Servant (TV Series) Fallen (2023) User Reviews

CGI? Where you at?

[xhessve · 8/10 · 18 March 2023]

Oh man...Where do I start? Before I even watched the episode, I decided I should check the reviews first (without reading any spoilers) and when I saw the episode had a score around 6.5 on IMDB I was a little worried about that season finale.

Now that i've actually finished the entire tv show, I'm ready for my review.

The finale episode of Servant is actually really well written and I enjoyed how the series ended. I truly did.

That said, the episode needed waaayyy more attention to CGI to impact the viewers the way they hoped to. The CGI in the season finale is always so bad that can actually distract you from what's happening on the screen - it's just sad to watch that a TV show that was so well executed for 4 consecutive seasons ending like this.

Yet still, I'll always remember Servant as this weird but pretty amazing TV show for the rest of my life. Thank you to everyone involved into making this show happen.

Season Four (8/10 stars): Coming Back Around

[zkonedog · 8/10 · 17 March 2023]

Had it not been announced that Season Four of Servant would be the show's last, I likely would not have watched. After two seasons of moving away from the original S1 material, I was becoming a bit weary of the series despite its quirky and always-at-least-entertaining nature. But with the promise of a series finale, I stuck around and am glad I did, as this final season brings the show--in M. Night Shyamalan's own unique way--back full-circle.

For the first two-thirds of S4, the focus is again squarely on Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) as Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) recovers from her severe injury. As Leanne begins exhibiting more and more "dark magic" abilities, Sean (Toby Kebbell) and Julian (Rupert Grint) become convinced she is purely evil and must be thwarted at all costs. Then, in the season's final stretch, Dorothy begins regaining her physical faculties and confronted with the dark secret that has presided over the entire series--setting up an explosive showdown between her and Leanne.

Until the endgame, S4 of Servant is roughly equivalent to the past two campaigns--a universe that never quite makes sense or generates any answers to the mysteries presented, yet is filled with such quirky and endearing characters that you almost feel compelled to keep watching even when plot frustration may set in.

But it is the final 3-4 episodes here that really bring home the bacon and makes this last go-round a success. After being confronted by the always-intriguing Uncle George (Boris McGiver), Sean and Julian finally begin taking action to regain control of their situation. This includes what all viewers have been waiting for since the S1 finale: Dorothy having to come to terms with what really happened to Jericho under her care. Such a revelation of course leads to some surprisingly tender finale-episode moments between Leanne, Dorothy, and the men standing between or beside them. Does it all feel perfectly satisfying and make sense? Of course not--it never does with this show. But I was simply glad that the show hadn't gone so far down the Leanne-centric rabbit hole that there was no turning back. If--like me--you had largely been waiting a few years to see this resolution, it does indeed arrive.

Overall, an 8/10 pegging seems about right for S4. The show is never prestige-perfect, but the promise--and deliverance--of an ending allows for the plot to catch up at least a little bit to the characters and atmosphere.

Fallen

[bobcobb301 · 6/10 · 23 March 2023]

Servant provided a lot of fun viewing for me and my family for years, but it was long overdue to wrap things up. This also did not finish the run in the strongest light and I feel like the third season would have been a better way to conclude things.

Julian carrying on the ridiculous tasks of the cult I guess is a fine ending, but i would have wanted something a bit more. The poor special effects an ridiculous rain sequences on the roof, along with Dorothy overcoming her injury, just felt way too absurd. We did not need a Noah's Ark or supernatural or religious parralel, we just needed a fitting end. Not sure we got it.

It's a solid

[alexryn · 9/10 · 19 March 2023]

So, "Servant" is basically one of those times when the answer to the question: "is it this or that?" - is a "Yes." However, they've managed to land it well. It may seem to some that they were extremely vague and incoherent, but to my own surprise it's actually one of the rare occasions, when things DO come together in the end without straight forward articulation of the meanings.

Here are some unnecessary explanations: the Church of the Lesser Saints is a cult consisting entirely of the resurrected. That's why the defectors are literally being destroyed (burned to the bone so to speak) and that's where all the supernatural stuff comes from. Apparently, wayward followers may be dangerous to all mankind, since being undead comes with special abilities - some are more powerful than the others. Leanne is a prodigy of sorts (even among other undead). So, it kinda ties all together when you look back on the entire series with this knowledge.

The other thing is: the church adepts serve, "do the Lord's work" and come to those in need (season two flashbacks). In the cult structure they are being assigned by those in charge. Now, helping the Turners was a personal endeavour of Leanne from start to finish. That is because during her first life (or rather "before her first death") Leanne being unhappy (and probably a little unstable) kid met Dorothy who'd showed her kindness and warmth she never knew becoming a surrogate mother of sorts (in Leanne's mind). When resurrected and brought in the Lesser Saints church Leanne, showing unprecedented potential, was able to convince her benefactors to sometimes visit Dorothy at a distance (which the latter discovered few episodes prior). Hence the supernatural-(psychotic) stalker combo.

