Servant: Should You Watch It? (Series Review)
Last month, I broke down my thoughts on Seasons 1 and 2 of Apple TV+’s psychological horror drama, Servant. I gave the show an above average review, while acknowledging that the first two seasons, though usually entertaining, were never really great television. After finishing the final season of the show this past week, I feel pretty similarly.
I don’t know if Servant is actually a “good” show, but it’s not quite in the “guilty pleasure” category of television either. It’s a crazy show, with ludicrous twists and turns, and characters that don’t necessarily behave consistently across seasons, or how normal people would considering the circumstances they find themselves in. It’s plenty engaging though, and I think the fact that it’s ridiculous at times actually works in its favor.
When compared to another recent show like The Last of Us, Servant feels more fun. Even though we’re dealing with some heavy subject matter (like, you know, dead babies), the show feels far enough from reality that it stays firmly in the camp of being entertaining as opposed to being a more emotionally taxing journey, like The Last of Us.
Season 4 of Servant, its final year, really increases the craziness of the show and just goes for it – and I think this is when the show is at its strongest since Season 1. In the opening episode of the season, there’s a scene with birds attacking people that I won’t describe in detail so as not to spoil anything, but at that moment, I knew the show’s creators were ramping things up to a level that they hadn’t achieved in prior years.
While the show’s final ten episodes that comprise Season 4 are fast-paced with a lot going on, Season 3 feels sort of opposite to that, and we’re left spending a majority of that season just waiting for something big to happen. I think that Servant could definitely have benefitted from being shortened to three seasons instead of four, with Seasons 2 and 3 being combined to really tighten up the story.
In my critique of the first two seasons of the show, I pointed to Nell Tiger Free playing the mysterious and sinister nanny, Leanne, as the weakest member of the core cast. She turns it around and delivers one of the strongest performances of these latter seasons though. If anything, it’s Toby Kebbell as husband/chef Sean Turner who has the least to do here. Rupert Grint as Julian is probably still my favorite character, but I thought Free really stepped it up acting-wise.
Overall, I’d recommend Servant. It’s more of a “B” show, but it’s refreshing to watch something that accepts itself as the wacky, crazy horror show that it is instead of trying to be something more. Servant is never great, but it’s never bad, and though it could’ve done with fewer episodes to make it even better, the half hour episodes themselves are never boring.
I thought the ending to the show was fulfilling, which is important for a mystery-type program. I said in my initial review that one of the positives of Servant is that if you’re thinking about giving it a try, you’ll be able to tell quickly if it’s a show you’ll appreciate, and I think that holds true for the series as a whole. If you like Servant after Season 1, Episode 1, I’d be surprised if you didn’t still enjoy it after Season 4, Episode 40. As for me, I must admit that I’ll miss these looks into the always-crazy lives of Dorothy, Sean, Julian, Leanne, and (of course) baby Jericho. Servant wasn’t the best, but it was fun.
Overall Series Grade: 7.5/10