SERVANT S4: An Explosive & Fulfilling Finale

It’s time for the doors to close on the Turner home. The striking brownstone that has become a character in and of itself throughout Servant is sharing the last of its secrets. It’s been the place of horror, the catalyst for hope, and a reminder of pain.

In Servant’s fourth and final season, the story concludes with a satisfying, gripping, and fitting finish. This is a show that has a distinctive style I hadn’t seen before, and it’s one I’ll surely miss.

It’s Messy

After the events of the last season, the Turner household is as tense as it’s ever been. The distrust of Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) is palpable and Dorothy’s (Lauren Ambrose) condition is fragile. She hires two nurses to look after her and avoids Leanne as much as she can from the confines of her bed. Can they be trusted? Can anyone?

Sean (Toby Kebbell) is trying to keep the peace, but it’s further driving the wedge between the family. Julian (Rupert Grint), who has had an off-and-on-again relationship with Leanne, isn’t sure what to think. His snarky commentary continues to stoke the comedic fire, while Ambrose knocks it out of the park as Dorothy, unyielding in her emotions at all levels of intensity.

Leanne is feeling powerful and dangerous, and it’s this reckless nature that encompasses the season. Her devoted following still lingers, and those from her past are always waiting in the shadows, anticipating their ideal moment to strike.

This season gives us some theories to chew on. Servant has continuously dabbled in the supernatural, but the answers haven’t always been concrete. The intellectual themes spike in four, making us wonder about what we’ve seen and how to perceive the pieces that have carefully been doled out. It takes a bold approach and treads the ambiguity line.

The show begins with grief, and it ends there too. One can stave it off and find ways to elude its tightening grip, but a Band-Aid isn’t conducive to healing. Servant has allowed the Turners bandages, alternative remedies, and a keen talent for denial. But it’s time for the wounds to be exposed.

I have been a fan of Servant since its conception, patiently biding my time during the gaps between seasons, wondering what will happen next. The series hasn’t relented on its ambition to inspire intrigue, filling this eerie atmosphere with stellar performances and a uniquely captured plot.

Season four is a ride. It has its highs and lows, a mid-section that sags in comparison to the other episodes, but overall it’s an excellently conceived final chapter. The same tone and performances from our talented cast continue from previous seasons.

It remains heady and suspenseful but also taps into the heart. Season four delivers an emotional ending that fits the narrative and family we’ve spent four years with. Servant has become of the best horrors on television.

It’s Complicated

The final moments are emotional and spooky, and they closed the show with the wit I’d learned to love. There’s the earned inanity and the visuals and dialogue that hit perfectly.

Trevor Gureckis’ score continues to be a blend of weird, atmospheric synth. The production design keeps the space seeming small despite the grandeur and lifestyle of the Turners. It’s a sort of prison, a pretty cage of hidden truths.

Show creators Tony Basgallop and M. Night Shyamalan curate an emotionally charged, fittingly strange final few episodes that will shake you. Shyamalan’s penchant for surprises is alive as ever, and this is one of the projects that doesn’t flounder in the ending. If anything, it’s strengthened.

The cast is so good at doing hilarity and despair that this family inhabits its own grey space, that loopy, lurid place. For many of their arcs, these aren’t the most likable of people, and yet the Turners remain sympathetic and wholly captivating.

It’s Epic

Catharsis is found, and humanity is returned. A loving nature is present and reality grasped, held, screaming, “I remember, I understand.”

But it doesn’t slouch on the creepy undertones, the chilling question of terror that lingers on the precipice of the unknown. The series has always hinged on the art of denial that our characters so skillfully hone. Now, in in the culmination of four seasons, they are forced to see.

Conclusion:

What a stranger journey it has been with cults, an exploration of life and death, the effects of trauma, curious cuisine, and a plethora of psychological mysteries.

Servant ends with some stellar performances, an impactful last few scenes, and a perfect final line. It waves us off with a discomforting smirk and plenty to ponder, solidifying itself as one of the best that genre TV has to offer.

The full series of Servant is now streaming on Apple TV+.