All in all, for me the ending helped appreciate the whole show on another level in retrospect. That's why it's a solid 9. The coolest thing is that bringing back dead baby in this story is a miracle that primarily embodies the manic obsession itself. It is unnatural on every level (psychologically, morally, physically and even by the cult doctrine). Nevertheless, in this unnaturalness all the heart and humanity of Leanne resurface which adds a deeper layer to the show, rising the ultimate question of what it means to be human.

Rushing through an unsatisfying finale..

[sportpak · 6/10 · 18 March 2023]

The previous episodes presented a solid foundation for a remarkable series finale. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

The story behind Leanne's pleasingly bizarre presence was anything but satisfying. I felt that the finale should have included a more fierce confrontation between Leanne and the Turners. It should have revealed a more detailed explanation of what actually Leanne is, more details about the church's relationship with her. Lots of questions were left unanswered..

I know that this might be a part of Shyamalan's vision of psychological horror, but I was left wondering why everything ended the way it did..

Overall I really liked this show, I just wish it ended in a more satisfying way..

So good!

[ltlnics · 8/10 · 19 August 2023]

I really liked this series!! Outstanding tone. Great acting, particularly Lauren Ambrose, Rupert Grint, Nell Tiger Free, and Toby Kebbell (the dolls were pretty captivating as well, lol). Intriguing plot with twists and plenty of mystery and drama, even some dread. I thought it ended pretty well, especially the penultimate episode (the top episode of the whole series). Servant was a weird, slow yet steady, fairly consistent, sometimes creepy and sometimes even funny psychological piece of cinematic artwork. I'll give it an 8 out of 10 overall. (I also think this finale episode is an 8 out of 10 as well.)

Tricked Again!

[ecatalan98 · 6/10 · 27 March 2023]

M. Night Shyamalan tricked us again with a lame, half assed finale, with tons of questions left lingering and never answered. The servant, Leanne, the beautiful Young Aidee to the turners was always weird and creepy and in the end, she goes full blown "Carrie", killing herself by burning down the house.

Out of all of this, I got lost about the child, Jericho. Was he saved or did he burned too?

The series were damn good, kept you interested for 4 years and to have it end like it did, it gives me a great disappointment.

We know she escaped from the cult because "something" happened, yet we never truly know WHAT happened? Was she abused? There are little hints here and there that she didn't like her parents.

Why?

Then she ends up having powers, like cutting the street in front of the house in half. Why? The REAL nut case was Dorothy, a mother who murdered her newborn son by leaving him locked up in her SUV car. Who does that? She should have been sent to a psychiatric ward, charged with manslaughter but no, she gets off the hook easy. She is definitely mentally ill and needs a baby doll to take care of in the absence of her real son.

All of the sudden, Leanne is the bad guy. Why, why would she kill herself? To please the hideous cult? To please the turners? Did she become an agent of Satan?

Though well directed, acted and produced, the finale was a let down and that drawing on the wall that Julian sees in the end, sorry but I didn't get it.

In a nutshell, "Servant" is a compelling series overall, despite its ultra lame ending. It's worth watching and it is a proof that Apple TV Plus is churning out quality material on par with Netflix, Prime Video and HBO.

Some really Dark scenes!

[Laqshayaroraofficial · 6/10 · 17 March 2023]

Like any other episode of this show, the first 10 minutes were slow and boring. It felt like they were going to completely ruin the finale episode. However, the last 10 to 15 minutes were really dark, which is what I expect from this show. The scene in which Leanne was talking to Tobe was one of the best scenes of this episode. You can't expect logic from this show, as most of the scenes were nonsensical but entertaining. The whole show was about a baby, but surprisingly, the finale episode had nothing to do with the baby. It was all about Leanne, who was doing things to the extreme because it was the finale episode.

This show should have been released on Netflix with all the episodes available at once. This way, the show would have been much more popular, and I would have loved it even more. The episodes weren't great enough for us to wait for a week to watch the show.

Overall, the finale episode had some really dark scenes, which is what I loved about it. Although the ending might not have been perfect, it was pretty average.

