Tell no one, baby lives.
By its season one finale, M. Night Shyamalan’s Apple TV+ series Servant had raised more questions than it had actually answered about live-in nanny Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free), the show’s soft-spoken, deeply religious agent of chaos. In the trailer for its second season premiering next month, Leanne returns to terrorize Dorothy and Sean Turner (Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell), the grief-stricken parents of possibly but not necessarily real baby Jericho.
It’s not clear where Leanne has disappeared to after she walked out on the family at the end of last season, though the trailer offers some clues: an attic, perhaps, in some kind of theatre-looking environment that’s packed with clothing (costumes?), a bauble-covered vanity, plenty of creepy paintings, and a single twin mattress on the floor. We see Dorothy using her position as a local TV personality to spread word of Leanne’s disappearance, imploring her audience (and Leanne) for Leanne’s safe return home. From there, things get even weirder.
It wouldn’t be Servant without food crimes — this time involving some kind of poultry and a miniature plastic baby, possibly for a King Cake but who the hell knows. Dorothy uncovers a camera hidden in the walls of the family’s home — who could have possibly put it there?! — and the family appears to receive a menacing threat by mail. We also get a glimpse of Dorothy watching footage of what appears to be a self-flagellation ritual not unlike the one performed by Leanne. Uncle George (Boris McGiver) makes an appearance as well, warning Sean that Leanne’s presence is an “infection” that’s spreading.
“I don’t know why I keep doing bad things,” we hear Leanne whisper. “I can feel the dark thing in me getting bigger.”
Great.
Servant’s second season will be streamable on Apple TV+ beginning January 15, 2020. Plan to eat beforehand.