Warning: SPOILERS for Chucky season 1, episode 5.

The Chucky TV show has steadily revealed more of Charles Lee Ray’s backstory — and it became even more perfect with a surprising but fitting casting choice. Played by Brad Dourif, the infamous Lakeshore Strangler debuted in 1988’s Child’s Play movie. After Chucky transferred his soul into a Good Guy doll, he went on to torment countless victims across multiple sequels. Barring the 2019 Child’s Play remake - which saw Mark Hamill assume the role - Brad Dourif consistently played Charles Lee Ray and voiced Chucky throughout. That remained true even after the killer doll ventured to television.

Following Chucky episode 1, “Death by Misadventure,” several points in Charles Lee Ray’s life were visited. Starting with his 8-year-old self (David Kohlsmith), it was revealed that Chucky was a pure psychopath whose first kill was his own mother. Jumping forward in time, the teenaged Charles Lee Ray (Tyler Barish) continued his murderous games at a home for orphaned boys. Both iterations of Charles Lee Ray were perfectly delivered. As well as fleshing out Chucky’s personal history, the flashbacks also gave a backstory to original movie character: Eddie Caputo. In Chucky episode 5, “Little Little Lies,” however, the depiction of Charles Lee Ray’s backstory was taken to a whole new level — and was executed in the best of possible ways.

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Jumping forward once more, the Chucky show revealed to viewers the story of how Charles Lee Ray met Tiffany Valentine. Though Chucky’s partner in crime has been solely embodied by Jennifer Tilly in previous Child's Play outings, the version in the flashbacks was played by newcomer Blaise Crocker. Meanwhile, though some eagle-eyed viewers managed to catch on, many were surprised to learn that Fiona Dourif had been the one portraying the latest iteration of young Charles Lee Ray. This is an especially interesting casting, as Fiona Dourif already plays Nica - who also returned to answer a Cult of Chucky cliffhanger - in Chucky episode 5. Given that Nica was also possessed by Chucky, causing her personality to flit back and forth, Fiona Dourif essentially spent the episode playing three characters. And it was as fun as it was brilliant.

Blaise Crocker as Tiffany Valentine and Fiona Dourif as Charles Lee Ray in Chucky Episode 5

To add an extra layer to the casting, Brad and Fiona Dourif are father and daughter in real life. Though she followed her Oscar-nominated father’s footsteps into acting, it was a long road before Fiona joined him in the Child’s Play/Chucky franchise. She instead made a name for herself in such shows as Deadwood and True Blood before debuting in 2013’s Curse of Chucky. Fiona Dourif immediately proved it was no mere stunt casting — offering a compelling and thoroughly modern final girl as the wheelchair-using Nica. And when the time came for her character to be possessed by Charles Lee Ray in Cult of Chucky movie’s ending, Fiona expertly delivered the mannerisms, voice, and iconic laugh established by Brad Dourif across 30+ years.

Between all of that and the obvious natural resemblance shared by Fiona and her father, it made all the sense in the world to cast her as the younger Charles Lee Ray. After all, why spend all that time and money auditioning actors when somebody who has already mastered the mannerisms was right there? Furthermore, Fiona has frequently demonstrated a similar reverence for the character and material as the fans themselves. As such, it seems as though there are few others who could’ve played the character with as much justice without teleporting 1980’s Brad Dourif through time to act out Chucky's serial killer backstory.

Even though Fiona Dourif’s work was aided by make-up and prosthetics, she nonetheless did much of the proverbial heavy lifting. There’s a reason why so many who had been watching assumed some kind of digital de-aging or professional lookalike had been used. It remains to be seen if this technique will be continued in future flashbacks. Either way, it was surprising yet shrewd, and the best way to bring things generationally full circle. It was the perfect addition to Chucky’s trademark camp and rewatch factor, while also blessing the show with a passing-of-the-torch poignancy.

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