'Chucky' TV Show Dropped the Ball with Nica and Needs to Do Better

When Chucky returned to our screens via 2013's Curse of Chucky, we were introduced to a new protagonist: Nica Pierce. Portrayed by Brad Dourif's daughter Fiona Dourif, Nica was revealed to be the child of a woman whom human Charles Lee Ray obsessed over before becoming a doll. Nica's paraplegia is due to human Chucky stabbing her pregnant mother Sarah, who, along with the rest of the adults in Nica's family, gets killed in the film, with Nica framed for the murders. Her fate was something different for the franchise. Unlike original protagonist Andy Barclay, she did not get a typical victory.

The next film, 2017's Cult of Chucky, pushes her further into despair. By the time of this film, Nica's surviving niece Alice has been possessed by Chucky and gotten killed. On top of that, Nica is being abused by Dr. Foley. At one point, Nica even attempts to take her own life. At the end of it all, Nica gets possessed by Chucky, who then kills the doctor and runs off with partner in crime Tiffany Valentine. Viewers were left with a Nica robbed of all agency, in a darker place than ever before.

Understandably, fans were anxious to see what would happen with Nica, and whether she would triumph over the deranged killers. Eventually, a Chucky TV series was announced, and it became clear that the focus would be on a set of teen characters, though Nica would appear. It is not until the later part of the fifth episode, "Little Little Lies," that we finally see Nica again, still possessed by Chucky two weeks after the events of the previous film. It is clear that Tiffany and Chucky have used Nica while she was absent mentally.

At certain points in the latter half of the season, Nica regains control of her body temporarily, but Chucky keeps on coming back. Indeed, the series showcases much of the Chucky-possessed Nica, but not enough of Nica herself. Sometimes, she's kind of just there, along for the ride, only given a moment to panic and whatnot. And as it turns out, Tiffany develops feelings for her, taking her hostage. At the end of the season, we see that Tiffany has amputated Nica's arms and legs. Nica is in a very dark place, having been merely a passive participant throughout the season. It is a bit difficult to imagine her escaping anytime soon.

Chucky and Tiffany are evil characters, and their actions against Nica further illustrate just how evil they are. And while Fiona Dourif got a lot of work throughout the season, including the role of her father's character in flashbacks, the fact that Nica had very little to do and was essentially demoted to extra is very disheartening. This was to be expected to an extent, given the fact that the teens of the series are meant to be the new main characters. But one would have thought that Nica would have had at least a bit of progress in her fight against Chucky. But things just kept spiraling downward for her, and she felt like an afterthought at points. She might as well have not been in the season at all. Perhaps her storyline should have been somehow confined to films, with a further film having her as the central protagonist once again. Andy keeps on getting victory after victory, but why can't Nica have just one win?

With Chucky having been renewed for a second season, there is no doubt that we will see more of Nica. But given everything that has happened to her, she needs to be better utilized. She currently feels like the character who always has to suffer and does not get to do much. I have no idea how she can get out of her current predicament. Eventually, she might get prosthetic arms and legs. Given the comedic tone of the series, I could even imagine her getting a weapon for a limb, similar to Ash from the Evil Dead franchise. But whatever happens, Chucky season 2 needs to do better with Nica. She needs to be given a more active role in the narrative, even if the teens are the main characters of the show. Because so far, how she's been handled is a letdown after four years of waiting to see her story continue. Maybe there are already plans for her to make progress in season 2, but we will have to wait and see.