‘Shining Vale’ Recap – ‘Chapter Four: So Much Blood’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘Shining Vale’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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We tend to believe that when good things flop into our laps, when we’ve been going through utter hell, that the dark times are over, and our best days are ahead, and it makes sense as to why we hold to that. Because genuinely difficult times bring us to our knees and when we are at our lowest, we will take whatever win comes our way because we need hope, and we need to believe that this mess can end and well… while it is a good thing to latch onto hope when we need it the most… it is unwise to truly put all of our stock into a good luck streak. For the universe tends to ebb and flow and can take away the good as quickly as it delivered it on our doorstep.
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Which means that the true path to sustained joy and the way back, is dealing with the situation at hand and its root causes so that it truly comes to a complete resolution and really, this tough lesson is top of mind today, because it was one that Pat, and Terry had to learn in the next episode of Shining Vale on STARZ. For when we catch up with the family in ‘Chapter Four: So Much Blood’, Pat found herself on cloud nine and rightfully so. For she truly believed she had harnessed the wonder of Rosemary. To the point where she had a set routine involving her muse, one that allowed for the pages to pour out of her and she felt accomplished and happy at last, and the wonder of this moment didn’t end there.

Because the publisher was over the moon when it came to the pages that Pat was producing, and they were ready to hand her a revamped and larger advance and well… that kind of news, combined with the smoothness of her work, really did allow for her to believe that the worst was behind her family at last and that a new golden age was upon them. In fact, she was so secure in this, that she went back to enjoying a drink now and again and she even hinted to Terry that now might be the time to quit his job since easy street was right around the corner and well… that’s when the universe went ahead and taught them a valuable lesson about putting too much stock into a streak of good luck.

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Because just like that, the smooth nature of Pat’s writing disappeared and all the sultry and sexy stuff on the page was quickly replaced with some supremely dark concepts revolving around Rosemary committing suicide. A surprise that Pat thought was nothing more than a moment of doubt she could overcome by wiling the words to do her bidding. But that didn’t solve the problem in the slightest, making it clear that this book might not come to fruition as smoothly as hoped, an epiphany that elicited great fear in Pat and that fear was further compounded by a poor decision on Terry’s part. Because when given the chance to drink more Lemon Drops than any man ever should… Terry drunkenly decided to follow Pat’s advice about quitting his job, leaving the financial future of the family in limbo.
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Which are moves that easily hammer home the story’s message about how important it is to discover the root cause of our problems and deal with that first and oddly enough, that is where the story took us next, in a manner that one might not expect. Because one would think that Terry and Pat would address their toxic behaviors in order to change the course of their lives, but since this is a horror story, a more pressing root cause to some of their woes took precedence. Since Pat came to discover… that she wasn’t slipping into some form of madness after all. Since it was revealed that Rosemary was a real person and is indeed haunting this house and is also apparently… crying out for help for reasons we don’t yet know.

In the end, this was just another brilliant chapter in this tale. One that finally answered our pressing question as to whether or not this was psychosis or paranormal activity and now that we know the truth, the story can shift gears and take us into bold new territory. That kind that utilizes Pat and Terry’s flaws to horror’s advantage, and hopefully… that means we get more amazing homages like we did here, since that reverse scene from The Shining that took place in the attic, was a thing of beauty. But all of that aside, this episode really does build a lot of excitement for future episodes. Because now the mysteries of this house are going to be solved and it will be fascinating to learn what happened here and whether or not Rosemary is a friend in need of help or if she is a foe in need of sustenance, the kind that only fresh souls can provide. Until next time.    

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