This review contains spoilers for Chucky. The third episode of Chucky entitled "I Like To Be Hugged" does wonders to develop the plot of the series and its characters. Despite very limited interaction between Jake and Chucky in this episode, "I Like To Be Hugged" draws further attention to the type of bond these two are building. It also gives plenty of room for the secondary characters to shine.

"I Like To Be Hugged" is full of quirky, on-brand Chucky one-liners that help give him the personality many have grown to love from the Child's Play movies. In establishing some of Chucky's own history in the series, Chucky gains traction in the killer doll's own relationship with the new group of characters surrounding him. While Chucky continues to surge forward, the repercussions from its previous episodes remain major plot points.

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After witnessing the bullying Jake experiences at the hands of Lexy early in the series, Chucky has developed a personal hatred for her. Time and time again, Lexy has escaped the lethal clutches of Chucky, but the killer doll hopes to add Jake to his list of henchmen. In attempting to nudge Jake to follow in his footsteps, Chucky does his best to coach Jake through the process. Should Jake listen to Chucky's advice, Lexy would have two incredibly dangerous enemies coming after her. In "I Like To Be Hugged," the distance Lexy has tried to put between herself, Jake, and Chucky begins to wear thin.

Caroline and her parents

Heeding Chucky's coaching on how to become an effective killer, Jake tracks Lexy via her phone as she takes a jog through an isolated wooden path. By the time Jake proves himself ready to make his move with a knife in hand, he is surprised to find that the person he nearly stabbed was actually his cousin Junior. Already freaked out by Jake's strange antics and apparent obsession with Lexy, Junior tries to warn Lexy to keep an eye out for Jake. Junior goes as far as to encourage Lexy to apologize to Jake for the Halloween costume she wore that mocked the death of Jake's father. Making it clear that she's not afraid of Jake, an outburst from her younger sister Caroline makes it clear Lexy has to rethink Junior's idea.

Lexy half-heartedly apologizes for her offensive costume and hopes that Jake will give her the Chucky doll her sister has developed a deep obsession with. Jake resists at first, but he and Chucky realize that it's an opportunity for Chucky to infiltrate the household and finally put an end to Lexy for good. Therefore, Jake gives Chucky to Caroline, and the two remain separated for the rest of the episode. This allows for the other characters, including both Chucky and Jake to develop in ways they have been unable to do since the series began.

Chucky

With Chucky gone and tasked with the sole purpose of killing Lexy, Jake begins to feel an immense load of guilt. He visits his mother and father in the cemetery and apologizes for not living up to the idea of a man they believed he could be. Upon hearing the sirens rushing toward Lexy's house, Jake realizes he has failed his parents once again, this time playing a direct hand in the misfortune of someone else. Unbeknownst to Jake, Chucky has failed in his mission as well, killing Oliver, another one of Jake's tormentors, by mistake. In Chucky's attempt to kill Lexy, the joint she was smoking catch the curtains on fire. Jake's clear struggle with his morality makes it evident that he will never conform to Chucky's sadistic ideas, which may turn out to be more dangerous than helping him with his kills.

In addition to Jake, Devon gets quite a bit of development in "I Like To Be Hugged." Despite having only a few minutes of screentime, what is revealed about Devon does a lot for his character going forward. Devon's mother is the detective that has responded to the many deaths that have followed Jake around. Naturally, she becomes suspicious that Jake may not be as innocent and clueless as he makes himself out to be. Devon takes offense to his mother's insinuations (both as Jake's friend and crush) and takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of it. Devon's room is clad in detective posters, showcasing his own interest in solving mysteries. He also has a bulletin board filled with various articles, drawings, and factoids about serial killers. It's likely only a matter of time before he learns the truth about Chucky, putting him in danger that neither Jake nor his mother will be able to save him from.

Junior, Lexy, Chucky, Caroline

Painted as villainous bullies thus far, Lexy and Junior also experience some development in this episode. As stoic as both of them have appeared up until this point, they are both shown to be capable of some level of human compassion. For Lexy, it comes in the form of Caroline that she swears is such a bother. During Caroline's fit, Lexy is the one that successfully consoles her and is the one that later sings her to sleep at night. Junior also proves that he doesn't detest Jake, even though he finds him strange. His hope that Lexy will apologize to him proves that even he is capable of removing his blinders when it comes to things that are morally wrong.

Finally, this episode continues to develop Chucky, especially in the context of the show. Reminiscing on his first kill, Chucky is seen once again in the form of Charles. As a child, Charles is awoken during the night and finds his father being stabbed to death. Grabbed by his mother and hidden in a closet, Charles readies a knife in his hand. Instead of defending his mother and himself, Charles stabs her. When the killer finds him in the closet, Charles tells him that he helped him. Impressed with Charles' demented spirit, the killer passes on his own wisdom to keep the young boy from getting caught and leaves the house.

"I Like To Be Hugged" may not have featured as many kills as its predecessors, but it does a meaningful job with its characters. As the relationship between Chucky and Jake grows tenser, Chucky will likely grow less morally obligated in his kills. Instead of building a list around people who wrong Jake, there will be a lot more random thrill kills like the housekeeper in Chucky's second episode. There are still some areas to be explored fully (including Jake's relationship with his uncle, aunt, and Devon), but with the upcoming episodes, these topics will unfold. With the next episode suggesting that Jake and Lexy may push their issues aside to fight a common evil, Chucky's dark side is just getting started.

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