No one could ever accuse Don Mancini of being afraid to kill his darlings. Or, in the case of “Chucky,” maim them again and again, if necessary. “He is Risen Indeed” picks up where we left off, with Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson) discovering Andy (Alex Vincent) alive and not so well as a captive of the Colonel, a cannibalistic variation of Chucky. The Colonel’s arrival coincides with the reveal that the Chucky (Brad Dourif) variations are rapidly diminishing in number, setting up a race against the clock for Chucky Prime and “Chucky” Season 2.
While episode six briefly touches on the previous episode’s events, it’s more interested in laying out the groundwork for the second season’s home stretch. “He is Risen Indeed” brings Andy and Kyle (Christine Elise) more firmly back into the fold, though neither is aware of the other’s whereabouts. They’ve got more pressing problems at hand; Andy’s reckoning with being used as a human buffet for the past year while Kyle carefully navigates a tenuous alliance with a Chucky-inhabited Nica and his offspring Glenda (Lachlan Watson). While both plotlines push us closer to the big picture, none compares to the chaos unleashed upon the Catholic boarding school.
CHUCKY — “Doll on Doll” Episode 205 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Lara Jean Chorostecki as Sister Ruth, Chucky — (Photo by: SYFY)
Though Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) finds himself playing catch up in this episode, and the Chucky situation has escalated to a precarious degree, the adults are having the most challenging time. The strict control Father Bryce (Devon Sawa) maintained over the school slipped through his fingers, and his desperation to regain control teases that there might be far more to Father Bryce than he’s let on so far. The gloves are off for Dr. Mixter (Rosemary Dunsmore) now that her cover is blown, making for a fascinating continuation of ideas presented in Cult of Chucky.
Season-long plot threads are reaching a boiling point, and the expositional floodgates are opening regarding Chucky’s central quest for revenge. So many characters and plot threads are currently up in the air with very little time left to bring them to a close tidily, but it’s hard even to notice when the surprises are coming fast and furious. So much happens and yet much of it feels like the groundwork for a showstopping final two episodes.
If there’s one thing that “He is Risen Indeed” really drives home, it’s that no one comes away from Chucky unscathed. Even the most stalwart heroes have lost flesh, in more ways than one, in their quest to stop the killer doll and his cohorts. Those lucky enough to evade death still experience catastrophic loss in the ongoing war, and episode six ensures that death’s presence looms large. No one is safe. There are still so many unanswered questions this season, many of which are raised in this episode. But the episode’s most considerable success is that it serves as a devastating reminder of the physical, emotional, and psychological toll as we barrel into the final episodes of the season.
The confrontation is coming, and this episode ensures the stakes are higher than ever.
Watch new episodes of “Chucky” on Wednesdays at 9/8c on SYFY and USA Network.
