WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Servant Season 3, Episode 3, “Hair,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
The highly anticipated third season of Servant has dropped on Apple TV+, but the expectations of the new season may be a little higher than its worth. Now three episodes in, Servant feels more like a regression of a story, making no progress to answer the deepest questions that linger.
Season 2 of Servant leaves the series on a high note as it introduces Leanne’s cult, The Church of the Lesser Saints, and its involvement in resurrecting Jericho. The entire second season sees the Turners — no pun intended — turning against Leanne as she takes baby Jericho away. And in a stellar season finale, Leanne becomes a part of the family once again as she brings back Jericho and kills Aunt Josephine.
Starting off weak, Servant‘s biggest mistake for Season 3 was the unnecessary time jump. The premiere sees the Turner family and Leanne three months after the cult attack, acting just as normal as ever. Sean, whose annoyance with Dorothy’s ignorance has driven him to the edge, is surprisingly the most normal as he seems to be wrapped up in the “Jericho is alive” façade his wife has been under the whole time. Since the beginning, Sean has held the clearest head of the family, while Dorothy is catatonically stuck in the belief that her son never died. But now his second chance at a normal life seems to have him under the same spell, which puts a halt to the mystery Servant has been dying to tell.
Outside of the immediate family, Julian has reached major milestones in his sobriety after his accidental overdose in Season 2. His love for his sister drives his urge to “wake her up” and tell her the truth about Jericho’s death. But much like Sean, it seems like he also wants the perfect family Leanne has provided for them, until a horrifying bee hive accident in Episode 2. Julian theorizes that — what is arguably the most thrilling part of the third season — Leanne set off a ginormous bee hive on a “Mommy and Me” play group because Jericho is actually her baby.
And once again, Servant is back on the “Whose baby is it?” train. The first two seasons allowed this theory to run wild with the build-up of the cult and Leanne’s powers, but it seems like Season 3 has taken a step backwards by dragging the mystery. Episode 3, “Hair,” makes viewers believe that Sean is finally going to snap Dorothy out of her state by testing her and Jericho’s DNA to prove they’re not biologically related. It’s a suspenseful and delicious scene that would’ve been a perfect set up to finally get some answers, until it was revealed that Julian tested the wrong DNA. It’s always one step forward, and two steps back with Servant.
Season 3’s lack of grand tension also isn’t improved by the fact that it’s just so… boring. Episodes 1 and 2 only really focus on Leanne, who by all means is a very complex character, but an extremely dull person. Her trauma takes center-stage as Sean and Dorothy do normal things, such as going to the beach and exploring their careers, but Servant isn’t a show about normal. These moments are exactly what Servant should be avoiding when it has a synopsis that revolves around the idea that a baby died, but came back to life through an odd nanny and a doll.
At best, Season 3 of Servant proves it should’ve been reserved for a miniseries, wrapping up its story in one, or at most, two seasons. Leanne should move back to creeping in the shadows as she observes the Turners, Sean needs to stop worrying about the homeless and worry about why his child is alive, and someone just needs to wake Dorothy up. Servant is becoming old in its desperate attempt to continue its mystery, but maybe Julian is the only character viewers can count on to uncover the truth.
Starring Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint, the third season of Servant airs every Friday on Apple TV+.
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