Servant

This new series from Apple, with two episodes directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is a solid psychological thriller with elements of horror. The episodes are only 30 minutes long, so the series has a decent pace, and although there is no action or gore, the atmosphere works perfectly. The series relies mainly on the viewer's uncertainty, unpredictability and a few times even gives you a decent chill. The acting is also great, I especially enjoyed the father, who as a chef often prepares interesting dishes, the mother is mentally out of place throughout, and the mysterious nanny is not to be missed. I was a little disappointed with the finale. I was expecting a typical Shyamalan stab in the back, but I didn't get that, maybe the creators are saving the main aces for the second season. A nice eight weeks and I don't regret watching it. 8/10. (28.01.2020)

Servant is one of those shows that turns nothing into a huge hit, getting more mysterious, grittier and more interesting by the episode. There's not much to be surprised about, the running time is just enough to keep it from getting boring, the music is without question masterful, the characters are incredibly interesting in feature and personality, the settings and the cooking “specialties” in almost every episode are breathtaking in their own right, throw in some scares, supernatural stuff and the weird nanny Leanne and it adds up to a great mix to work with. Up until the last episode, I was expecting some extreme subversion (SPOILER), but I wasn't thrilled with the result, maybe even disappointed. This is Shyamalan's style of storytelling, where he raises even more questions in the finale and answers almost none, but here it just didn't sit right... I missed an explanation of the supernatural build up, the splinters, the curses, the baby (which is more or less what the whole series is about and we don't get an explanation), and their cult. It takes talent to bring down to average such a brilliantly built-up five-episode series like that. Shame, shame, shame, this had huge potential...Weaker 4*. (18.01.2020)