We discuss the ending of the highly anticipated Netflix movie The Good Nurse, which will contain spoilers.
The good nurse is based on the true story of Charles Cullen and his crimes as the killer of what some call “an angel of mercy.” The movie follows Jessica ChastainThe character of Amy Loughren, also based on a real person, as she holds her own secret. His heart is failing and needs a transplant. The problem is that she has a child and a job that she won’t be entitled to time off or proper health insurance for until she’s been there for a year. Amy’s doctor is afraid that if she continues to work it could kill her or cause her to suffer a serious injury like a stroke or heart failure. The good doctor even tells Amy to teach his daughter the signs of a stroke because she’s at such a high risk.
It was then that Charles (Eddie Redmayne) appears, and they hit it off immediately. Charles helps Amy keep her secret as he catches her having tachycardia during her shift. He even helps watch over his children and takes some pressure off him. Even when she has another heart problem, he finds a way to get her medicine out of the Pyxus (a medicine dispenser). How? If you quickly cancel it while grabbing the pharmaceuticals, it won’t be the entrance.
However, a handful of patients on Amy’s floor have started dying since Charles showed up, and they all had the same thing in their systems that shouldn’t be there: insulin. Anyone with diabetes knows what too much insulin can do. This puts you in a hypoglycemic coma that can lead to death. The problem is reported to the police, but the hospital administrators do not want to prosecute him officially. Why? It’s simple, really. Everything is related to insurance premiums. Especially for hospitals that don’t want to be sued for malpractice.
Amy investigates and discovers that Charles had the same problems in several hospitals and the same result happened as groundhog day. The patients on Charles’ floor would die and quietly let him go. His further investigations help him solve the case of how the insulin gets into the patient. It’s a problem because he’s never on the ground when the incident happens. He injects the drug into bags of saline solution.
The police provided evidence of Charles’ Amy’s Pyxus diary, but the trustees did not for the same liability reasons. The cops try to put a wire on Amy by talking to Charles. He is now fired by the hospital for simple date errors on his resume. Charles slams his hand on the table and walks away. The cops pick him up anyway, with 48 hour custody on him. The cops can’t get him to admit what he did, but Amy is allowed in the room. He confesses to his friend but does not remember all the names. He recounts a few like Ana Martinez, Douglas Stevenson, Kelly Anderson, and Amy to help him remember the name Jack Ivins.
Amy, however, finally asks Charles what we all wonder: why did he do this? “They didn’t arrest me,” he replies.
The good nurse ending explained – why did Charles Cullen murder patients?
The end of The good nurse shows Charles walking to his cell. The film notes that he pleaded guilty to murdering twenty-nine patients. However, the actual number would be up to four hundred, according to the filmmaker. Charles never confessed why he committed the murders and is expected to be paroled in 2403.
While the film states that it gave no reason, presumably to improve the uncomfortable quality of the film, there are reports that it wanted to end people’s suffering. However, according to Charles Graeber’s book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder, there are contradictions. Some believe he was making this up because he had trouble remembering his crimes and many deceased victims had only superficial injuries or mild cases. Many were expected to make full recoveries.
Amy is a real person who meticulously reviewed hospital records that proved her friend was a serial killer. In fact, if the number of four hundred or more is accurate, it could be the deadliest this country has ever done. According to Graeber, the reason Charles is allowed to go from hospital to hospital without arrest, legal action or anything on his record is because of state laws. In the case of New Jersey, it stipulates that only the most egregious incidents should be reported.
The end of The good nurse leaves an important question, who decides who is blatant and what is not? This judgment was made by comparing the cost and effect of malpractice suits and insurance. When you add the fact that the penalty for not reporting the incidents in the two states where Cullen worked, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, was low, and the failure to report the incidents outweighed the “hassle” to report suspicious deaths.
What did you think of the ending of The Good Nurse? Comments below.
Ending of The Good Nurse post explained – why did Charles Cullen murder patients? first appeared on Ready Steady Cut.
