Recap: 'Chucky' throws a murder mystery party for the ages in Season 2, Episode 4

We have officially reached the halfway point of Chucky Season 2, folks. Episode 4 (aptly-titled “Death on Denial”) of the hit television show takes a respite from the bloody hijinks at Incarnate Lord to focus on an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery set against the backdrop of Jennifer Tilly’s posh estate in Beverly Hills. Moreover, the spawn of Chucky and Tiffany — Glen and Glenda — make their long-awaited return to the franchise for the first time in almost 20 years. Will the sibling duo help Nica Pierce escape or are they just as deranged as their parents? Let’s get right into it!

**SPOILER WARNING! THIS RECAP CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHUCKY SEASON 2, EPISODE 4, "DEATH ON DENIAL"**

Episode 4 kicks off with a self-aware step back via the utilization of Chucky-hosted talk show format. Joining Charles Lee Ray (voiced by Brad Dourif) is the mysterious doll known as Belle (given to Lexy's little sister in the premiere by Dr. Mixter), who remains tight-lipped about how she factors into the new season. And when we say "tight-lipped," we mean it. Unless she's hiding any murderous secrets, Belle seems to be just another inanimate object.

The narrative then shifts back to where we left Jennifer Tilly/Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) at the end of Episode 2. She just slit the throat of a nosy detective looking for Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif) and hastily tries to clean up the blood when her two children — Glen and Glenda (both played by Lachlan Watson) — arrive to celebrate their 18th birthday. The children are worried about their mother, who's been out of the public eye for a year, burning through her Hollywood savings. Glenda shatters the calm with a question that throws Tiffany off her game: "Who the hell is Nica Pierce?"

"I think they're kind of flying by the seat of their pants at this point," Watson said of Glen and Glenda at New York Comic Con earlier this month. "I think their main motive is to stir up sh** and take some names. I suppose we'll all find out [what they're up to]."

Jennifer/Tiffany treats her two children to a meal of what looks to be Swedish meatballs (as the main course?!) and explains that Nica was simply a mentally unstable fan she once met at a charity event. That's why Jennifer/Tiffany decided to install a state-of-the-art security system in and around the house.

Glen and Glenda don't exactly buy this, but don't pursue the matter any further. Glen leaves the table to charge their phone and Glenda opens up to their mother, confessing to recent nightmares of Joan's (Hannah Spearritt) death in Seed of Chucky, although they aren't exactly sure what it means. Meanwhile, Glen attempts to enter the room containing the hostage Nica, only to find it guarded by a pronoun-intolerant butler called "Jeeves" (actually a two-bit security guard with some improv experience named Sal DeMarco).

Jennifer/Tiffany's hope of keeping a tight lid on things spirals out of control when she learns that Glen and Glenda have thrown themselves a surprise birthday party and invited Tilly's Bound co-stars — Gina Gershon and Joe Pantoliano — as well as reality star, Sutton Stracke, and Jennifer's long-lost sister, Megan. The latter hasn't seen her sister in over two decades, stating that Jennifer was never the same after making "that Chucky movie." Yet another instance of the show's meta approach to blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality.

When Nica escapes and Jeeves turns up dead (having ingested arsenic that was surreptitiously placed into a bottle of champagne), Jennifer/Tiffany attempts to pass it off as the first development in a murder mystery-themed birthday party for Glen and Glenda. While this lie works, the ensuing investigation amongst the guests begins to expose long-kept secrets and predilections, including the reveal that Glen is helping facilitate Nica's escape.

Three months prior to the events of Episode 4, Glen and Glenda found their mother's hostage and promised to help her get away. Glenda accidentally cuts their finger, exposing blood and allowing Chucky to take control of Nica's body and remind Glenda of their repressed desire for homicide. Fast forward to the present and we find Pantoliano's dead body (shot to death) in the house's elevator as Glenda helps the Chucky-possessed Nica in a plot to kill Jennifer/Tiffany with a prosthetic arm adorned with a firearm at the end.

The plan goes awry when Chucky learns that the gun has been emptied of its bullets. Nica regains control and makes a break for it, escaping the compound and boarding a handicap-accessible van driven by Kyle (Christine Elise). Glenda also gets in the van, while Glen remains behind with their mother.

The episode cuts back to the talk show format as Chucky welcomes WWE champion Liv Morgan for a deep dive into who murdered whom. We learn that Glenda poisoned Jeeves and Gina was the one to empty the gun of its bullets in a moment of jealous rage. Chucky then addresses his absence for most of the episode, admitting that fans may have been disappointed not to see his usual murderous rampage and the 10 F-bombs allotted by the networks. He proceeds to stab Morgan to death, drop his sanctioned F-bombs, and promises a return to his ongoing torture of Jake (Zackary Arthur), Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind), and Devon (Björgvin Arnarson) in next week's episode.

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