If you've already finished bingeing Ratched on Netflix, you'll know that the fictional Lucia State Hospital is a deeply cursed place. While Sarah Paulson's Nurse Mildred Ratched puts a fresh spin
on one of the most iconic movie villains of all time, she's far from the only monsters stalking the halls of this seemingly idyllic—and weirdly luxurious—1950s psychiatric ward. But amidst the sadistic nurses, megalomaniacal head doctors, and murderous patients, there is one lone pure soul who's caught the attention of viewers. Read on for a primer on Huck Finnigan.
He's too pure for this world.
Really, though, was anyone else on tenterhooks throughout the whole season, dreading the inevitable moment when Huck was going to die? A genuinely kind person who works as a hospital orderly because he actually wants to help people? In this hellish universe?!?
Huck's defining physical characteristic is his facial scarring, which he got from being shot while serving in World War II. Ratched begins in 1947, so Huck is just a couple of years on from his time in the military. His service, presumably, left him with a deep understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma responses, which in turn pushed him to become an orderly on the psychiatric ward.
He's played by Charlie Carver.
If Carver looks familiar to you, there are a couple of reasons why that could be. He's been acting since he was a kid, and one of his most notable roles was on Desperate Housewives, where he played Porter Scavo, the son of Felicity Huffman's Lynnette. DH fans may remember that Porter had a twin brother, Preston—who was played by Carver's real-life twin brother, Max Carver.
The Carver twins have appeared in several of the same projects together playing twin brothers, including HBO's The Leftovers and MTV's Teen Wolf. And given the campy, heightened tone of Ratched, it's not impossible to imagine a scenario where Huck's evil twin brother shows up in season 2, played by Max Carver. Just sayin'!
Ratched is Charlie Carver's first collaboration with Ryan Murphy, but not his last—his next role is in Murphy's star-studded movie adaptation of the play The Boys In The Band. Carver will play the role of Cowboy, a dumb, sexy gigolo who's gifted to Zachary Quinto's Harold for his birthday. The Boys In The Band is set to debut on Netflix on September 30, so you won't be waiting long.
He's a sneaky force for good in a brutal world.
In episode 4 of Ratched, entitled "Angel of Mercy: Part Two," Huck gets his low-key spotlight moment for the season. In the prior episode, Jon Jon Briones' quietly deranged Dr. Hanover debuts an exciting new form of treatment for "severely ill" patients, which he calls hydrotherapy, but is actually just straight-up torture. The procedure involves dunking the patient in alternating baths of scalding hot and freezing cold water. Even Ratched is appalled after witnessing the first patient treatment, and Huck secretly intervenes by sabotaging the hot tubs, preventing any more patients from being tortured.
Ratched and Huck form an unlikely alliance, joining forces to help two patients escape. After they've succeeded, Huck tells Ratched that she's an "angel of mercy," which…look, he's got a lot of things going for him, but judgement of character isn't one of them. He's not entirely wrong, though, because this comment provokes a flashback to a time when Ratched euthanized a soldier who was in excruciating pain. "Mercy" is the excuse Ratched uses throughout the season, and indeed throughout her life, to justify manipulating and abusing people for her own ends.
Ratched has already been renewed for season 2, and although details of the returning cast haven't yet been confirmed, we're going to assume that sweet, sweet Huck will be back to give us a desperately needed glimmer of morality and hope. Protect Huck at all costs! Did you hear that, Ryan Murphy?