Ratched Review: 5 Ups & 3 Downs

Ups...

5. It's Not Directly Tied To One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

In spite of the fact that Ratched is, first and foremost, a prequel to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, you don't have to read Ken Kesey's classic novel or watch the legendary 1975 adaptation of it in order to understand the series. And your writer will admit, it was hard to figure out whether that was a good thing or a bad thing at first. All things considered, however, the pros outweigh the cons.

In all honesty, there's very little to connect the two. At times, this iteration of Nurse Ratched feels like a completely different character than the cold-hearted antagonist we're used to. But isn't that entirely the point of a prequel? She hasn't got there yet - and considering the fact it's set over 20 years before the events of the classic story, she's plenty of time to get there.

Ratched may technically be a prequel, but there's enough in there - in both the character and the story - to let it stand alone as its own entity. That could have something to do with Murphy's signature intoxicating aesthetic or just the effort that has gone into Mildred's backstory, but the fact of the matter is that you don't have to watch or read the source material heading into the prequel - and that makes it much more appealing to fans who have yet to discover the unnerving grandeur of Nurse Ratched.