I stayed away from this thread until me and the mrs watched all of the episodes. This is by far the best series on the platform. Can’t wait til Friday for the next episode.
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Spoilers "Servant" Discussion Thread (May Contain Spoilers)
- Thread starter zinacef
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I agree, this is the best of the bunch but I’m still enjoying The Morning Show and For All Mankind. I’ve already finished Dickinson (all), Ghostwriter (all), and The Oprah Book Club (first episode) and I enjoyed them all tremendously!
And the wife really likes See which I watch with her as well. I’m enjoying it but it’s not my first place like Servant. I can’t wait to watch Truth Be Told at the end of this week as well.
As some have echoed in other threads, like even @matrix07, they have given me the idea of canceling my Netflix streaming as I haven’t watched it in months! I always figured I had to have it there on the side as a backup but since I haven’t been watching anything there, it’s just a waste of money.
After episode 4... I have many questions and no answers. :lol:
So, can we safely assume that the baby is Leanne's and that she might have taken him somehow into the house? However, I don't think he was hidden in her bag as Sean proposed, the baby would've cried and probably gotten hurt. But if the baby is hers, what could the weird cross-like thing over the crib be? A charm?
What's with Sean losing his taste? And getting itches (or soreness?) on the back of his ear and in his eye? Could it be the work of "witchcraft"?
In the final moments of the episode we also learn that Leanne already knew the family as it was revealed that she interacted with Dorothy back in 2011 during a news report. What could Leanne's thumb gesture we're shown at the very end mean?
We also got to know that Dorothy has "killed" most of her babies in her womb due to a immune system disorder. She's tried multiple times to get pregnant, successfully, but none of the pregnancies got to their terms, except Jericho's. Did I get that wrong?
What about the name Jericho? They insisted a great deal on that in this episode. For all I know, it was an ancient city in present-day West Bank and according to biblical accounts the first city to be conquered by the Israelites.
My theory, after episode 4, is that the baby is Leanne's and he's the Devil's son. If that is it, I can draw similarities to Polanski's Rosemary's Baby as has been mentioned before. Stylistically, it resembles Polanski's film as well, the apartment, the claustrophobic atmosphere, the close-ups. My question is, if the baby is the Devil’s son why does she say the Lord’s Prayer? Plus, there’s her tomb in Wisconsin, how is she alive?
BTW, any other Wizard of Oz Easter eggs?
Thrilling.
So, can we safely assume that the baby is Leanne's and that she might have taken him somehow into the house? However, I don't think he was hidden in her bag as Sean proposed, the baby would've cried and probably gotten hurt. But if the baby is hers, what could the weird cross-like thing over the crib be? A charm?
What's with Sean losing his taste? And getting itches (or soreness?) on the back of his ear and in his eye? Could it be the work of "witchcraft"?
In the final moments of the episode we also learn that Leanne already knew the family as it was revealed that she interacted with Dorothy back in 2011 during a news report. What could Leanne's thumb gesture we're shown at the very end mean?
We also got to know that Dorothy has "killed" most of her babies in her womb due to a immune system disorder. She's tried multiple times to get pregnant, successfully, but none of the pregnancies got to their terms, except Jericho's. Did I get that wrong?
What about the name Jericho? They insisted a great deal on that in this episode. For all I know, it was an ancient city in present-day West Bank and according to biblical accounts the first city to be conquered by the Israelites.
My theory, after episode 4, is that the baby is Leanne's and he's the Devil's son. If that is it, I can draw similarities to Polanski's Rosemary's Baby as has been mentioned before. Stylistically, it resembles Polanski's film as well, the apartment, the claustrophobic atmosphere, the close-ups. My question is, if the baby is the Devil’s son why does she say the Lord’s Prayer? Plus, there’s her tomb in Wisconsin, how is she alive?
BTW, any other Wizard of Oz Easter eggs?
Thrilling.
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If this was a major plot point or reveal, then it's really going to send the series down a new direction because who is the father of her baby? As for the straw cross that she hangs over the baby's crib, I too think it's some kind of charm to protect the baby. When Sean destroyed the first one, notice how quickly she fashioned another one.
Re: Sean, I'm wondering the same idea too. Possibly the work of witchcraft as you suggested or maybe it was a curse. I believe it's got something to do with the straw cross because all of his symptoms starting occurring immediately after he cut his finger when he touched the cross.
Re: final moment of the episode, I'd like to know more about that thumb gesture.
Re: Dorothy, I was thinking about this last night and wondering if Dorothy has a disorder that terminates her pregnancies, then how come Jericho's pregnancy was spared? Then again, was he spared? I'm not sure now. I'm positive he died postpartum and not in utero.