Rest in Peace

[marciop-69342 · 5/10 · 17 March 2023]

I never understood why I liked Servant. Maybe it was all about the atmosphere. The house, the food, the wine, the silence, the rotten teeth of uncle George. We are a few lonely viewers. Just like the Turners are a lonely family. They don't even have a pet. Dorothy followed a bumpy yellow brick road but scarecrow, tin man and lion found her a little bit annoying and ran away. She found a dark Wizard of OZ and her silent wish became true, but with a price. Just like "Pet Cemetery". The show had a disappointing burial. Deep inside we knew this would happen. And that's ok. Will we remember this show five years from know? Don't answer. Let them Rest in Peace.

Killer letdown - RETRACTED!!!

[coreydelio · 8/10 · 17 March 2023]

Let me say ai was wrong. It answers everything. You just have to pay a little more attention than I did. Outside of what is now not a flaw, it was a masterpiece. Anything that follows is from my old review. :

After watching and waiting thru 40 episodes, I am very disappointed.

Nothing was answered. The tidbit at the end referring back to just one time that Leanne may or may not have used special powers doesn't prove anything.

I don't mind leaving things up to debate for the viewer at times. This is not one of those though. It's leaves the same unknown fact that it ran on unknown. There's no debate about that.

There is the possibility of a 5th season. If that's the case, then I revoke my stance. A fifth season could easily stretch the story of Leanne being special or not. Otherwise.....

Truly disappointed.

We are a family now

[AvionPrince16 · 6/10 · 17 March 2023]

So we basically See Dorothy and Leanne forgive each other. And Dorothy tell her that she was very kind to help her with Jericho. And we see Leanne burn herself with the house inside dealing also with her psychological state and proved to her mother. So yeah its basically what happened and we saw that is something else with Julian. That he gets saved from Leanne and now he is member of the family after what the police woman said. Pretty weird. So Julian is part of the cult now? Is Leanne still alive? We didnt see her corpse in the building and she kind of vanished. So we dont really know. I think there will be a new season. And maybe more explanations. The episode was good but really its an anticipation of future events. Nothing more, nothing less.

Enraged!

[brandybetts-36720 · 1/10 · 16 November 2023]

How dare they do Leanne like that. They build all this sympathy within us for her and then make _that_ her ending???? She didn't deserve it! There was reconciliation, absolvement, acceptance... the Turner family was ready to take her with them, rescue her from the storm despite the fact that she created it. She would finally have the family she so desperately needed after being abused all those years then being subjected to a cult. The love the family had COULD have overcome her rage. But no... the writers had to go and destroy her. I'm so heavy and sad after watching her burn. And then the Turners just walk away like nothing happened, to start over. What a missed opportunity to make them into a bizarrely bonded unit that couldn't get away from each other, and yet finally accepted it. I feel so robbed after investing so much emotion into poor Leanne's plight. Boo hiss!

Lovely ending

[tb4now · 9/10 · 19 March 2023]

Now I know the finale received a lot of bad ratings, but I thought it was sweet, and the only way it could have ended. You get back to who Leanne really was, and why she was the way she was and is, before she got crazy positive. The episode had just enough CGI in it without over doing it. The story is about Leanne, and how she felt about the family, not about special effects. I thought is was a fitting ending, However, the ending did leave the door open for a possible Season 5. I loved this series and would differently watch it again if there is a season 5. Maybe there were a few questions left unanswered, but those questions were not that big of a deal Also, it leaves space for a another season.

Too Fast But Still Good - Season 4 Review

[JoshuaMercott · 7/10 · 17 July 2023]

Before you begin, see a recap video. Otherwise, you might feel there's too much happening at once in season 4. I enjoyed it, as I have all the other seasons. Night Shyamalan's vision for these characters was about to cross the finish line, what with this being the final season of "Servant".

The 'church' was back to torment Leanne. Dorothy was back from hospital, after what Leanne did to put her there. Some great interactions continued to unravel between these two. Sean and Julian gave intense performances that further enriched this season.

The suspense and mystery angles were on point, only season 4 of "Servant" amplified them. Spark met fuse this time round. Leanne was facing up to her past, ready to resolve it or be ended by it.

The child Jericho was still the focal point of the series, not to forget his lingering connection to the mystery at the heart of the plot. Did Leanne really 'manifest' the child from the training-baby doll? Is he a 'real boy'?

Bizarre events and kooky new entries further defined the approach Shyamalan took with "Servant" season 4. This season also saw a more vengeful but paranoid Leanne, who was burning bridges and causing irreversible harm where before she handled similar situations in a more diplomatic way.

It was the 'sign of the times', so to speak. Leanne was desperate to end the constant threats against her life simply because she'd chosen the Turners as her own family. Add all the tension the Turners themselves were placing on her, and this season was shaping up to be a doozy.

The ending was far from predictable. They did good work twisting and turning the plot just right so the eventual scenario would never be foreseen but would still tie up loose ends.

