Another Period
“Servant’s Disease”
Season 2, Episode 6
Soup fools me every time.
Players: Peepers, Lillian, Hortense, Garfield, Frederick, Beatrice, Blanche, Flobelle
It’s about time the servant’s get their own episode. It was hinted at in last week’s “Roosevelt” but it didn’t really pan out to a full fledged story. This week’s “Servant’s Disease” puts the focus on the lower class of the mansion while also managing to (meagerly) lay some future groundwork for story growth. All in all, it was a solid effort for the series but the C-story still suffers.
The main plotline follows the servants getting sick from typhoid and being quarantined in the basement. Upon hearing that a famous newspaper writer will cover the scene, Lillian and the seldomly used Hortense rush to the aid of the workers. But Lillian gets infected and is forced to spend time confined with the servants. Of course close quarters ultimately bring everyone together ("Today I became your sister but I'll always be your master"). Lillian learns to befriend some of the workers, especially a young child who is the female equivalent of Oliver Twist. Her british accent even comes off better than Garfield’s. Speaking of which, during a bout of admitting past faults, Flobelle hints that she likes one of her coworkers and Garfield’s stomach hilariously ruins the moment when he realizes it's him, sending him the the toilet. Armen Weitzman should be lauded for that moment alone.
The B-story follows Beatrice visiting Frederick to introduce him and Celery (Missi Pyle) to her new beau, Dick (Kurt Braunholer). When their better halves leave, the brother and sister participate in friendly activities such as licking chocolate off of each other’s faces, taking a bath, and having sex. It was a slow, funny descent to an obvious reconciliation but it’s made funnier that the two Bellacourts still only consider themselves friend -- “pecking pals” they call themselves. What’s more is Dick and Celery had sex in the garden out back ("The only reason I came out here was to bend you over in the woods").
The distant C-story follows VIctor, Albert and their friend’s (played by Tom Lennon) barbershop triplet. They want to find out who’s the leading singer so a handful of singoffs ensue. These are few and the only big one finds the gentlemen singing for the servants. This culminates in the young girl that Lillian befriended to try her hand, beautifully, only to be shot down by the guys and passed out.
Should you watch “Servant’s Disease?”
This episode paints a divisive line between the rich and the poor of the Bellacourt manor. It’s funny and hits familiar beats but still good nonetheless. It doesn’t quite reach the level of last week’s “Roosevelt” but “Servant’s Disease” is still very entertaining.