S01E07: The Bucket List

**"The Bucket List"** is the seventh episode of Season One of *Ratched*, as well as the seventh episode of the series overall. It will premiere on September 18, 2020.

## Synopsis

Rivals put a plan into action as secrets from the past surface, and Hanover takes a risk that pays off for Ratched.

## Plot

In a flashback to 1943, Dr. Hanover sits in a courtroom with his wife, who is battling to divorce Hanover. Dr. Hanover argues that his work has kept him from his family, but the judge is reluctant to listen, and Hanover’s wife is granted both the divorce and full custody of their daughter, a moment which leaves Hanover distressed.

Following this, Dr. Hanover — still using his birth name, Dr. Bañaga — visits Lenore Osgood for the first time, in which he talks about the condition affecting her son, Henry. Dr. Hanover promises to cure her son, Henry, of his deranged mind, much to her excitement.

Louise brings forth to Nurse Bucket the evidence she stole from Nurse Ratched’s motel room during the dance. The two find it odd that Nurse Ratched has numerous newspaper clippings regarding Edmund Tolleson, but things are quickly made sense of when Louise reveals that she also found a tape recorder containing exciting evidence.

With the tape recorder with her, Nurse Bucket waits for Nurse Ratched to return to the motel. Upon doing so, she plays Ratched the recorder in which she openly reveals to the priest that Edmund Tolleson is her brother. Moments later, Nurse Bucket and Nurse Ratched listen as the latter performs a lobotomy on the priest. Bucket confronts Ratched about the ordeal, and Nurse Ratched reveals that whilst she was in the military, she was not a qualified nurse.

Nurse Ratched explains that whilst she lied about her qualifications, she believed that she was providing efficient care by suffocating the patients that she believed were beyond saving. Eventually, her superior realised, and ordered that Nurse Ratched leave the island or face a court marshall.

Nurse Bucked and Nurse Ratched visit Doris Mayfair, the head of a large foundation supplying a large portion of the funding for Lucia State Hospital. They reveal to Doris that the governor has pulled the funding from the hospital after Dr. Hanover fell out of his favour. They explain the situation regarding Hanover and his drug abuse, and Nurse Ratched explains the failed procedure Hanover performed on Henry Osgood; they recommend that Hanover be removed immediately from the hospital with Nurse Bucket leading the hospital in the interim. Doris agrees, and when the two leave the house, Nurse Ratched asks Nurse Bucket for one favour: to make Huck head nurse.

Back at the hospital, Bucket hands Hanover a letter explaining his dismissal from the hospital. She tells him that because she has always believed in him, she is allowing him to leave the hospital before the police arrive. Hanover hastily leaves the hospital, but not before stopping off at Charlotte Wells’ room to collect her.

Charlotte and Hanover arrive at a motel, where he purchases two rooms for the night under an alias. The two go out to dinner, and Dr. Hanover explains that they will drive to Canada, where they will check Charlotte into a hospital in Vancouver and continue their treatments in private; this excites Charlotte. When the two return to their room, however, Hanover is forced to hide Charlotte in a closet when a Police officer knocks at the door. The knock is a false alarm, however, but when Hanover opens the closet, he is met by Ondine, not Charlotte. The persona quickly switches, however, and Ondine becomes Apollo, who believes Hanover to be Adolf Hitler in disguise. Believing she is exacting her revenge, Apollo stabs Dr. Hanover to death.

Fearing that she will be persecuted for the death, Charlotte — now back in control — calls Nurse Ratched to ask for advice. Ratched gives her fresh clothes and buys her a ticket to Mexico where she tells Charlotte to check into Saint Luis. Nurse Ratched promises to take care of Dr. Hanover’s body and send more money in the coming weeks.

The following day, Nurse Ratched purchases a hacksaw from the hardware store before arriving at Lenore Osgood’s house. She hands Lenore a box, presumably containing a severed part of Dr. Hanover. Upon looking into the box, Lenore is ecstatic, and instantly writes out a check for Nurse Ratched, who leaves immediately upon receiving the cheque. Lenore heads to Henry’s moment to show him the prize, but Henry’s mood is still sullen, remarking that nothing has changed for him. Tensions between the two increase when Henry expresses his anger towards his mother and, as she goes to hug him, she is stabbed in the back by one of the groundsmen with a pitchfork.

