Apple TV’s Servant
2×05 “Cake”
Directed by Lisa Bruhlmann
Written by Tony Basgallop & Nina Braddock

* For a recap & review of 2×04, click here.
* For a recap & review of 2×06, click here.
Leanne’s still upstairs, talking to the mannequin. She notices that the attic door is unlocked. There’s classical music playing downstairs. Leanne heads down, going all the way to the main floor. She comes upon Dorothy, hard at work with the mixing bowl. It seems that the Turners want to let Leanne roam the house a little, at certain hours. Of course there are locks on the inside of the doors, too. A twisted vision of a sitcom family. Sean’s downstairs still eating charcuterie and drinking wine; he’s added pills to the mix, apparently. What a morning! We also see that Dorothy has brought Tobe over to see Leanne. All very weird.

Dorothy does breakfast like normal. Sean can’t let go of what his wife did recently, burying Leanne in the basement, if only for a brief time. The breakfast table gets awkward when Tobe brings up the night with the pizza. Tobe also still thinks Jericho’s around; Dorothy says he’s off with grandpa. Oh, man. A house of lies and tragedy and weirdness. After breakfast, Leanne’s taken back up to her attic prison. Dorothy mentions “the ransom,” still thinking it was her former nanny who left that on their doorstep. But Leanne has gone stoic, barely saying anything anymore. She returns to the attic, recounting a recipe and writing it down.
Mail arrives and Dorothy opens the package: it’s a tiny figurine baby. It shows that Sean ordered it, but he doesn’t remember it. Dorothy’s sure they’ve been hacked and their credit cards are being used. There’s also a note that asks for $2,000 and specifies a place to meet. Sean is sure the plan was Julian, who’s just arrived downstairs. The brother-in-law denies it. Then Sean starts to think maybe Uncle George is looking for a ransom after all. So, how are the boys going to stop Dorothy from doing something wild? They’ll have to put their money to use. Dorothy’s already trying to put together a bunch of jewellery to liquidate for cash. Her brother drops an envelope full of money in her lap conveniently.

Dorothy and Sean are selling off whatever they can to put together the ransom money, including his stock and some of his kitchen equipment. Meanwhile, Leanne’s busy trying to do a bit of baking with her recipe. She wants to “make a cake.” She asks Sean for the ingredients necessary, but they’re not exactly a priority at the moment. This has Leanne stressed out, strangely dressing the mannequin upstairs—using one of Dorothy’s blouses—with frustrated energy. Later, we see Sean and Dorothy getting prepared to head out and pay the ransom. They leave Julian at home, drinking wine and watching over Leanne while she starts to make a cake with Tobe’s assistance. Leanne says they’re making a King cake. (Ahh, so she’s the one who ordered the tiny baby figurine!) A very eerie conversation follows with Leanne talking of her mother, who “always found the baby” in the cake.
Julian gets a call from Roscoe, who’s watching Dorothy and Sean at the mall. He’s juggling his other call with Dorothy and Sean, too. Then he goes to deal with Leanne, bringing her back upstairs. Surprise, surprise: Tobe is up in the attic hiding. Downstairs, Julian and Sean talk about the tiny baby figurine, trying to figure out where it came from and they soon realise it was Leanne. So Julian runs upstairs, kicking Tobe out, demanding answers from the former nanny. Leanne says she wants to watch Dorothy “get what she deserves.”
Uncle George shows up out of nowhere at the mall while Julian is busy turning off the oven, taking out the cake. Then Julian can’t reach Sean on the phone. And then Uncle George walks in the door with the Turners, looking for his niece. In the attic, Leanne’s eating cake; all of it. And the lights are exploding. Leanne finds the baby in the cake. All the while she stares up at the mannequin, which feels like a mix of Dorothy and Leanne’s mother at once.