M. Night Shyamalan's Servant features a grieving family who've recently lost their thirteen-week-old son Jericho, whose name holds a wealth of significance to the overall storyline. The series is filled with religious and biblical symbolism, including the child's name. While Leanne Grayson (Nell Tiger Free) appears to be the precursor for any religious influence on the household, the parent's choice in naming him Jericho is far more foreboding.
Servant stars Lauren Ambrose as Dorothy Turner, Jericho's mother who accidentally left the child in the family vehicle on a hot summer day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Once she discovered her mistake, it was far too late. Her husband Sean (Toby Kebbell, Black Mirror) was on a business trip when it occurred. When Dorothy's brother Julian (Rupert Grint, the Harry Potter series) came by to check on her, he discovered that Jericho had been dead and decomposing for approximately four days. In order to get the grieving mother out of her catatonic state, the family implemented a reborn doll to replace the baby. As a result, Dorothy hires a live-in nanny named Leanne in order to help her care for the doll, who she believes to be alive.
As the series expanded with each episode, it was revealed that Leanne had heavy ties to religion. While it seemed harmless at first, the Servant season 1 finale revealed that she belonged to a cult that Dorothy had previously reported on and that this nefarious group may have supernatural capabilities beyond the realm of belief. With season 2's release in January 2021, Jericho's name appears to be more important than ever, considering its ties to bible verses and the Book of Joshua.
The name Jericho translates to "city of the moon," but the story of its location is far more significant. It is important to note that this name wasn't Dorothy and Sean's first choice. She struggled for years to successfully carry a baby to term. When she becomes pregnant with Jericho, Sean writes his name on the pregnancy test and puts it in a cigar box along with other written-down name choices. They include Sam, Chloe, and Reece. None of these names are as symbolic of religion as Jericho. Therefore, his name foreshadowed what would happen to him and his family prior to being born.
Jericho is the oldest, consistently inhabited city in the world and is located in Palestine. Archeologists date that people have lived in Jericho for approximately 11,000 years. It was also the first city that was conquered by Israelites during the Battle of Jericho, which is dictated in the Book of Joshua. Besides the battle, it is also recognized for the extraordinary miracles that Jesus performed, such as turning water into wine and walking on water. While Dorothy's influence on Leanne has been part of the young woman's life for ten years, it wasn't until Jericho died that she was able to invade the television reporter's life. This is largely the reason that only the Book of Joshua's verses are referenced in the home security passcode and a sermon - it tells the story of the fall of Jericho. The only hint towards the miracles that happened in the city are the Turners inclination to eating mostly fish, which references the "miraculous catch of fish" from Christian gospel.
Jericho's name is perhaps one of the most powerful use of religious and biblical symbolism in Servant. It serves the purpose of introducing the concept of the infant's death, the battle to find him in season 2, and the miracles that Leanne performs to bring him back through her powerful mysticism. Jericho's name may become even more relevant as Servant season 2 promises to weave in a lot of these elements as Dorothy, Sean, and Julian attempt to get the baby and Leanne back.