Nishan Chakrabartty
The season 2 finale of ‘Servant’ finally gives us a glimpse into the workings of the Church of Lesser Saints. Leanne, the prodigal child of the cult, is antagonized by the members, and they want to bring her back to the fold. However, the process is grim and morbid as it is mired in violence. Dorothy and Sean try to get a hang of the situation, which pushes them into a difficult condition. On the other hand, Leanne’s integration into the Turner family may seem innocent, but a sinister underpinning is disclosed in the episode.
The finale gives a sense of closure for the Turners, but it is the beginning of a dangerous relationship that can have serious repercussions. Dorothy’s motherly instincts are put to the test, and Sean is desperate to hold her back from committing the unthinkable. A new member of the cult enters into Dorothy, Sean, and Leanne’s lives and tries to upend the status quo. Let us examine the details of the ominous season 2 finale. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Servant Season 2 Finale Recap
A woman dressed in black arrives at the doorstep of the Turners. Leanne watches the lady from her room, and she perhaps senses dissonance. The lady identifies herself as Aunt Josephine and tells Sean that she is there to help them. Josephine also informs him that May and George are no longer associated with the happenings. The mysterious woman meets Dorothy, who is eager to get information about Jericho. However, in the characteristic manipulative way of the cult, Josephine tells her that she will reveal the truth and has come to take Leanne.
Dorothy denies her access to Leanne but ultimately gives in to her demand. Leanne asks Sean about the woman and doesn’t want to be left alone with her. Josephine gives Dorothy a child’s jumpsuit, saying that the truth is ensconced in it. Josephine carries with herself a Betamax player and plays the tape that George had received. The tape’s contents depict a reunion ritual explained by a member of the Church of Lesser Saints.
The ritual is supposed to reintegrate a member who has gone astray from the cult. The integration is a step-by-step process wherein the person has to be blinded by a knife or oil. Secondly, their flesh needs to be exposed to release the spirit, and finally, the body has to be burnt in a handmade pyre. Leanne is horrified at the developments and senses that Josephine has come to purge her. She tries to run away but is attacked by Josephine.
Meanwhile, Sean gets locked up in his room as Dorothy contemplates suicide, thinking that Jericho won’t be back. Leanne tries to escape the marauding Josephine but is pinned down. Sean’s door mysteriously opens up, and he rushes to Dorothy’s room and tries to talk her out of the morbid state. A violent climactic showdown entails Dorothy saving Leanne from Josephine’s assault. In the end, a miracle awaits the Turners as Leanne spends a moment in self-introspection.
Servant Season 2 Ending: Whose is the Burnt Body?
During the initiation of the reunion ritual, Josephine tells Leanne that the Turners do not care for her. She wants Leanne to stop coveting Dorothy, as it is a form of sin. Leanne is reluctant to do so and tries to escape. When she is about to be killed, Dorothy saves Leanne by attacking Josephine. However, Josephine comes back to attack her when Dorothy goes to get help. Leanne manages to survive the attack by pulling Josephine’s veil, which becomes a distraction. She then stabs her in the eye, and in the end, we may conclude that the burnt body belongs to Josephine. The pyre built by George is lit up, and Leanne probably burns Josephine after the vicious assault.
In the end, Leanne says that “they” are going to come after her. We can predict that the members of the cult are not yet done with Leanne. She has somehow escaped their clutches and found her own faith. George was the first one who tried to conduct the ritual on Leanne but failed to do so. Josephine seems to be a high-ranking member of the cult as she dismisses the involvement of May and George. She tries to complete the ritual as Leanne has become disillusioned with their ways. This indicates the closed confines of the cult and its strange workings. However, things don’t go as planned as Leanne triumphs over them.
The reunion ritual is a method to eliminate dissenters and control the group firmly. The ritual is designed in the garb of emancipation that involves horrendous steps of blinding, flaying, and burning a body. Josephine tries to do the same and nearly succeeds but is stopped by Dorothy’s timely interruption. Leanne viciously attacks Josephine, and it could be the case that she chars her to death. Ironically, the ritual is probably complete, the only difference being that Josephine may have become the victim herself. She may have been blinded and burnt, just like the instructions on the tape.
Why Does Leanne Bring Back Jericho?
The Turners finally get what they have desired and struggled for. Leanne brings back Jericho to Dorothy, which is the moment of pleasure that the couple had been waiting for. Leanne, Sean, and Dorothy do reconcile, but the events that prompt Leanne into doing so have an air of ominous foreboding. In a revelatory tone, she exclaims that Dorothy has come to protect her. She says that Jericho will be back in a while. Essentially, there has always been an attachment between Dorothy and Leanne. The act of protection is reminiscent of a motherly instinct that Leanne receives from Dorothy.
The young girl has always been craving for motherly love, as is depicted in her handling of the mannequin in the attic. Initially, Leanne feels the instinct is fading away, but the events of the season finale push her in another direction. Returning the “kindness,” Leanne decides to bring back Jericho. However, we do not have any clues regarding the whereabouts of the baby. But Leanne’s final monologue does give some important insights. She feels that evil is growing within her and can’t stop herself from doing bad things.
Maybe she always knew Jericho’s whereabouts and was waiting for a validation that Dorothy is indeed fit to be a mother. Leanne has always expressed a form of control over Sean through her prayers. In other words, she is in clear waters regarding Sean’s disposition. In a particular scene, we feel that her prayers unlock the door, which enables Sean to reach out to Dorothy at the right time. The pieces of the puzzle are under Leanne’s control, and it is established by the end that she has a dark side. Moreover, Josephine’s burnt body indicates that Leanne will not flinch when it comes to murdering and maiming her adversaries.
Is Leanne Really Evil?
In essence, Leanne manages to escape Josephine’s grasp by removing her veil, which apparently is a symbol of vanity. It tells us that Leanne’s own understanding is radically different from the cult’s — music is a conduit of invocation for the cult, whereas Leanne likes to enjoy it. The recurring motif of the gramophone player hints at these subtle differences between the child and her congregation. The cult believes that Leanne is a manifestation of evil that they want to remove — her presence is too hot to handle even for the diabolical cult, which is perhaps the lesser of the two evils.
Throughout the second season, we are made to believe that the cult has to do with Jericho’s disappearance, but Leanne had him all along. She tells Dorothy that Josephine is manipulating her into believing that Jericho is dead. The jumpsuit that Josephine gives Dorothy reminds her of the follies. The horrendous past reruns through Dorothy’s head, which pushes her towards suicide.
Sean intervenes at the right time, and his perseverance pulls back Dorothy from her stupor. The Turners are able to overcome the trauma and are rewarded by Leanne. The family is at the mercy of the sinister machinations, and Leanne has become an integral part of this. Her supernatural disposition is well established, but the finale proceeds to show that a sinister evil lurks deep within Leanne, which is waiting to come out.
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