Each week Terry and Joe review the latest episode of Apple TV’s Servant S4, 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 4.04 “Boo”

Episode 4.04 “Boo”: Sean sees Leanne’s true colors while she hunts her enemies on Halloween.

TERRY

When I read the synopsis for this week’s episode, I was simultaneously excited and surprised that Servant was finally doing an episode set on Halloween. How could it have taken four seasons to get to this, Joe? The idea of a vengeful Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) stalking Spruce Street on Halloween sounded amazing and tense…but “Boo” seems more like a transitional episode than anything else. We get a few interesting little asides and character flourishes, but “Boo” is more interested in confirming that Leanne is transitioning to the dark side (and loves it) while allowing the other members of the Turner household to catch up with the audience: they might have sold their souls to a literal devil.

“Boo” opens with Spruce Street under assault by teenagers who smash pumpkins, toilet papering anything tied down and paint giant dicks and balls in shaving cream wherever they can. Leanne, meanwhile, has a brief moment of introspection with her mannequin where she admits that the shadowy being in her nightmares is probably her and that she’s enjoying how it feels when she gets angry and hurts people.

The story quickly moves us to Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) as we see her watching old news reports of her and Sean (Toby Kebbell) dressed up on Halloween and reporting from the streets. “Media loves a power couple” she tells Sean and we get the theme of this episode explicitly stated: “we’ve both made choices.” Choice is the topic of the day, whether it's the ones Leanne made to embrace her darker impulses, or the way Sean and Julian (Rupert Grint) have, subconsciously or not, sided with Leanne.

In a rare moment of self-reflection, Julian and Sean discuss their allegiances and Julian hits the nail on the head: “She seems to make everything work out all right with you. I’ve made my peace with how things are, you should too.” And it’s true. Sean’s career trajectory has shot through the roof while the rest of his family life is deteriorating as quickly as the Brownstone is disintegrating around them.

Dorothy says that neither of them are the same people they once were and while I get where she thinks she’s coming from, I still maintain that, in some ways, they’re full-circling back to the way they were before Leanne disrupted the household. The biggest difference this time, though, is that both Dorothy and Sean seem more aware of the changes in the household and the family. “Boo” brings the point home in a way that I think will set up the narrative arc for the rest of the series.

I’m still completely on the fence about Bobbie (Barbara Kingsley) and Bev (Denny Dillon) and their allegiances. Whether knowingly or not, they seem to be the instrument of change this season and “Boo” leans into that hard. First: we have Leanne interrupting the two of them as they scrounge through boxes of old Halloween costumes in the attic. They want to know if she’s going to participate in Halloween and Leanne responds that Halloween is for children. But Bobbie pushes her a bit, telling her that Halloween is the time to “embrace your fears. Indulge in your darkest fantasies. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.” It’s this push that sends Leanne careening through Spruce Street for the rest of the episode, but the two Shining twins aren’t done there.

Bobbie and Bev also show Dorothy the crappy costume they’ve come up with for Jericho and slyly ask Dorothy what Jericho was last Halloween. “I’m not sure. I can’t remember” Dorothy replies, that far off look in her eye we’ve seen over the course of the show that indicates her repressed memories of Jericho’s death. Later, they show back up with a new and improved lobster costume for Jericho and spy Dorothy going through her journal, desperately trying to remember the past.

I can’t tell if the two nurses are instruments of the cult or plot development, Joe. Do you have any thoughts? I’m also curious what you made of this episode as a whole? Did you love the way Spruce Street embraces the holiday? What do you make of Leanne’s costume choice and the, well, choices she makes this episode? And what do you think about the conversation between Uncle George (Boris McGiver) and Roscoe (Phillip James Brannon)?

JOE

You warned me in advance that the episode was a bit slight, Terry, and I don’t disagree. This definitely feels like a table-setting, transition episode that will (hopefully!) set the pieces on the board in preparation for the rest of the series.

I’m still torn on Bobbie and Bev. Everything you outlined suggests that they are working on some kind of agenda to stir up discontent within the house, even if it’s only planting suggestions or asking leading questions. But Leanne seems so dead certain that she can sniff out members of the cult, and we already saw her clear Bev last episode, so…either Leanne is boasting about her negligible skills or the nurses are really good at hiding in plain sight.

I’m edging a little more towards the former, to be honest. If anything, “Boo” proves that Leanne may be embracing her dark side, but her instincts are off. Not only does she fail to realize that Tobe (Tony Revolori) left her alone after she demanded, but she mistakenly breaks the arm of the teen boy with a fake knife AND she doesn’t clock Uncle Boris stalking her as the ghost.

Hell, Leanne’s most powerful demonstration of her shift to the dark side is scaring a little girl who is barely older than a toddler! (And maybe Sean when she returns home). As far as intimidation goes, the teen nanny still has a ways to go.

More successful is how into the holiday the street got. That was an impressive display of decorating from the neighbours, including the two newbs on the block (one of whom is a lesbian couple!). Some of these houses looked like professional-level haunts, which, combined with Leanne’s ability to whip up a stunning doll/ballerina costume in no time, definitely confirms that Servant is a work of Hollywood fiction. Lol.

Still, how much would I love to live in that neighbourhood? And how amusing is it that once upon a time Dorothy got so into the season? When Sean continues to try and win back her affections, he installs giant spiders and webbing along the outside of the Brownstone and Dorothy’s feedback is “More spiders. More blood.” I never would have guessed that she’d be ride or die for Halloween!

