Servant, “Balloon,” marks the end of the first season (of six if M. Night Shyamalan has his way), of Servant. “Jericho” answered many lingering questions about the Turners and what happened to baby Jericho, so the season finale episode was a doubling down on Leanne and an almost anti-climactic turn towards the future of the show.
But first, please know that Sean went full villain in this episode because he finally found a use for Jericho’s placenta that had been taking up precious freezer space. The absolute mad man cut it up, cooked it, froze it, smashed it, turned it into dust, and folded it into a cream that went into a giant, beautiful croquembouche tower. What happened to that croquembouche tower? He had Tobe serve it to party guests after Jericho’s baptism!!!
Since the Turners decided they’d keep this baby around, and after Dorothy had her faith shaken by Uncle George, it seems like Sean ran out of excuses to keep Jericho hidden from a baptism. But true to Dorothy’s showboating nature, there’s a massive party for their friends and family at the house afterward.
Dorothy and Julian’s father is there, Natalie arrives with Julian — and is snide to Leanne again — the younger, hotter reporter from Dorothy’s work is there. An ominous Amber Alert goes out to party-goers, but it is mostly ignored for the time being. There’s a young black girl at the party with a doll that seems to trigger some of Dorothy’s memories when she sits down with it.
At the same time, Julian and Leanne notice Uncle George and a woman in the background of the baptism video playing for the party. Julian immediately has Roscoe, his PI, keep an eye out and insinuates Roscoe should “take them out” if he sees them. Obviously, he thinks Julian is a little crazy for that suggestion.
Leanne goes to look for Jericho and runs into Wanda, who is super chill for her last encounter with Leanne having been almost murdering her sister. When Leanne enters Jericho’s nursery, she finds her Aunt May with the baby. Uncle George finds Sean in the basement and the scenes are interspersed with each other from there.
Sean tries to offer the uncle money so that they can keep Jericho, but he doesn’t take it. Instead, he talks about Leanne’s childhood and how it was easier to let everyone believe she died in the fire. Previously, audiences had seen when Dorothy met Leanne during a broadcast, but he expands on that encounter. Dorothy essentially tucked Leanne into bed nightly with her reporting and she loves Dorothy. He also pushes Sean to the realization that Leanne is behind the splinters and the lack of taste.
Aunt May thinks the nursery still smells of rot and that Dorothy was meant to suffer, but Leanne insists it wasn’t Jericho’s time to go. Her aunt cryptically tells her that they help the righteous before Dorothy interrupts. She takes Jericho for a speech at the party and Aunt May makes it clear to Leanne that she’s going to leave with them this time.
The police knock on the door soon after Dorothy’s father give the speech, looking for her because of a missing child. This sends Sean into a quiet panic, but it turns out that the little girl from earlier had followed them home from the church on accident. He still can’t feel anything and Julian thinks Uncle George got into his head.
Long after the party has ended, Leanne is sobbing in her room. Aunt May and Uncle George do something to ensure that Roscoe won’t be a problem for them when Leanne leaves — Tobe notices the open car door when he leaves. She leaves the house to find a group of people, including her aunt and uncle, waiting for her in the street. They all embrace her.
Earlier, Dorothy had thought she recognized Aunt May from somewhere and ends up going through some of her recorded news stories. She finds a picture of Aunt May on the screen at the scene of a tense standoff with cult leader May and The Church of the Lesser Saints. When she goes to check on Jericho after this realization, much like when Julian was left alone in the home with him, he turned back into a Reborn Doll.
And that’s a wrap on season one! For a show that often toed the line of tense horror and heart-wrenching family drama, it landed softer than anticipated. It does create the ability to pivot sharply away from the Turners and their home in Philadelphia, though one could argue that would lose some of the claustrophobia and isolating feeling that Servant was so good at. Whatever the showrunners decide, audiences are guaranteed to find out because Servant has already been renewed for season two.
What did you think about the season? Let us know in the comments!
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