Varun Patel
The sixth episode of ‘Servant’ raised the stakes of the show while continuing its love affair with feet and food. It depicted “stranger danger” in its classic, slow-burn style and seemed to be taking the show in a new direction.
The M. Night Shyamalan show has been slowly and steadily wrapping its thrilling tentacles around the viewers and the this episode persisted in providing enough situational thrills while carrying the plot forward at a brisk pace.
Servant Season 1 Episode 6 Recap:
The sixth episode of ‘Servant’ begins with a shot of a man wearing a black raincoat outside the Turners’ house. The man rings the bell and Dorothy opens the door. He is a postman and hands Dorothy a letter. The letter is for Leanne. Dorothy puts it on the kitchen table.
Sean, who is also in the kitchen thinks that they should open the letter. But Dorothy does not allow him to do so. Sean has to take a flight in the heavy rain as he has to cook for the Florida Eagles. He considers not going but Dorothy convinces him to not cancel the prestigious opportunity due to his phobia of flying.
Dorothy and Sean leave the house after informing Leanne about her letter. Leanne opens the letter and it says “Found you.” Then, a mysterious man wearing a black suit rings the bell. Leanne opens the door. She knows him. His face is not shown and the camera is pointed towards his feet as he removes his shoes, revealing his dirty feet and torn boots.
Dorothy returns home and notices the man’s shoes and ends up reading Leanne’s letter which is on the kitchen table. When she goes to Leanne’s room, she sees the man who Leanne introduces as her uncle, George. George hands a box to Dorothy telling her that it is a present. The box contains a not-so-pretty looking doll of a chef. George tells her that is made using a special tree that grows close to where he stays. Dorothy offers to cook for George and Leanne.
While cooking, Dorothy video calls Sean and informs him about George. Sean thinks that she should ask George to leave as he is a stranger but Dorothy refuses. When the dinner is ready, Leanne, Dorothy and George assemble at the dining table. George holds Dorothy’s arm with a little force before she can proceed to eat and starts reciting a prayer.
Weirdly, George starts to use a tissue to soak all the sauce from the piece of meat on his plate. Dorothy ignores this and starts to make small talk. Then, George takes another tissue, wraps the meat in it followed by squeezing it with his hand, taking out most of the sauce. Then, he starts to de-skin the meat.
George tells Leanne that she is needed at home and must leave the Turners’ house immediately. Dorothy tells George that she needs Leanne. George tells Dorothy that she did not make Leanne sign a contract and cannot force her to stay.
Then, Julian arrives home telling Dorothy that Sean told him about George. When Jericho cries, Leanne gets up to go check up on him. But George stops her, saying “What hours do you work, girl?” Dorothy goes to check up on Jericho instead. Julian asks George who he really is.
George says “we’re both good people” and that uncles need to step up in times of crisis. Dorothy offers George and Leanne to stay at the house for the night as it is raining heavily outside. Then, George goes to Jericho’s room where Dorothy is. Dorothy tells George that Leanne is happy with them and that she should be allowed to stay. George asks Dorothy how old she was when her mother passed away and calls her “Dottie,” the name that her mother used to call her by.
Then, Dorothy goes to Leanne’s room with a contract. She has given Leanne a small increment in her pay and asks her to stay. Meanwhile, Julian decides to sleep on the couch.
Late at night, Julian wakes Dorothy up by placing his hand over her mouth. He tells her that he could not find George anywhere in the house and that he could not have left since he does not have the alarm code. Julian thinks that Dorothy and he should stay at a hotel for the night, but Dorothy refuses to be driven away from her own home by a stranger.
Then, Julian and Dorothy decide to find George and hear Jericho wailing. Upon entering his room, they find out that Jericho is on the floor and not in his crib. More shockingly, they find George sleeping in Jericho’s crib.
The next morning, George prepares to leave. Dorothy gives hims a pair of Sean’s shoes. George asks Leanne to come with him but Dorothy insists that Leanne speak her mind. Leanne tells George that she would like to stay. Disappointed, George tells Leanne that he will bring her aunt May next time as Leanne won’t be able to say no to her.
George leaves and says “This is a godless house.”
Then, Sean comes home. Dorothy informs Sean that she has booked a baptism appointment for Jericho and that it would be a good chance for their family and friends to be able to finally see him.
In Jericho’s room, Sean sees the chef doll hanging above his crib. Meanwhile, Leanne sees George standing across the Turners’ house on the street.
Servant Episode 6 Review:
As mentioned earlier, this episode of ‘Servant’ significantly raised the stakes for the characters involved. With the arrival of George, the Turners seemed to facing some danger from a character other than Leanne. In the last episode, viewers were given reasons to sympathize with Leanne and this episode continued to not portray her in a negative, antagonist’s light. Instead it felt like her past might have been the reason for her strange behavior. Is she running away from something?
What is remarkable about ‘Servant’ is that it has managed to maintain a uniform tone and employ similar themes without becoming repetitive. It has established a sense of unique identity thanks to some masterful film-making techniques and its obsession with feet, rain and food. The character of George proved to be a wonderful addition, adding to the show’s mystery and thrill. We cannot wait to see which direction the series proceeds towards with this new character that seems central to the plot and Leanne’s character.
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