Chucky Episode 3 Confirms A Classic Theory About His First Kill
Warning: SPOILERS for Chucky season 1, episode 3.
Flashbacks in Chucky episode 3, "I Like to Be Hugged" revealed that Charles Lee Ray's first kill was his mother — and thus confirmed a theory going back decades to Child's Play 2. Played by Brad Dourif, Chucky the killer doll has slashed and butchered his way to horror icon status for over 30 years. Despite his longevity, much of his life (especially prior to transferring his soul into a Good Guy doll) has remained shrouded in mystery. Equal parts terrified and enthralled, fans have thus been eager to learn more about how the notorious serial killer initially came to be. Fortunately, granting their wish, Chucky revealed his origin and surpassed other slashers with a range of new scenes from his childhood.
After reluctant protege, Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), inquired about Chucky's first kill, the series flipped to a sequence of flashbacks. The pivotal moment came when an intruder broke into the Ray family house and murdered Charles' father in front of him. Pulled away by his mother, the pair hid in a closet, with Charles picking up a pocket knife on the way. Though it initially seemed meant for their protection, the unnamed intruder discovered their hiding place to find that the 8-year-old Chucky had already stabbed his mother to death. "I helped," the evil boy said, partly informing the issue with Chucky's serial killer name, before the murderous intruder gave him some pointers and went on his way.
The idea that young Charles Lee Ray (played in Chucky by David Kohlsmith) murdered his mother has long been a theory in the ongoing Child's Play universe. After all, the notion of a serial killer's first victim being a parent (especially a mother) has long been a staple of the genre. Just look at Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. In terms of Chucky, however, the idea was given added credence around the release of Child's Play 2, back in 1990. Though it never featured within the movie itself, the Child's Play 2 novelization added his mother's murder to Chucky's backstory. As a result, countless fans included it within their own personal headcanon. Thanks to Chucky season 1, the terrifying matricide can also be considered official canon — though it was depicted in an entirely different way.
In the Child's Play 2 book, written by Matthew J. Costello, Charles' mother was a contributing factor to his torturous upbringing. Both she and his father were neglectful and abusive, fueling a kind of Napoleon complex and a general disdain for humanity. Between that and frequent bullying from his peers, Chucky ultimately lashed out violently and strangled her to death — thus sparking his famous Lakeshore Strangler M.O. Elsewhere, other theories suggested that his parents and wider family had been murderers themselves, or that Chucky's mother had taken her own life when he was 10. Chucky episode 3, "I Like to Be Hugged" proved all of that wrong, with Chucky's life in Hackensack, New Jersey being surprisingly normal. His parents were warm, loving, and even protective at the end. Chucky merely killed his mother because he wanted to and because the opportunity to do so without consequences presented itself.
One of the reasons that the Child's Play and Chucky franchise has been able to maintain its cult popularity is by blending consistency with the capacity to surprise. No matter the tonal shifts, the world has always reminded in line with the stories that came before. With Chucky creator Don Mancini at the helm, that has remained true of the SYFY and USA Network Chucky series. Such has already been evident by the various Easter eggs and references packed into Chucky episodes. Now, however, it has been made clear by the reveal that Charles Lee Ray's first kill was his own mother. With that, even the Child's Play 2 novelization and subsequent fan theories have been honored and made canon, while also emphasizing that even the most knowledgable of fans have some subversive surprises in store.