Ryan Murphy continues to expand his storytelling abilities and empire with his latest series. Murphy clearly loves a period piece and this is seen throughout all of the clothes, buildings and cars. Classic Murphians as I call them appear in the series, most notably Sarah Paulson and Finn Wittrock. There are other actors who appear such as Jon Jon Briones who was recently seen in AHS: Apocalypse. I loved that Murphy incorporated other actors he has not worked with: Vincent D'Onofrio, Sharon Stone, Corey Stoll, Judy Davis and Cynthia Nixon just to name a few.
The acting and style of the show is superb. Each scene is resplendent and an element I loved was that certain colors reflected the thoughts and feelings of Mildred Ratched in her individual scenes. For about six episodes, Murphy kept me entertained, but he failed to answer some key questions.
There is no indication that the Mildred Ratched portrayed in the show is even somewhat related to her counterpart in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. She does have acts of villainy and cruelty, but this seems to become undone by the conclusion of the first season. Ratched has friends, those who care about her and she feels fulfilled in her life at the end. There is no indication of how she becomes the person she is in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest despite her manipulative acts early in the series. Another key issue is the friendships she creates with others.
Murphy tends to do a strange theme where enemies become friends for no reason whatsoever. This has happened in AHS, The Politician and his recent miniseries Hollywood. As a viewer, I want to understand the thought process behind this, but it only ever confuses me. He seems to want everyone to get along and it muddles the story. My one last critique is of Amanda Plummer's character Louise.
Louise is the insanely annoying motel owner of where Ratched is staying, but her character seems to be in the show for no good reason. She does not add to the plot and Murphy seems to want to involve her character because of Amanda Plummer. It's almost as if he doesn't know what to do with her and her position in the story changed entirely within the finale. This was so confusing as a viewer and one of my main complaints of Murphy: he gives more attention to the actor rather than that of the story. He also does this with Sophie Okonedo, but her acting is incredible and she deserves recognition. Like Amanda Plummer, he gave preference to her acting abilities rather than the story.
Well, my critiques are done now. The acting is stellar, it was slightly melodramatic at times but I did not care. I loved every scene with Sarah Paulson and Finn Wittrock, they have amazing chemistry together. This was most likely because they have worked together on AHS. I do suggest the show, but as a viewer, it is important to realize its faults. I hope that you watch the show and even recognize other shortcomings or observations. Please watch the show, I found it to be very entertaining!
