Each week Terry and Joe review the latest episode of Apple TV’s Servant S3, alternating between our respective sites.

S1 coverage: 1– 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

S2 coverage: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
S3 coverage: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
S4 coverage: 1 / 2 / 3

Spoilers follow for Episode 3.09 “Commitment”

Episode 3.09 “Commitment”: Dorothy and Frank hatch a plan to get Leanne out of the Turner Household for good.

TERRY

In an episode about increasing paranoia, hysterical moms and duplicitous semi-children, Servant really brought out the big guns, Joe. From the opening credits detailing that this episode was directed by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, I knew we were in for a bumpy ride. This is, of course, the duo who directed such paranoid mother stories as Goodnight Mommy and The Lodge. And as Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) begins to slip closer to mania due to not sleeping and her well-placed distrust of Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), the parallels between Servant and those two films becomes increasingly clear.

“Commitment” begins almost immediately after the ending of “Donut”. I loved this opening, because it begins where the episode ends: Dorothy hiding from the world in the bathroom. After she composes herself from seeing Isabelle (Molly Griggs)’s death, she sits outside in the darkness and Leanne approaches with a, “are you alright?” What follows is an intense conversation where Leanne is confused why Dorothy is angry and Dorothy is confused why Leanne looks, in her terms, “pleased.” And while Leanne says she only wanted to help and Dorothy responds with a confused “help how?”, the dawning realization flooding through her face is another testament to Ambrose’s acting.

The outdoor scenes continue, this time with Leanne approaching Julian (Rupert Grint) for weed and then sex. She’s thrown a shirt over the surveillance camera that, of course, falls as Dorothy watches from the computer in the office upstairs. The next morning, Sean (Toby Kebbell) continues the pacifism tour by making Dorothy breakfast and coffee while also trying to get her to put Jericho down. It was in this moment, Joe, that I realized just how much the events from “Camp” terrified her: she doesn’t want anyone to touch Jericho because she doesn’t want him to vanish again. In an ultimate slap to the face, Dorothy turns down the meal Sean spent hours preparing for dry cereal…which she quickly spits up because there’s maggots in it.

Joe, this scene made me sick to my stomach and somewhat clarifies why I don’t eat cereal from open boxes.

The biggest problem with Dorothy in “Commitment” is that she attempts to outwit Leanne…while sleep-deprived. She begins searching through Leanne’s belongings and discovers a picture of Leanne self-flagellating. This leads to having Leanne try on a backless dress so that Dorothy can snap photos of her with her back reflected in the closet mirror. Dorothy has also been reading up on how Leanne represents a clear danger to herself and others and calls her father Frank (Todd Waring) to explain how Leanne can’t see the difference between reality and fantasy and how she hurts herself.

Of course, some of the things she lists to her father could also be said about herself when viewed from a distance. The problem is that on the surface, the things Dorothy could say about Leanne (the baby doll, the magical powers, the cult, etc.) sound divorced from reality itself.

So that might be a good place to throw it back to you, Joe. Did you see the direction this episode was taking? Could you see some of the directorial choices that Veronika and Serverin made harken back to their previous work? I know you’ve loved the acting choices Lauren Ambrose makes and, in a series that’s given us fantastic performances, did this one strike the right tone for you?

JOE

Oh yeah, as soon as Dorothy brought up commitment to her father in the middle of the night (after falling asleep and losing time), I knew which way this was headed. Even if you didn’t know that this was Franz and Fiala at the helm, the writing is on the wall from the offset. Dorothy’s behaviour is simply too erratic for a doctor not to focus their attention on the mother; compared to Leanne - who is always cool as a cucumber - and there’s little doubt would discerning outsiders would deem “crazy”.

Still, there’s something deeply uncomfortable about the final confrontation on (where else?) the stairs. Dorothy moves up to call Leanne, still mistakenly believing that the nanny is the one being taken away, as her father Frank (Todd Waring) and Dr. Mackenzie (Frank Wood) stand at the bottom, flanked by Sean and Julian. From the men’s position, everything is normal. From Dorothy’s point of view, however, we’re hitting the Dutch angle hard to confirm that things are spiraling out of control.

Then down saunters Leanne, sticking so close to Dorothy that they might as well be one person. Leanne’s calm serenity and unwavering support of the frazzled mother verges on cruel, particularly when she moves behind Dorothy to unclip the Baby Bjorn as proof that Dorothy is comfortable letting her hold the baby.

And then the kicker comes as Dorothy seeks refuge in the bathroom, the camera collapsing in on her as she slides to the floor, straightening the straps on the Bjorn like it’s a phantom baby. It has all come full circle for Dorothy (she begins and ends the episode in the bathroom). While she’s not dead like Isabelle, she’s now another helpless victim of Leanne’s machinations.

Phew, big guns indeed, Terry!

For me, a large part of the power of this episode is how it capitalizes on the inevitability of Dorothy’s plight. Very little of what happens here is a surprise, so waiting for events we’re dreading is what drives the tension and conflict. We see Leanne cover the patio camera and know that it’ll fall off. We see Dorothy call her father from the same location and then turn to stare at the same camera (Franz and Fiala wisely don’t need to show Leanne watching inside: whether she’s at the computer or just using her magic, it’s clear that Leanne knows what Dorothy is planning).

The combination of strategic framing, F&F’s camerawork and, yes, Ambrose’s usual go-for-broke performance has made these last few episodes really click for me. You and I have had numerous conversations over the last year about horror’s obsession with white women losing their minds in domestic spheres and while I’m tired of this trope, it somehow feels fresh in Ambrose’s very capable hands.

