rankings, reviews, news and other fun horror/Halloween content, follow Halloween Year-Round on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!
You can also shop Halloween Year-Round merchandise on Redbubble and support us on Patreon!
Halloween Year-Round 