‘Servant’ Recap: ‘Bear’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 104 of ‘Servant’.
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One particularly unsettling aspect of the human condition that storytelling doesn’t quite explore enough, is our capacity to rationalize and normalize bad behavior. Something that is likely due to the fact that it would make the characters seem a little too real in a format where escapism is supremely important. Which is why it is so refreshing when a story does take the time to show people doing everything, they can to make a rough situation normal, so they can satisfy their own unique needs. Simply because that helps to remind us that we are creatures that are sometimes fragile emotionally, and giving into the bad or the unhealthy, happens, because doing so provides us with peace and stability in that moment.
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If anything, this particularly uncomfortable part of the human condition is relevant to today’s discussion, simply because it was on full display in the next episode of Servant. For ‘Bear’ saw Sean Turner take the time to begin to rationalize and accept Leanne’s unsavory behavior, despite knowing full well that she was up to no good in his home. Because he came to discover that Leanne was beginning to bring Jericho into her room at night, and sleep with him and care for him as if she was his mother. Which definitely crossed a line that a nanny should not cross. But with Dorothy being so perky and happy these days, it seemed like a far better idea to just let sleeping dogs lie and allow for Leanne to do her thing, all so he could maintain a lovely status quo.

But his rationale for keeping a status quo, went beyond that particular line of reasoning. Because a little spy cam work in Leanne’s room left Sean wondering if Jericho was in fact… Leanne’s child. For a devout and young religious woman such as herself would likely be shunned by her family for having a baby out of wedlock, and making use of a family that recently lost their own child would indeed be the perfect way to raise her baby in a safe and simple and secretive manner and it was just stunning to see him come to this conclusion. Because it really does speak to how far Sean is willing to go to keep that sense of normalcy flowing in his house and judging from Leanne’s behavior later on in this tale, this is a poor and dangerous decision on Sean’s part.

Because Leanne is still harboring more secrets and is prone to odd behaviors. For she was quick to ignore anything Sean had to say about keeping little Jericho inside the house until the time is right, since she took him downtown, on her own, in order to watch Dorothy work. And of course, it was quite creepy to see her take the time to revisit an old news broadcast of Dorothy’s, one that just so happened to feature Leanne. Because this is behavior that quite frankly, speaks to an obsession with Mrs. Turner. The kind that is about as unhealthy as it gets, and it also speaks volumes to the fact that she chose the Turner household as her place of employment for reasons that go well beyond kindness or Sean’s theories and that’s horrifying for certain.

But while in many ways Sean’s actions here are quite frustrating, his poor decisions, do make sense. After all, he refuses to see Dorothy take a step back and slip back into a catatonic and isolated state. Plus, he doesn’t want to deal with the pain he’s carrying in his own heart, which allows for this kind of behavior to persist and quite frankly, this is a brilliant stroke of storytelling for certain. Because it puts a tough behavior that we all indulge in at some point or another in our lives, in the spotlight, and it does so in a frank and non-judgmental manner. But while it was nice to explore this, Sean and his wife will pay some kind of a price for their complacency down the line. For clearly Leanne is mentally unstable, and the longer she stays in the house, the harder it will be to remove her and stop her from whatever she has planned. Until next time.  

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