The Pink Balloon
Servant returns this week with another slow episode, one that doesn’t advance the plot along all that much and serves as the proverbial deep breath before next month’s climactic finale. As a heads up to readers, this first season does end on an almighty cliffhanger so do be aware of that. We begin episode 7 of Servant back in the house, as Natalie arrives to check on Dorothy. She begins to massage her temples, telling the stressed Mother to think of a situation where she’s been particularly flustered in a bid to try and alleviate the tension. However, the session is cut short when Leanne arrives back home with Jericho. When she mentions the Nanny to Natalie however, her eyes change to show fear and concern. While Dorothy leaves, Natalie heads upstairs where she finds Jericho in his crib. As she leans over to look at the baby, Leanne grabs her hair and pulls her down before scampering further upstairs with Jericho in her arms. As things settle down for now, Sean hires Leanne as the hostess for the night during dinner, just as Julian arrives following his fruitless endeavour with the private investigator. As they sit down to eat, a solitary pink balloon blocks the table awkwardly until Leanne pops it and Dorothy says grace alone. While Natalie comments on the oddness of her behaviour, Leanne heads downstairs to pick up another bottle of red wine, jumping back in surprise when the wall suddenly cracks open. Thinking nothing of it, she heads back up where she sees Natalie questioning Dorothy’s belief system; Dorothy takes offence and self-congratulates her accomplishments, leaving the trio at the table contemplating whether they’re doing the right thing or not. While a dog hides in the corner of the room upstairs, watching from afar, the group put the awkwardness of dinner behind them and decide to play a game. However, that very same dog rushes downstairs and becomes rabid, prompting Julian to beat it down while Leanne watches from afar. This is a step too far for everyone and they skip dessert, leaving an angry Leanne breathing heavily while Sean reassures Dorothy that everything will be okay. Unfortunately this commotion sees Natalie learn the truth about Jericho but it turns out there’s something deeper going on here. Something happened surrounding Jericho, the real Jericho, but quite what that is remains hidden for now. As the episode closes out, Sean and Dorothy hug while Julian and Natalie get hot and heavy. Leanne meanwhile, begins to lose her composure while praying. The dog, which appeared to be dead, suddenly wakes up and runs out the house which is where we leave the episode. What is going on in this house? The rabid dog and Leanne’s seeming mind control is something that’s particularly strange, while the added mystery of just who or what Jericho is adds another layer of mystery to the fold too. Those looking for definitive answers at the end of this season may well be left disappointed as despite some solid leads to go on and background around Leanne, there isn’t a whole lot about Jericho this season. Some of the shots are brilliantly done though, including the scenes involving the pink balloon on the table, which certainly managed to bring an air of awkwardness to proceedings. In terms of plot progression though, there really isn’t a whole lot of it here and Servant bows out with another episode that doesn’t really answer anything. Quite what will happen next though, remains to be seen.
