phisherqueen doe

If this was an American Horror Story installment, I’d give it a higher rating. As a supposed origin story for Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it’s disappointing and I would rate it lower but the efforts and talents of the cast must be appreciated. At best, this is the equivalent of a finely produced fanfiction from the original story. The only part they seemed to have maintained are her name and the fact that she served during the war. Ryan Murphy’s recent projects—AHS 1984, The Politician and Hollywood—have been overproduced bombs and Ratched would have fallen with the same fate without the popularity of Sarah Paulson who he did not even want for the role. The first half of the story is scattered at best and leaves you floundering and probably screaming by all the gore and shock value they seemed intent on packing into the four episodes. There are a lot of unexplained factors that we still can’t decide if it makes sense or they just included it in the story to add more things to mess with the viewers—notably the sex scenes with the flashbacks. The second half has more cohesion and strives to make everything make sense. Does it? Not entirely but it looks like a happy ending before the inevitable bloodshed of the already assured season 2. Also—lesbian trope requirement fulfilled in the dying lesbian partner. Sarah Paulson gives a stellar performance and must sees are: Jon Jon Briones as Dr. Hanover, Sophie Okonedo as Charlotte, Judy Davis as Nurse Betsy, Amanda Plummer as Louise and Sharon Stone as Mrs. Osgood. If you are a longtime fan of AHS, you won’t miss the unnecessary reboot of Freak Show’s Dandy Mott in Henry Osgood with a variation on his story’s conclusion. Although we might still see him in season 2 but who knows? For the most part, it’s lazy and makes little effort on writing. This show was mainly saved by the talents of the cast. Would we watch it again? No. Are we excited for season 2? Not really. Lucky are the viewers who have not seen the original One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest because then I’m sure they would have better chances enjoying Ratched.