Re: term of Jericho, Actually there's more to the word Jericho than you suggested. From the Biblical standpoint, it's the first town that was attacked by the Israelites under Joshua (sadly there's no character in series as of yet with that name). Reference -- https://www.britannica.com/place/Jericho-West-Bank. I'm going to research this a bit more this weekend because maybe Leanne isn't evil but good instead because she's always praying? Food for thought.
Interesting final theory and I have yet to watch Rosemary's Mary. Food for thought -- maybe she isn't alive? Someone early posited that maybe they're all dead.
Overall, great ideas and theories you put forward! Keep them coming!
@zinacef
Yes, Jericho died postpartum, it's said in the previous episodes that he died when he was 13 weeks old, if I remember correctly.
As to the baby, if it's Leanne's (and she didn't kidnap him, which I assume is the case since no one is looking for a missing baby), she could've been impregnated by someone during a Satanic ritual (that'd be a similar storyline to the aforementioned Polanski film).
They all being dead is an interesting theory too, and wouldn't be a first in Shyamalan work.
Yes, Jericho died postpartum, it's said in the previous episodes that he died when he was 13 weeks old, if I remember correctly.
As to the baby, if it's Leanne's (and she didn't kidnap him, which I assume is the case since no one is looking for a missing baby), she could've been impregnated by someone during a Satanic ritual (that'd be a similar storyline to the aforementioned Polanski film).
They all being dead is an interesting theory too, and wouldn't be a first in Shyamalan work.
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Here are my thoughts so far:
On the one hand for me Leanne is good. She helped Dorothy in the bathroom, when she was not able to drain her breast milk.
She touched Dorothy´s brother and said now it´s all good (kitchen scene). When they killed the eels she even fainted.
When you see Leanne she seems scary, in many scenes. You know "The Ring" and that undead girl? Leanne might have to hide something. There are scenes where she does not want to be seen.
The first scene where she prays: Be gracious to this family.
Evil or a godsend?
Sean is punished because he destroyed the straw cross (God?). BTW the form of that cross does not look satanic to me.
"Servant": Who? Leanne? Or Jericho? To obey to Satan or God?
On the one hand for me Leanne is good. She helped Dorothy in the bathroom, when she was not able to drain her breast milk.
She touched Dorothy´s brother and said now it´s all good (kitchen scene). When they killed the eels she even fainted.
When you see Leanne she seems scary, in many scenes. You know "The Ring" and that undead girl? Leanne might have to hide something. There are scenes where she does not want to be seen.
The first scene where she prays: Be gracious to this family.
Evil or a godsend?
Sean is punished because he destroyed the straw cross (God?). BTW the form of that cross does not look satanic to me.
"Servant": Who? Leanne? Or Jericho? To obey to Satan or God?
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@rmoliv, I like your theory of Leanne being possibly impregnated though how does it tie in with the dead family in Wisconsin, the burnt house, and a gravestone with Leanne's name on it.. The more I think about the many possibilities and outcomes of this series, the more it hurts my head!
One thing I didn't like is why has Julian suddenly dropped the pursuit of finding out more about Leanne? After he went to Wisconsin, he returned and it seemed like the series just dropped that plot point. I would've like to see maybe he stayed in Wisconsin to dig up some more dirt (no pun intended) on Leanne, e.g. go to the local high school and look for high school photos of her, look into social media profiles of her (if she had any), talk to neighbors about her, check the county office for a death certificate and look into the circumstances surrounding the death of the family, cause of fire, etc.
@matrix07, I noticed that as well, that she's wheedling herself into everything now, even so that Sean is starting to trust her now. How did he go from completely being distrustful of her to starting to trust her enough to confide in her? Wonder if he's feeling sorry for her if he's believing the story that she's a single mother with a baby to take care of and no place to go?.
@PR1985, interesting points and I like it. I believe in a couple posts back I alluded to the same thing, i.e. what is we're all looking at this from the wrong angle and Leanne is actually good? An angel, maybe? I also agree with your point about the straw cross. It doesn't strike me as something evil. Even the one in Wisconsin survived the fire.
Good points fellas!
One thing I didn't like is why has Julian suddenly dropped the pursuit of finding out more about Leanne? After he went to Wisconsin, he returned and it seemed like the series just dropped that plot point. I would've like to see maybe he stayed in Wisconsin to dig up some more dirt (no pun intended) on Leanne, e.g. go to the local high school and look for high school photos of her, look into social media profiles of her (if she had any), talk to neighbors about her, check the county office for a death certificate and look into the circumstances surrounding the death of the family, cause of fire, etc.
