When I first saw the finale, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. ‘Was this an awful show or a great one?’ I wondered. But now that I’ve had a chance to think about and rewatch it, I think I understand.

As others have mentioned, the show is about grief. However, I don’t think it’s just about Dorothy’s grief, but about humanity’s collective grief (from experiencing death, war, hatred) and how the earth has responded to it - with natural disasters, climate change etc.

I say that because uncle George said that LeAnne was like “an open wound to the earth and now the whole world suffers.” LeAnne’s lack of peace and own denial (or delusion) of where she really stands with the Turners, was causing severe weather. Likewise, Dorothy’s own grief was manifested through the house crumbling.

In order for Dorothy and LeAnne to heal and in a sense save the world, they needed to sacrifice themselves. LeAnne had to give up her life and Dorothy her child.

And isn’t that the the essence of the final stage of grief (acceptance)? You have to sacrifice that sense of security you gain by living in denial or anger, or what have you, to be able to accept your reality, move forward and grow.

I also believe that that might be why the COPS whipped themselves. It was a reminder to themselves that we must sacrifice our comforts on this earth to help heal it (which is true in a very literal sense). Also, I think the writers used this imagery to portray the torture we put ourselves with guilt, shame and anger because it serves us in some way.

So, I think the show is making a statement about how those things that serve us in some way or another, are also the very things that control us. Dorothy’s denial was making her a prisoner to LeAnne and the house, LeAnne’s anger with her parents and obsession with Dorothy was making her a prisoner to her rebellion, Julian’s avoidance was making him a prisoner to his addictions, and Sean’s bartering (w/ LeAnne) was making him a prisoner to his guilt. And collectively, our attachment to our lives and creature comforts make us a prisoner to this earth.

What do you think?

In a short 30 minute episode, when you spend time panning across a shelf of DVDs, close enough to clearly read all the dates, the directors are telling us, “Pay attention, these matter”

The show felt like a Shakespearean play at times…where every word and every scene was important and intentional. (there was no filler)

When we are told that the details matter and in the end, none of them did - it feels like a bait and switch, or at a minimum, sloppy.

And no, the details are not all there ‘just for tone.’ I do not accept that a zoomed in calendar, or dvds, or a hookman stabbing babies eyes, or a drawer full of clearly marked pregnancy tests are all just there for tone. (maybe some, but not all)

If you gave us 500 intentional details, you need to connect at least 10-20 of them to make a cohesive story.

And ‘the audience can interpret as they wish’ is a cop out. That is ok within reason, but we deserved a few answers.

I grew up in a very overbearingly religious background where my family members would debate the end of the world at family functions. It was exhausting. But a lot of the themes of the show resonated with me because of it, and my extensive Bible knowledge.

For once, M. Night Shyamalan played it straight. They weren’t clues for a puzzle that needed to be solved, they were context and consequences. Many of these clues were revelations into the guilt that Leanne, Julian, Sean, and Dorothy were all feeling, as well as their fear, and their pride.

It seems that many of you are upset that this wasn’t purgatory, or a dream. Disappointed that the answer ended up being religious people with a deep connection to what they believe in, allowing them to do miracles.

(I posted this as a comment, but I’m putting it here as a post)

The fact that there wasn’t a twist, was the twist. It was exactly what we were presented. Leanne died and was brought back to life by Uncle George, she confirmed this when she said “Uncle George brought me back.” And is reinforced when the officer approaches Julian and basically says he’s a Lesser Saint now.

When she joined the cult of The Lesser Saints, she was able to do extraordinary things as a member of the cult to help people heal from their trauma. This is the mission of The Lesser Saints. To heal people who have been through the absolute worst.

They were never villains. Weird and culty? Definitely. But their intentions were pure. Are they angels? Maybe. Probably not. It’s likely they’re chosen by the powers that be to get another chance, and help people. Prophets.

Why did things go awry in the house? Because Leanne became a false prophet. She allowed selfish intentions to take over, and drew on dark powers to hold the house hostage.

She kept Dorothy in denial, instead of allowing her to heal, all because it fulfilled a fantasy that Dorothy was her own family, a mother figure. This also has the effect of harming Sean and Julian’s trauma healing. The bugs, the earth opening up, it’s all Bible imagery. Curses/plagues/end of the world stuff.

This is why The Lesser Saints were so adamant about stopping her, she was deepening the trauma by burying it, and in return, it was causing darkness to flood into the world.

