‘Servant’ Recap: ‘Itch’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 402 of ‘Servant’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One particular word that can easily be associated with the first three seasons of Servant on Apple TV+ is balance. Simply because regardless of how many wild moments and ugly conflicts have taken place beneath the roof of the Turner home, there has always been some kind of fragile peace. It might be forged in fear or forged out of hope, but it has always been there, maintaining a delicate balance for certain. The kind that has kept Leanne happy and satisfied in some capacity and it has allowed for the family to flourish and thrive. But as we inch toward the end of this fascinating and unique saga, it would seem… that balance is coming to an end and that is of concern. 
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For ‘Itch’ is a story that informed us that there might be overreaching consequences to imbalance within this important household and that was brought about… courtesy of an ugly exchange between Dorothy and Leanne. Because when we caught up with the Turner household in this tale, Leanne was doing her best to care for Dorothy and lift her spirits and she ran into a bevy of roadblocks regarding that. For Dorothy was being Dorothy and was fussy and arrogant, which is nothing new in this house, and Leanne has oft won Dorothy over with a little love and some gentleness. But this go round, things were quite different between this duo.

Because Dorothy was extra resistant to Leanne’s charms and that put Leanne off of her game and motivated her to push. Which led to a harrowing back and forth between the two. Wherein Leanne flexed her muscles and manipulated Dorothy into the care plan Leanne deemed necessary. Which led to uncomfortable moments for Dorothy and the audience, wherein Leanne just pushed harder than ever and received no yield. Because Dorothy was truly done with Leanne and that prompted a broken plea from for acceptance. One that was answered in the negative, as evidenced by the fact that Dorothy hired two nurses to care for her. All so Leanne would be sidelined and out of her sight and well, this imbalance brought forth some eerie moments in the neighborhood for certain.

Since we saw more cracks form in the Turner household and the neighborhood itself was under siege. Because a sudden plague of bedbugs befell every home, leading to a day filled with exterminators and a grand search for the creepy little crawlers to have them eliminated. Not to mention, at the end of this chaos, Uncle George appeared again, to plea with a higher power to spare people from wrath and end suffering before it began. Making it clear now that an unhappy and unwanted Leanne, stirs some kind of special ethereal power. A dark one that brings plague and pain to households she is residing within. Which could mean the Turner family is in real danger now, and potentially countless others. Because if her power can bring a neighborhood to its knees with bugs over a touch of disdain, who knows what the rest of the world would face if she was brought to her lowest.

Either way, this was… quite the incredible tale to say the least. Because it did the impossible, it removed the comfort we enjoyed through the specter of balance in this series, and completely informed us of how broken everything is within this home from an interpersonal relationship standpoint and understandably so. For lines were crossed in season three, the kind where damage untold was done and now… we appear to be barreling toward disaster. For Dorothy has always been an immovable object when it comes it comes to her pride and her desire to do things her way, and Leanne has always been the unstoppable force that is used to getting her way through manipulation, and those two are now on a collision course of biblical proportion. One that might bring forth incredible suffering and sorrow. Until next time. 

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