Looking forward to the new year can be exciting, a time to refresh and curl up on the couch with a new series or a new season! So, what better way to ring in the new year than with a new season of Apple TV's hit horror series Servant? For those who need a refresher or for the viewers that just want to jump right into it here is everything there is to know before season 4.
Servant,executive-produced by M. Night Shyamalan focuses on a couple who lives in Philadelphia and are mourning, a tragic loss, they decide to seek help in their time of need. However, they unknowingly open their door to sinister visitors and dark entities that seek to gain control of their fates. The couple must figure out a way to save their fragile family.
Characters
Dorothy Turner, played by Lauren Ambrose, is a dedicated reporter for the Philadelphia channel 8 news. When viewers first meet her she is awaiting the arrival of her new Nanny. Audiences are quick to notice something seems off with Dorothy, she seems unattached to reality and needs everything to be perfect even when it isn't. When 18-year-old odd Nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free) arrives it is late into the night and raining. Which defiantly brings some questions about the new stranger.
Sean Turner, (Toby Kebbell), is Dorothy's husband, a wound-up Philadelphia celebrity chef. Julian Pearce, played by Rupert Grint, is Dorothy's drug-addicted brother. Julian wants to do everything he can to get rid of Leanne as he trusts no one, not even himself. With rave reviews from critics at Rotten Tomatoes and from viewers, Servant is definitely worth checking out.
Season 1
The first episode sets the sinister tone of what is about to come, keeping audiences interested in what's really going on in the elegant 4-story home on Spruce Street. As the first episode comes to an end, Sean carelessly take his son Jericho out of the crib, and into the rocking chair, it's revealed that the baby is a life-like doll. After the shocking twist, the realization is that, Dorothy believes this doll is a real baby. Things really begin to take another turn when Leanne somehow brings the doll to life, and Jericho is reborn.
It's no surprise Sean and Julian are protective of Dorothy, in their own sick and twisted way as they encouraged Dorothy to believe this doll was actually real in the first place. Sean and Julian are convinced the real baby is Leanne's. They hire a PI and find disturbing news about Leanne's past. Eventually, Leanne's creepy "uncle" to arrives to take Leanne back home. Although they pretty much treat her like a freak the whole time, Dorothy convinces Leanne to stand up for herself. Her uncle threatens that he will be back, but he will bring her "aunt" May.
The audience learns what really happened to Jericho, and it's every parent's worst nightmare. When Sean goes out of town to guest star on a cooking television show, Dorothy struggles to keep up. It's clear Dorothy hasn't gotten any sleep since Sean left, she is at her breaking point when she calls Julian for help but only gets his voicemail. Dorothy's exhaustion causes her to forget about Jericho in the backseat of her car on a 100-degree day. It gets even more disturbing as Dorothy remembers about Jericho two days later.
Upon finding him, Dorothy has a mental breakdown and thinks Jericho is still alive. Causing Sean and Julian to try to pass the doll off as Jericho. Our final episode takes place in the present, and it's time for Jericho's baptism. Leanne's uncle and aunt make an appearance and brainwash Leanne further. Then suddenly Leanne and Jericho are nowhere to be found. The family scrambles to look for them around the house but all that is left is the doll in the crib.
Season 2
The second season opens with no time to spare, Dorothy is trying every tactic she can to get her son back. Sean and Julian try to talk Dorothy down, and tell her they are better off finding Jericho on their own. Dorothy gets a lead on where Leanne might be. Dorothy, Sean and Julian come up with a plan to find out if Leanne really has Jericho.They devise a successful plan on infiltrating the home Leanne is currently serving as a Nanny.
They send Sean's sous chef, Tobe, who is unaware that the food they are sending him in with is drugged. When Leanne collapses in front of Tobe, the Turners instruct him to grab Leanne and bring her over to their home. When Tobe refuses Dorothy threatens that she will call the cops and let him take the fall for drugging Leanne. Leanne wakes up in the Turner's attic where Dorothy holds her captive, Dorothy swears all she wants is Jericho back and promises not to hurt Leanne. Leanne knows about Dorothy’s tragic accident and feels like Dorothy doesn’t deserve Jericho.
Sean finds out that Dorothy has been torturing Leanne after discovering Leanne in the basement buried alive with an air tube. Julian seems to feel guilty about Leanne, he goes up to the attic in hopes to get information about Jericho's whereabouts. The two end up sharing stories about their troubled past, causing Leanne and Julian to sleep together. This gives Leanne to get a sense of empowerment she's never felt in her life. Leanne's uncle tracks down Leanne and threatens that Aunt Josephine, someone deadlier, is coming for her.
