The newest episode of Chucky, entitled "Cape Queer" continues to build off of the momentum of its previous episode and welcomes former Child's Play stars back into the fold. It also marks the end of a few recurring characters who have played a huge role in the development of Jake, Devon, Lexy, and Junior, who are now forced to continue their hunt for Chucky.
Unlike the previous episodes of Chucky, "Cape Queer" focuses more on the characters outside of the young group who have been searching for a definite end to Chucky's antics. Jake, Devon, Lexy, and Junior all have limited screentime this week, but this is not done so without a proper motive. What occurs in "Cape Fear" marks a huge shift in these younger characters, and the way they proceed will be pivotal for Chucky's remaining episodes.
Chucky's previous episode brought Tiffany Valentine into play and "Cape Queer" pulls her closer to the main storyline. She was once again accompanied by Nica Pierce, who actually appears as herself more than the killer doll this week. These two are now joined by previous Child's Play characters Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) and Kyle (Christine Elise), who were both previously tormented by Chucky throughout the franchise. Andy and Kyle are the first characters to appear in "Cape Fear" and are only given context through brief flashbacks to the Child's Play films. Without a direct link to Charles and the need for any other flashbacks, this is a perfect introduction for these characters.
Posing as two individuals hoping to take a census, Andy and Kyle ask a family a series of intense questions geared toward uncovering a Good Guy doll. At one point, in "Cape Queer's" opening sequence, the young girl hugs the doll (which struggles to produce its name of Charlie) and Andy shoots the doll in the head. To ensure they have eliminated this piece of Chucky's soul, Andy and Kyle repeatedly shoot the doll in the chest until they are satisfied. Unlike the doll that Jake, Devon, and Lexy killed last week, this Good Guy doll bleeds like a human being. Andy later reveals that there is only one Good Guy doll that remains with a piece of Chucky's soul and that the only other piece that exists has taken residence in something else. This news confuses Kyle, but for others, the references to Jake, Devon, and Lexy's Good Guy doll and Nica's presence in Hackensack are easy to connect.
Nica and Tiffany are a huge part of "Cape Queer" and will certainly be an even bigger piece of next week's episode. In "Cape Queer," Tiffany makes it clear that she doesn't plan on leaving Hackensack anytime soon and buys the house that Charles Lee Ray's parents were murdered in. In one of "Cape Queer's" most memorable scenes, Nica and Tiffany are seated around the table playing poker. At this point, Nica has regained consciousness over Chucky's constant control and tries to fool Tiffany into thinking that Chucky is still in the driver's seat. Of course, Tiffany realizes this quickly after she stabs Nica in the leg and she fails to realize it because she is paraplegic. Tiffany also takes the time to confess to Nica that she actually likes her better than Chucky and that she wants to try and keep Nica in the driver's seat instead of him.
Now that Tiffany and Nica are taking a permanent residency in Hackensack, that doesn't bode well for Jake, Devon, and Lexy's quest of defeating Chucky. However, in successfully getting in contact with Andy Barclay, Jake realizes that the number that called him in Chucky's first episode to warn him about the doll was actually Andy. Andy then provides them with a quick rundown on Chucky's tactics and that once he sets his. sights on you, he will stop at nothing to ensure he is successful. He reinforces that none of them are safe and neither are their family members.
What helps make "Cape Queer" such a pivotal episode are the deaths of two focal characters. The title card for "Cape Queer" created Chucky's name out of glass shards, giving a hint to the way one of these deaths occurs. After Bree finally reveals her secret to Logan and Junior, she takes Junior with her to a therapy appointment where she reveals that she no longer feels the depression and anxiety she once felt about her cancer diagnosis. That instead of spending however long she has left with her therapist, she wants to spend every moment with her family. Before Bree can make it out of the building and return home with Junior, Bree is pushed out of a high glass pane by a mail cart that Chucky intentionally hurls toward her. Bree falls from the building and crashes onto the car that Junior was waiting for her in. With the only person who cared about him now gone, Junior beings to spiral and believes that the only person to blame is Jake, as all the bad things that started happening in his life only occurred once Jake moved into their home.
The second death in "Cape Queer" will also have a huge impact going forward. Aware of Chucky's lingering presence in Hackensack, Devon, Lexy, and Jake create a plan to get rid of Chucky once and for all. They devise a plan to rig Junior's house Cape Fear style in order to catch Chucky in his own game. This backfires once Chucky shuts off the power and tries to flip the tables by attempting to convince Lexy to kill Jake. In the middle of this scuffle, Jake's leg is cut by Chucky's blade and Devon's mother, Detective Evans, enters the premises. Before she can gain any idea as to what is going on, Chucky jumps her and ultimately leads to her falling down the stairs and breaking her neck.
"Cape Queer" continues to increase the stakes for Jake, Devon, Lexy, and Junior ass Chucky progresses. By incorporating past characters from the Child's Play franchise, Chucky may be in more danger than he's ever been from being extinguished. Tiffany and Nica's new residency in Hackensack doesn't bode well for Jake and his friends should their paths ever cross. Andy and Kyle's introductions also make it doubtful that their "Cape Queer" appearance will be their only. When combined with Junior's spiraling in the midst of his grief, it may mean that Chucky will be able to corrupt him to do the things he was unsuccessful in getting Jake and Lexy to do.
With Chucky now targeting the parents of the children, Lexy's parents are the only ones still standing (with the exception of Junior's father). The walls are closing in on these characters quickly and the arrivals of new characters may allow Chucky to end on an ambiguous note, allowing for a second season. Whether Chucky receives a second season or not, it continues to be on the right track in combining the old with the new and keeping the ever-growing story of the killer doll interesting. "Cape Queer" lays a ton of groundwork and the next episode will surely make it worthwhile.
Chucky is now available on SyFy and USA Network.