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Servant returns to Apple TV+ for its second season, and with even more mystery and intrigue than the first. The psychological mystery-thriller follows the Turner family and their nanny, Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), who may or may not be a witch. Season One ended with Leanne leaving the Turners with the reborn doll (which she had somehow brought to life), and the second season picks-up not too long after.
Servant is a difficult show to discuss without revealing spoilers, so while this is a non-spoiler review for Season Two, I am about to reveal Season One’s ending. If you haven’t seen season one – you have been warned.
The second season deals with Leanne, who has “kidnapped” the reborn doll she occasionally brings to life. Since the public is unaware that the real Jericho (Mason and Julius Belford) died before the beginning of the first season, there is a search out for Leanne and the “missing” child.
Much like the first season, each episode is a snowball effect, with the plot building and building towards the answers the closer you get to that final episode. The biggest difference with this season is that the snowball is taking its time.
While the intrigue and suspense are there, the writers have stretched the plot out as far as they can to fill their episode quota, and by the time I was half-way through the season, I was no closer to any answers than I was when I finished the Season One finale. Yet, the show remains as captivating and binge-worthy as the first season. It’s just a shame that it’s a weekly series because I think this second season would have been suited better if all of the episodes were released in one day. Although, considering Apple TV+ has only a small handful of available content, it’s understandable that they would release it weekly.
Servant has some of the best performances in any show – not one single actor is bad. They’re all captivating and dare I say, Emmy-worthy?
Lauren Ambrose plays the unstable Dorothy Turner, who has seemingly “forgotten” that her baby passed away, and the reborn doll being brought to life didn’t help her state of mind. Ambrose takes over this season as its leading lady while Free’s Leanne is mostly absent for the first half of the season. Ambrose is a tour de force in this show. She perfectly displays Dorothy’s mind through her emotions, and not once does it become cheesy or scenery-chewing.
As mentioned above, Leanne is absent for most of the season, and I missed her and her weirdly wicked ways terribly since she was my favourite character from the first season. However, her absence makes her eventual return even better, and that’s all I can say without spoilers.
Toby Kebbell returns as Sean, Dorothy’s husband, and his performance is perfect because you can see how exhausted he is by the whole situation, and honestly, you can’t blame him. After all, he is going THROUGH IT. He just needs a long holiday away from all of this noise.
Kebbell is at his best when he’s paired with Rupert Grint, who plays his brother-in-law, Julian Pearce. Grint continues to shine in Servant, giving a better performance in two seasons than in eight Harry Potter movies. Kebbel and Grint bounce well off of each other, which makes their scenes enjoyable to watch, no matter what’s happening.
I can’t really say much else without spoiling it. Servant‘s second season may be a slow-burn, but the short runtime of the episodes help make it a breeze to get through. It’s just a shame that it’s a weekly series because I can see many viewers dropping out due to how slow-paced it can be.
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