Apple TV’s Servant
2×08: “Loveshack”
Directed by Isabella Eklof
Written by Nina Braddock & Ishana Night Shyamalan

* For a recap & review of 2×07, click here.
* For a recap & review of 2×09, click here.
Ole George is still kicking around the house, and upstairs Leanne is walking over her broken crosses while watching the news report Dorothy did on a child pageant where the two originally, unknowingly met. Leanne pauses it on a woman grabbing and scolding her, likely her mother. Meanwhile, Uncle George is using some kind of oil to make markings on the attic door; oil from vials he received in that package with the Betamax tape. And Julian, he’s drinking, as usual. He goes online and reads about the Grayson family fire years ago, seeing a picture of a tiny Leanne along with her mother Laura and her father.
In the bathroom, George weeps while sharpening his dagger. Dorothy brings George breakfast, along with the note about Christmas. She’s hoping that this all means Jericho will be back with them soon. Downstairs, George is outside preparing to use Sean’s grill on the deck; for what, exactly?

Julian goes to talk with Leanne, bringing a picture from the news report he found. She doesn’t respond from the attic. So he goes into her old room, looking through the box George received via mail. He comes upon the hidden compartment beneath and the various vials inside. He has no clue what they are, but just their presence is strange. He steals an ancient-looking lighter, too. After that, he hears music from the attic so he goes back, seeing the door’s open. He goes up to see Leanne and they talk; he shows her the picture he printed out of the girl and her family. She tells him about her cruel mother, as well as the fact that George and May are not her real Uncle and Aunt but rather “chosen family.” The fire at their family home years ago started because Leanne lit her mother’s green dress on fire out of spite. Julian also reveals how he feels about Jericho’s death. He ignored his sister to get fucked up on drugs, then Dorothy was alone with the child’s body for four days.
Sean receives a visit from Roscoe, then the two of them and Dorothy sit out back for a conversation. The husband reveals Roscoe’s a private investigator who was hired to look into Leanne; this just sets Dorothy off a bit rather than settle anything down. Roscoe talks about the “burnt up old farmhouse” and the “tragic accident” that occurred there once upon a time.
Inside, George is gathering… ingredients. He’s putting things in the basement’s hole and chanting prayers.

When Dorothy wants to go back inside Roscoe won’t let her or Sean go through the door, as ordered by George. She barges her way inside anyway, confronting George. She wants answers from him. Then George says “the reunion will happen when the clock turns.” Is he talking about Jericho? That’s what Dorothy believes. But it’s hard to tell with all of the old guy’s cryptic madness. At the door, Roscoe tells Sean to trust the cult before he heads off. In the attic, Leanne kisses Julian and they get more intimate. While they have sex he weeps.
Perfect time for George to put on “Love Shack” and start hammering his head bloody against the wall.

And what about Sean’s healing hand after using the salve George made?
Speaking of George, he’s brought raw meat in to stab at in the bathroom. Because OF COURSE.
A bit later, George sneaks into the attic with his dagger. There, he finds Julian and Leanne laying together after they’ve had sex. He can’t bring himself to do whatever it is he was going to do, like murder his niece probably. Leanne wakes to find her uncle above her, accidentally knocking over a candle that starts a small fire. This scares George. He tells his niece “she” will come for Leanne; and it’s not May, either. He goes out into the street where a car hits him.