Servant: Season 1 Episode 9 “Jericho” Recap/ Review

Dorothy cuddling with Jericho.

We finally learn what happened to Jericho, who is responsible, and why Julian has long been shaken about Jericho’s death.


We finally learn what happened to Jericho, who is responsible, and why Julian has long been shaken about Jericho’s death.


Directed By M. Night Shyamalan
Written By Tony Basgallop
Aired (Apple TV+) 1/10/2020
Introduced This Episode
Isabelle Molly Griggs

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Episode Recap

The Life Sean Could Have Had: Sean, Dorothy

At the beginning of the series, Sean was touted as this big deal chef. However, we learn this episode, not too long after Jericho’s birth, he was given the opportunity to reach new heights. Specifically, Sean had a chance to be the center seat judge on a cooking competition show, similar to what you often see on the Food Network. However, after Jericho’s death, it seemed Sean found himself unable to stay too far from Dorothy out of fear of what could happen.

How Can You Live With Yourself: Leanne, Dorothy, Sean, Isabelle

Leanne learning the truth leads to two things: The first being Sean having to explain himself and his take on the situation. He doesn’t blame Dorothy, for he should have been there. He didn’t leave Dorothy for he saw it as a mistake. For Leanne, being that she is assumingly young, and a bit naïve, these answers aren’t necessarily strong enough. Hence her torturing Dorothy by not letting her sleep, trying to trigger her into remembering what she did to Jericho, and making it so Dorothy becomes increasingly insecure.

Isabelle (Molly Griggs) signing off from her news report.
Isabelle (Molly Griggs)

How? Well, by noting her getting closer to Sean, Leanne poking at Dorothy’s weight, and making it so Isabelle, a bit of a rival to Dorothy, gets to be seen on camera and in a bikini during a pool segment. Furthering Dorothy dealing with the kind of dark feelings Leanne sees as karma.

The Four Day Period: Sean, Dorothy, Julian

So, let’s retrace what happened. Dorothy has Jericho by a home birth, and while Sean is around, she is fine. That is until Sean leaves for California and Dorothy struggles at being on her own. For with Julian assumingly back on drugs, and no form of help available or called, Dorothy suffers exhaustion. Which, by the way, isn’t helped by a heatwave.

Thus leading to how Jericho died. Jericho died due to Leanne leaving him in the car for almost half a day, while the temperature was over 105 degrees Fahrenheit. She didn’t notice he wasn’t in the house, after bringing in groceries, taking a nap, and watching Sean on TV, until sometime that night. So, at the very least, she completely forgot about Jericho for 5 or more hours.

Yet, when she gets Jericho, there is no shock, no, “I LEFT MY BABY IN THE CAR!” Rather, it is like time didn’t past, and she simply brought in the groceries then got Jericho. Hence her bathing him, pumping her breast for milk, and holding him still like he is alive – all the while not taking note her formerly fussy kid has been quiet for quite some time.

However, it seems to hit her when she finally hears a cry and realizes it is her baby monitor picking up someone else’s feed. Add in Julian arriving at night, days after Jericho’s death, then Sean exactly 4 days after Jericho’s death, and that could have been the beginning of the end of Dorothy’s sanity.

Plot Synopsis (The Short and Sweet Recap)

  1. Jericho died due to Dorothy leaving him in the car, Sean in California filming a competition series, and Julian, allegedly, using drugs again.
  2. With learning Dorothy is the reason the original Jericho died, she tortures Dorothy, as subtly as possible, with Sean maybe picking up on what she is doing.

Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs

Other Noteworthy Facts, Moments, and Random Thoughts

  • Note: At about 18:53, Dorothy projectile vomits, and continues to make retching sounds up until 19:42

Comment Down Below

  1. Do you think, considering many are at least tried for the death of a child left in a vehicle, who dies, that Dorothy should be charged or has her suffering been enough?

Review/ Commentary

Highlights

Learning How Jericho Died

Us seeing the temperature when Jericho was left in the car.

“Servant” has never really been much for answers. Sean pulling pieces of wood out of his body, we assumed that was caused by Leanne. The same could be said about Dorothy and her staring off into space. For a time, it was assumed it was due to Leanne, but there was also the possibility of it being postpartum depression – if not a psychotic break. On top of that, there are a load of questions when it comes to who Leanne is, where she truly came from, how she learned about the job with Dorothy, and so much more.

But, while many questions are floating about, one that has been built up to consistently is, “What happened to Jericho?” A question which we finally got the answer to, and while it wasn’t an emotional experience or explosive, it gave a sense of closure. Also, it made it seem this show isn’t going to drag things out forever but sometimes will plainly layout an answer as to what happened.

There Being Room To Still Explore The Initial Reactions

With that said, there are still gaps to fill. There is Julian calling Natalie and how that conversation worked. We definitely need to bring in Sean’s family, friends and see how they reacted to Jericho either before the original one’s death or how they will react now. Also, while Sean is understanding now, what did he say and feel when he first discovered? Heck, when the doll came in, and there were conversations about who could know the truth, how did that go?

Those questions, alongside the others that linger, could very well fill up the rest of “Servant’s” episode order. Maybe not on the level of to make this the top anything, but still worth an Apple TV+ subscription for a little while longer.

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There Being Room To Still Explore The Initial Reactions - 85%
Learning How Jericho Died - 86%

86%

Trajectory – Upward: While I firmly remain in the camp that sees “Servant” as a shown that would have made a better mini-series than a show planned for multiple seasons, with getting the answer to a long-held question, episode 9 produces an uptick. One I can’t say will last for long, but it is certainly an uptick.

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