Ah this show! Perhaps this half hour horror/drama is something I would like to binge all at once. Each episode of Servant is suspenseful, and the past few weeks I was so bummed I had to wait a whole week for the next installment. To be fair, when I started the second season five episodes in, I had totally forgot that Apple+ aired their shows weekly. I guess that’s what I get for watching a bunch of their first season shows all at once.
Anyway, the second season of Servant picks up right where the first one left off, which was with Leanne and Jericho both missing. Much of the season is spent trying to get Jericho back, even though he’s not really the Turners’ to begin with. Naturally, at the start of the season everyone is distraught, despite their knowledge of the whole situation or not. Although none seem to be as affected as Dorothy. She spends much of the first few episodes figuring out how to get to Leanne and her cult to get Jericho back. Eventually, Sean and Julian agree to make up a fake pizza place so they can drug Leanne at her new nannying house and hold her hostage in her attic.
I know! It sounds intense and it is! Once Leanne is in the Tuners’ home, it was interesting to see the sort of role reversal between Sean and Dorothy. In the first season, Dorothy was nothing but trusting of Leanne and always giving her the benefit of the doubt, while Sean was skeptical of her. This season we see Dorothy doing some awful things (like burying Leanne alive!) while Sean tries to make sure she’s comfortable…all things considered. Julian is the only one whose wariness about Leanne is basically unchanged (the eighth episode of the season begs to differ though!).
It’s also interesting to see how Leanne’s attitudes towards the Turners have shifted, even despite all that Dorothy is putting her through. She no longer wishes Dorothy to suffer by learning what really happened to Jericho, and she even goes so far as to heal Sean of some of the punishments she inflicted on him. All that being said though, she claims she can’t get Jericho back to them, and that the cult won’t likely bring him back either. This prompts more desperation from the trio of adults, and eventually it brings George back to the house.
His presence is honestly terrifying. I don’t know how they all slept with him in the house somewhere. Maybe they thought that since it’s a religious cult that he wouldn’t bring them any harm? I suppose they were ultimately right, because when George leaves, he’s replaced by Aunt Josephine in the season finale, and she is there to bring Leanne back to the cult. They both watch a disturbing ritual video together and it’s clear that Josephine is there to perform it on Leanne to get her back to her old self. Leanne comes out on top though and perhaps reveals that she is evil? It’s a little unclear.
While yes, she’s evil compared to the viewpoints of her cult, I think she is more so becoming human. She wants a loving mother in Dorothy and when it’s finally demonstrated to Leanne’s preference, she herself is the one who brings Jericho back. Leanne also experiences some other normal human things throughout the series that would also lead me to believe that she just isn’t interested in what her cult and organized religion have to offer anymore. Of course, being a “prophet,” she knows her cult won’t give up so easily and thus, Leanne is inviting even more chaos into the Turners’ lives.
Luckily, that small cliffhanger will get answers because Servant has already been renewed for a third season! Do yourselves a favor and check this out on Apple+!