Tamal Kundu
As the Apple TV+ series ‘Servant’ approaches its conclusion, certain longstanding mysteries are solved, while others remain as confounding as ever. In season 4 episode 7, titled ‘Myth,’ Matthew Roscoe (Phillip James Brannon) brings George (Boris McGiver) to the Turner home, and he has what seems like a pretty revelatory talk with Sean (Toby Kebbell) and Julian (Rupert Grint). Meanwhile, Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) digs into her past to find out how far Leanne’s (Nell Tiger Free) obsession with her goes. Here is what you need to know about the ending of ‘Servant’ season 4 episode 7. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Servant Season 4 Episode 7 Recap
The episode begins with the day, and it is an ordinary day in the Turner household. Sean and Julian are increasingly more and more terrified of Leanne, while Dorothy is frustrated and angry. Aware of the influence she has on these three people, Leanne moderates her interactions depending on who she is speaking to. While she acts like a benevolent tyrant around Sean and Julian, her relationship with Dorothy has grown antagonistic.
Julian finds the book Sean has been reading recently: ‘Significant Form: Symbol and Allegory in Western Art’ and discovers the marked page about the fallen angel or Lucifer. He goes to speak to Sean and catches him reflecting on the fact that his clips from ‘Gourmet Gauntlet’ have gone viral.
Sean and Julian go to the basement, hoping Leanne will not hear them. Sean seems to believe that Leanne died and reminds Julian that he did find Leanne’s headstone. According to Sean, Leanne has come back as something not entirely human. He points out how things are inexplicably good when they are loyal to her, and she is happy. The moment she gets angry or agitated, things begin to go wrong. Julian vehemently denies this, maintaining that Leanne is an ordinary girl. However, he suddenly discovers that he can’t speak and begins wondering whether Leanne did this to him.
The two friends are alerted When they realize that Roscoe is in the room. He leads them to George, who looks significantly different from the last time they saw him. He claims that he has left the cult and is now on the path of atonement. He then begins telling Sean and Julian what he claims to be the truth about Leanne. Meanwhile, Dorothy goes through videotapes of her reports with the help of one of her colleagues after realizing that she interviewed a young Leanne years ago at a pageant competition.
Servant Season 4 Episode 7 Ending: Does Leanne Have Powers?
In his works, M. Night Shyamalan generally depicts the extraordinary through suggestions, just as he has done with Leanne’s powers in ‘Servant.’ However, in this episode, George tells Sean and Julian that all of what they think they have seen is an illusion. Leanne has no powers; she is simply an ordinary, albeit mentally ill, young woman.
Her parents were killed in a devastating fire in Oneida, Wisconsin. Leanne was also thought to have died, though her body was never found. Her mother was abusive, and it is implied that Leanne probably caused the fire. This was when George recruited her into the Church of the Lesser Saints, telling her the same things he was once told. However, broken as she was, Leanne started to believe that she was chosen and resurrected by God. After leaving the cult, that belief only solidified as she amassed followers from among the church’s detractors.
George claims that everything that has happened to Sean, Julian, and Dorothy can be explained rationally, including Jericho, who he claims is actually the child of a deceased addict. After the death of the real Jericho, Leanne found the baby and thought it was a sign from God and her chance to be part of Dorothy’s life.
As George leaves, Roscoe confronts him, accusing the other man of lying and taking him away from his family. George mysteriously says that Roscoe has served his purpose and he can now go back to his family. Toward the end of the episode, George is shown to be whipping himself and praying. He clearly hasn’t left the church. It soon becomes apparent that he believes none of what he told Sean and Julian and sees Leanne as a fallen angel.
Why Did Leanne Become Interested in Dorothy?
As Dorothy begins to investigate, she is told by her colleague that Leanne didn’t register herself under “Leanne Grayson” after their interview at the pageant. She was eight years old when the fire happened. Her mother, Laura, died two days after the incident on April 17, 2011. As Dorothy goes over her tapes, she realizes that Leanne came to see her every year on that day until she became a part of her family. As her own mother was abusive, Leanne sees Dorothy as a mother figure in her life. And that’s why she wanted to join Dorothy’s family. Jericho’s death gave her just the opening she needed.
What is the Faustian Bargain?
The phrase “Faustian bargain” refers to the medieval Germanic legend of Faust, which developed around a historical person: alchemist, astrologer, and magician Johann Georg Faust (1480–1540). The belief is that despite the successes he had achieved in his life, Faust was unsatisfied, so he made a deal with the devil for infinite knowledge and earthly pleasures. Over the centuries, Faust has been the subject of a considerable amount of literary, artistic, and musical outputs. One of the most famous of these works is Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Doctor Faustus.’
In the context of ‘Servant,’ Sean, Dorothy, and Julian inadvertently made a deal with Leanne, foregoing their moral and spiritual beliefs for happiness and success. At the end of the episode, with Sean and Julian believing what George told them and Dorothy believing her own findings, they treat Leanne without fear, anger, and the pretense of love, not realizing their sense of safety might be an illusion.
Read More: Is Servant’s May Markham Based on a Real Cult Leader?
