WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Servant season 2, episode 1, "Doll."
M. Night Shyamalan's Servant has returned for season 2 and with it came an all-new side of Sean Turner (Toby Kebbell, Black Mirror), who unexpectedly saves the reborn doll of his deceased son, Jericho, from heading to the garbage dump - here's why. After introducing the grieving father in season 1, it was clear to audiences that he did not care for the charade they were forced to put on for his wife Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose). Once Jericho returned to them following the arrival of their new nanny Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), his apprehension about caring for the reborn doll began to waver.
Premiering on Apple TV+ in 2019, Servant garnered such impeccable reviews that it was promptly renewed for season 2. It follows the Turner family, who hire a young nanny named Leanne to care for a reborn doll that acts as a replacement son for Dorothy, who accidentally left their actual son, Jericho, in a car on a hot summer day. Upon her arrival, Jericho returns to them alive and well, but at a cost. Leanne's backstory involves a cult with mystical powers that have yet to be fully explored by the series.
Director M. Night Shyamalan is known for his layered storytelling abilities that always include a surprise twist. Servant's latest twist occurred in season 2, episode 1, "Doll." It revealed that everyone in the religious organization has the power of resurrection, granting it only to those who are worthy, but a key component to this practice is speculatively the procurement of a viable vessel, which explains why Sean saves the doll. In "Doll," Sean saves the reborn doll before it is swept away by a garbage truck, indicating he knows that it is the vessel they need to bring Jericho back to them.
Earlier in the episode, he walks in on an old news report of Dorothy's where a man claims the cult isn't entirely bad as they brought back his daughter who had died in a vehicular accident. This leads Sean to believe that Leanne did the same for Jericho. Later, Julian (Rupert Grint) throws the reborn doll away, but before the garbage truck takes it to the dump, Sean pulls it out and bathes it as if it is actually his son. It appears as though Dorothy and Sean have switched places - except he hasn't actually formed an attachment to the doll. Instead, it's his belief that the doll being a vessel may be the only way to bring Jericho back from the dead.
There is one instance in particular that proves that the reborn doll takes the place of Jericho, which further expands on its necessity in bringing him back for good. When Leanne goes on a date in season 1, episode 8, "Boba," he returns to being an inanimate object. Upon her return home, Jericho comes back to life. If there is no reborn doll, there is no Jericho. Sean knows this, as he was informed of what happened when Julian babysat while Leanne was on her date. When he put the news report and this incident together, he must have come to the realization that the reborn doll is the only way to bring Jericho back, leading him to save it from the dump.
Leanne isn't the most well-practiced member of the cult, which is explained numerous times by her Aunt May (Alison Elliott, Birth) and would explain why Jericho returns to doll form when she leaves the home. They have yet to delve too deeply into the cult's powers and one may speculate that resurrections require physical bodies. Because Baby Jericho's body had decomposed and been buried by now, the only viable vessel for him to return to is the reborn doll. Season 2 of Servant has only just begun and fans can expect more classic Shyamalan twists before it comes to an end, especially now that Sean is protecting the reborn Jericho doll.