‘Shining Vale’ Recap – ‘Chapter Six: Whispering Hope’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Six of ‘Shining Vale’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Normally in ghost stories, when the spirit is cast out and those tortured by it are free… we’ve reached the end of our story. For there is little for the hero to accomplish beyond that point. Because once one has vanquished a pure evil from another plane of existence, putting one’s life back together has to be a simple affair. Where wonders are accomplished with confidence, and the audience isn’t interested in seeing that since they’ve just enjoyed the most powerful part of the journey. Which is why most ghost stories race to the end once that big moment has arrived and this is of note, because it appeared as though the end of the story was in sight during this week’s episode of Shining Vale on STARZ.
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For when we catch up with the Phelps family in ‘Chapter Six: Whispering Hope’, they’ve won the day. For Rosemary honored her deal with Pat and left the household after giving Pat one juicy chapter for the book. Meaning the family was finally free and we’d be wrapping up this tale, a reality that seemed to be reinforced, courtesy of the other plot-lines in this story. Since Gaynor was eager to join the church and be baptized and complete her spiritual journey and Jake was about to win his game, and Terry was finding his groove in woodworking and found peace with his new role in life… and Pat… well she finally finished her book and was preparing for life as a full-time writer, and we were ready to see this ugly chapter in this life be closed at last. 

But it didn’t take long for this episode to shift gears and inform us… there was a lot more story to tell. In part because Terry’s joyous times as a lumberjack, weren’t so joyous. In fact, he was suffering from severe depression and was listless over losing his job and Pat’s book… well it was bad. So bad that the publisher was ready to just pull the plug on the whole thing. But Pat was able to work out a short extension for a rewrite, giving her two more weeks to find the story’s sexy and sultry voice, and well… that motivated Pat to do the seemingly impossible… and try to reconnect with Rosemary. All so that they could make some kind of a deal that would give the book what it needed and give Pat the riches that would take care of her family for all time.

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Eventually, she finally reached Rosemary, with Valerie’s help and well… she worked hard on the terms of the deal in question. Which uh… was a bad idea any way you slice it. Because despite offering Pat everything she wanted with minimal return outside of more nights with Terry and experiencing the world through Pat’s eyes… Valerie cautioned doom and well, we’ve seen enough creepy moments involving Rosemary over the past six weeks to side with Val. But Pat agreed to the terms and for a time it seemed as though life was going to get back to normal at Casa de Phelps. Since Gaynor was baptized, Jake finally beat the game and Terry even got his old job back since Kathérine took over as boss because the old boss, finally had his comeuppance.
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But most important of all, Pat was able to write again, with a secondary assist from her mother since Joan has all the good drugs on tap and well… that’s when we came to really get a taste of what Rosemary actually wants out of this deal. Which is in fact, blood. Because in the closing moments of this tale, while the words began to fly, and Terry stood proud next to his brand new ‘rugged’ fence… Valerie found herself making a horrifying decision. One where she declared undying allegiance to Rosemary and all that she stands for… and she was happy to offer herself up as a sacrifice to the Supreme Housewife that had… to paraphrase Rosemary... 'entered' Pat… by flinging herself to her doom atop Terry’s fence, and nothing will be the same after that.

For now, Rosemary has the blood she craves, and she has Pat catering to her every whim and as she grows stronger… she will undoubtedly want more. But while wait for her master plan to be unveiled unto all of us, we can celebrate one delightful chapter in this tale. Because this one was original and fun and truly took this writer off guard by making it appear as though the end of the journey was in sight. Plus, it once again tossed out some great homages, since the scene between father and son was another tribute to The Shining and of course, Valerie’s sacrifice was eerily reminiscent of how Damien’s followers paid tribute to him in The Omen and well… now that we’ve reached the end of this one, the wait for next week’s journey is going to be painful at best. Because this story just went into overdrive, and we absolutely have to know… what comes next. Until next time.

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