Summary
The ending of Servant season 2 leaves the audience wanting more as it ends in theatrical circumstances — “Josephine” is a true finale, awarding viewers for their patience.
This recap of the Apple TV+ series Servant season 2, episode 10, “Josephine” — the ending/finale explained — contains significant spoilers.
We always knew the finale of Servant season 2 would be dramatic, but episode 10 goes places it has never gone before, bringing an ending that will give many the creeps as Leanne evolves. Let’s break down the final episode of season 2. Episode 10 opens with Leanne holding the fake baby, and she sees her aunt Josephine outside. Josephine knocks on the door and asks Sean about Jericho and insists she has a gift for Leanne; she further explains that Aunt May and Uncle George are not involved anymore. Josephine walks into the house and calls Dorothy “the warrior”. There are warning signs immediately — this is not going to be a normal chapter. This is what George warned Leanne about.
Josephine wants to see Leanne / Dorothy gives her 15 minutes
Josephine hugs Dorothy and offers her sympathy for Jericho; she explains that she was not meant to be “part of this” and admires the effort she’s put in; she wants it to end for her. Josephine asks to see Leanne. Dorothy resists; she doesn’t want to play anymore. Josephine strokes her face and tells her to let go and that “it’s all going to be alright now”. Dorothy gives Josephine 15-minutes — “It’s Jericho for Leanne”.
Throughout season 2, Dorothy has stayed on this non-negotiable point. Little did we know is that there was a chance.
Josephine tells Leanne that the Turner family do not love her / she gives Dorothy the truth
Upstairs, Leanne is scared of Josephine and tells Sean that she does not want to be left alone with her. When Josephine sits with Leanne in the loft, she tells her she doesn’t belong here and that the Turner family do not love her. After this conversation, Josephine tells Dorothy that Leanne is leaving and abides by her promise by giving her “the truth”. She gives her a baby onesie neatly folded. This clearly translates a message to Dorothy as she’s suddenly overcome with emotion.
Josephine plays Leanne a tape // Dorothy is absorbed by Jericho’s room
Sean checks up on Dorothy, who has locked herself in Jericho’s bedroom and will not open — she’s frantically sorting out the fake baby. When he tries unlocking his phone, the door locks behind him. Josephine heads up to the loft and asks Leanne, “is it prepared?” and gives her a tape cassette, calling it “the final warning”.
When Leanne plays the tape, it’s a reunion ritual tape to bring back those “who are lost” back to the church. The video shows plenty of disturbing scenes with people attacking their own flesh. Another scene shows a man killing a human dummy to “be reunited with God” and burn the body on fire. The man on the tape reminds Leanne who her adversary truly is and that being part of the church saves people.
Servant season 2, episode 10 brings a horrible indoctrination and insight into how this Church operates.
Josephine asks Leanne to renounce to the Lord
Josephine tells Leanne that they are here for one purpose — “to serve Him”. Leanne and Josephine pray together for the Lord, and Leanne asks Him to reign her body for the purpose of her will. Josephine asks Leanne to renounce that she will forget Dorothy Turner as they have no room for attachments. Leanne struggles on this statement, so Josephine throws her to the floor and splashes boiling hot water over her eyes and says — “it is a sin to covet someone, even a mother”, and walks off. Audiences will be wondering, is Josephine Leanne’s mother? It was a specific statement.
Leanne is struggling to see, and she makes her way downstairs and grabs a knife. In the kitchen, Josephine is hurting herself repeatedly. Eventually, Leanne’s vision returns, and she makes it into the basement. Josephine bangs on the basement door and tells Leanne that she’s lost her way and that she must “pay the price”.
Dorothy vows to end her life
The next scene maybe is uncomfortable for some viewers as the episode gets darker for different reasons.
Sean repeatedly calls out for Dorothy, who is still absorbed by the baby pyjamas. Sean climbs out of the window but then notices the door is open. He asks Dorothy to open the door, but she responds with, “they killed him, Sean”, and that she has horrible feelings and wants it to end, implying that she’s going to kill herself. Sean tries to talk her out of it, but Dorothy explains how she and the baby are the same soul and that she needs to be with her son. Sean gets upset, and there’s a strain in his voice that ripples through the screen and hits the audience as he says, “what about me? I need you. How do I breathe without you”. He tells her that he will never forgive her if she ends her life, but Dorothy apologises, saying the decision is made.
Sean asks the question, “what if he’s still alive?”. This changes something in Dorothy’s mind, and she opens the door. Sean used the last roll of the dice — he used Jericho as a way of stopping her.
Dorothy to the rescue
In the basement, Leanne hides from Josephine, and she covers her mouth so the woman cannot see her. Josephine sets the pit on fire. Leanne tries to make it to the door, but Josephine grabs, throws her to the floor and stabs Leanne in the arm. Josephine asks the Lord to save Leanne. Dorothy then hits Josephine with a shovel to knock her out and goes to Leanne’s aid. Dorothy tells Leanne that she’s off to get Sean and that she will be right back, but as she’s about to leave, Leanne tells Dorothy that Josephine wanted her to think that Jericho was gone, but he’s not. She promises to bring him back to Dorothy, which brings a change of perspective to the entire story. Leanne laughs and tells an unconscious Josephine that Dorothy protected her like a daughter.
Leanne’s need for a mother figure is strongly evident; it’s what keeps her at the Turners and connected to them. Dorothy needs a child, and Leanne needs a mother. A clash of two traumatic worlds.
A desperate fightback from Leanne
Leanne heads to the fire pit and stokes a knife, but Josephine grabs Leanne and starts strangling her. Leanne takes off Josephine’s veil, and they are both in shock. Josephine crawls away and puts her veil back on. Leanne walks up to her and says, “vanity is a sin, aunt Josephine” and stabs her right through her eyeballs and through the skull with the stoked knife.
Sean and Dorothy head to the basement — the fire pit is now embers but Leanne is not there, and neither is Josephine’s body. Dorothy tells Sean that Leanne’s going to get Jericho. We’ve all heard this before, but at this point, the audience will believe it.
The ending
Sean tells Dorothy that she doesn’t believe Leanne is bringing Jericho back. He asks her if she remembers the time last August when he went to California and left her alone with Jericho. As he’s about to tell her the story of what happened, Dorothy turns the baby monitor on, and she can hear Leanne singing a lullaby in the nursery room. Sean and Dorothy see Leanne next to the cot, and she’s holding a baby that’s alive. Dorothy is unable to contain herself and holds the baby. Sean simply says, “Jericho”. Leanne tells the Turners that they are going to be a family now.
What was interesting is that Sean was ready to face the possibility of letting Dorothy know the truth about what happened to their baby that fatal day when he took a career opportunity.
As the episode ends, Dorothy and Sean spend time with the baby, and Leanne speaks to herself on her bed and says, “I don’t know why I keep doing bad things. I scare myself sometimes. I can feel the dark thing in me getting bigger”. As she says that, the entire street has a power cut, and she says, “but I’m tired of everyone telling me what’s wrong with me. Maybe there’s nothing wrong. Maybe this is who I am. And I know how this works. I know they are coming for me, but don’t worry, I’ll be ready”.
The camera pans to a charred aunt Josephine hidden in the basement.
The ending of Servant season 2 leaves the audience wanting more as it ends in theatrical circumstances — episode 10 is a true finale, awarding viewers for their patience. Anything can happen in season 3, but expect an assault of strangeness of the Turner household.