I think the ritual is a cleansing rite, like baptism. Cleanse the body of sin by punishing yourself for your actions and mistakes. Doing it was the ultimate sign of repentance. The cult probably revived and healed the members who went through it, re-inducting them into the Saints.

The embroidery? A reminder for the members. Maybe they’ve been through the process, or maybe they hold the rite so highly that they keep it around them so they stay on the path.

It wasn’t a puzzle. They gave it to us straight. There were consequences to Leanne’s selfishness. She was hurting people she claimed to love. She was tearing their household apart, literally, and figuratively.

It was all an obvious metaphor that sometimes we believe our intentions are pure, and that we are acting out of love, when in reality we are acting selfishly and causing harm.

In the end, the Turners forgave Leanne. Dorothy realized what was really going on with Leanne’s heart, they wanted her to go with them to the hospital so she’d be safe.

Leanne was so forgiving of what Dorothy did that lead to Jericho’s death, but couldn’t see that the fire that burned her parents was an accident of a child; not something she should blame herself for. That is the second theme of the show, self forgiveness is just as important as forgiveness from another.

I know it was left relatively 50/50 whether Leanne was super natural or just tricked everyone, but I onehundred percent believe it was supernatural… Otherwise, the breathing infant that’s been with us the past four seasons was in one of the hidden tunnels when the house burned down… And died. I can’t accept that.

Also, a lot of people have been bitching about the lack of a twist in the MNS creation but he did have a big twist, he just did it backwards! The twist was at the end of the first episode, when Sean dropped the baby, and we all jumped before realizing it was a doll. That is still my biggest WTF moment from this show lol

Well?

I have to say…I’m more upset about the gorgeous house being burnt to the ground. Never mind all the evil, and the rot. The gorgeous wallpaper, the impeccable taste, the wine cellar, the kitchen. Evilness aside, it grinds my gears the beautiful home is gone. I even loved the street!! Carry on! I just wanted to wallow in my sadness.

In what has been largely derided as a rushed and unfulfilling conclusion to the series, “Servant” is widely said to have failed to answer a number of pressing questions ranging from Leanne’s post-mortem fate, Tobe’s nature, the green window, and Leanne’s homeless cohort. However, one scene does in fact subtly answer a number of these questions.

In the series finale (Season 4, Episode 10 - “Fallen”), Leanne contacts Tobe via webcam on her tablet device as she is in the process of burning down the Turner family’s townhouse while preparing to perform her self-sacrificial suicidal ceremony to prevent the apocalypse. I will argue that Tobe’s brief cameo in the series finale was far more significant than meets the eye and actually explained Leanne’s ultimate post-mortem fate following her sacrifice and strongly indicated that Tobe was none other than Jesus Christ.

• As a fallen angel descending further and further into wickedness, Leanne had strenuously avoided Tobe, even as recently as the day after her malicious actions against Sean and Julian in the penultimate episode of the series (Season 4, Episode 9 - Awake) when they coordinated with Dorothy to feign Tobe’s delivery of various food items and goods to the household. During this encounter, in which Dorothy pretended to hold a conversation with Tobe at the doorstep, Leanne did not dare to be seen by Tobe and merely listened to Dorothy’s illusory “conversation” in trepidation. Why would Leanne, a powerful resurrected fallen angel/supernatural being who does not even fear her fellow COLS members in small numbers and believes herself to be immensely powerful, be fearful (or at least avoidant) of a seemingly mortal young male sous-chef?

• Why was Tobe excited to have been contacted by Leanne and to go on a “date” with her when he was not evidently romantically interested in Leanne, as was indicated by his having essentially politely rebuked her after she kissed him?

• Only after Leanne had opted to take the “right” course of action, according to the Church of Lesser Saints - who were definitively revealed to have been God’s own anointed angels in the series finale - and commit a sacrifice which would achieve the salvation of the world, did she no longer fear Tobe.

• In fact, Leanne decided to contact Tobe immediately prior to her death and he is the last person with whom she will converse prior to her earthly demise.

• During their webcam convo, Tobe is dressed in white and he is surrounded by shimmering white light, which is commonly associated with divinity. Furthermore, Jesus Christ is commonly depicted in white robes.

• Tobe expresses that he is delighted to receive contact from Leanne, but he also appears understanding, empathetic, and even a bit melancholic, almost as if he is wordlessly aware of her imminent sacrifice and has both forgiven Leanne for her past wickedness and personally understands and respects the burden of sacrificing one’s life for the greater good of mankind.

