Recap: 'Chucky' returns with a bang (quite literally!) in Season 2 premiere

Almost a year after he slashed his way onto the small screen, Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) is finally back — and ready to murder a whole bunch of folks — in the second season of Chucky on SYFY and USA Network.

The fallout of Chucky's bloody Hackensack rampage in Season 1 has only just begun to settle in when the killer doll returns (after all, he is our friend 'till the end) with one thing on his mind: bloody revenge. He's not subtle about it either, opting for the most ostentatious method of homicide he can think of. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Grab a kitchen knife and head below for our recap of all the big moments that went down in the show's stabbing...err, we mean stunning...return.

**SPOILER WARNING! THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHUCKY SEASON 2, EPISODE 1, "HALLOWEEN II"**

Season 2 puts the pedal to the metal with a high-octane opening, in which Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) finds himself "behind the wheel of a large automobile," to quote The Talking Heads. In this moment, he's probably asking himself, "Well...how did I get here?" We'll show ourselves out.

Anyway, he's driving a truck containing a veritable army of Good Guy Dolls — all of which contain a piece of Chucky's soul and are raring to start a murder spree on a scale hitherto unseen. While Andy's in the driver's seat, it's a gun-wielding Tiffany doll (Jennifer Tilly) who's really calling the shots on this road trip, demanding that Mr. Barclay continue on to Teterboro Airport, so the dolls can be delivered to children's hospitals all around the country. Fortunately, the OG Child's Play protagonist gains the upper hand and drives the truck off a cliff, supposedly killing himself and every Good Guy doll onboard.

RELATED STORY: How 'Chucky' creator Don Mancini pulled off the epic 'Bound' reunion coming in Season 2

Crisis averted, right? Not exactly, but the people of Hackensack don't know that. To them, the nightmare has ended for good.

Now living with foster families two hours apart, Jake (Zakary Arthur) and Devon (Björgvin Arnarson) try to make the whole long distance relationship thing work. Easier said than done because Jake now has a young foster brother, the Batman-obsessed Gary (Simon Webster), who takes up a lot time and attention. Fast forward six months later to Halloween night and a diminutive someone starts messing with Jake, Devon, and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) — otherwise known as the very trio of meddling kids who thwarted Chucky's plans to take over the world in Season 1. It turns out to be a false alarm, but something strange is going on here.

Lexy, who attempts to drown her unprocessed trauma with drugs, is unable to tell anyone what really happened at the Frankenstein screening half a year prior. All of the murders have been pinned on the now-deceased Junior (Teo Briones) because how would you convince any judge to bring a killer doll to justice? Besides, Michelle Cross (Barbara Alyn Woods) wants the whole affair over and done with as she attempts to regain the office of mayor and restore the people's trust in her. A losing battle, if you ask us.

Lexy now goes to family therapy sessions overseen by Dr. Mixter (Rosemary Dunsmore), the therapist Bree Wheeler had been seeing before her untimely death. Once a kindly and understanding figure, Mixter seems to be *ahem* mixed up in something sinister when she gifts young Caroline Cross (Carina Battrick) a creepy doll named "Belle" that bears a striking resemblance to the one Tiffany Valentine possessed in Bride of Chucky. Yes, remember Jennifer Tilly the actress exists within the world of the show. How meta!

Sensing that Lexy might be in danger, Jake and Devon rush to her aid, although there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about. As far as Lexy can ascertain, Belle is just an ordinary play thing and not the vessel for the life-force of some crazed maniac. Maybe they really are in the clear...oh wait, no! Chucky shows up at the front door with Gary and a homemade bomb, planning to blow the kids to kingdom come for ruining his ambition for world domination. Devon breaks out his trusty taser and incapacitates Chucky, but Gary grabs the explosive device and runs off with it into the kitchen. Chucky catches up and presses the detonator, killing Gary.

Jake, Devon, and Lexy are blamed for the child's unfortunate death and, at the recommendation of Dr. Mixter, are sent to the Catholic School of the Incarnate Lord where they can reflect on their sins and turn their lives around. On the way to the facility, Devon deduces that more than one Chucky made it out of the crash at the start of the episode. Why else would the killer willingly blow himself like up that if he didn't have a few back-up bodies? The question now becomes: how many of them are left? There's also the mystery of whether or not Andy survived as well...

Our heroes ponder this for a moment before making another chilling connection: Incarnate Lord was once the Burlington Home for Wayward Boys, the very place where Charles Lee Ray came of age after the brutal murder of his parents in the '60s. Mere moments after the trio arrives, a delivery truck pulls up to the school with the intention of dropping off a rectangular package. The box is all wrapped up, but there's no denying what's inside: a mint condition Good Guy doll. Hell has officially come to Incarnate Lord.

New episodes of Chucky premiere on SYFY and USA Network every Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern. The complete first season is now streaming on Peacock.

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