Chucky Season 3 Episode 1 Review: Murder At 1600

When Chucky puts his mind to something, he tends to get results, even if there are several bumps in the road.

The killer doll returned triumphantly on Chucky Season 3 Episode 1, a chilling hour that took him into the White House.

It’s the perfect location for him to hide in plain sight because none of the people who want to take him down can get inside.

The security is second to none — depending on who you ask!

The political tone of the premiere worked well to give the series a soft reboot.

Going into Chucky Season 3, it was hard to tell how the series would be able to keep Jake, Devon, Lexy, Tiffany, and Nica as a part of the narrative because the series moved to a whole new location.

But the beauty of Chucky being in Washington D.C. is that he can manipulate the people who believe he’s good, such as Henry, to cause problems for everyone else.

No matter how many times we count Chucky out, he finds a way to bounce back with even more plot armor than before.

But without him, there’d be no show, so it makes sense that the writers would want to have him in this impenetrable building.

He’s already unleashed holy hell on James, Charlotte, Henry, and Grant’s home, so the mind games will probably be one of the driving forces of Chucky Season 3.

Bringing Devon Sawa back into the mix with another new role was a stroke of genius.

Sawa plays this president who is slowly realizing there’s something very wrong going on in his home to perfection.

Chucky has picked the right family to latch on to this time because it seems their many secrets will be used against them as the season progresses.

James and Charlotte’s relationship seemed relatively strong, but you could tell there’s some resentment simmering to the surface inside of James.

His wife is far more concerned with decorating the house and doing things that don’t particularly help his political aspirations.

The same can be said for Grant, who thinks going on TikTok, smoking pot, and talking smack about his family is the best way to portray the Collins family as this tight-knit unit.

The truth is, there’s a disconnect between every single family member, and Chucky will use that to his advantage as he digs his claws deeper into them.

The endgame here has got to be Chucky scaring the family and their staff into submission and him pulling the strings across the U.S.

That’s a pretty powerful position to be in, but it’s perfectly on-brand when you consider the schemes Chucky has had up his sleeve in the past.

There will also be a determination on Chucky’s part to find out if the rest of the dolls are genuinely gone.

Even one of the dolls would be pretty good insurance should his plan go awry.

We know he’s always thinking several steps ahead, but the stakes have never been higher.

One wrong move, and his number could be up — for good.

Speaking of numbers, texting and calling the teenagers before showing himself at the funeral on TV screens probably wasn’t a good idea.

If you watch Chucky online, you know Chucky likes to make his enemies squirm, but letting them know his location probably wasn’t the best idea.

He’ll be hiding under this sense of security in the White House, but the people who oppose him always seem to find new and creative ways to get to him.

The teenagers have bounced back very well from the horrors of Chucky Season 2, but their reliance on social media might be their undoing.

Jake is well aware that a Chucky doll returning could be the end of his life, but I don’t get what he had to achieve by going live and asking people to find it.

Giving the teenagers these platforms means Chucky can tell where they are, more often than not.

It was refreshing seeing Jake, Devon, and Lexy not being scared for their lives.

Jake has lost a lot of people and had many years of his life robbed by the killer doll.

Devon lost his mother, forever changing his life, and Lexy lost most of her family.

She’s still trying to locate Caroline, even if she knows there’s a slim chance her sister would ever be able to live a normal life.

There’s an ambiguity surrounding where things will go for everyone, which adds to the exciting plots at the center of Chucky Season 3.

The teenagers are vested in making it inside the White House to take down Chucky.

But that will be easier said than done, and I anticipate they won’t see eye-to-eye on how to proceed with this mission.

Jake and Devon will want Chucky killed on sight, whereas Lexy knows she needs to quiz him for answers about Caroline.

Then there’s the Tiffany and Nica of it all. How will those two fit into this very different universe?

There are so many questions and few answers, but “Murder at 1600” was a successful attempt to reinvigorate the series after Chucky Season 2.

The storytelling in the sophomore season couldn’t match up to the first, but it seems like the series is taking a more subdued approach this season instead of throwing several storylines at us at once.

What are your thoughts on the relocation to the White House?

Do you think the teenagers made a grave mistake by playing Chucky’s games and going online?

Hit the comments.

Catch new episodes at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays on Syfy and USA Network.

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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.