Aunt Josephine tries to kill Leanne in a ritualistic way, she tries to blind Leanne, and slice open her limbs but Leanne fights back. While Leanne and Aunt Josephine are battling it out, Dorothy is convinced that Jericho is dead. She has already created a noose for herself, she can't take it anymore. Sean begs Dorothy through the nursery door not to do it and that he needs her. While it seems like it may be the end for Leanne, Dorothy shows up and saves Leanne, knocking Aunt Josephine on the back of the head.
Leanne begins to see Dorothy as a mom not just a mom for Jericho but maybe for her as well. After Leanne has a change of heart, she goes up to the nursery. Finally, the crying sounds of Jericho cause Dorothy to run up the stairs to the crib where the doll once was to find Jericho back in his crib. Leanne knows there is still danger out there and people will come for her and her new family. Spooky right?
Season 3
Season 3 opens on a happier note, everyone is one big happy family but of course, things aren't always what they seem. Julian is now sober, but, he still has trouble facing his past and things with Leanne are getting a little complicated. Leanne has trouble venturing out into the world, with fear that people from the cult will come back for them. The Turners get a surveillance system to ease Leanne and promise to protect her. But Leanne's chilling secret comes to light as viewers find out that she is hiding the body of the decomposing Aunt Josephine.
Jericho is finally going to spend time with kids his own age as Dorothy sets up a mommy-and-me class held in her home. Leanne gets paranoid with all the strangers around forcing her to be protective. One woman pries too much about the ambulance and police cars that were around when Jericho's accident took place. Then a swarm of bees comes flying out of the chimney and attacks the group, everyone runs out of the Tuner home. It becomes apparent the home is deteriorating and no one in the home is aware.
The neighborhood has noticed a group of homeless teens have taken over the park nearby. Sean takes it upon himself to make sure none of the teens starve. This forces Leanne to have more interactions with them, still terrified of the cult she tries to stay inside. Dorothy's attempts at trying to get Leanne to go out into the world aren't working until the block party organized by Dorothy catches Leanne's interest. It takes Leanne a while to adjust, however, when Leanne bumps into Tobe, the two explore the block party and actually have some fun together.
Leanne gets hungry as the block party starts to wind down at night, so she ventures to find an open food vendor. When she wanders into a tent, she notices two creepy characters over a grill with a dagger warming up in the center, it's members of the cult. Leanne flees from the tent and barely makes it into the Turner residence, but the cult members stop her as she almost closes the door. They chase her through the house. Leanne runs out the back of the house into the dark. She comes back moments later with blood on her clothes and blood running down the back of her head.
Dorothy eventually finds out about what happened to Leanne through the cameras. Dorothy tries to help Leanne and figure out a way to make her feel better. Dorothy's plate begins to pile up when she learns Sean has been going to church with Jericho behind her back. After Dorothy invites Sean's minister over for dinner Leanne begins to change. Leanne knows the minister's dark secrete and exposes her at dinner, causing the minister to flee crying.
Viewers eventually find out that the teens rescued Leanne that night she was attacked. Leanne learns they once belonged to the same cult and have followed Leanne to be free. This means Leanne is now the leader of her own cult, and she is embracing it. Dorothy knows something is wrong with Leanne, scared for her son and her family she tries to get rid of Leanne. Sean and Julian continue to gaslight Dorothy, telling her the situation isn't as bad as it seems.
Only Sean, Julian and Leanne know as long as Leanne stays in the house Jericho is alive. Dorothy doesn't understand why no one can sense danger, and she is left to try to protect herself and Jericho. As Dorothy devises a plan with her father to make Leanne look clinically insane, Dorothy's dad turns on her and tries to get Dorothy committed. Sean, Julian and Leanne convince Dorothy's father that they will all help and take care of her. Dorothy knows she's unsafe in the house with Leanne there Dorothy packs a go bag for her and Jericho.
As they attempt to flee at night, Jericho begins to cry. Dorothy tries to calm Jericho down, but it's no use Leanne is already waiting for Dorothy. She stops Dorothy by screaming for Sean, everyone is now upstairs trying to convince Dorothy to stay and that everything will be ok. The rotting home begins to tremble and the staircase railing breaks. Leanne grabs Jericho but no one grabs Dorothy. Dorothy falls three stories down breaking some limbs along the way, she's in shock and still breathing and the season ends.
While all the characters go through tragic losses and events, no one in the home is a saint. Even when Leanne seems to be the victim, the events she's suffered at the hands of the cult and the Turners have caused her mental state to shift just like Dorothy, which poses a question for the upcoming season, will the two women finally snap out of the world they have made up in their head? Or have both of them gotten so tangled up in this world that this is their reality? Fans will have to tune in on January 13th to find out.