WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Servant Season 2, Episode 5, "Cake," which aired Friday on Apple TV+.
During last week's episode of Servant, Dorothy's desperation to get Leanne to reveal the location of Jericho went too far, resulting in Dorothy trying to bury Leanne alive in the wine cellar. Thankfully, in this week's episode, "Cake," the Turners take a gentler approach towards their unwilling houseguest. Dorothy allows her prisoner to move around the house during certain hours and bake a fruitcake. She even enlists the companionship of Sean's assistant Tobe.
The young employees of the Turners shared romantic tension in Servant's previous season, but this episode brings them closer together than before, yet Leanne's true emotions are still in question. However, just as it seems that Leanne has taken back some control, a sinister figure from Leanne's past returns to plague the Turners with his unseemly appearance and bizarre behavior: Uncle George.
As Leanne and Tobe team up to bake her King Cake, she confides to him about her troubled past in Wisconsin and her emotionally abusive mother. Later, Leanne lies by telling Julian that Tobe left, but the commis chef is hiding in her attic prison. As she joins him, it is implied that the pair attempt some sort of intimacy, as Leanne turns the mannequin away from them as they sit close to each other on her bed. Though Julian interrupts the pair before anything explicit happens, this rendezvous seems to imply the pair have finally transitioned from being household employees into potential lovers.
Meanwhile, in the wake of Sean and Dorothy receiving a strange baby trinket and ransom demand in the mail, the couple have gone to a mall to meet the note's demands. Julian has recently been fabricating ransom notes in order to keep Dorothy blind from the truth, but this one was not from him. It is revealed that Leanne had ordered the trinket for her cake and sent the ransom note. She admits to Julian that she sent the note in order to have Dorothy, "get what she deserves." Just as the couple are about to leave the mall, they are accosted by Leanne's Uncle George, who accompany them home to find Leanne.
Leanne's apparent seduction of Tobe signals a significant change in their relationship. In Servant Season 1, Tobe and Leanne had been attracted to each other and had gone on a bowling date. However, their relationship became awkward once Leanne nervously kissed Tobe, and he recoiled in surprise. Despite their relationship souring somewhat, it is clear Tobe still has feelings for her, displayed especially during the events of Season 2, Episode 3, "Pizza." Now that they are closer, this new development in their relationship might signal that Tobe will be a new ally in her quest to punish Dorothy. However, it is still unclear at this point whether Leanne actually cares for Tobe or if she is using him to get back at the Turners.
Despite Leanne gaining ground with Tobe, the surprise reappearance of Uncle George spells trouble for her and the Turners. Uncle George and Aunt May, the leader of the Church of the Lesser Saints, had been successful in reclaiming Leanne as their "servant" at the end of Season 1, convincing her to leave the employ of the Turners and return to their cult. However, the fact that Leanne was found working a job at the Marino house might indicate she has broken free of the Church's influence, so Uncle George is pursuing her once more. In light of Uncle George's chilling warning in the trailer about Leanne's presence being an "infection," his arrival could signal a tense reunion for the two cult members, as well as the possible return of Aunt May and her followers.
Starring Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint, the second season of Servant airs every Friday on Apple TV+.