| “ | I have pushed the true Ingrid down, but all the time I could feel her, digging her claws into my skin, begging to be let out.
|
” |
Ingrid Blix is a character on the Netflix original series Ratched. She entered Lucia State Hospital seeking treatment for her melancholia, which was disrupting her life. She is portrayed by Harriet Sansom Harris.
Biography[]
Prior to becoming a patient, Ingrid was an opera singer with a illustrious career, claiming:
"I was a legend. A household name all over Europe. I have played every opera house from La Scala to the Bolshoi. I have sung every great soprano role, from Brünnhilde to Turandot."
However, she suffered from melancholia, which had "gotten the best of her", causing her to awaken in unfamiliar places she had no memory of traveling to. She had read about Dr. Hanover and the hospital in the San Fransisco Chronicle, and hoped his new procedure would "even her out a bit" and cause her to quit smoking[1].
Lucia State Hospital[]
At Lucia State Hospital, Ingrid was to be part of Dr. Hanover's first trial of a new technique for the treatment of mental illness: lobotomy. The technique had first been attempted in 1935 by Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz, and Dr. Hanover's goal was to refine the technique and prove it's efficacy so that it could become a commonplace treatment. Ingrid took part in this trial alongside fellow patients Lily Cartwright (treated for lesbianism), Peter (treated for daydreaming), and Len Bronley (treated for memory loss). She was somewhat condescending to Len's lament, arguing that she had been a great artist brought to the point of seeking treatment because she had no choice, but seemed saddened by Peter's explanation that he merely daydreamed and showed an immediate interest of some kind in Lily. As Nurse Mildred Ratched prepared them for the procedure, she was quiet when Mildred harshly exposed Lily's condition to the group, and openly laughed at Mildred's retort to Len's argument against wearing the assigned surgery gown[1].
The lobotomy was performed by Dr. Hanover, assisted by Nurse Betsy Bucket, and was attended by a fairly sizeable crowd, including head of the State Detentions Bureau Secretary Randall Berglund, administrative assistant to the director of state finance Annie Hardcastle, Gwendolyn Briggs, Mildred Ratched, Dolly, and several other nurses. The procedure, performed only under mild sedation instead of full anaesthesia, involved Dr. Hanover performing an excision on the head, trepanning back the skin, and then drilling through the skull and into the temporal lobe with a hand drill. The treatment was so graphic that several of the onlookers become visibly disgusted and nauseous, escalating until Miss Hardcastle fainted when Dr. Hanover drilled into Len's skull[1].
Hydrotherapy[]
Lily and Ingrid are interrupted by Mildred
The lobotomy was unsuccessful for Lily, Ingrid and Peter; for both Lily and Ingrid, the lobotomies only decreased their inhibitions, and thus Lily and Ingrid (who had been hiding her attraction to women for her whole life), began engaging in a sexual relationship. Lily was witnessed performing oral sex on Ingrid by Nurse Ratched, who reported what she had seen to Dr. Hanover[2].
Lily receives the new hydrotherapy treatment
In response to the failure of the lobotomies, Dr. Hanover had specialized baths installed in one of the basement rooms for a new "hot and cold" treatment which had reportedly had a good response for patients in Switzerland. Dr. Hanover allowed Nurse Bucket to take the lead in the treatment protocols for these new baths, and she followed his protocols to the letter, despite their barbaric nature. The protocol involved introducing the patient into a "balmy" 99F (37C) temperature warm bath, then sealing the patient inside leaving only their head unsubmerged and increasing the temperature to scalding 117F (47C) for twenty minutes. After the twenty minutes was complete, the patient was then removed and submerged in an ice bath for five minutes. Lily was the first patient at the hospital to receive this treatment, suffering to the point of nearly passing out, only able to cope with it due to being soothed by Mildred. At the end of the treatment she was unable to stand and, delirious and barely conscious, had to be carried out of the baths and back to her bed[2].
Mildred comforts Lily as she recovers
Because the treatment was effectively torture, both Mildred and Nurse Huck Finnigan were completely appalled by having to assist in it, with Huck in particular determined that no other patient would be put through it again. The treatment did not have genuine pathological results in patients, and was instead a type of aversion therapy, where patients - like Lily - are so afraid of having to go through the same treatment again that they lie and insist they are cured of their ailments. Indeed, following the treatment, Lily told Nurse Bucket that all her "sapphic ideations" had gone, which Nurse Bucket believed, unfortunately leading to Dr. Hanover approving for future treatments three times weekly for the span of two months, and for Ingrid to receive the same hydrotherapy treatment as Lily[2].
Sabotage and Escape[]
Following Lily's "successful" hydrotherapy treatment, Lily disclosed what she experienced to Ingrid, but was so fearful of having to go back to the baths that she could no longer look Ingrid in the eye, scared that it would make her act on her attraction once more. Ingrid was scheduled to undergo her first treatment shortly after Lily, and when Mildred arrived to bring Ingrid to her hydrotherapy session, she disclosed to Mildred that after her first sexual encounter with Lily, it cemented for both herself and Lily that being attracted to women - and each other - was undeniably their true self. She explained that Lily had told her what the hydrotherapy would entail and begged for Mildred to boil her alive in the bath so that she could be free from the emotional torment that denying her true self brought her - insisting that Mildred could not possibly know how it felt to endure. Mildred tried to comfort her, but had to bring Ingrid to the hydrotherapy room on Dr. Hanover's orders. Fortunately, Huck had sabotaged the pipe for the hydrotherapy bath ahead of time, blaming it on rats when questioned by Bucket, so Ingrid's hydrotherapy treatment was delayed[2].
The next evening as Mildred was orchestrating the assassination of the hitman Charles Wainwright, Huck interrupted her and disclosed that Nurse Bucket had fixed the hydrotherapy bath and intended to give Ingrid the protocol the following morning. They both quickly decided that they needed to act immediately, and hatched a plan where Huck would smuggle both Ingrid and Lily out of the hospital by car. Huck's part involved entering Lily's room, having her pack and put on a disguise, and helping her escape through a side door and into a waiting car[3].
Mildred and Lily say goodbye as Lily and Ingrid escape
Meanwhile, Mildred woke Ingrid from her sleep and helped her to dress and pack, bringing her outside to Huck and Lily's awaiting car. Mildred helped Ingrid inside and gave Huck an envelope of petty cash she stole from Nurse Bucket's office, instructing him to use it to put them on whichever train was going furthest away from Lucia. Ingrid was appreciative, but asked Mildred why she had helped them; Mildred told Ingrid that despite Ingrid's earlier assertion, she in fact did indeed understand the pain of hiding one's true self, effectively disclosing out loud for the first time that she, too, was attracted to women. Mildred and Lily touched hands through the car window before Mildred quickly fled back into the hospital before anyone noticed she was missing[3].
Following their escape, the police were notified and although Richard Cartwright was furious about Lily's disappearance, Huck assured Mildred that they had gotten away safely on the train[3].
Appearances[]
Season One[]
Trivia[]
- Ingrid boards in the "Trellis Room" at Lucia State Hospital[2].
- Ingrid is a chain smoker (smoking three cigarettes in the five minute period of the S01E02: Ice Pick opening scene) and can blow smoke rings.
Gallery[]
S01E02: Ice Pick[]
