Chucky 1×3 Review: “I Like to Be Hugged”

Chucky season 1 episode 3, ‘I Like to Be Hugged’, showed Chucky continuing to urge Jake to seek revenge against his bully Lexy. And it seems to be working.

The main theme behind Chucky and Jake’s relationship seems to be how anyone can be made into a killer if they are pushed far enough. As far as Chucky’s concerned, Jake’s been pushed quite far by Lexy and it’s time for our teen lead to put a stop to her.

Frankly, I would be okay with Lexy dying. However, I have a feeling that the writers are trying to give her some kind of redemption arc. I’m not the biggest fan of redemption arcs because they are rarely done well. So, let’s see how the creative team handles Lexy as a young character with a lot of issues.

‘I Like to Be Hugged’ showed Jake attempt to kill Lexy by himself (twice), even though his plans didn’t work. In a sense, even if Jake wants Lexy dead, he doesn’t have it in him to plunge the knife himself. I mean, at least that’s some level of “good” for Jake to hold on to, right? He, did, however, put Lexy’s life in danger by letting Lexy’s younger sister Caroline take Chucky. Sigh!

Jake’s an emotional mess and I’m here for it. He’s not your cookie-cutter protagonist. And I appreciate that. I think the creative team’s doing an enjoyable job of exploring the darkness inside of Jake and how he needs to figure out to keep said darkness at bay. I really liked the scene where he apologized for his actions in front of his mother’s grave. He’s still a kid, after all.

There are people, like Devon and Jake’s science teacher Ms. Fairchild, who want to help him. But Jake needs to allow them in. Having said that, Jake letting people help him will most likely annoy Chucky and put them in harm’s way. Chucky wants Jake all for himself for some weird reason. I still don’t know what Chucky’s endgame is for Jake.

‘I Like to Be Hugged’ shared more of Chucky’s backstory. According to Chucky, you can make anyone a killer, but the best ones are those who are just born like that. Young Charles always had violent tendencies, even hurting himself in the progress. All he needed was a push. He got that when a serial killer decided to break into his house one night. Seeing his father be killed switched something inside young Charles. I knew he was going to kill his own mother to impress the serial killer. And he did. And I loved it!

Where young Charles willingly gave in to his impulses, ‘I Like to Be Hugged’ showed Jake struggle with his emotions. These two main characters are going to clash big time. I can’t wait to see Jake trying his best to put a stop to Chucky’s killing spree.

As for Chucky being handed off to Caroline so he could get closer to Lexy, Chucky decided to murder her during a house party. The episode had a good number of scenes amping up the tension as Chucky closed in on Lexy only for him to hide or act like a non-possessed doll because someone else entered the room.

The death scene in episode 3 featured Chucky killing Oliver. Seeing Chucky attack a little teen boy hit differently compared to when he went after adults. No one was able to hear Oliver’s screams as Chucky continued stabbing him. It was a well-done scene in my opinion. Chucky went after Lexy again and ended up burning the house down.

As of now, Devon’s mother seems to be the only one concerned about what’s happening in Hackensack. In her mind, the random deaths are somehow linked to Jake. She’s been worrying about a student getting killed and Oliver’s death will likely make her suspect Jake even more. Her being suspicious of Jake does put her at odds with Devon (who wants to prove that Jake wouldn’t hurt anyone). I think their disagreement will only intensify as the series progresses.

Some other thoughts and questions:

• There’s definitely something going on with Jake’s aunt. I’m not sure if she’s having an affair. But something isn’t right.
• I liked seeing Junior standing up to Lexy and telling her to apologize to Jake. I still don’t know why Junior’s into her. He can do so much better.
• With the episode not showing the aftermath of Lexy’s house burning down, I highly doubt Chucky was able to kill Lexy. As I have already mentioned, I think the writers are going to try and redeem her somehow.
• I’m side-eyeing Ms. Fairchild a bit. I get she wants to help Jake deal with the bullying situation at school. But I’m unable to fully trust her.

What did you think of ‘I Like to Be Hugged’? Do you think Jake and Lexy will team up against Chucky?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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