Anna — the support worker from Mildred and Edmund’s childhood — arrives at Nurse Ratched’s motel room. She apologizes expressly for choosing the parents she did for the two children, but Nurse Ratched exclaims that it was not her fault. Anna reveals that the state took responsibility for the homicide given they placed him in the home. Nurse Ratched explains that she searched for Edmund following her exit from the foster system, but Edmund had lied to her about the day of his release from the facility. Anna reveals that one of the priests Edmund murdered was a suspect in the rape of his biological mother.

Briggs reveals to Trevor that she is returning home to live with her mother given her career with the Governor is over. Trevor thanks her for everything he has done for her, and for ending the marriage between the two as it gave him space to find someone he truly loves; Trevor leaves moments after. After watching Trevor leave, Nurse Ratched knocks at the door and Briggs invites her in to talk. Nurse Ratched explains that Dr. Hanover is dead and as a result she is now wealthier than ever and the two can leave together. Briggs dismisses her, however, and when Nurse Ratched continues to press, Briggs reveals that she has breast cancer and not too long left to live. Nurse Ratched explains that they will find a doctor but Briggs is reluctant to listen and the two instead confess their love and affection for one another.

Henry sits eagerly awaiting as his mother’s will is read, believing himself to inherit her entire fortune. He is deeply shocked when it is revealed that half of her fortune is to be given to the West Indies Art Foundation and the other Petuna, her pet monkey. Osgood explicitly states that Henry be transferred to a psychiatric facility to live out the rest of his days.

Addressing the remaining staff at Lucia State Hospital, Bucket introduces herself as interim head. She further explains that Huck Finnigan is to be promoted to the position of Head Nurse, much to his surprise.

## Cast

### Main

* Sarah Paulson as Nurse Mildred Ratched
* Finn Wittrock as Edmund Tolleson
* Cynthia Nixon as Gwendolyn Briggs
* Jon Jon Briones as Dr. Richard Hanover
* Charlie Carver as Huck Finnigan
* Judy Davis as Nurse Betsy Bucket
* Sharon Stone as Lenore Osgood

### Guest Starring

* Sophie Okonedo as Charlotte Wells
* Rosanna Arquette as Anna
* Brandon Flynn as Henry Osgood
* Michael Benjamin Washington as Trevor Briggs
* Kerry Knuppe as Doris Mayfair
* Amanda Plummer as Louise

### Co-Starring

* Diana Tanaka as Doris
* Germain Arroyo as Diego
* Khanda Byambadorj as Dalisay Banaga
* Sydney Mae Estrella as Marisol Banaga
* Aida Basco as Grandmother
* Shira Barnett as Doris Mayfair
* Sonya Krueger as Francine Mayfair
* Edward Singletary as Colonel
* Linda Bisesti as Attendant
* Joanne Verbos as Waitress
* Steve Kramer as Executor
* Julia Best Warner as Young Nurse
* Tereza Rizzardi as Mayfair Mother
* Michael C. Mahon as Dean Honeycutt
* Steven Hack as Judge
* Greg Collins as Police Officer
* Clint Foster as Security Guard
* Alexander Pobutsky as Burned Soldier
* Josh Madson as Screaming Soldier

## Continuity Issue

* Based on the way the scenes are presented back-to-back, the audience is led to believe that the scene where Louise presents Betsy with all the items she stole from Mildred's motel room happens the same day, or day before, Betsy confronting Mildred with the evidence she has collected. This is extremely unlikely, as Mildred is meticulous and has very few possessions, and is likely to have noticed that her room had been tampered with during the 7+ days Louise must have had stolen items (accounting for Gwendolyn's healing time, plus the several on-screen transitions between day and night that we see). It's also unlikely that Betsy would have risked Louise having Mildred's items in her possession for such a long period of time, because Louise, as the motel owner with access to every room, would be the obvious suspect. It is more likely that the scene with Louise and Betsy originally fell somewhere after the events of *S01E05: The Dance* or early during *S01E06: Got No Strings* - giving ample time for Louise to put the items back while Mildred was occupied - and was moved during the show's editing to make Betsy's confrontation more impactful.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/ratched-season-1-release-date-news-everything-we-know-so-far-05-2020/