Chucky Review: "Halloween II"

At long last, Chucky's back on USA on SyFy, but before that, the latter network aired a block of all of the films, and of course, because it's October, Peacock (NBC's streaming network) has all of the films (except the first one), as well as Season One of the TV series. Speaking of, the second season opener began with a recap of Season One, which ended with the planned endgame that saw an army of Chucky dolls kill several victims inside a movie theater, with Andy Barclay driving off with a number of the dolls with plans to eliminate them. Meanwhile, the show's central characters, Jake Wheeler, Devon Evans, and Lexy Cross, become connected due to their experiences with Chucky, but on a good note, Jake and Devon began their relationship.

So after the recap, we see Andy driving the van and still being held at gunpoint by a Tiffany doll, while a trio of Chucky dolls await their destination. Upon overhearing them talk, Andy realizes that they don't know who he is, and they also don't know Tiffany...or what she did to Chucky back in 1988 (as the Season One finale revealed, Tiffany dropped the proverbial dime on Chucky on that fateful day). Andy manages to shoot the Tiffany doll, but that leads to the Chuckies recognizing Andy and sending the other dolls after them. Andy later drives the van and the dolls over Hackensack Gorge, but not before proclaiming: "This is for Kyle!" More on that later.

Devon and Jake are sent off to live in foster families, but not before they share a kiss, which is witnessed by Jake's foster parents, as well as his foster brother Gary. Six months later, it's Halloween, and Jake is home with Gary handing out candy before being contacted by someone looking for "Tamara." A call with Devon revealed that they were supposed to meet, but Jake couldn't get away--apparently, his new foster parents are homophobes. The same caller contacts Jake again, as well as Devon, who finally figure out that it's Chucky (about three minutes after literally every viewer does), and he's shown outside the Cross household speaking to Caroline (Lexy's little sister). All the while, Lexy's making out in her room, and finally sees that Jake and Devon had been trying to call her, with Lexy quickly figuring out why.

The following day, we see Lexy, Caroline, and their mother, the mayor of Hackensack, Michelle Cross, in a therapy session with Dr. Mixter, and boy was it cringey. Of course, the ordeal with Chucky is brought up, and as we saw in the first season finale, one of the many victims was family patriarch Nathan Cross, who was killed right in front of Michelle. The session sees Michelle place all of the blame on the killings on Junior Wheeler, Jake's cousin and Lexy's then-boyfriend, and I'll be honest, that didn't set well with me. Yes, Junior gave in to Chucky so easily last season and killed his father, but being wrongly labelled like that knowing that he can't defend himself (as he was killed as well) is just 50 shades of shitty. Even when Lexy calls out Michelle for always being biased against Junior even before he went darkside, Michelle had the nerve to say this:

"I've always been able to read people, and I can tell from Day One that (Junior) was bad news."

No, you can't, Michelle. Your gut instinct is like a Lombardi Trophy in Houston: imaginary. I swear, as much as I disliked Lexy during most of Season One (I don't anymore), I couldn't stand Michelle and still can't. She's an absentee mother, she literally has no clue about anything, yet she thinks she's always right, and she basically puts all of the letters in "Karen." Of course, Caroline knows what really happened and says it, so does Lexy, but she doesn't tell the truth, telling her younger sister that Chucky was just a doll.

Speaking of dolls, Caroline's developed a fear of them since dealing with Chucky, yet look what Mixter gives her to help her fear: the original bride doll. That's the one, the exact bride doll from 1998's Bride of Chucky, that Tiffany presented to Chucky to tease him, only for Tiffany to end up in that very doll herself. After a PR interview, Lexy warns Caroline not to trust any dolls, and actually arms her sister with a knife in case "Belle" turns out to be possessed (thankfully, she isn't). Lexy is visited by Jake and Devon later that night, but on the following day, Gary appears with two things: Chucky, and a bomb!

After taking all four hostage, Chucky reveals that he plans to kill all of them and Lexy (who is busy getting high on her mother's medication) out of revenge for foiling his plot involving a group of 72 Good Guy dolls, while revealing that his mission is a kamikaze one. In addition, Chucky informed Jake that both Andy and Kyle are dead (again, more on that later) before waiting for Lexy. As soon as she appeared, Devon tased Chucky, who drops the bomb, which is picked up by Gary. After Gary stops to admire "Belle," Chucky emerges and detonates the bomb. Jake, Lexy, and Devon are left to be blamed for Gary's death, and Mixter suggests sending them to a Catholic school for misbehaved children. However, when they arrive, Devon recognizes the school as the same boarding home where Charles Lee Ray grew up, and in the final scene, a certain package is delivered. Oh dear.

What a way to kick off Season Two! First off, we have to address the fates of Andy and Kyle. Are they dead or alive? My 31 years of watching Chucky have clearly taught me not to take the word of a killer doll as gospel; so I am definitely not writing off Andy and Kyle just yet. Those two have survived a lot, I seriously doubt they'd be finished just like that. Secondly, Dr. Mixter. Is she in league somehow with Chucky. The signs point to "yes." I mean, out of any doll she could have presented to Caroline, she gives the original bride doll?! Granted, it wasn't possessed, but still, I'm not one to believe in coincidences.

The second season opener, "Halloween II," aired on USA and SyFy on October 5, 2022. The title has to be an homage to the voice of Chucky himself, Brad Dourif, as he appeared in the rebooted Halloween II in 2009. Similar to Season One, the second season will be eight episodes long, and as unveiled in the months leading to the premiere, we will see Glen and Glenda (Chucky and Tiffany's twin children) during this season, though I'm hoping to see more characters from throughout the film series. Also, I am itching to see what's next regarding poor Nica; seriously, her fate in the season finale still bothers me a bit.

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