It’s official, Apple+ has the strangest catalog of shows out there, and Servant basically made that decision for me. I recall back when the streaming service launched, this was one of the first shows it premiered. The fact that it was produced by M Night Shyamalan was supposed to be the big seller here, and I guess it was because that’s ultimately why I watched it. That, and it was shrouded in mystery! If someone had asked me what I thought the show was about all I could was “a baby.”
Technically, that is what the show was about, although ten episodes later and I have more questions than answers. That’s not to say that I wasn’t entertained! It was quite intriguing and had me wondering what in the hell was going to happen next. The show itself starts off with a baby. A baby doll to be more specific. Truthfully both babies and dolls give me the willies, so I was already uncomfortable from the start. Then add in the fact that this doll was meant to look and feel real, and you’ve just increased the creep factor ten-fold.
The story follows a couple, Sean and Dorothy, who’ve just hired a nanny, Leanne, to look after their infant son, Jericho. Only thing is, Jericho died at 18 months old. The “baby” that Leanne is supposed to help take care of is a “reborn doll,” that helped Dorothy come out of a catatonic state after Jericho died. Sean and Dorothy’s brother, Julian, are naturally, disturbed by this doll, but they also want Dorothy to mentally deteriorate again, so they go along with it. Leanne goes along with it, too, much to Sean’s chagrin.
After Leanne’s first night there, some seriously weird things start happening. The first and most important being that suddenly, Jericho is real and alive again! Sean and Julian spend almost the entire season trying to figure out if the child was stolen or if it’s Leanne’s, and ultimately what she wants from them. Leanne is a bit of an odd duck, but it seems like she just really wants to help this family out even when they are all awful to her at times. That’s not to say the Turner’s don’t push her buttons, and there comes a time when the source of Jericho’s death is revealed that has you concerned for the couple’s lives.
While we got some answers throughout the ten-episode run, there are still plenty of questions I have. Yes, Leanne is part of a cult, but what is her role in the cult? Is Leanne supernatural in some way? I got the impression that she was supposed to have died in a fire but didn’t? Unclear. What in the heck were up with her aunt and uncle? Will Sean ever get his senses back? Now that Dorothy has again become aware of the fact that Jericho is dead, what happens next for her? I feel like I left with the same amount of questions I came in with, although they are slightly different. Really compelling show despite it being a little confusing. And it looks like I don’t have to wait long to see what happens next because a second season premieres in January! Not the best you can watch on Apple+ but definitely not a waste of your time.