Varun Patel
The seventh episode of ‘Servant’ is titled “Boba” and it is perhaps the first time that we get to see the primary characters of the show get some kind of a reality check. Up until now, M. Night Shyamalan’s show has only focused on events surrounding Dorothy, Sean, Leanne and Julian. These four characters have been depicted to be slightly off, obviously hiding tons of secrets which haven’t been revealed to the viewers.
In a classic slow-burn style, ‘Servant’ has finally managed to bring in a character called Natalie who is “normal,” or someone not linked to the mystery surrounding Jericho in such a significant way that they cannot be trusted to look past the abnormalities. However, she is not completely divorced from it and we really cannot say whether the new character will add to the mystery and suspense or aid in its resolution. For starters, we thought that Julian was the one who was in tune with reality out of all the main characters, but this episode proves otherwise.
Servant Episode 7 Recap:
The episode begins with Dorothy sitting on the bathroom floor and showering. Then, an African-American woman who we haven’t seen before places Jericho’s doll in her lap. Dorothy caresses it and treats it like it’s a real baby.
The African-American woman turns out to be Natalie, Dorothy’s kinesiologist. In the previous episodes, she had been introduced as the one who had suggested the idea of “transitory replacement therapy.” Natalie and Dorothy are having a kinesiology session at the Turners’ house. When Leanne comes home, Dorothy tells Natalie about her. This visibly disturbs Natalie as she does not know about a real baby having replaced the doll.
Dorothy has to rush to work. Natalie decides to take a look at the baby after she hears a cry. However, Leanne pushes Natalie and runs away with Jericho, thinking that Natalie is a robber.
Sean comes home to find Natalie and the two talk. Natalie tells Sean that she thinks that Dorothy has become delusional and needs to be told the truth. When Sean disagrees, Natalie thinks that he has become delusional too.
Later, Dorothy returns home from work and informs Sean about her decision to opt for bio-feedback therapy: a decision that would entail her having to fire Natalie. Since Natalie is also their friend, she has invited her for dinner at their house.
In the basement, Leanne finds disgusting-looking pieces of meat. Sean comes to tell her that he is thinking of preparing a dish with those pieces of meat. When Leanne asks about Natalie, Sean tells her that the kinesiologist could be a threat as she might want to talk to Dorohy. Leanne offers help and Sean asks her to be a hostess for the dinner party, instructing her to not let Natalie and Dorothy be alone.
Julian comes home for the dinner. Natalie is surprised that Dorothy says a prayer before the dinner begins. Meanwhile, Leanne is getting something from the basement and notices the floor cracking mysteriously.
Natalie tries to tell Dorothy something, but Julian and Sean try to deflect. Dorothy thinks that the three of them are concerned about her as she wants to switch to bio-feedback therapy. She thinks of it as some form of intervention, gets upset and goes to Jericho’s room. Sean consoles her and after the two of them head back downstairs, it is revealed that a stray dog has entered the Turners’ house and is in Jericho’s room.
After that, Natalie uses the washroom. When she is done, she hears a noise from Jericho’s room and goes inside. She gets shocked to see a real baby in the crib but then sees the stray dog who bares its fangs at her. The dog ferociously chases her. She runs downstairs. Julian attacks the dog with a wine bottle and seems to have killed it. He drags the dog’s body in a room on the ground floor.
Natalie and Julian go for a smoke in the backyard where the former asks Julian about the baby. He lies to her, saying that Leanne brought the baby and that it is a product of “some incest rape situation.” Natalie tells Julian that this isn’t good for Dorothy’s mental health. “Fuck Dorothy,” Julian says and proceeds to tell Natalie that he has been disturbed too. Natalie offers to take care of Julian and the two of them start making out. While having sex, Julian gets distracted by Jericho’s onesie.
Meanwhile, Leanne goes to the ground floor room where the dog’s body had been kept. Natalie and Julian decide to leave. However, just before leaving, Julian goes to the ground floor room to grab Natalie’s coat and upon opening it, the dog runs out and escapes the house. It is alive again, as if Julian had never attacked it.
The episode ends with Leanne watching a televangelist preaching on television.
Servant Episode 7 Review
The seventh episode of ‘Servant’ provides further proof of the show’s consistency. The thrill has been taken up a notch. The episode teases major revelations and confrontations which never really happen but it manages to hook the viewers throughout. Thanks to the series’ well-established, gradually proceeding narrative, the fact that no revelations or confrontations occur does not feel like a let-down.
The character of Natalie, in my opinion was a welcome addition and I hope that she returns for more episodes. She is the first person that seems to be the most connected to reality and is aware about the ServantTurners’ past and what actually happened to the real Jericho. Other than that, the series retains its thrilling elements: its fetish with food, supernatural happenings and improbable events (the stray dog). Moreover, the plot seems to progress at a controlled pace with equal amounts attention given to letting the viewers breathe it in rather than being bombarded by it.
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