Servant paints Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) as a grieving mother who has lost touch with reality. Her husband Sean (Toby Kebbell) juggles comforting his wife with figuring out the mystery surrounding their nanny Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), but one Reddit theory states that it is actually Sean who is suffering a break from reality.
The Apple TV+ show follows Dorothy and Sean after the tragic loss of their infant son. One weekend when Sean was out of town, an overly exhausted Dorothy accidentally left the baby in a hot car, which eventually killed him. She was so traumatized by the loss that Sean and her brother, Julian (Rupert Grint), consulted with a family friend to get her a reborn doll to help her cope. Dorothy was in complete denial and treated the doll like it was her late son. Sean even went so far as to hire Leanne to nanny the doll. Once Leanne started working in their home, a live baby appeared in the doll's place. Dorothy was none the wiser, and acted as if nothing had changed. Sean immediately became wrapped up in a confusing and dark mystery.
For a show centered on Dorothy's delusions and grief, it spends a lot of time focused on Sean. The more the M. Night Shyamalan show progresses, the more Sean finds himself being the one to question what's real or not. That's because, as the theory states, the events of Servant are all taking place in Sean's head. But what's the likelihood that the theory is correct?
Everything In Servant Is Happening In Sean's Head
The Reddit theory presents a grim reality for Sean. It states that Sean's family and his nanny burned to death in a fire shortly after the birth of baby Jericho. In Servant season 1, Leanne hung a hay cross in her room in the Turner home; the theory believes this cross was the cause of the fire. The theory goes on to state that the daily luxuries the Turner family enjoys are part of the fantasy. It even states that it's Sean, not Dorothy, who constantly watches the countless DVDs of her former news reports. It's the only connection Sean has left to her.
The are some peculiar elements of Sean's story that back up this theory. For one, Sean rarely leaves the house in Servant. The audience rarely sees him leave the house — only once with Dororthy and once for a business trip. Beyond that, Sean works from home. He interacts with few people, and they always come to him. Simply put, Sean just doesn't interact with the outside world very often, so this is cause for warranted suspicion.
Also, for being a show that revolves around Dorothy's inability to cope with the loss of Jericho, Servant makes what has to be a very intentional choice to focus the majority of the plot on Sean. The more the show progresses, the more it seems to focus its lens on Sean. The Servant season 2 episode, "Spaceman", ends with Sean receiving a call from Leanne. It's the first correspondence that he or Dorothy has gotten from her since she ran off with the baby. The audience only sees a brief conversation, in which Leanne specifically asks why Sean hasn't told Dorothy what she's done.
While Leanne doesn't clarify, she is likely referring to the fact that Dorothy accidentally killed Jericho. Leanne seems very accusatory during the conversation. It's almost like she's blaming Sean, even though he was out of town when the incident occurred. Sean states in Servant season 1 that he blames himself for Jericho's death. Could this phone conversation with Leanne just be a manifestation of that guilt? Shyamalan has already confirmed that he knows how his show will end. Fans could see moments like this intensify in Sean's life until the stress becomes too much and he finally breaks, coming to terms with the heartbreaking reality of losing his family.
Why The Servant Theory Doesn't Work
The Servant theory doesn't work for one clear reason — Leanne. The show has invested far too much in her for it all to be a red herring. Characters besides Sean have had individual experiences with Leanne. One episode showed Julian home alone with Leanne and baby Jericho. In a frightening moment, the baby switched from a live human, back to the reborn doll, to being human again. Dorothy is shown having many private moments with Leanne, along with a rather uncomfortable dinner with the nanny and her uncle.
In order to back up Leanne's importance, Servant has started to explore her potentially devil-worshipping cult further. Servant season 1 ended with the cult members gathering around her, almost like an act of reverence. Servant season 2 continues to take it even further. At one point, Dorothy finds cameras in their walls, likely planted by a member of the cult. Even Roscoe (Phillip James Brannon) - the private investigator hired by Julian (Rupert Grint) - has a terrifying encounter with the cult. He was kidnapped by the group for an unspecified amount of time. Roscoe's experience with hypnosis revealed that he saw some rather terrifying moments with the group, which set them up to be an even more menacing presence on the show. The increasing level of detail shared about the cult is far too intricate to just be a figment of Sean's imagination.
Servant may not be happening in Sean's head, but that doesn't mean he's not caught up in something larger than himself. Over the last two decades, Shyamalan has asserted himself as the master of the twist ending. The ominous details of Servant seem to be revealing themselves to be another one of Shyamalan's famous twist endings. Instead of being focused on Sean, it'll likely be focused on Leanne and her cult. Shyamalan has sewn multiple biblical references into Servant's DNA. Whatever Sean is wrapped up in will likely be a result of that. Servant probably focuses on Sean so much because it is setting him up to be a victim. His family is still alive on the show because it is very possible that they will end up being the victims of whatever wrath Leanne's cult will bring down upon Sean.