Chucky 3×1 Review: “Murder at 1600”

The season 3 premiere episode of Chucky, ‘Murder at 1600’, had the iconic serial killer doll starting to create chaos inside the freaking White House.

‘Murder at 1600’ opened with a scene of a young boy named Henry hiding from something by getting inside his bedroom closet. When his mother, Charlotte, comes to check on him, we get to learn that apparently Henry’s been hearing a particular ghost telling him how everyone will die. And while his mother tried to console him and talked about how moving into a big new house was causing him stress, Henry was adamant about ghosts existing. The only good thing in Henry’s life seemed to be a doll and that doll was… you guessed it… Chucky. And then we got to learn that Henry was the young son of the President of the United States and the new big house Henry’s family just moved into was the White House.

Having the White House come across as a haunted mansion was a very interesting creative decision. I really liked how the lighting and colors came across onscreen to make the giant building feel eerie. Even though the White House was recognized as a symbol of power, there was a coldness and emptiness to it, with both things being exaggerated via Henry’s anxiety and the audience knowing what Chucky’s capable of.

‘Murder at 1600’ spent a lot of time with Henry’s family as it set the stage for what’s to come. Henry’s older brother Grant wasn’t a fan of his father James (with Devon Sawa playing his fourth different character on the show) being the President. It’s revealed that the family lost a son (quite possibly Henry’s twin) and that’s why Charlotte and James weren’t into taking Chucky away from Henry as the creepy doll brought Henry some comfort. We don’t know yet how the kid lost his life. But I think we will find out soon enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if it involved some kind of an accident that Chucky will recreate down the line.

With Chucky wanting to be Henry’s only friend, it made sense for him to get rid of Henry’s assigned bodyguard named Teddy. Chucky’s all about isolating kids so he can manipulate them better. The scene where Chucky shot Teddy right in the head, with Teddy’s eyeball hitting the wall… I loved it!

The tension inside the White House will only continue to escalate, especially due to a particular reporter not really buying what the President’s team’s selling to the press about what’s happening behind closed doors. 

I’m not really sure what Chucky’s planning to do with all the access he has due to being in the White House. But it’s clear that he hasn’t forgotten about Jake, Devon, and Lexy. A year’s passed since what happened during the season 2 finale. The three teens were coping through various outlets. Jake was focusing on his art. Lexy was growing her audience on TikTok, while Devon continued with his podcast. However, they were still trying to find any information they could about Caroline.

Chucky deciding to contact them after a whole year did come as a surprise to our main cast. He didn’t tell the trio that he was inside the White House, but that was something the teens were able to easily learn after seeing Chucky being carried by Henry during a news report. Again, I don’t know what Chucky’s grand scheme is, but it’s clear he wants the trio to come meet him at the White House. He likes toying with them. And, unfortunately, our trio can’t ignore him especially because Chucky’s the only one who can tell them about Caroline’s whereabouts.

The episode did take a moment to show that Jake and Devon were going strong. The two shared a sweet little scene where they worked towards moving onto the next level in their romantic relationship. However, that’s going to wait now that Chucky’s decided to reenter the picture.

It was nice to see Miss Fairchild actually caring for the trio. While I side-eyed her when she was introduced, she’s growing on me. Having said that, I’m still a bit cautious. Anything can happen in Chucky. So, while I appreciate Miss Fairchild looking after the trio, I’m not letting go of my suspicions entirely.

All in all, ‘Murder at 1600’ served as a strong episode that introduced us to a bunch of new characters, quickly recapped past events, and gave our main trio a new mission for the third season. I’m looking forward to seeing how all of the storylines will come together and if Caroline can still be made to see the truth about Chucky or not. 

What did you think of ‘Murder at 1600’?

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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