‘Chucky’ 3×06 review: “Panic Room”

Chucky’s global massacre didn’t land the big hit, but he’s heading into overtime with a new surprise. “Panic Room” followed Chucky’s frantic effort to detonate all the nuclear weapons and cause World War 3. This episode from Syfy’s Chucky is a great pairing to last week’s “Death Becomes Her” as it picks up right after the murder of President Collins. No dragging out any of the drama; Chucky went right into the big show. And even our favorite main trio found their way into The White House to have their big battle. “Panic Room” was a smashing success!

It’s a great change for every character to finally be on the same page about the killer doll. Between the theories of the secret killer and ghosts, the pacing felt like it had different stories. Now, all parts of Chucky Season 3 converged together to face against the doll. Granted, I would love another episode of everyone banding together before the destruction of Chucky’s doll form. However, since the seasons are typically a few episodes, we didn’t have any time to waste. Engines ran full steam once they found President Collins’ dead body.

Trapped with a murderer

Did anyone else feel bad for Charlotte? Pryce is a terrible person, and I can’t wait until Chucky butchers him in a satisfyingly karmic way. You can feel her unraveling as she was in The White House trap. I wish she had told her kids sooner about the murderous threat; Henry and Grant’s lives were at risk the longer they didn’t know. And Pryce only had power the longer she was keeping their shared secret. Sure, The White House enacted their body double policy, but there was still a murder spree going on. Drowning herself in wine and cigarettes wasn’t the way to go.

Having Devon Sawa (who played President Collins) stick around was a pleasant and cheeky twist. Chucky loves to keep the same actors around in different roles, but this might be the fastest turnaround. A body double to cover up for President Collins’ murder was both fun and clever. This move continued the momentum going by making everyone else none the wiser. The body double and Pryce could’ve easily kept the charade going if Chucky hadn’t gone for the nuclear missiles. Plus, just think about how many more people would’ve died! We have two security agents here alone.

The truth about Chucky is out

The best decision of “Panic Room” was for Lexy to tell Grant the truth. As previously mentioned, their connection has become one of the sweetest to grow on Chucky. However, Grant and his family were in big danger if they kept the doll around longer. It was a smart move by Lexy that ultimately saved the day! And we need to give Grant some kudos here too. He didn’t instantly doubt them, lash out, or deny the possibility of a killer doll. His acceptance of the truth from Jake, Lexy, and Devon made the rest of “Panic Room” so easy and seamless to move forward. We need more logical moments like this in other horror movies and TV series. Without them, plots won’t be dragged on for too long.

However, Lexy’s decision to stop Jake from attacking Chucky was the dumbest move. Don’t get me wrong, it would be nice for Lexy to find her sister Caroline again. However, we’re talking about nuclear weapons here! Chucky was mere doll steps away from pushing the button and detonating everything. He got the button, but the damage was so much less. Lexy needed to think logically here. For example, don’t kill Chucky but knock him to the side so that he’s nowhere near the button. And if Chucky does die, being far away from Caroline might not be the worst thing. Let’s not forget she wanted to willingly work with a killer doll and supported his murder spree. Caroline is not the innocent victim that Lexy thinks she is.

It’ll be interesting to see how Lexy moves forward with Jake, Devon, and Grant. Ultimately, I believe she’ll forgive Jake and Devon. Sure, Jake stopped her, but she can’t deny the power of World War 3. Jake needed to ensure that Chucky was stopped from ending the world. Grant, on the other hand, just learned about the truth of Chucky and Lexy’s part in the history. She used him to get into The White House, and hiding the truth led to several people dying, including his father. Plus, his mother and Henry were caught in the same carnage too. Most likely, Grant wouldn’t have believed her earlier, but he might blame her as an outlet. His life will forever change, just like hers had been.

A poltergeist at The White House

The big twist of “Panic Room” concludes with Chucky’s human spirit being released as a ghost (poltergeist?). We haven’t seen Chucky as a ghost yet, so there’s no telling what he has up his sleeves. Will he try to murder everyone as revenge? Is he only confined to The White House? And who was the spirit that wrote “Chucky did it!” on the walls? There are other entities at The White House involved in this murder spree. The group shouldn’t rest easy yet – there is bound to be more death coming in the final episodes of Chucky Season 3.

“Panic Room” reached a satisfying and climactic end for Chucky’s latest revenge plot. However, even with his doll form dead, there is still plenty of more chaos to come. The First Family faced the true reality of Chucky’s world, and our favorite trio completed their goal of stopping their enemy. This episode was a must-watch and it set the stage for Chucky’s next unpredictable plan.

Chucky airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA & SYFY.

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