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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Tragedy strikes once more as Don Mancini’s Chucky returns with a new episode. The sixth episode of USA Network and SYFY’s hit horror slasher series is titled “Cape Queer”. Executive story editor Nick Zigler and story editor Sarah Acosta serve as co-writers of the teleplay. Samir Rehem joins the series as this week’s director.
In this review, I will be discussing and deconstructing Chucky‘s sixth episode. There will be spoilers to follow, as the title of this article suggests. Please read ahead at your own discretion, or forever be doomed with some revelations.
Plot Summary
Charleston, South Carolina – Present
Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) and his foster sister Kyle (Christine Elise) visit the Morrison household. They pretend to be workers of the U.S. Consensus as a means of killing a Chucky doll planted in the house. They then leave the mom (Lisa Michelle Cornelius), the dad (Jamaal Grant), and their young daughter, Becky (Sage Arrindell), safe and sound.
As they leave the state by car, Andy tells Kyle they have one more doll left for them to hunt down. He also says that the last piece of Chucky’s soul was not transferred into a doll.
Perry Middle School
Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), Devon Evans (Björgvin Arnarson), Alexandra “Lexy” Cross (Alyvia Alyn Lind), Junior Wheeler (Teo Briones), and their peers are watching a video of a female wildebeest giving birth in biology class. Just then, Detective Kim Evans (Rachelle Casseus) comes into the classroom to arrest their teacher, Miss Rachel Fairchild (Annie Briggs). Evans believes her to be the culprit behind the deaths of Principal Megan McVey, Oliver Hayden, and Detective Sean Peyton.
Devon and Lexy try to vouch for their teacher but to no such luck. Jake, Lexy, and Devon discuss devising a plan to track down Chucky. Lexy gives them a lead, saying that the Tommy doll has gone missing. Devon then suggests they look up Andy Barclay, an old victim of the doll’s.
Hackensack Hotel and Back Home
Elsewhere, Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) attempts to pack a dead body into a suitcase as her boyfriend – Chucky in the body of Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif) – watches. Tiffany then chops a hand sticking out so the body could better fit. Blood splatters on Chucky, who is triggered into Nica taking over the body.
Seated at the table of the hotel room, Tiffany asks Chucky what their favorite memory from their time at Niagara Falls was. Nica pretends to be Chucky, but Tiffany calls her bluff from the get-go. Tiffany reveals she prefers being with Nica over being with Chucky.
Tiffany purchases Charles Lee Ray’s former home from a real estate agent, Gladys Kravitz (Jamillah Ross). It is revealed that Tiffany is actually Jennifer Tilly (see Seed of Chucky) who has gone blond and possessed by Tiffany. Gladys delivers a mysterious package to Jennifer/Tiffany, who then takes Nica out of the trunk of her car, ties her up to a chair in the living room, with her mouth duct-taped.
Hackensack – Flashback – 1987
Young Tiffany Valentine (Blaise Crocker; voiced by Tilly) and Charles Lee Ray (also Fiona Dourif; voiced by Brad Dourif) slit an old man (J.D. Nicholsen)’s throat and steal his “Coronado red” vehicle. On the road, Tiffany sees her boyfriend reading a guidebook on voodooism.
Bree – Present
At home, Bree Wheeler (Lexa Doig) tells her husband Logan Wheeler (Devon Sawa) about her cancer diagnosis. Logan tries to tell his son but doesn’t have the heart to and leaves. Bree tells Junior about her cancer, which Jake overhears.
The Cross House
Devon finds a two-week-old news article on the Internet titled, “Violent Patient Escapes Harrogate Psychiatric Hospital, Manhunt Underway”; Harrogate is located in Rhode Island. Jake tells Devon that he received a call from that area. Meanwhile, Junior comes over to talk about his mother’s cancer condition with Lexy. With how distant they have been lately, he breaks up with her.
Jake and Devon call Andy Barclay, who is now in Richmond, Virginia with Kyle. The 40-some-year-old man asks the teenagers if Chucky is in the possession of two women, to which the boys are not sure. Andy then tells them:
You don’t have to find Chucky. He’ll find you, and if he can’t find you, he’ll go after your whole family to get to you. … It’ll be somewhere he’s familiar with and you’re at your most vulnerable. That’s exactly where he’ll find you.
Questioning
Detective Evans interrogates Miss Fairchild, whose fingerprints were planted at the alleged crime scenes. Evans then shows the teacher her juvenile record, which the detective has dug up.
Catharsis
Bree takes Junior with her to therapy, although she has him wait in the parking lot downstairs. She tells him she goes to therapy to discuss “[a]ll the things we don’t talk about at home”, then tells him she likes talking about him the most at therapy.
Upstairs with her therapist, Dr. Mixter (Rosemary Dunsmore), Bree reveals she has chosen to refuse treatment for her cancer. Mixter tells her this is a sign of depression, but Bree says “[e]very day is a gift for all of us”. Bree talks about making every moment of her life memorable while she still can.
In the halls of the floor, Bree texts her son how much she loves him. She drafts a message to her husband, suggesting she might leave the family, but then chooses not to send it. Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) appears and pushes a mail cart at Bree as she looks out of the floor-to-ceiling glass window. The force of the cart crashes into Bree. She and the cart break through the window; the cart lands on a nearby car, while Bree lands atop her car, her face through the windshield in front of Junior.
