‘Servant’ Recap: ‘Donkey’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season three premiere of ‘Servant’. To revisit the season two finale, click here.
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Often times when the villain is defeated in any capacity in a horror story, it signals the end of that particular chapter. Wherein those that survived the onslaught of terror, are allowed to either go off and live their lives in peace and harmony or they swing by in the sequel to perish at the hands of a vengeful monster that cannot be stopped, and this formula exists for one key reason. In that, it allows for the story to remain fresh. Since new characters and locations and bits of mythos do indeed liven things up and keep the audience or the reader coming back for more and oddly enough, for a time… it seemed as though the AppleTV+ series, Servant, was going to follow this particular formula.
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After all, the Turner family (with an assist from Leanne) had defeated the evil group that was terrorizing them, and they even managed to get Jericho back from the great beyond. Making it appear as though this chapter of the story had closed and a new one was going to be written. But the season three premiere wasted little time in reminding us of the fact that this series is as unconventional as it gets, and that formula is something that it will never follow, and ‘Donkey’ sent that message across… by plunging us back into this world a few months after the events of ‘Josephine’ so that we could see... that life was actually lovely for the Turner family. For Dorothy and Sean had their baby back at last and Jericho was healthy and thriving and that allowed for them to be whole again, and they weren’t the only ones exhibiting smiles in this tale.

For Julian was finally getting sober since he was in recovery, and he still had some kind of a thing going with Leanne and well… that genuinely made it seem as though the next chapter of this story was going to revolve around peace and healing and in many ways… it still might. Since the happiness that trio are exhibiting is hard to shatter. But make no mistake about it, this is a horror story, and it found a way to keep its themes revolving around the power of trauma and loss rolling, by way of Leanne. Because despite enjoying intimacy with Julian and finding a place and a home at last that was nurturing and healthy… she was oft scared in this story. For she knew the monsters she left behind were still out there, and she was convinced that it was only a matter of time before they came calling once again.

Which allowed for the story to really explore how trauma stays with us and can control us and it accomplished that examination… by having us to spend a great deal of time with Leanne in this story. So, we could see the fear that was surging through her veins. For every minute of every day, she kept a close eye out for members of her former group, even going so far as to bother strangers on the street because they resembled people she knew. Plus, she basically refused to leave the house and well, her journey in this story made it inherently clear that in the immediate wake of trauma, when it is severe enough… we are not ourselves and it will have a tight grip upon us, and the only way to be free of it is through care and support and well, thus far… she’s only getting the latter regarding that and that does leave one to wonder if this will spiral out of control. 

Or… she could also be right to be vigilant and afraid since we simply don’t know if her former life will come back to haunt her. Which only adds to the mystique of this trope defying premiere. One that really did shake things up and take us into new territory, all while staying true to the show’s raw examination of the darker moments of life and well, all of these elements make this a brilliant premiere for certain. Since it was the perfect blend of reintroduction and growth and it offered plenty of mystery as well. For we simply don’t know what this story has in store for us going forward, since this is undiscovered country with an unpredictable evil and that really is a brilliant way to set up season three. Because it will motivate us to not miss a single minute of a fresh and original horror story that is going to surprise us at every turn. Until next time.

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