Not going to lie; this was a rough one for me, especially after having so much fun with “Just Let Go.”
Don’t get me wrong, there are things to like in this episode. The kiss between Jake and Devon was sweet, and hearing during the behind-the scenes that it was modeled after what Don Mancini wished his first kiss had been like was heartwarming. I love the flashbacks to the 80s as we see how the star-crossed, bloodstained lovers Chucky and Tiffany met. And my god, do I love Fiona Dourif’s portrayal of human Chucky! It was so good I admittedly didn’t realize it was her until the following episode and just assumed it was a freakishly close lookalike actor in makeup.
Of course, who can complain about Tiffany? Every time she inhabits the role, Jennifer Tilly brings the same magic she had in Bride and adds a little something extra. Seeing her tumultuous love life and dysfunctional domestic woes with Nica-Chucky is a great change of pace. Not to mention Fiona pulling double duty and having to switch between the two souls inhabiting her body, which had to have taken a tremendous effort, performance-wise.
But overall, the fatal flaw of this episode is that much like Chucky’s soul, it’s too divided (what are we up to, like six soul divisions by now?). My ideal version of this episode would have been only Tiffany and Chucky, jumping back and forth between the past and the present of their relationship. You’d get more hilarious bickering, more flashbacks, and more trouble in paradise with Nica-Chucky’s soul tug of war. But this isn’t my ideal version, so I must accept that more than half of the episode spends too much time focusing on the Hackensack gang, without many plot developments or new depths of character for the trio. This is a shame since episode four ended on such a high note for those characters banding together, but I’m not getting anything radically new on that front this time around. I feel more emphasis could have been put on the distrust between Junior and Jake, but that doesn’t happen outside of a throwaway gag.
I understand that Chucky’s abilities in-universe have to be revealed to the characters gradually, but there are smoother and less time-consuming ways to do so than what we get. It all culminates in a twist that simply isn’t a twist for fans of the series, and I can’t imagine is too shocking for people who aren’t as well versed in Child’s Play lore either.
I audibly groaned when “Heads Will Roll” started to play after the principal’s decapitation because in any other circumstance, it would have been cheesy enough to be enjoyable. But sadly, not in this case. This episode is probably going to be a skip on future rewatches for me.
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: Fiona Dourif and Blaise Crocker look great as the young versions of Chucky and Tiffany. Special props to Fiona for playing the role so perfectly with sleaze and ease. I’m grateful that she refused to subdue her performance while impersonating her father’s iconic voice. Being able to switch on a dime to a terrified and guilt-ridden Nica was also impressive.
VISUAL HIGHLIGHTS: As much as I dislike the final kill of the episode in context, out of context, the head prosthetic for the principal and the matching decapitated body were amazing. I also like the timelapse hallway shot of Jake and Devon holding hands, as goofy as the logistics of it are if you think about it too hard.
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
“You know I’d say you’re turning into your mother, but that would be an improvement!”
“You know, my mother always told me ‘Never let a man cockblock you from what really makes you happy’! AND EATING MAKES ME HAPPY!”
RATING: 5.5, maybe 6 (Kinky Hotel Room Foreplay Murders)/10. The saving grace of this episode is all the Tiff and Chucky scenes, which is a bit of a shock since I had been primarily excited about Jake, Devon, and Lexy. It didn’t commit the cardinal sin for me of being completely boring, so I can’t rate this one lower than a 5, but it’s still markedly less enjoyable than all the episodes before and after it. It made me feel like I was at the movies and occasionally a projector with a much more interesting movie would get swapped in to replace what we were watching. Lots of mixed feelings, but I’ll have to keep it roughly in the middle of the scale since I only enjoyed so much of it.