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Critic Reviews
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Creepy, yes. Atmospheric, always. Unsettling in general. But so little actually happens that the series drags. Tension rises to such small payoffs that you stop hoping for any kind of terrifying climax, and start wondering why you are watching something that might have made a decent 90-minute schlockfest being spread so agonisingly tastefully over five hours.
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Over 10 episodes, the M. Night Shyamalan-produced series gets under your skin and pokes at insecurities and phobias tied to childbirth and parenting. What Servant is less effective at is finding that next level, narratively or psychologically, that would allow it to go from an efficient technical gem to anything deeper. It's very creepy, but maybe not especially scary, disturbing or, ultimately, satisfying.
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“Servant” is a tough show to embrace. Dorothy is an insufferable, emasculating, high-strung local TV news reporter. Sean is a grumpy, unsupportive husband and snooty chef who thinks lobster ice cream is a good idea. They’re both miserable people, not characters a viewer would want to spend time with.
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Kebbell, Grint and the brilliant Ambrose (whose performance settles down after some first-episode histrionics) do their best to sell the story. ... Enjoyment also requires some patience, as Basgallop pipettes the suspense over five hours, egregiously stretching out the flashbacks that eventually explain what really happened.
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Ultimately, though, Servant is too empty to be worth the time, in spite of the performances and the great atmosphere. The end of the season is designed to make viewers intrigued by what happens next, but it mainly left me exasperated that so much had been promised and so little delivered. The early scares and creepy vibes fade away long before it’s over.
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“Servant” is fascinating to look at and, at first, contemplate. But its slithering, reversing structure elides the fact that it must move the plot forward only infinitesimally each episode in order to conserve it, and that this is a shortish feature in the costume of a ten-episode drama. That’s its biggest, and least welcome, twist of all.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 40 out of 58
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Mixed: 6 out of 58
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Negative: 12 out of 58
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Jan 13, 2020It’s not a ten but I’m hoping to boost the rating because it’s well acted, written and directed unlike all the other shows on Apple TV.
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Jan 7, 2020Great show once you start watching you can’t stop. Really keeps you guessing and excellent acting.
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Dec 14, 2019