Donkey
Episode 1 of Servant Season 3 begins with Leanne awakening, clutching a dagger in her hands and praying hard. She’s still at the Turner house, and has been for the last 3 months. She’s worried that Aunt Josephine is going to return, while her empty journal serves as a reflection of her own emptiness inside. Leanne’s strange perceived healing powers seem to have disappeared too. Dorothy believes a trip to the coast is just what they need, and gives Leanne courage to step outside the house for the first time in a long while. Before hitting the coast though, Julian encourages Leanne to come out for a walk around the block. Alone, Julian talks about their sex and how he thinks Leanne should be with someone her own age. Leanne disagrees though, pointing out how she likes their time together and wants to continue. She stops suddenly though, distracted by someone across the road and eventually becomes spooked and heads back home. Leanne clearly senses something the others can’t, and decides not to leave with the others. While the whole family pack up and head to the beach, she stays behind in the house alone. She’s meticulous, making sure all the doors are locked, rechecking the front door and clearing away the ominous collection of dead moths collecting on the windowsill. In the middle of cleaning though, a loud bang from the other side of the house startles her. It’s just the air-con, as fate would have it, but it’s certainly an ominous sign. More alarming than that is what happens in the basement. Leanne loses control while staring at that same strange hole that Uncle George was obsessed with. As it bubbles, Leanne is possessed, constantly scribbling in her book. When Dorothy rings again, she shows off the sights – and also reveals that Julian was attacked by a flock of seagulls. This appears to put her scribbles into more context, as it looks like she’s been drawing birds. As Leanne comes to this realization, she turns to find someone inside the Turner house. Leanne hides in the closet and rings Sean, telling him shakily that someone is inside. He agrees to phone the police but urges Leanne to leave. After creaking across a floorboard, she hides in a spot behind the wardrobe, between the rooms, where she notices all the moths gathered on that burned body we saw before. Leanne manages to capture the intruder, and urges him to see the light. He doesn’t talk, instead smashing his way free and leaving. When police show up – alongside Sean and Dorothy – they confirm that this is a consistent burglary with what’s happening in the neighbourhood. The thing Is, this guy has taken a few items on his way out, including, I believe, Leanne’s dagger.
The Episode Review
The first episode of Servant gets off to a decent start here, setting the scene nicely for what should be a really enjoyable season to come. There’s a lot of potential this year for us to start getting some answers to what’s been going on. Then again, there are more seasons planned after this so… maybe not! Either way, this episode works to shift the focus across to Leanne, allowing her to shine in a standalone chapter that perfectly illustrates her paranoia and how worried she is abut what’s happening in the house. Whether Aunt Josephine will return and come to Leanne is another matter, but as far as creepy opening episodes go, this one is really quite good. It helps that M Night. Shyamalan is directing this one, and you can tell from the number of angled shots and interesting camera angles that this is a big part of the unsettling atmosphere hanging over this one. Next week’s episode looks like it’s going to be just as enthralling though, leaving things wide open for where this season may go next.
