‘Shining Vale’ Recap – ‘Chapter Eight: We Are Phelps’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season finale of ‘Shining Vale’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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When it comes to horror stories that involve a poor family that has to deal with an angry ghost trapped within their new home, the biggest moment in that story… is the ending. Simply because this is when good triumphs over evil and where said family is able to reclaim their lives by banding together and defeating the spirit that torments them, and that is a satisfying way to end a story that puts the audience through an outright emotional wringer. One that works so well, that these types of stories make use of it often. But as the genre continues to evolve and this formula grows a touch cliché and stale at times… there are creative minds out there, asking if by chance, there are better, stronger and more unique ways to end this type of tale.
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Because to do so, would take the audience by surprise, and give rise to new and original stories that basically wow, when all is said and done, and that is precisely why the season finale of Shining Vale on STARZ is of note. Because it is a horror story that opted to try something new when it came to the traditional framework of this type of story and that allowed for ‘Chapter Eight: We Are Phelps’ to genuinely stand out as something unique and wonderful. And it also took us for an incredible ride, by outright fooling us into believing that for the first time ever, this series was going to go a traditional route storytelling wise and provide us with the familiar ending, we just outlined.

A feat that it accomplished, by setting the stage for a grand showdown between Pat and Rosemary. For shortly after the events of last week’s episode, wherein Terry and Pat gave into more carnal emotions with their party guests… Pat had enough of Rosemary and started to work on purging her from her life. Which was no easy task of course. Because Rosemary enjoyed the wondrous life she was being given through Pat’s book and wanted no part of being cast back into the void. Not when she was so close to finally telling a story she always wanted to tell. But Pat was having none of that and decided to go all out and try to harm herself in order to put an end to Rosemary and well… that led to some good old fashioned horror moments and homages.

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Because this was nothing short of an insult to Rosemary, and if she was going to be disrespected in this manner after everything, she did for Pat… then Pat and her family, were going to pay. Which brought forth a recreation of sorts of the ending of The Shining. Wherein doors were torn down by axes and a manic and possessed Pat trudged through the house in the hopes of slicing and dicing her family to bits under Rosemary’s careful guidance and that made for some terrifying moments, filled to the brim with dark humor and well… just when it appeared as though Rosemary was going to be successful, the twist came into play. For the drugs that Pat downed to try and end her life, finally took hold and dropped her to the floor and thanks to Gaynor’s quick thinking… her mother was saved… medically.
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But mentally, there were incredible concerns about Pat and her future and that’s why, she was quickly committed. To keep her safe from herself and others, creating a full circle moment full of commentary on the cyclical nature of abuse and the generational ignorance to genetic mental health illness issues within a family line, since Gaynor made the call… much like her mother did with grandma. But all depth and gravity aside, what truly made this so shocking is that in essence… the ghost won. For Rosemary is likely still within Pat’s subconscious, patiently waiting to unleash hell and to make matters worse, whatever Rosemary claimed to be in this tale… was a filthy lie. Since it was revealed that Pat’s new home wasn’t Rosemary’s dream home turned nightmare, but a facility for troubled women that Rosemary once worked at.

Leaving all of us to wonder the true origin of this vengeful spirit and what it actually wants with Pat and that… is a great way to set up season two of this dynamic new horror comedy. Because it means this was merely the origin story and there is so much more to uncover and of course, there’s so much for Pat to come back from. Which means we here at NTG hope that STARZ renews this show for a second season, so we can continue this refreshing and incredible story. One that truly took the end of this chapter of the story into a bold place, one that will have all of us buzzing for some time over hidden meanings and the sheer gravity of it. But that’s what good horror does, it energizes and engages us and if this is the kind of quality we are getting at the beginning of the journey, just imagine what year two could bring us. Until next time.

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