Summary
While questions were raised regarding a continuation, “Doll” eases fears with plenty more of the story to chew at.
This recap of Apple TV+ series Servant season 2, episode 1, “Doll” contains significant spoilers.
Read the ending explained for the season 1 finale.
Episode 1 opens with Dorothy panicking, running around the house looking for Jericho. Sean is still testing his hand on the hob, completely unaware of what’s happening around him — distilled by recent events that have hindered his senses. Leanne and Jericho have disappeared. Dorothy has rung the police unexpectedly, so Sean flicks into action and tidies up, taking the music box into the trash in the process, attempting to remove evidence of the baby, so no suspicions are raised. Dorothy plays news footage on cult leader May Markham who is believed to be dead — as a journalist, she reported on it. She tells the police that May Markham stole her baby. The opening chapter of Season 2 brings a direct continuation, breathing life back into the story and raising questions immediately.
Dorothy calling the police was not the best idea
The main issue is that the police believe that Dorothy is not well, which puts Sean in a strange position as he has to keep everything calm. The police know that Dorothy’s baby died tragically, so it doesn’t help the situation. Julian comes over with Natalie. Julian tells Sean that they have to protect themselves. Natalie tells Officer Reyes that they need to give Dorothy space and states that she’s created an impenetrable bubble. It’s fascinating seeing all the characters act normal and deescalate the situation — the situation is now too deep, there’s no return to normality for this group of people.
Sean doesn’t want to give up on the baby, but Natalie disagrees
Sean learns that May Markham was in their house after seeing photos provided by Julian. Natalie tells Sean that this is an opportunity to let Dorothy grieve because the baby was not their own, but Sean is passionate, claiming the baby was in their care. If you remember in Season 1, Sean was the supportive figure for a traumatised Dorothy, but as we open into Season 2, Sean is slowly mirroring his partner.
Dorothy triggers the 48 hours”missing person” protocol
The next day, Dorothy finds a camera in the walls and tells Sean “they’ve been watching us”. She wants to make the neighbourhood aware of what happened so they can gather information — she feels they have 35 hours left to find the baby. Dorothy has stopped being emotional and is being objective. Sean pretends to go outside and retrieve information from other people.
Dorothy keeps investigating her journalism on the cult to see if she can track where Leanne went. Sean is getting irritable and asks Julian how they can find the cult and the baby. Julian is his usual casual self — nothing has changed with this character; he really is an outlier in a creepy story. Later on in the night, Dorothy and Sean have a little squabble, and then Dorothy tells her partner that she thought he’d be a better father. It turns from a squabble to an explosive argument. Sean then raises the possibility that Jericho is dead, which shocks Dorothy. She tells him that she’d join her son if that were true, bringing a dark close to their heated discussion. Dorothy sobs because 48 hours have passed and Sean comforts her. Like the previous season, this pressure-cooker environment emanates from the characters — the stress feels incredibly natural.
The ending
There’s a knock on the door, and someone has left a package. Inside the package is a small baby shoe. There’s also a letter that says “Tell no one, baby lives”. Outside, Julian drives off, suggesting that he left the letter and the baby shoe.
As the episode ends, Sean’s state of mind is truly put on the platform as he bathes the baby doll. He’s rolling in the deep.
While questions were raised regarding a continuation, Servant season 2, episode 1 eases fears with plenty more of the story to chew at. Will Officer Reyes return after suspicions were raised? Why did Julian leave that package? Is he trying to stop Dorothy from tracking Leanne? With Leanne and the cult leaving, will Sean’s senses return, including pain?
Additional points
- Sean heads into the bathroom and looks at his heavily blistered hand from the hob and pops it. It’s awfully gooey as he cuts scissors through it.