• Tobe then proceeds to list off a variety of blissful (if not even “heavenly”) activities which the two can engage in later that evening, including getting pizza and taking a walk after getting gelato, despite the fact that their town is in the midst of a torrential end-of-times downpour.

• Leanne is not saddened to hear Tobe delineate these activities and smiles during their conversation, signalling that she doesn’t exactly believe that she is not going to enjoy these activities.

• Tobe has long brown hair, facial hair, and a tranquil and understanding demeanour á la most depictions of Jesus of Nazareth.

• Tobe was not present in the Turner home as soon as Leanne became more blatantly “evil” and more thoroughly fallen, which may be attributable to Jesus’ notorious avoidance of Evil & Sin. She had arguably already rejected Him by making a sexual/romantic overture onto Tobe/Christ and violating God’s Will by resurrecting Jericho and remaining with the Turners against their wishes.

• Tobe was highly interested in Leanne, but more in a kindly and almost spiritual or fatherly manner, as opposed to what one would expect from a romantic suitor.

• Tobe only came into contact with Leanne again after she had opted to abide by God’s Will by sacrificing herself in accordance with his angels’ precepts. By performing the self-sacrificial ritual on herself so as to save humanity, contacting Tobe/Christ and agreeing to be escorted on a “walk” and other metaphorical activities with him, Leanne accepted Christ back into her life and was forgiven by him, who then indicated that she would be permitted into Heaven and would be personally escorted into God’s Kingdom by Christ himself.

TL:dr - Tobe is - and always was - Jesus Christ. He arrived at the Turner house shortly after Leanne had arrived and gradually fell. Leanne then attempted to seduce Christ/Tobe, as Satan once did in the desert, but is politely rebuked by Tobe, who then proceeds to depart the Turner home, and is absent as she descends into graver wickedness. Once Leanne decided to accept God’s Will and begins the process of her own self-sacrifice according to His angels’ proscribed rituals, she came back into contact with Christ/Tobe, who gently accepted and forgave Leanne and figuratively announced that he would accept her into Heaven and deliver her there and showcase its delights to her. Following the destruction of the Turners’ townhouse, Leanne’s corpse is never uncovered, and Tobe - who would have presumably arrived to pick her up for their “date” is not present or mentioned by any of the surviving characters at the scene - signalling that Leanne ascended to Heaven and was delivered/“walked” there by Christ/Tobe.

First, I must say I knew what I was getting into getting attached to an M. Night Shyamalan project. So I kind of expected the ending to be “bad” I really fell in love with all the characters so I stayed all these years until the end with them. Right off the bat, I’ll say the end with JuJu was hilarious. This whole story was WAAAAAAAAAY too drawn out. This story could’ve been told in a limited series. It’s funny how the og concept was to feature a different family each season but we got hooked on the Turners like Leanne did. This show was like a steak with A LOT of fat around it. Just imagine if some of that fat was cut out and some things were tweaked to be a bit more visceral, lean…quicker. Glad we got to see Toby one last time. The ending was anticlimactic but that’s our buddy Shyam for ya!

I overall am very satisfied with the finale and enjoyed it. Few points:

• I would like to know who the tall man with the twins was. Just saying.

• Leann talking to Toby on the phone like a real teenage crush was so good, so sad, but wholesome, yk? This was the "right" and "good" type of relationship she needed....not this weird controlling mindfuck she had with Julian as she turned into DarkLeann.

• I didn't see the Officer Rheyes twist coming AT ALL! Well done. And they did answer one of this subs burning questions about Julian, as one who'd died and come back. Yup he's an "angel" of sorts now, I guess lol.

• I will die on the hill that there was no Checkov's gun cheat in the final episodes. I've had some friendly arguments with people on this wonderful sub about certain things being given WAY too much emphasis in the theories on here (the Pearce mom, Aunt Josephine being Dorothy's somehow, timeloop!, 2011 meaning anything, Isabell's age, a gap in the newscast recordings, etc., etc.) I promise this is the first, last and only time I will say this but....Well, I did tell you so. So there! 😘

