Child’s Play set the stage for movies that use possessed toys as their primary antagonist. Nevertheless, Child’s Play 2 is one of the rare sequels that manages to outdo its predecessor in horror, in its plot execution, and character development. It brings back Andy Barclay as Chucky’s target along with a host of new characters that will play a key role in the franchise throughout the years. Here is how the ’90s horror sequel paved the way for Chucky.

Andy’s Transformation Into a Fighter

     Universal Pictures

Andy Barclay is left utterly scarred by the end of Child’s Play, and matters only worsen for him as the film progresses. Child’s Play 2 picks up two years after the events of the first installment, with Andy living in the foster care system after his mother is institutionalized for supporting Andy’s claims of Chucky being alive. Chucky manages to track down Andy’s new foster home and infiltrates it, causing chaos between him and his new foster parents while bent on finally claiming Andy’s body, but Andy is done being a victim this time around, ready to take down Chucky at all costs. Andy maintains this same attitude throughout the franchise and serves as a powerful alley to Jake during his own harrowing ordeal against the killer doll in Chucky.

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Introduces Kyle

Kyle is pivotal to both the events of Child’s Play 2 and Chucky. Introduced as Andy’s rebellious, outspoken foster sister, Kyle soon shows a softer, sisterly side as she begins to believe Andy’s story about Chucky when no one else will. By the time Chucky reveals himself to Kyle, she’s ready to help Andy take him down–and she does in a vicious manner. While Kyle isn’t seen again for almost thirty years in the Chucky universe, she makes an unexpected appearance in Chucky as she and Andy join forces with Jake and his friends to take down Chucky’s army. While Kyle’s fate is left unknown by the end of Chucky Season One, it is speculated she is still alive when one of her signature black gloves is seen on a tree sometime after her assumed death.

A Look Into Foster Care

Child’s Play 2 shows a realistic depiction of the foster care system, with Andy and Kyle experiencing the harsher end of it. While understanding of both their foster children’s past history, Phil and Joanne Simpson soon prove themselves tired, with Andy and Kyle, relegating them from part of the family to troublemaking guests. This is an unfortunate reality in the foster care system, where children are abused and neglected by their ill-fit foster families. This extends to Chucky, when Jake is taken in by his paternal uncle after his father is murdered by Chucky. While Jake is treated significantly better by his relatives than he ever was by his own father, Jake becomes victim to Junior’s bullying, which is heightened when Junior and Chucky join forces to take down Jake, Devon, and Lexy.

Good Guy Doll’s History

Child’s Play 2 further explores the origins of the Good Guy Doll glossed over in Child’s Play. At the beginning of the film, Play Pals has recovered the original Chucky doll to reconstruct it as damage control from the bad publicity caused by Chucky’s killing spree. When one of the Good Guy technicians is electrocuted during Chucky’s reconstruction, a company executive orders to have the Chucky doll disposed of, and hence the events of Child’s Play 2 unfold. While the Play Pals company is only a minor subplot in Child’s Play 2, audiences get an insight into the cold-blooded demeanor practiced by its executives, something that Chucky revisits with Hackensack’s leader, Mayor Michelle Cross.

Michelle Cross is as corrupt, underhanded, and reprehensible as the Play Pals executives introduced in Child’s Play 2, using all her political power to underplay Chucky’s killings in Hackensack, along with mishandling taxpayer’s money towards her own benefit. Additionally, callbacks to the Good Guy Doll emporium, Chucky’s design from Child’s Play 2 is revisited in the Netflix series, from the doll’s hair, eyes, to the clothing design. This is an intentional homage by Chucky’s show runners, commenting that they wanted to recreate the mood of Child’s Play 2 not only through its returning heroes and subplots, but by recreating that movie’s version of Chucky.

Sets the Framework for Jake Wheeler

     SYFY/USA Network

Jake Wheeler is by all accounts the modern-day Andy Barclay in the Chucky universe, and is just as resilient in staying alive through each of his encounters with Chucky. Just as Andy is hardened through each of his encounters with Chucky and an upbringing in foster care, Jake’s survival instincts develop thorough his own abusive upbringing with his father, who relishes in mentally and physically abusing Jake at any given opportunity. This trauma equips Jake to face Chucky as the series unfolds, turning him virtually fearless after his traumatizing upbringing. While they only briefly meet in Chucky, it’s entertaining to see Jake and Andy put their respective skill sets to excellent use when battling Chucky’s army. Chucky Season 2 ends with Jake very much alive after yet another encounter with Chucky, and audiences are safe to assume that he will continue to prevail with a third season well on its way.