Their slow reconciliation is obviously the other half of the episode’s slow simmering narrative. In addition to accepting his delicious fine-dining, Dorothy is appreciative of his efforts to include her in Jericho’s first time trick or treating. There’s genuine joy on her face when Sean Facetimes in her favourite little lobster in a pot (adorable costume, by the way), even if he does eventually get spooked by the vibes a costumed-up Uncle Boris is giving on the street.

I wonder, Terry, were we a touch underwhelmed by this episode for the same reasons as last week with the séance? The set-up is better than the execution in both cases, for me. I was anticipating some big, whacky shit last week and, considering how spooky and all out the Halloween festivities were on the street, I expected the same here. Neither episode is bad, per se, but they don’t entirely deliver on the sense of scope that was laid out. I feel like I’m waiting for Servant to deliver a big, buzzy episode in terms of action or spectacle like the premiere.

It doesn’t help that Uncle Boris keeps showing up to make bold declarative statements…and then do nothing. Here he and Roscoe talk about the impending apocalypse that will seemingly extinguish all happy prospects for the future if Leanne isn’t stopped…and then they what? Go back to trick or treating? We’re getting a sense of Boris’ plan when he suggests that even the Turners may be willing to help them in the upcoming battle, and that prediction appears to come true when Sean confides in Dorothy that he’s on her side and will help to get rid of Leanne at all costs.

So let’s get to it, Servant! Enough whispered conversations and teases; it’s time! Let’s kick this final season into overdrive!

Back to you, Terry: what did you make of Sean’s realization that he had already chosen a side? Is Dorothy en route to remembering what really happened (and does it even matter at this point)? And, most amusingly, is Servant pulling from M. Night’s new film, Knock at the Cabin, for Uncle Boris’ apocalyptic vision?

TERRY

I haven't seen any metaphors for the four horsemen of the apocalypse yet, but we do have a newly introduced queer couple so maybe! … I'm now imagining Jonathan Groff dancing and showtuning away Leanne’s angry vibes and wanting someone to write that fanfic.

Onto more pressing thoughts…I actually did appreciate Sean’s realization that he had, consciously or not, picked a side between Leanne and Dorothy. I think, if anything, that realization will potentially bring the Turners through the trauma and out on the other side. Considering Season 3 ended with Dorothy planning to abscond with Jericho, this new development bodes well for the future. Now whether Leanne will let that happen or not is the other question that’s somewhat tied to Dorothy’s realization.

Servant spent a lot of time setting up how fragile Dorothy is. Or how fragile people think she is. Whether it’s the way she broke after the trauma of Jericho’s death or the dramatic way she talked about hanging herself with the Hermès belt or her inability to be far away from Jericho, the show hasn’t painted her mental state too well. But we’ve seen her rise up when push comes to shove, so I am curious to see how the realization will affect her. I do think it absolutely does matter, particularly since it’s been the central mystery of the show and the point of so much tension between the Turners and their extended family.

I also think there’s some thematic weight kicking around about the way people handle (or don’t handle) grief. You can do some deep reading of Servant as a metaphor for the way in which ignoring grief can destroy you. Over three seasons, the Turners have buried their heads in the sand and ignored the horrible truth sitting in front of them. The supernatural elements are literally fracturing their household in ways the unspoken elements are fracturing their lives. The show has been quietly building to a moment of realization and self-actualization (and self-acceptance for that matter) that I think the crux of the drama is now balanced in the middle.

I need that payoff, Joe!

But over to you. We’re entering the midpoint of the season and I think we’ve both been a bit up and down about this season so far. What do you think this next set of episodes needs to do to get the show on the right track? You asked whether it even matters at this point, so I’m curious if you have thoughts about Dorothy’s journey of realization?

JOE

I’ll confess that when I first filed my response, I didn’t believe it mattered. I added the question when I edited that portion, but even then I wasn’t entirely convinced. I appreciate how you unpacked the need for Dorothy to discover the truth, though; it definitely should matter to audiences considering how much time and energy the series has pumped into this particular storyline. It’s just that we’ve been burned so many times that I feel slightly resentful.

If ever there was a time for this, however, it is these last six episodes. So let’s add that revelation to the board of things that *should* happen before the finale. And - if it does - I’ll be curious if the clarity would grant Dorothy some kind of power or advantage over Leanne. After all, the nanny has been able to maintain a stranglehold over the Turner home in no small part because Dorothy has been handled with kid-gloves by everyone else around her.

I don’t know exactly how it would work, but I could see Dorothy’s outpouring of grief and realization resulting in the reclamation of her agency, which would allow her to deny Leanne one last time.

Maybe? This is firmly Speculation 101.

As for what else I’d like to see: it was good to see Roscoe again because Servant has quietly developed a fairly deep bench supporting cast over the last four seasons, though many of them only show up sporadically. I’d love to see the focus narrow, or tighten, as the episodes progress.

While the show’s apocalyptic countdown has broadened the scope of the series to expand beyond the house - into the street, the park and, at times, even the larger Philly area - it would be interesting to see the show constrict and force all of these characters back into a confined area. I love a good cycle, and ending the series by mirroring that claustrophobic first season would be very poetic and satisfying.

Give all of these characters - Tobe, Uncle Boris, Dorothy and Julian’s D, Kourtney with a K, Roscoe, etc - a proper send-off, but make them come to the Turners and the iconic Brownstone. Then turn up the heat, break a few walls, open a few more cracks.

That’s what I’d like to see.

We’ll find out if I’m on the right track when we jump back to Queer.Horror.Movies next week for the half-way point of the final season, 4.05 ‘Neighbors.’