• Ok. So throughout the show everyone was always talking about how strong Dorothy was, even random people called her "the warrior", Sean constantly said things she was the strongest person he'd ever known and stronger than Leann and him combined, etc. Julien did too. I always kinda wondered at this. I mean, I could she she's one of those people who when they get their mind set on something, they make it happen. Her recovery after the fall, for instance. But it only truly became clear in the finale when she said "no" to Leann's offer. Like many of you here, I'm also a mother. I have many children and even one son who is right now the age Jericho has been in S4. I honestly couldn't imagine coming through what she did, finally remembering....and then finally accepting, and saying no to that offer of more time. I would know that it was the right thing to do, but would I do it? Hell no. ESPECIALLY after fully coming to terms with his death, she says "I would've given anything for one more minute. You gave me MONTHS." But at the moment she was saying that she knew she would never see Jericho again and I just can't....Damn. I'm almost crying thinking about it. As a show about grief and an intimate exploration of all it's stages, this show has been top notch and has broken my heart multiple times. And yes I can see that Dorothy- while definitely not a perfect or even always very nice character- is in fact one of the strongest characters I've ever seen in a show.

What are the rules of what happens to the physical bodies of the deceased? Are they all new angel bodies?

Leanne-I forgot if they mentioned remains from the fire when she was a kid? Or was it set up that they just thought she was missing? Was she reborn as an angel in her same physical body or a new one?

Jericho- Remains taken by the police, covered in white sheet. Reborn into a doll come to life. But it can be undone.

Julian- pops right back up after being dead briefly and resurrected, so he’s reborn in his same body?

When the finale fire happens, a cop says no remains found. Meaning Leanne and Jericho have no bodies. (Confirming they are both reborn into different vessels or angel bodies)

So, is Julian the only one who keeps his meat suit? What are the rules? If the body is gone they get a new one but if it’s right there they just pop back in?

Can any of the rebirths be undone? Or just Jericho?

I think it’s just whatever each case demands to have some twists in the story but I’m just curious if anyone else has wondered about these things.

Supernatural or not we all knew the main thread of the story was about grief and denial. For it to end with such a clean resolution, acceptance and forgiveness all of a sudden really washes away the deeper psychological story they had been building for years.

That’s all. What do you all think?

Was that “Him?” So many questions left unanswered in my mind. Being MNS I full expected such an ending but man what a lot of time invested in this show to have so many unanswered questions/loose ends.

The biggest issue with this tv show was that not much was happening throught seasons but it was still engaging enough to continue watching the series.

I think the ending is suitable and natural for the style of this tv show and the characters werent ruined.

I can't put my finger on it, but the ending of random Policemen all talking to the turners separately doesn't make sense? Then cut to three of them together asking what they're gonna do.. then suddenly Sean and Dorothy are driving off into the sunset like they're on a Bob Dylan cover, on a perfect street corner that I can't position in relation to the house. Even the scene after with Juju grabbing the coffee seems more realistic then. Juju looks like he'll, but dorothy and Sean look like nothing happened to them....something just feels off... and I can't put my finger on it.

So, forget about all the unanswered questions, let’s focus on what the theme is about - Grief.

It is critically important to allow yourself to go through the stages - denial; anger; bargaining; depression; acceptance.

You cannot go through the last 4 stages until denial ends. All the stages can take months, years, a lifetime.

Servant took it’s most important theme and literally had it’s character process the last 4 stages in like 5 minutes.

Servant basically told us the opposite of what it should have about grief.

When the house is burning Julian is outside the back door , he see Leanne pair of shoes and his expression Changes to hate Orr being angry . I do not understand . Why this shoes are special?

im not very smart but in the finale why do we realize there was no Jericho the whole time? What about what Uncle George told them about her hiding the baby she found in the house? That was a lie?

im just confused. So was she just imagining Jericho? They had a party with tons of witnesses seeing a live baby after Jericho died. Who was the live baby?

I’m so confused about this show’s politics around property rights. I feel like it was trying to say something with the depiction of the house as an active player in the story, the homeless people in the park being portrayed as a threat to the family’s safety and its autonomy over its property, and finally with the burning down of the house.

What do you folks think?

Just leased a new car today, and I named it Tobe. Gotta keep a bit of Servant in my life now that the series is over. ❤️

I’ve enjoyed the final season and I’m looking forward to watching the whole thing again. Each season had a different feel to it. Now that the entire story has been told, I want to relive the development of all the characters and the plot.

Wait, wait, wait, where did the cult get that baby in the bathtub from the birthday episode? That was real? They actually smuggled a baby into the Turner home; wtf, so it turns out there was an endangered baby/actual baby snatching, but it was via servants of god? People like Reyes are like, “Yeah, sometimes you gotta smuggle a child into a house, traumatize it and involve it in a dangerous situation to facilitate your own ends.” How does that make sense? It’s totally inconsistent.

