Servant Season 4 Episode 5 Neighbors Review And Recap- Sink Holes, House Cakes, And Bad Company

I feel like I’m watching a dollhouse play session between God and the Devil. Partly that’s because of the voyeuristic shots that litter every episode. Partly it is also because this story feels massive. Far bigger than the inside of the Turner’s brownstone and the small snippets of the outside world we have seen. The story started so small. The story of one family’s grief and the mysterious girl who brought their son back to life has morphed into what looks like a battle for the fate of the world. Servant Season 4 Episode 5 marks the beginning of the end. The gloves are off. Everyone’s cards are on the table, and there is no turning back now.

There is a new sheriff in town. Try as Leanne might; she can’t keep Dorothy down. Dorothy has her groove and her husband back. When she receives a note that asks for “their wayward flower back,” she thinks it is the perfect way to get Leanne out of their lives. It’s hard to believe just one year ago, Dorothy would have done just about anything to protect Leanne. Now she’s willing to work with the devil if it means having her life and her family back.

Lauren Ambrose’s Dorothy, who has always been so fun to watch with her ridiculous affected airs and clueless demeanor, is more grounded. She is war-tested and road weary. She worries about things like becoming a monster when before, her only concern was if others thought she was a monster. Regardless of the sizable danger and her concerns, Sean and Dorothy set a trap. They invite all of the new neighbors on Spruce Street to a party. The plan is to use the party as an excuse to grill everyone with questions until someone slips up and reveals themselves to be a cult member. They can then push Leanne in their way, and whatever happens, happens.

Julian, of course, tries to reason with them as he is sleeping with the enemy and knows they have failed every time they tried to get her out. Sean and Julian have a tight bond that was strengthened the day Dorothy and Sean lost their baby. Julian may be a petulant man-child who chides Sean for not remembering bro code, but at the end of the day, he is Team Dorothy and always will be.

When Sean invites the youngest couple, he notices they have an entire bag of Campbell’s Tomato Soup, just like Leanne used to eat religiously. They claim they went to Costco and have Kirkland brand items to prove it, but who needs that much soup?

Although an elegant affair with amazing food and drink, the dinner party is a hilarious disaster. Sean and Dorothy are terrible hosts who spend their time asking the strangest questions and abruptly leaving conversations when they rule people out.

Leanne has become completely unhinged. She threatens Sean with kitchen knives and teaches her park people how to manifest their destinies. It’s chilling stuff made all the more frightening by Nell Tiger Free’s unabashed performance. Leanne has completely lost her mind, and Free is having the time of her life camping for the camera. It would not be nearly as terrifying if Free weren’t as committed to her bonkers performance. She is Sissy Spacek from Carrie, misunderstood, scared, and very angry.

They can try all they want, but Leanne has gone full bunny boiler and will not be denied. She considers the Turners her family and will not let them go. While the Turners interrogate their poor guests, Leanne’s park people search through the neighbors’ houses for proof they are in the Church. Finally, they hit pay dirt when they find a creepy picture of two women with their eyes gouged out and the words “Wash my sins with blood. Anoint me with your spirit.”

What is especially interesting is the picture includes beetles and bees. Considering all of the insect activity Leanne has seemingly controlled this far, I am curious if anyone else in the Church has similar abilities. Servant Season 4 Episode 5 is tying up loose ends and calling back to previous seasons. It reminds us where we came from and how precarious our hold on who a friend and foe are is.

Dorothy thinks she has a church member she lures out into the courtyard along with Leanne, but the man is just a pervert. Dorothy saves Leanne from the man, and Leanne is genuinely touched until Dorothy explains she didn’t do it to help her. Next, Sean’s power shut down, bringing out glow lights and an attack. Invoking the neon-saturated weirdness of Suspiria mixed with an old-fashioned haunted house, this is easily the most fun part of Servant Season 4 Episode 5. It is a gorgeously devised segment that drives tension and is pretty to look at.

Just before Leanne is attacked, she overhears Sean and Dorothy discussing their plan to betray her. Before she has time to act, she is hooded, restrained, and tased. It will take more than that to bring her down, though. As a struggle ensues, the Turner’s house nearly rips apart, and Jericho cries. Sean is almost crushed beneath the huge chandelier that adorns their living room, but it stops just short. as everyone looks on, horrified by what has happened, Leanne reminds Julian, Dorothy, and Sean that “we are family. What is it going to take for you to understand that?” Out on the street, a massive sinkhole has opened right in front of their home. Hell has opened up and is threatening to swallow them whole. Find all our Servant coverage here.

Stray Straw:

• I am curious if the park people will develop powers like Leanne. Is she capable of granting powers? If so, that is a game changer. How could anyone defeat her?
• Jericho in the bible was cursed after it was rebuilt when God destroyed it. Given all the wall destruction in the Turner’s house, I wonder if Jericho is both the child and the home in Servant?
• In the picture in the neighbor’s house, there is a scarlet yarn used to tie the couple together. In the bible, Rahab the harlot hid Israelite spies and was told to put a scarlet yarn in her window when the invasion came. The yarn meant she was an ally, and she was spared. Is it possible Dorothy will have to be the one to perform the ritual on Leanne, thus restoring her life and her home? Will the trauma of killing Leanne trigger her memory of Jericho?
• At least one couple is a Church spy. How many others are there, and are Bobbie and Bev more than they seem?
• I still don’t understand how Julian and Sean think they can get rid of Leanne and keep Jericho. They know when she leaves, so does he. Are they hoping Jericho stays with them if she dies instead of being banished?
• Have they forgotten that Uncle George made some questionable comments in the first season about Jericho 2.0? Likely they will want to keep the child, assuming he lives at all.
• Is this entire thing really about grief? Once everyone admits to their part in Jericho’s death and grieves, will it all be over?
• Is Leanne a fallen archangel like Lucifer? It would explain her ability to resurrect and command creatures and why the Church wants her so badly. Maybe this is a case of an angel being on Earth for too long. The longer they are here, the more they lose their goodness. This is why the Church kept her so tightly controlled and why now that she has no boundaries, she is losing control. With great power comes great responsibility, and Leanne doesn’t seem to understand that.