It likely has something to do with the fact that Servant is serialized, so we’re invested in Dorothy’s emotional arc, and - as you rightfully pointed out - her concerns about Leanne’s motivations are well-founded. Obviously Dorothy’s loss of time is due to exhaustion and her stubborn refusal to accept anyone’s help is significantly contributing to her current situation, but we know full well that Dorothy’s fears of her young nanny aren’t simply paranoia. Watching the show slowly crank the wheel on Dorothy’s sense of panic is discomforting for sure, but it’s never anything less than captivating (and heartbreaking).

Back to you, Terry: what did you make of Julian’s confession that he can’t help resist Leanne’s sexual charms? You mentioned the maggots in the cereal: does that mean the rot in the Turner house is expanding as Leanne takes control? And what do you make of homeless teen Milo’s ripped jacket and sudden disappearance?

TERRY

You had pondered just a recap ago, Joe, whether the cult would make a return and while I’m honestly unsure where the finale is headed, Milo’s disappearance hints that something sinister is coming.

A side note, but I’m going to assume that Milo is the character played by Joshua De Jesus, the homeless teen who keeps lurking around the Turner household and seems particularly enthralled with Leanne. I’m assuming because, for as good as Servant is, it’s a little frustrating that it still hasn’t given names to the transient population living at the park. It’s annoying because, for all the story beats about Sean’s own transient past, a population who’s often neglected and ignored is still nameless here. I wouldn’t expect the Turners to know their names, but I was hoping that, after nine episodes, Leanne would have addressed some of them by name. We’ve spent an entire season with them as side characters and we know pratically nothing about them.

But back to your question…I wouldn’t be surprised if Milo’s disappearance has something to do with the cult. We know they’ve been keeping an eye on Leanne, stealing the ceremonial dagger and attempting to use it on her at one point. They’ve been missing all season, but I would love a sudden appearance of Boris McGiver’s Uncle George in the finale. If it’s not the cult (maybe Roscoe is still assisting them?), I have no clue what the ripped jacket could signify!

As for Julian, I’m afraid and curious that Leanne has been slowly weaving her magic around the house, getting the family ingrained in her life and creating a protective shield of rich, entitled and relatively famous white people. While Servant doesn’t show its cards as to whether Frank and Dr. Mackenzie entered the residence planning on committing Dorothy, I am now afraid of Leanne spending alone time with anyone.

She has a knack of making sure things go her way and, over the course of the series, the nanny has gotten better and more insidious about it. It’s almost quaint, looking back at the ailments affecting Sean in season one and two, how she used to physically push the Turners to do her bidding. Now, she seems to be bending them to her will. And I think that’s at least partly why Julian admits to being unable to resist Leanne. That and, as he tells Dorothy, the realization that, “you don’t understand who she is.” Julian is, of course, referring to the secrets he and Sean have been keeping from Dorothy…but I would also turn that question onto Julian: I don’t think he understands who she truly is.

Finally, there’s the maggots. Joe, this house has seen some shit over three seasons. Do you think the house is going to finally give up the ghost at some point? Servant has been grounded in this house and it’s felt alternately claustrophobic and like a safety blanket for three seasons…can the show even leave it, as we’re entering the finale? Or will the fourth season continue to use the Turner house as a metaphor for oncoming calamity and/or apocalypse? I’m honestly not sure, but between maggots in cereal, termites in the foundation, moths in the walls and bees in the chimney, there’s not much more the show can do plagues-of-pestilence-wise.

That said, if season four brings parachuting spiders…I’m out.

So I don’t know how to answer that last question, Joe. Do you have any thoughts on the encroaching hordes of insects? We have just a single episode standing between us and the final season and I’m curious if you have any idea how it’s going to end? Finally, this final episode seems poised to pit Dorothy against Leanne…are you worried about any of the characters or do you think Servant is unable to get rid of any of the main cast yet?

JOE

I’ll admit that it never occurred to me that the infestation could just continue to build, but it would make perfect sense for the series to build to the complete and utter destruction of this house by the end of the series. As you said, Terry, the house is symbolic of both the Turners’ struggle, as well as their white privilege, that it would be a fitting end for the show to tear it all down.

As for fearing for characters, I’ve become increasingly more concerned about how this could resolve, but I’ll admit that I’m not worried that anyone will die. At least not yet. When we come back for season four - aka the last season - then all cards are on the table, but I’m fairly confident that our central foursome will remain in play until then.

As for supporting characters, though? As we saw with Isabelle last week, I think they’re all fair game, which means Roscoe, Frank, Julian’s exes, etc are all in grave danger, especially as the Brownstone continues to fall apart around them. Ironically though, it’s really only been the cultists that have been killed off over the last few seasons, though perhaps Milo will be the one to change that figure on next week’s finale.

I have to imagine that the character’s disappearance will be the primary focus, especially now that Dorothy will have to clamp down on her animosity with Leanne. Presumably Julian will also be expected to follow through on his offer to move in, which should make for some cramped, increasingly uncomfortable quarters as everyone re-adjusts to whatever the “new normal” is.

That sounds like plenty of conflict, especially if the cult does make some kind of reappearance or if the house falls even further apart - be it structurally or from some new plague. It’s gotta be big, right, Terry? After all…it’s finale time!

We’ll find out next week when we return to QueerHorrorMovies for “Mama.”

Servant airs Fridays on Apple TV.