‘Servant’ Recap: ‘Fish’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 306 of ‘Servant’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It wasn’t that long ago, that we talked at length about the power of fear and how it relates to the overall plot of season three of the Apple TV+ series, Servant. For a fair chunk of the first half of year three, has seen Leanne cower at its majesty by hiding within the Turner home and lashing out that those who seemingly deserved it in her eyes, since there was concern on her part that her old friends were out there, hunting her, and that it would only be a matter of time before they returned and made trouble for her and the family she loves so and of course… that did happen during last week’s tale. Leaving all of us to wonder not only how she evaded that scrape with death, but what would come out of her justified fears. 

For there was a strong chance that it would drive her to new heights regarding the terror she harbored within. For evil got up close and personal and was even inside the Turner home and well, for a time it seemed as though the next episode in this series was going to dive deep into such matters. Because when we catch up with Leanne in ‘Fish’, she’s not quite herself. After all, she’s sleeping in, keeping a close eye on the world surrounding her and she is supremely nervous about the fact that Sean has invited his priest over as a dinner guest. Since she simply doesn’t trust anyone, anymore and there was a fair chance that her fear of this minister was going to boil over and cause great trouble.

Which in fact, was the case. For when Nancy arrived at the Turner household, she was met with nothing but disdain and rude behavior from Leanne. The kind that Leanne only escalated further. For as the night progressed, Leanne made a point to throw short digs at Nancy about her beliefs and the path she’d chosen in life, and thankfully, Nancy gave as good as she got, and Sean and Dorothy did their best to cool the situation down often. But when the moment was right and Leanne was able to genuinely tear into Nancy, she did… exposing her past and bringing her to tears, leaving the family to wonder exactly what the hell had gotten into Leanne. 

But for the viewers, that kind of behavior seemed related to the power of fear and how it was now transforming Leanne into a defensive nightmare of sorts, leaving all of us to wonder how destructive her fear might become and well… that’s when this story took quite the turn. Since it was revealed how she escaped her attackers. In that, the local homeless kids, the ones we all thought were aligned with the wrong people… were in fact, like Leanne and left the church and stepped in during her time of need to help her. All because, they need a leader, they need guidance, and they believe she can supply it. Which means, it wasn’t fear that drove her to such actions in this tale, it was ego and purpose and a belief… that she can play the hero.

Which was quite the twist to inject into this tale, because just like that… our sympathy for Leanne is removed and our worries about her have changed. Because this was malicious, holier than thou behavior from Leanne. The kind that leaves one wondering where her loyalties lie and what she wants to accomplish and whether or not she is now a force for good. Because power often corrupts and an individual with gifts as hers, using them to exert power over others, could be a scary force to be reckoned with and this twist, simply demands that we continue to the journey to see where this shift in the story is going to take us as we inch toward the end of season three. Until next time.

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