Hive
Episode 2 of Servant Season 3 starts with engineers arriving at the Turner house and installing security cameras. After the break-in, they’re taking no chances. Dorothy and Sean also begin prepping for a big dinner. Leanne is not happy, reminding them they can’t trust strangers or let them into the house. She’s also not happy with Dorothy undermining her and not talking about this first. Dorothy chirps back, calmly explaining that they’re trustworthy and “her kind of people”, given they’re parents with children. Eventually Leanne agrees, given it’s for Jericho, but it’s clear this is actually for Dorothy. When Sean sees Leanne’s disdain later that afternoon, he encourages her to stay in the kitchen and help him cook. Dottie and Julian soon show up too, deciding to man the surveillance and make sure nothing untoward is going on. The thing is, the only untoward part of this is Leanne, who continues to suffer from visions of the past. Dorothy puts her right on the spot some time later, and encourages her to join them in the circle. In doing so, one of the mum’s brings up Dorothy ‘s past and, specifically, her brother and his substance abuse. The day soon turns from happy mum and baby meeting to a tense interrogation about the “incident” in the summer. Alarm bells immediately ring for Leanne, who heads back to see Sean in the kitchen. She’s worried that there could be something more sinister going on here. According to Leanne, the people Aunt Josephine and the others are will dress normally, trying to blend in, but certainly won’t eat the food that Sean is used to making. Another telltale sign are scars over their backs. This is important to note, because as Leanne heads back out with another dish, the parents end up doing yoga. Only, one of the Mums happens to have scars across her back. They’re faint, but it’s enough to spook Leanne. This mum is eventually found up in Leanne’s room, where she pretends to grab a pacifier from under the bed for her child. Julian soon comes to Leanne’s aid but he’s not convinced by her story. When Leanne heads downstairs, she grabs a knife and finds herself alone with Mr Smiley, the child entertainer. He approaches Leanne but her paranoia gets the better of her. It turns out he doesn’t have scars over his back, throwing Leanne’s theory out the window. Everything takes turn for the worst when the party reconvenes. A whole swarm of wasps belch out the fireplace, originating from a nest that has dislodged from the roof and fallen all the way down the chimney. It’s rare to see this happen but given the security cameras were installed that very morning, it could be what happened. After this, Dorothy reflects on the day’s events. Leanne heads into her room and starts brushing Dorothy’s hair. Dorothy opens up and admits she feels like she’s cursed, with things in her life slipping out of control. “I think everything is happening as it’s supposed to.” Leanne says softly, deciding to put Jericho down to bed. As she walks out the room, Dorothy is left to contemplate her own life choices.
The Episode Review
Servant is back to old tricks and this time we get a slow, methodical chapter that centers on Dorothy trying to get back into the swing of her old life. She believes that her life is “slipping” but could this just be Leanne’s impact on the family? We shall see. Everything in this episode is pretty straightforward though, with the party at Dorothy’s house helping to heighten the paranoia and showing that no one can really be trusted. Beyond that though, there’s nothing particularly spooky or crazy going on here. That’s really been the story of the whole show, if I’m honest, with the slow-paced drama oozing its way into a bigger mystery that certainly takes its time to get to the good stuff. After the great start last week, Servant just feels like it’s slipped a little. Hopefully things pick up in the next chapter
