Servant: Season 3/ Episode 8 “Donut” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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As Sean struggles to get back in Dorothy’s good graces, Leanne may have found an undeniable way.

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Aired	3/11/2022
Network	Apple TV Plus
Directed By	Dylan Holmes Williams
Written By	Alyssa Clark

Recap

Lost Battles But Not The War – Sean, Leanne, Dorothy, Julian

Dorothy is pissed that Leanne is in her household, but what can she do? Julian seems to be under some sort of spell, and Sean? He’d rather fix things around the house, put up paintings, than the one thing Dorothy truly wants: Leanne gone! And having him sleep on the couch for the last three weeks seems to not have been a good enough deterrent, so Dorothy is coming to her wit’s end. Especially since, with not trusting anyone in her household, she has become a stay-at-home mom, passing up assignments in order to watch Jericho.

Friendship Is No Laughing Matter – Isabelle, Leanne, Dorothy, Sean

With Dorothy having no use for Leanne and trying to minimize their interactions while finding ways to make it clear Leanne isn’t wanted, Leanne feels a bit lonely. Like Sean, who isn’t fond of being iced out, while Leanne is used to being alone, the way Dorothy is handling things makes it so their former comfort in being by themselves is harder to obtain. This is despite Sean having Gourmet Gauntlet and Leanne having all the homeless population treat her as an exalted leader.

But then Isabelle comes around, and Leanne thinks they could be friends, based on Isabelle’s approach. However, Isabelle makes it clear that she has been digging into Dorothy and plans to at least end her career if she can’t put Dorothy in jail over what happened to Jericho. Which makes Leanne think that Isabelle hanging out, including in Dorothy’s house, wasn’t to foster a bond but rather dig for information.

Hurt People Hurt People – Dorothy, Leanne, Isabelle

Intimacy, in all aspects of the word, is important to Leanne. So when it comes to Isabelle wanting to take down Dorothy, Leanne decides to handle it. Using her powers, she gets Isabelle on a dangerous story, and by the height of the moment, Isabelle is shot in the head, live on camera. Everyone is shocked, focused on the television, while Dorothy looks at Leanne, perhaps knowing it was her, and Leanne’s smile gives a sinister confirmation.

Things To Note

• Unexpected Content Advisory: Violence (Gun violence – murder)

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. With having followers, does that mean Leanne is getting more powerful? Hence her influence over Julian and likely getting Isabelle killed? Maybe even the one Dorothy wanted to do the news report sick?

What Could Happen Next

1. Dorothy coming to realize what everyone else has known and seen from Leanne for quite a while now

Review

Highlights

Leanne’s Unhinged Look In The End

For most of Leanne’s life, she lacked power. Her parents died or were killed. She was taken in by a cult, and said cult used her talents to infiltrate different homes for whatever gain or reason. And from what it seemed, the faith of others empowered Leanne and allowed her to do magical feats.

Sadly, once she was no longer part of the Church of Lesser Saints, her powers diminished, but now with the unhoused people, it seems she is reaching new heights. The question is, however, will this newfound power taint Leanne and make her into something truly to be feared? Dorothy has gotten off easy, considering what she has said and tried to do, but will that last forever? Could Leanne’s care for Sean and Julian be the only thing keeping Dorothy alive? If not, Leanne’s nostalgia from Dorothy coming to her pageant?

Either way, Leanne killing Isabelle, without being physically attacked, and having Isabelle’s death be so public and graphic should be seen as a turning point. One that could mean the Leanne we knew is slipping away, and the woman she is becoming may be anything but sweet and innocent, beyond a ruse.

On The Fence

Wishing The Show Didn’t Always Wait Until The End Of The Season To Get Good

Unfortunately, like an NBC comedy, Servant is the kind of show you have to preface doesn’t get good until this point. It is usually towards the end of the first season or multiple seasons in for NBC comedies. For Servant, it is the last few episodes for the first half of the season? Often it is so dry that convincing anyone to make it through will have them questioning your taste.

And I bring this up for this episode because this has happened three seasons in a row now, and I’m wondering whether it will continue in season four? Will we, once again, have episodes that drag until the show gets over the hill and then starts barrelling, full force, to the finale?

I get M. Night Shymalan likes a long build-up, and he has clout in Hollywood, but maybe someone at Apple TV Plus should use the influence of controlling the budget on this show?

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