Spoilers for Chucky episodes one and two
Chucky, who promises to be your friend ’til the end, has apparently done some soul searching in regards to his queer child. In the second episode of the USA and SyFy series, Chucky, the foul-mouthed, stabby doll revealed to his new owner, Jake, that he has a genderfluid kid. Jake is surprised that Chucky is being so cool about it, to which Chucky replies, “I’m not a monster, Jake.”
GLEN/GLENDA CANONICALLY GENDERFLUID pic.twitter.com/KYeL8ILNsq
— jaden/gaby ☆。*。☆ YJ ERA (@getraught) October 16, 2021
This conversation comes after the death of Jake’s homophobic, abusive father, who’d been electrocuted by Chucky in the first episode.
One thing I can say about the Child’s Play franchise is that no matter how off the wall it gets, its creator, Don Mancini, has continued to connect the stories in some way, shape, or form since 1988. I’m not at all surprised to get this reference to 2004’s Seed of Chucky, but it’s delightful to see that the nod we get to that movie is Chucky being okay with having a genderfluid child.
In Seed of Chucky, Chucky and Tiffany (Chucky’s bride from 1998’s Bride of Chucky) have a child together, however, the two of them argue about their child’s gender. Chucky feels that their child is a boy while Tiffany believes that their child is a girl, leading to Glen/Glenda screaming at their parents to listen to what they want.
In the movie, we find out that Glen and Glenda were actually twins, Glenda’s soul fused with Glen’s.
Then the movie gets kinda… well… it continues to be kinda bonkers, as this is the movie with Jennifer Tilly playing Jennifer Tilly, an actress who makes Chucky horror films. Despite being in the film, Tilly is still the voice of Tiffany, who wants to take over Jennifer Tilly’s body and… okay, the takeaway from this film (at least in terms of the TV series so far) is that Chucky has a genderfluid kid, and while he initially had misgivings about it, he’s come around.
Yes, Chucky may be a homicidal asshole, but he’s not a transphobic asshole.
chucky said im a killer not transphobic #chucky pic.twitter.com/ggVHDJzYDo
— brenda (@rhearipleys) October 20, 2021
— CSA (@CSA0905) October 17, 2021
Chucky wearing one of these as he stabs you with a screwdriver. pic.twitter.com/7uMo0OgKcs
— 🎃🎃🎃Robin 💖💜💙 (@dredpiraterobn) October 17, 2021
Honestly, there has always been some level of queer representation in Child’s Play, as this thread delves into:
chucky has always been an LGBTQIA+ symbol and hollywood’s most queer horror franchise, a thread: pic.twitter.com/qgswydVid9
— chucky out of context (@chuckyoutcontx) October 18, 2021
However, the TV series is able to flesh it out more, from its lead character being an openly gay teenager to Chucky being a vocal ally.
Don Mancini, who is gay himself, has admitted to the TV series being a bit autobiographical on his part. “I think all of you guys have been variously aware at different points that this show for me is often biographical,” he said in a behind-the-scenes video for the first episode. “Jake is gay as I am and he was an artist and misunderstood by his more traditionally-minded father. That’s certainly something I had a lot of personal experience with.”
Note: if you haven’t checked out the series yet, the above link has the entire first episode, as SyFy released it on YouTube for free. USA has uploaded the second episode.
In the behind-the-scenes video, Mancini revealed that the actor for Jake (Zackary Arthur) came to him to ask for the “real-life version” of what happened between his character and his father so he could get in the right headspace. While Mancini doesn’t say what that version is on camera, Arthur reveals that, after hearing it, he hugged Mancini and apologized for him going through such an experience growing up.
Knowing that this TV series has a level of truth behind the LGBTQ+ plot elements makes Chucky’s support even more meaningful – even if he is a murder doll. There’s something to be said about someone so dangerous still having a level of humanity that is able to treat queer people with respect.
Honestly, it shouldn’t be that hard to respect pronouns when a serial killer gets it.
“commits evil deeds but also respects ur pronouns and stuff like that” is the best genre of villain
— Mana ∞ (@MyHairEatsKids) October 11, 2021
(Image: USA/SyFy)
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