Pictured Above: ‘Ratched’ is a Netflix original series that debuted in September.
Courtesy of Netflix
By Trevor Martindale
Looking for a binge-worthy drama series to fill your schedule during a drab semester?
Ratched will suffice.
Netflix’s newest original series, Ratched is based on a character named Ratched from the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
It tells the story of Nurse Ratched, a woman who wedged her way into a nursing position at a psychiatric hospital in the 1940s. Shortly after her arrival, mass murderer Edmond Tulleson enters the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation to see if he is “fit” to be given the death penalty for his crime.
Dr. Hanover, the head doctor of the hospital, has ambition to revolutionize the psychiatric field. The amalgamation of Tulleson’s psychiatric evaluation, Ratched’s mysterious background and Hanover’s eccentricity makes for a gripping plot.
Nurse Ratched is played by Sarah Paulson, whose most notable work is in the American Horror Story series. Finn Wittrock, also known for his work in AHS, plays Tulleson. Hanover is played by Jon Jon Briones, who has not played many major movie roles before Ratched.
When I initially heard that Paulson would be starring in as Nurse Ratched, I assumed the series would bear resemblance to the American Horror Story series. Of course, this wouldn’t be a problem, as I have enjoyed many seasons of American Horror Story, however cheesy or anticlimactic they were. Yet I hoped for a series with less plot holes, deeper character arcs and less dead ends.
In the first four episodes of the eight-episode season, Ratched felt nothing like the inconsistent AHS seasons I have watched. Paulson’s performance as Nurse Ratched was convincing and eerie. Briones’ performance as Dr. Hanover was stunning and forced me to question how he had not received any major roles before.
Lou Eyrich and Rebecca Guzzi, the show’s costume designers, captured the essence of the 1940’s while simultaneously creating an enchanting color pallet that made it difficult to take my eyes off of the screen.
The mysteries and revelations of several plot points and character arcs in this first batch of episodes almost inclined me to prematurely slam the gavel and declare Ratched as the show of the year.
Oh, how I was disappointed after episode four.
The second half of Ratched’s first season saw the show falling off a cliff. Characters which the show had seemingly worked so hard to develop in the first half of the season made uncharacteristic decisions that served as shallow ends for characters with great depth.
Unfortunately, the latter end of Ratched confirmed my premonition of the show tragically following the AHS formula of inconsistency and disappointment – 7/10.