@matrix07, I noticed that as well, that she's wheedling herself into everything now, even so that Sean is starting to trust her now. How did he go from completely being distrustful of her to starting to trust her enough to confide in her? Wonder if he's feeling sorry for her if he's believing the story that she's a single mother with a baby to take care of and no place to go?.
@PR1985, interesting points and I like it. I believe in a couple posts back I alluded to the same thing, i.e. what is we're all looking at this from the wrong angle and Leanne is actually good? An angel, maybe? I also agree with your point about the straw cross. It doesn't strike me as something evil. Even the one in Wisconsin survived the fire.
Good points fellas!
No answer for that... yet!
After finding the tomb he might've assumed that Leanne was just an imposter who took over the identity of the real (dead) Leanne and left it there. But I agree with you, it could've been better explained as to why he didn't go on with his investigations. As to the social media profiles, if I remember correctly from the previous episodes, I guess it was him who said that he had found nothing about her online.
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People believe Christ will be "reborn" (The title of 1st episode). Can the evil be reborn? From what? Had Satan ever died?
Jericho name sure emphasising something ancient, either to the God or Satan.
I believe Leanne was most likely dead. (from Julien comment on her photo Sean taken that she's like a dead girl)
Jericho name sure emphasising something ancient, either to the God or Satan.
I believe Leanne was most likely dead. (from Julien comment on her photo Sean taken that she's like a dead girl)
Wait? Guys? Those closeups on the soup… Red. Maybe blood? And take a look at the wallpaper in Leanne´s room. Since we see Jericho every time at the beginning of an episode and hear that music.. A battle? Between God (Leanne) and Jericho (Satan). Or Leanne is the evil, smart and manipulates.
Watch the trailer. why is Leanne touching that doll or is she taking a hair?
Watch the trailer. why is Leanne touching that doll or is she taking a hair?
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I had a long plane trip yesterday so I loaded up on this show. Saw all four episodes. I've really enjoyed it so far (and this thread as people have picked up on things I did not notice). I don't quite get why Sean hasn't pressed the issue with Leanne of "where the heck did the kid come from". He did a one-off ask, she basically ignored it, and he seems to have dropped confronting her.
@matrix07, great points, but here's what I'm thinking based on what you posited, if Leanne is dead, does that mean the whole family is dead too as they can see and interact with her (I'm thinking Shyamalan's movie The Sixth Sense).
@PR1985, interesting point about the wallpaper as I never bothered to focus on that. It's got to be a metaphor for something as well as that tomato soup Leanne is always eating for dinner. I've gotta say, she is weird how she always has a bowl of tomato soup, 2 slices of toast, and a glass of water for dinner plus how OCD she is that that toast must be fixed a particular way. There's gotta be more to her than meets the eye! The more I think about it, I'm voting that she's evil!
@robjulo, I agree as I raised that point earlier in the thread -- why Sean suddenly just dropped the investigation but @rmoliv suggested that once he (Sean) saw the gravesite, thought there wasn't much to go on after that.
@PR1985, interesting point about the wallpaper as I never bothered to focus on that. It's got to be a metaphor for something as well as that tomato soup Leanne is always eating for dinner. I've gotta say, she is weird how she always has a bowl of tomato soup, 2 slices of toast, and a glass of water for dinner plus how OCD she is that that toast must be fixed a particular way. There's gotta be more to her than meets the eye! The more I think about it, I'm voting that she's evil!
@robjulo, I agree as I raised that point earlier in the thread -- why Sean suddenly just dropped the investigation but @rmoliv suggested that once he (Sean) saw the gravesite, thought there wasn't much to go on after that.
I dont think the whole family’s dead. They’ve interacted with other people too — Sean with the chef helper, Dorothy working as an anchor, etc.
Leanne's losing it. The evil in her is gaining the upper hand. Hence the self-flagellation. A desperate attempt to contain the evil.
I've seen Episodes 1,2, and tonight I'm watching Episode 3. I like the series Servant is a great show. Like the acting in it too. It has to be watched for sure if your into thrillers.
Can't believe last episode is rated 7.4 on IMDb and the show overall is 8.1. Hopefully the ratings go up as more people watch each episode. So far each episode deserves at least an 8 in my opinion. Apparently some people are getting angry because there's yet no answers to so many questions, but personally I like it this way, a psychological thriller that leaves one wondering after each episode. What have you guys made out of episode 5?
Just saw episode #5 and here are my thoughts.....
Episode #5 did a great job of showing Leanne unraveling plus I liked the camera angles used throughout (don’t know what it’s called in film school).