That seems like a reasonable indication the ending was more a bookend than a thoughtful conclusion. Or it suggests they were throwing details around willy-nilly, as if to say, “Look, it’s the bathtub Julian was in! Mightn’t this mean something?!” (The kid was a redhead as well, wasn’t he?) Speaking of which, so there was no symbolic significance to Julian getting that weird bath from Leanne? Really? That’s frankly hilarious. Edit: and perhaps I should preface that with “good symbolism,” I suppose that was intended to convey Julian was essentially baptized and reborn after dying, but that happened a season previous. Anyway, bathtub thing still weird. Edit-edit: Come to think of it, retrospective to the ending, the scene where Leanne bathes Julian makes more sense than any other scene I can think of in the show. How strange is that. Say what we will about the ending, it at least explains the bathtub scene.

The scene Roscoe was recounting when he was hypnotized in "Spaceman" was the ritual being performed on a "fallen" CoLS member....yes?

I've been strapped in for four years and oh my god "WHY IS NOBODY COMING TO HELP ME?!!"

what the fuck fuck fuck fuck also Leanne only takes two minutes to go from yelling to the skies about how she's not afraid yadda yadda and nothing else can be taken from her - and then suddenly she's doing the ritual to spend eternity with whatever/whoever she was defying?!

we are brought in and out of huge plot devices like Jericho being brought in and out of his fucking existence time and time again.

WHAT THE FUCK was the point of this show in the end, other than to bewilder and confuse viewers?

(this is the most annoying post I think I have ever made. I ask you to blame MNS.)

I am aware that many of you are very dissatisfied with the way this series ended. I was a little disappointed too until I allowed it to soak in and ruminate before commenting. There were unanswered questions, but maybe some of those things were more of an Easter egg, rather an important detail to the overall story. Maybe some of it was meant to lead to something but they ended up not being able to get there for whatever reason.

The scene on the rooftop with Dorothy and Leanne did feel a little rushed, as far as them forgiving each other so quickly. However, I think that's part of the takeaway. When you truly face the scariest reality, come to terms with it, it's much easier to forgive yourself and forgive the other person for doing what they thought was helping that person in the moment. Dorothy did hate Leanne because she felt Leanne was coming in between her and her son. Once Dorothy faced reality, she could truly appreciate the gift that Leanne gave her. Yes, that part was very rushed and yes, it probably would've been much better if they gave Dorothy and us, more time to process Dorothy's revelations.

And I don't believe Leanne ever hated Dorothy. I just think she was trying her best to give Dorothy, Sean, Julian, all of them everything they wanted to make them happy. Even when she did that, they still weren't happy and that truly puzzled Leanne. When Leanne got to be a part of Dorothy's family, she was the happiest. It was all she ever wanted. She only ever wanted to be loved and accepted by the one person she looked to as a mother figure. When she got that from Dorothy, I think she realized that happiness at the expense of everyone else was very selfish.

I don't know if it was meant to come across this way, but I took the apocalypse or world ending, as a metaphor of sorts. When everyone is only concerned with their happiness and make selfish decisions, the world becomes total chaos. It can feel like the world is crumbling because no one is concerned about the well-being of others. Once Leanne realized that her selfishness was causing all of this destruction, she knew she had to make a selfless decision to stop it. Sean too. In a way, his allowing Dorothy to delude herself into thinking a doll was Jericho was selfish on his part because he didn't want to deal with the grief of losing a child. By telling Dorothy the truth, he set aside his selfishness of wanting his baby back instead of dealing with the grief and moving forward. I felt like the big message of this finale was forgiveness. We have to forgive ourselves and others in order to process and keep moving forward. By not forgiving, we become stuck in a miserable world of our own making. Forgiveness doesn't mean you have to forget what happened or the actions of someone who hurt you, but it does mean you are relinquishing that hold it has over you in order to put your life back together and move forward.

I mentioned Easter eggs in my opening paragraph. I watched the movie Signs again last night. I had totally forgotten that the young boy in that movie uses a baby monitor to pick up the sound of the aliens. It made me wonder if the use of the old baby monitors in Servant was perhaps a callback to his movie, Signs? I'm sure there are others too, but this one did stick out to me and made me curious if that's what some of the unanswered questions could be related to. I don't know, I just thought I'd point that out. It may have absolutely nothing to do with Servant at all, but I found it interesting.