In the aftermath at the Wheelers’ mansion, Mixter tries to psychoanalyze Bree’s death to the remaining family members. After she leaves, Jake tries to tell Junior that Bree did not kill herself, but his cousin says to stay away from him. Meanwhile, at the Evanses’ home, Devon is watching Cape Fear on his laptop. He and his mother talk about his love for Jake. She shows she is accepting and loving when it comes to his decision.
The Wheelers’ Mansion – Evening
Jake, Lexy, and Devon set up a trap in the Wheelers’ home similar to that depicted in Cape Fear. Jake and Devon play “Rock, Paper, Scissors” over who takes the vantage point from Jake’s upstairs bedroom. Seeing how childish they are acting, Lexy takes this responsibility for herself and goes upstairs.
Devon declines a call from his mother, then tells Jake about his revelation to his mother about his and Jake’s relationship. The two boys discuss going on a date after the situation with Chucky is over. They talk about watching a movie, probably of the horror genre, of which they agree that Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode is their favorite final girl.
Right as Devon says, “I have a feeling it’s gonna take a lot more than Goosebumps and Pennywise to scare us”, the boys hear a doll’s movement on a nearby table (turned into a trap). Chucky breaks a lamp in the living room, and the boys go to investigate. The killer doll makes his way upstairs, shutting off the lights in the mansion to mess with the teenagers. In Jake’s room, Chucky tries to lock Lexy in with him. He proposes to spare her life if she can kill Jake. The teenagers attempt to attack the doll, who flees out of the upstairs hall.
Detective Evans arrives upstairs to their rescue, but Chucky pops out of a vent and attacks her from behind. He has her fall down the stairs, breaking her neck, to the teenagers’ – including Devon’s – utter shock.
Discussion
“Cape Queer” is a cruel episode – and title thereof – for this week’s Chucky. Lisa Grootenboer returns as the editor, with David Tarnawsky returning as the assistant editor. Perhaps it’s best that we need these two individuals, as this episode blends several substory arcs in one mighty terrifying 49-minute narrative. Yet, with the way it is structured, it’s still easy to follow along.
The kills with Bree and Detective Evans are more personal, as foreshadowed by Andy Barclay, who warns that family members will surely be harmed. Additionally, Zigler and Acosta’s story editing and screenwriting are superb. There is much shock to be found in this episode, and the series does not hold back. It felt eerie having Jennifer Tilly’s Tiffany (or Tilly’s Tilly?) narrating the recap of the previous episodes leading into this week’s. Although, I actually found it nice; it’s like she says, “Television is so exciting!” Fans also seem to get the origin of the popular “a true classic never goes out of style” line from the film franchise.
Colin Hoult’s cinematography is excellent, notably the overhead view of Bree driving into the parking lot of the building, in which she goes to therapy. To add to this scene, the music choice of “Trampoline” by SHAED takes on a whole new meaning.
Performances and Character Developments
It was nice to see Vincent and Elise return to the screen as Andy Barclay and Kyle. Their dialogue in the car at the beginning of the episode can be rather expository, although I don’t mind at all. These characters prove to be fierce veterans, victims of the killer doll, but it’s unfortunate that they cannot stop everyone from harms’ ways.
Junior grows harsher in his development, now that both his uncle and his mother are deceased. With this grief comes his hostilities towards Jake. Although, if Andy is right about Chucky’s soul, Junior cannot be possessed by the serial killer as there are no pieces left. Still, there is something ominous about them.
In juxtaposition with their dynamic is Jake’s relationship with Devon. There is a development in their being together, but not just in their commonality with loss. The episode’s focus loses focus on Jake and Lexy a bit and puts Devon and his mother under the lens. It’s a shame for Detective Evans, as she was definitely going somewhere, from her acceptance of her son’s homosexual relationship to lowering her suspicions of Jake. The same can be said about Bree, whom we thought would be safe. However, she spoke the irony of her fate into existence, so perhaps this was to be expected moments in advance.
The question regarding Jennifer Tilly’s Jennifer Tilly is answered and revealed, as I was hoping for last week. Also, Fiona Dourif is fine as both Nica Pierce, Charles Lee Ray, and Chucky. I would be remiss if I did not commend her performance in this episode.
Final Thoughts
Shock is everything, from whom is killed to how the bodies are presented when they drop. The references to John Carpenter’s Halloween film franchise have become all the more evident. Laurie Strode is definitely the archetype of what a traumatized character is, and which we see in the Wheeler boys and in Devon Evans. With parricide committed over these past several episodes (both on-screen and behind-the-scenes), this cannot be disputed. No one and no family is safe, and the only fair adults we know of in town are Gladys and Fairchild.
I’m crossing my fingers that the show spares our emotions in the remaining two episodes. However, that’s not what the horror genre is about, so I expect the shock to resume! Overall, it might be difficult to top this episode, but of course, I must prepare to be proven wrong.
Chucky is on SYFY and USA Network!
Have you seen this week’s new episode yet? If you have, what are your thoughts on it? Let us know! For more adaptation, horror, and television-related news and reviews, give The Cinema Spot a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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