Ratched 2020 Series Review

『True Love Blossoming Beyond Oppression and Cruelty』

🎥 Series Overview

🎬 Title: Ratched (2020)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Psychological Thriller / Drama / Political
🗓️ Production & Release: Netflix, Season 1
📢 Created by: Ryan Murphy, Evan Romansky

👩‍💼 Cast: Sarah Paulson – Mildred Ratched
Cynthia Nixon – Gwendolyn Briggs

🧩 In-Depth Story Exploration (Spoilers)

💖 Romance of Oppression and Liberation: A Reinterpretation of Ratched

Netflix’s original series Ratched serves as a prequel to Ken Kesey’s novel and the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, focusing on the origins of the iconic villain Nurse Mildred Ratched. Combining gothic horror, psychological thriller, and lavish aesthetics, the series attempts to give depth to a character who, in the original, symbolized the oppressive system, by exploring her personal background and motivations.

🌓 The Meeting of Light and Shadow

Gwendolyn Briggs is the governor’s aide responsible for funding the California state psychiatric hospital where Ratched begins working. Though both women appear successful and controlled outwardly, their inner worlds contrast sharply.

• Gwendolyn (Light/Certainty): She has already accepted her lesbian identity, though she maintains a sham marriage under societal pressure. Clear about her desires, she intuits the truth behind Ratched’s cold exterior and approaches her with confidence, playing the role of an active savior.

• Mildred (Shadow/Conflict): Ratched has lived her entire life in the name of survival and control, suppressing her sexuality and emotional needs. Set in the 1940s, when homosexuality was classified as a “mental illness” and subjected to brutal treatments, she initially rejects Gwendolyn coldly. Her rejection stems not from disinterest but from a blend of social fear and self-loathing—a form of self-defense.

🌈 Identity Liberation as a Narrative Device

Gwendolyn becomes the catalyst who breaks through Ratched’s rigid defenses and guides her toward a journey of self-liberation.

• The Oyster Metaphor (Oysters Scene): When they meet at a secret lesbian bar, Gwendolyn teaching Ratched how to eat oysters goes beyond sexual innuendo. The oyster symbolizes the emotional shell and suppressed desires Ratched has locked away, while Gwendolyn offers her the courage to taste her true, unguarded self.

• Confronting the Contradiction of “Treatment”: Ratched witnesses a horrific lobotomy performed on a patient to “cure” homosexuality. This shocking event, paired with her relationship with Gwendolyn, forces her to realize that her identity is not a disease. She transitions from a representative of the system to someone who personally experiences the terror of an oppressed minority.

🩵 The Weight of Love and the Fragility of the Ending

Their relationship grows into more than romance—it becomes a form of survival alliance.

• A Pure Motivation: The only time Ratched could set aside her obsessive devotion to saving her brother Edmund was when she experienced genuine love and happiness with Gwendolyn. Unlike her other actions driven by twisted self-interest, her feelings for Gwendolyn were her only pure and voluntary bond.

• Tragic Undertone: When Gwendolyn is diagnosed with cancer, Ratched reverts to her old controlling instincts, attempting to manipulate circumstances to keep her alive. This highlights that even love cannot fully erase Ratched’s fundamental nature. Though they escape to Mexico to live a seemingly peaceful life, Edmund’s looming revenge ensures that their happiness remains precarious and fragile.

🌊 This contrast of light and shadow reflects Ryan Murphy’s bold attempt to give the once-unforgiving villain human complexity and the possibility of redemption. Their love story visually embodies the hopes and fears of queer people in 1940s America, forced to live lives hidden in the shadows.

🎯 Personal Rating (Subjective)

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥♥♥
⭐ Overall Rating: ★★