Okay, here goes....
- Why was Matthew in the house? What was he doing upstairs? It would appear that he was in the house on multiple occasions so what was he doing?
- Wonder what’s the symbolism of the crickets and why did it appear that only Leanne was seeing them or they were specifically congregating in her room? If the house was infested with them, wouldn’t Dorothy and Sean know about it?
- Did anyone notice the dead cricket in her room (under the glass) toward the end of the episode and it seemingly came alive after the self-flagellation? What’s the symbolism of that?
- Speaking of self-flagellation, what’s the deal with that? I was researching the act and it appears to be a Christian act of mortifying the flesh, or cleansing oneself of sin. If this is the case, what sin did Leanne believe she committed? Was it the mere fact that she allowed herself to get angry? If this is the case, are we to assume she isn’t evil but instead good? Thoughts?
- Speaking of good and evil, I would admit she has some kind of supernatural power, e.g. writing the names in the Bible and something happening to Dorothy and Sean respectively.
- I’m not sure why Julian would expose himself committing such a foolish act by hiring those two girls under the ruse to get rid of Leanne. Now Leanne is unto him so I wonder what she has in store for him as we didn’t see her write his name in the Bible.
- I couldn’t help but notice how Sean likes Leanne’s amateurish culinary suggestions. Could Leanne like him and hate Dorothy? Toward the end of the episode, Leanne kept grousing about Dorothy whilst the kid was going into anaphylactic shock, she never mentioned anything about Sean.
- Wished Leanne finished the sentence when Sean asked her what bad was coming after she told him what her mother told her about when one would see a cricket in the house. Seeing as there were lots of crickets, I’m assuming a lot of bad stuff is coming down the pike.
Personally, I would’ve rated it much higher that what its rating was on IMDB as I really enjoyed it.
I give my takes inside the spoiler above ?
Also,
I think onesie shows something bad happened to Jericho. He didn’t die by himself. He might die from Sean in-attention or something. Maybe even have something to do with splinters?
Also, what about the dog food? That must be Julian’s (or that PI guy doing?
Also also ? was that the 1st time Sean and Dorothy having sex in a year? Or Dorothy masturbating?
Also, what about the dog food? That must be Julian’s (or that PI guy doing?
Also also ? was that the 1st time Sean and Dorothy having sex in a year? Or Dorothy masturbating?
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Interesting theories.
Although I’ve been more inclined since the beginning to believe Leanne is (mostly) evil it also makes sense that she isn't. In the first episode Dorothy says she’s “a godsend” and maybe she literally was sent by God to protect the family, hence why she prays to God and asks Him to "protect this family". Now that I come to think of it, taking cue from @matrix07 ’s theory, Sean could very well be behind something a lot more sinister about Jericho's death. If you watch the show's trailer there's this woman who asks "How much did those boys tell you about what happened?". Could the "boys" be Sean and Julian and the "what happened" be Jericho's death? We also see the police and someone in full CSI equipment in the house.
By the way, the dog's food in the Campbell's can, I believe it must've been Julian's (or the PI's he hired) doing. As to Dorothy's moaning, it was probably her and Sean having sex - I say so because in the beginning she asks Leanne why she believes Sean is being so nice, looks like he changed his behavior somehow. Concerning the PI's repeated visits to the house, maybe he needs to check the camera daily? I'm also wondering whether the crickets were placed in Leanne's room by someone, to scare her (notice the conversation between her and Sean's assistant in the basement about the crickets).
Although I’ve been more inclined since the beginning to believe Leanne is (mostly) evil it also makes sense that she isn't. In the first episode Dorothy says she’s “a godsend” and maybe she literally was sent by God to protect the family, hence why she prays to God and asks Him to "protect this family". Now that I come to think of it, taking cue from @matrix07 ’s theory, Sean could very well be behind something a lot more sinister about Jericho's death. If you watch the show's trailer there's this woman who asks "How much did those boys tell you about what happened?". Could the "boys" be Sean and Julian and the "what happened" be Jericho's death? We also see the police and someone in full CSI equipment in the house.
By the way, the dog's food in the Campbell's can, I believe it must've been Julian's (or the PI's he hired) doing. As to Dorothy's moaning, it was probably her and Sean having sex - I say so because in the beginning she asks Leanne why she believes Sean is being so nice, looks like he changed his behavior somehow. Concerning the PI's repeated visits to the house, maybe he needs to check the camera daily? I'm also wondering whether the crickets were placed in Leanne's room by someone, to scare her (notice the conversation between her and Sean's assistant in the basement about the crickets).
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