I loved how they simplified everything near the end. Many of my lingering doubts felt like they were resolved in the most obvious ways. Like a magic trick being exposed. But then, in classic Shyamalan style, the plot twisted back yet again. I especially liked how they wove the 'Faustian Bargain' mythos into the later half of the story.

Because this was the last season of "Servant", I found myself excusing some of the rushed plot sequences. Up to this point, the series artfully prolonged its mystery elements and took its time to reveal certain truths. S04's fast-paced approach therefore came as a surprise, but not in a bad way.

That ending with Julian (Rupert Grint) coming to know something 'angelic' about himself - following that time (in another season) when he'd stopped breathing and Leanne brought him back - created the right flavor of suspense.

You are not supposed to get any answers

[simanunan · 8/10 · 18 March 2023]

I went through the reviews and saw people being mad about not getting any answers. Well, you were never supposed to get any, that's not the point of this series. The point is to show the viewer that all can be possible answer, as it is with other Shyamalan's works. It is supposed to be confusing and not giving any definitive signs.

This ending was mostly on par with the rest of the series. It maybe ended a bit too happily? It seemed like the best possible outcome that could happen, which I don't think is necessarily a good thing.

I really didn't like how out of character Dorothy was acting this episode. She spent whole season hating on Leanne just to forgive her in just a few moments. But then, having finding out the truth right before might have had an effect on her demeanour.

Quite funny how Julian ended hehe.

I half expected them to find a baby corpse in the ruin of the house. I am glad they didn't tho.

Great finale

[hverma-13621 · 10/10 · 9 March 2024]

I have loved this show from start to finish. The development that led to this finale was so good to watch and was very well structured. I didn't want this show to end, but I knew it had to eventually, however, it delivered in the finale episode. The final episode wove together all the elements that had been introduced and perfectly concluded them in a satisfying manner. The show ended with more to be desired by the viewers, however it was still a good ending that provided all the elements needed for a good ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode and this show. I hope M. Night. Shyamalan makes more shows like this one.

did the writers get amnesia too?

[nptnfw · 1/10 · 20 March 2023]

The ending was a huge disappointment. All of the breadcrumbs that were handed to us over the past four years meant nothing.

These past two seasons have felt so centered around the cult which was arguably the downfall of the show. I think that they could have had an amazing story if it had just been about a family grieving and a dark "miracle" with strings. Jericho has hardly had presence in the storyline which meant that I hardly cared when he no longer came back.

Dorothy's reaction in the last episode was uncharacteristically dismissive of the entire trauma and Leanne's lines were so unbelievably cringe. The best part of the episode was Juju.

20 Hours of our Lives Completed Wasted

[onikage-49324 · 3/10 · 20 March 2023]

The Episode's Premise (as well as the previous 2) is that a Storm is growing over Philadelphia that's going to keep getting worse because of Leeane. The Description says "The World is Crumbling" but without that you wouldn't even think it was. Then there's the nonsense actions that the characters take and the dialogue that tries to sound meaningful (like they're actually resolving things) but they don't. On top of that, this episode is very slow despite it being one of the longest runtimes of the series.

You will feel angry at the end. Angry at what happens, angry at the hours of your life you invested in this garbage that you'll never get back and angry because you know you could have written a better ending with minimal effort.

This season retcon'd Leeane's whole character too. She sent her Resume to the Turners BEFORE Jericho died and she was fine with leaving them to help another family at the end of Season 1, but suddenly she's got a lifelong obsession with Dorothy (who she did NOT protect at the end of Season 3 from falling) and now all Leeane cares about is validation from Dorothy (who drugged her, kidnapped her and almost killed her)?

This is just another failure to add to the pile of M. Night's disastrously bad career, yet somehow people still call him "Great" with a less than 20% success rate.

I knew this would happen, yet I fell for it anyway.

[themadcamel · 4/10 · 27 March 2023]

A great catch! A mystery that will keep viewers hooked... A mysterious trail of breadcrumbs leading up to an epic finale!.... I really wish that were the case. Unfortunately, it isn't.

Oh boy did they drop the ball. They really milked it, 4 damn seasons!

Hell, I could have come up with 5 better endings off the top of my head if I was awoken from a drunken stupor.

The show was masterful in so many ways, Direction, Cinematography, Acting (Rupert G is outstanding)! The Food!

But it went the way of shows like "Lost" and "GOT" and just tripped over its own ego at full pace and face-planted the floor.

Writers these days seem to believe it's clever if they are vague leaving no questions answered. So much so that it's become a cliche, more so than simply having all the strings lead to a neatly wrapped conclusion. What are these writers holding back for?