Don Mancini’s Chucky series was initially released on Syfy and USA Network in 2021, bringing our favorite maniacal killer doll back to small screens and although the first season was brilliant while it lasted, the second season is a significant letdown.
The first season saw Chucky (Brad Dourif) terrorizing the once-peaceful town of Hackensack by traumatizing teenage kids in hopes of turning them into cold-blooded killers like himself. This plot played out incredibly well because it made Chucky the big bad for the entirety of the first season.
We got to see a whole new different side of the infamous killer that was not only ruthless but also gave the series a comedic humor that made every scene he was in worthwhile. The second season took a whole new approach with a complicated plot that not only felt rushed but wasn’t all that interesting.
The second season also gave far too much screen time to characters that didn’t really add anything to the story. And even when we actually got to the Chucky scenes, the once cold-hearted killer wasn’t very cold-hearted or scary as he had little to no brutal kills unlike in the first season.
One thing they did get right was the humor. And although it’s not as fascinating as it was in the first season, fans of the character will still take away numerous laughs from Chucky’s conversations throughout the second season.
The first season ended with the return of Chucky’s wife Tiffany Valentine played by Jennifer Tilly (as herself). Both Chucky and his wife were ruthless in the original Chucky films and while we’re not comparing the series to the movies released from 1998 to 2004, Don Mancini did very little to showcase just how badass Tiffany could be in her willingness to do anything to protect her family.
The return of Glen, Chucky’s long-lost queer child, was poorly executed and they tried to make up for that by bringing back the actual Glen doll from the original movies. But that story arc didn’t last as the whole plot really just felt unbalanced with a lot of different things happening all at once.
As usual, Fiona Dourif did an excellent job playing both Nica Pierce and Chucky. After getting her hands and legs cut off by Tiffany in the finale of the first season, Nica is still in the clutches of Tiffany in the second season and is trying desperately to escape and plan her revenge.
Nothing seemed to have changed for Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), which is also another letdown because a lot of his interactions with Chucky felt like things we’ve heard before. Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) on the other hand, now has an addiction problem in the second season combined with a continuous dislike towards her mother, which wasn’t important in the second season.
Then there is Devon (Björgvin Arnarson) who’s no longer doing his Hackenslash podcast (which was pretty cool in the first season). The second season also spent more time trying to sort out the relationship drama between Devon and Jake rather than dealing with the real problem at hand, which is Chucky.
Some of the other returning characters like Andy (Alex Vincent), Kyle (Christine Elise), Mayor Michelle Cross (Barbara Alyn Woods), and Caroline (Carina Battrick) did a fine job in their respective roles.
There aren’t many killers out there we enjoy watching kill people gruesomely which makes Chucky unique. Don Mancini did a fantastic job reviving Chucky and making the character a lot more fun to watch. However, the second season shows a lack of passion and a weak plot.
While there are tiny bits of things to like in the second season of Chucky, it probably should have been a limited series that ended with the first season as currently we’re not exactly eager to see a third season and kind of hope the Chucky show comes to its own death.
Rating – 2/5
