How Much Did Lenore Osgood Pay Mildred Ratched? It Might Have Been More Than She Offered
The last two episodes of Netflix’s Ratched contained some major plot twists. For starters, there was the death of Dr. Richard Hanover at the hands of psychiatric patient Charlotte Wells. Mildred Ratched capitalized on Dr. Hanover’s murder by decapitating his dead body and delivering the head to Lenore Osgood (played by Sharon Stone), making good on the deal she had previously reneged. But just how much did Lenore Osgood pay Mildred Ratched?
Earlier in the season, Mildred met with Lenore to offer her services in the wealthy mother’s quest to kill Dr. Hanover. This happened after Charles Wainwright, the man originally hired to take out the doctor, was boiled alive by Mildred and then shot by one of the hospital guards. Charles’ fate didn’t deter Lenore. Rather, it impressed her.
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Lenore Osgood was on a mission to kill Dr. Richard Hanover in Netflix’s ‘Ratched’
“I sent a man to do what was clearly a woman’s job,” Lenore said to Mildred in their first in-person meeting.
“I will be happy to relieve you of this suffering,” Mildred later said—fully leaning into her “Angel of Mercy” complex. Of course, her services always came at a price. Whether it was a job promotion or dangerous secrets, Mildred always ensured she was paid for the amoral acts she willingly committed.
To kill Dr. Hanover, Mildred wanted $1 million. Lenore scoffed at the number and angrily accused the nurse of taking advantage of her. In the next episode, Mildred agreed to a payment of $100k—a significantly lesser sum than her original asking price.
It was shocking to see her cave so much in this regard, but just like with all of her other decisions, Mildred was driven by desperation. She needed the money to be able to care for herself and her brother, Edmund Tolleson, who she fully intended on helping get out of prison. That would likely mean Mildred would have to leave Lucia State Hospital and go into hiding with her brother, so she would need all the financial support she could get moving forward.
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Mildred’s decisions were fueled by her desperation to save Edmund
But here’s the thing: she didn’t end up killing Dr. Hanover herself, yet she still cashed in on the reward. In the second to last episode of the season, after Charlotte murdered the doctor, Mildred hand-delivered his head to Lenore.
At the end of the exchange, she was handed a check, but the women didn’t discuss how much it was for. That was the money Mildred seemingly lived off of when she jetted off to Mexico with Gwendolyn Briggs to escape the wrath of her brother.
As Charlotte and Edmund are escaping the hospital, she reveals that Mildred gave her money. Even considering the cost of living from 1947-1950, when the show takes place, would $100k be enough to give a portion to Charlotte and financially support Mildred and Gwendolyn for nearly three years?
Henry Osgood could play a big role in ‘Ratched’ Season 2
It’s entirely possible that, given the surprise of Mildred delivering the death of the doctor, Lenore paid her a sum much larger than $100k. Notably, before Lenore was killed by one of her employees (at the direction of her son), she changed her will to ensure that Henry Osgood got no money whatsoever. Given that, it’s possible she set aside more than $100k to give to whomever killed Dr. Hanover in the end.
It will be interesting to see if/how this will play out in Season 2, when Mildred will be actively hunting down her brother in an attempt to kill him before he can kill her.
If Henry ends up being sent to Lucia State Hospital (Lenore’s will demanded that Henry spend the rest of his life in a mental institution), he very well may come in contact with Mildred. It would be interesting to see if Henry will try to leverage what he knows about the infamous nurse for his own benefit. One thing’s for sure, the stakes have gotten even higher for Mildred Ratched.
