Even though the main focus of the series was on mental illnesses, it explored a handful of sensitive topics ranging from religion, politics, feminism, foster care system and sexuality. Ryan Murphy has done a fantastic job in portraying the extreme stigmas around these topics, which prevailed back in the 1940s. The taboo nature of these topics still exists in our society today, making the show even more relevant in today’s world. The show further digs into outdated forms of psychotherapy, stressing the backward thinking of those times and the gradual progression into a more contemporary world. This shows how much treatment of mental illness has evolved, yet still has room for improvement. The explicit scenes, especially those depicting these treatments are often hard to watch, but purposeful in representing the reality back then. Overall, the show is not only entertaining, but also educational. 

Despite these appealing aspects, the show struggled in delivering key messages. Firstly, Ratched can be categorized as a slow-burn show. Although the scenes are fast-paced, the development of the plot is stretched across eight episodes. Arguably, the show’s main moral could have been more effectively delivered in the form of a movie. This frustration is further heightened by predictable scenes, particularly for movie buffs. One may easily draw similarities with Mildred’s character mirroring previously played characters by Sarah Paulson in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story series. Ratched may as well have been the next season of the franchise. 

Moreover, the numerous themes coincide with one another, making it overwhelming and sometimes unnecessary. This makes it hard to focus on Mildred’s story, especially with the poor arrangement of character backstories. Hence, sympathizing with her character is therefore difficult. To add insult to injury, Nurse Ratched is not scripted well as there are inconsistencies in her character throughout the show. Her brutality is supposed to be justified to an extent by her vendetta’s purpose, but some actions are uncalled for even considering her traumatizing past. As seen with the 2019 Joker movie, this series aims to make viewers understand how being mistreated by society shaped the villain into the person they are today. In other words, exploring the idea of the abused becoming the abuser. However, this attempt at humanizing Mildred was unsuccessful due to the complexity of combining multiple characters’ backgrounds and topics; the focus is barely on Mildred. 

Ultimately, the show lacked direction, but is a conversation starter nonetheless. It addresses controversial issues such as mental illness, sexism and racism, albeit unjustly. The series further looks into the nature vs nurture debate- are you born evil or is it developed? All in all, Ratched will inevitably make you question your morals. Before you judge, Ratched is renewed for three more seasons, so you can expect more in the coming seasons. Considering all this, the IMDB score of 7.4 is a fair and accurate justice.