Cuckoo's Nest II

Part II shows the shift in power in the ward. After the meeting, Chief Bromden fears that he has been discovered. That they know he is no longer deaf and he is very scared. And it is clear to see Nurse Ratched is keeping a very close eye on him. The staff decides that McMurphy is potentially violent and should be sent to the Disturbed ward, but Ratched disagrees. She does this because she knows McMurphy is truly sane, but she has control of how long he is stuck in this ward and she doesn’t want to lose that leverage.

While the ward is to the hospitals pool to swim, McMurphy finally learns that he is not free to leave when he pleases. He is stuck in the ward until Nurse Ratched clears him. He knows this is very unlikely to happen. Knowing this new information, McMurphy decides to behave more civilized and try to do as told. McMurphy no longer rebels against Ratched.
Soon after this, McMurphy begins to realize why the patients give into Nurse Ratched. She can have anything done to anyone at anytime she pleases. So it’s not so much that Nurse Ratched is in charge, but more that she knows how to instill fear into others. This is how she gained her control, and this is how she keeps it; fear.

There is another meeting, in which the paientes are punished for not doing their cleaning duties. Many of the ward paitents look to McMurphy to see what he does, and he does nothing. For this brief time, Nurse Ratched thinks she has control again. Then McMurphy calmly goes up to her window, says he wants some cigarettes and punches through the glass; his excuse, the glass was so clean he did not see it.