This week’s Shining Vale runs with the revelation at the end of the previous episode: that Pat is now pregnant. As if she didn’t already have enough to manage in her life, now you can add a baby one the way to the list. There’s also some dark humor with the title referring to Pat’s condition as “The Miracle.”
Surprisingly, the news of the pregnancy brings the Phelps closer together. The entire family meeting is an amusing sequence that plays out from Jake’s temper tantrum losing two Christmases to Terry actually being open minded and supportive towards the situation. Most impactful is the little heart to heart conversation between Pat and Gaynor. Though the two hurl biting insults towards each other, it comes from a place of love, and it shows that despite what has happened, they really do care for each other. It’s nice to see some sentiment between the pair in their own perverse way.
Speaking of Gaynor, her journey this episode of Shining Vale takes some interesting turns. We receive more insight on the stranger with the hat and how it adds to the mythology of the house. Gus Birney does a good job portraying her character’s inner conflict the more time she spends with the stranger. There is an unspoken tension between them playing with Gaynor’s attraction to religious men. For someone who’s sacrificed so much for her family, she deserves a pleasant and handsome distraction.
Both Terry and Jake provide much of the comic relief. The former’s overcompensation for his lack of masculinity is fun, particularly when he can’t even open Pat’s pill container. The latter’s innocent obliviousness helps ease the suspense from his precarious positions, and also proves how simple it is to please him. All you need is some candy and boobs.
One thing Shining Vale does well is creating an uncomfortable and creepy atmosphere. Pat experiences renewed fame with the release of the book and her promotional work has her in contact with some strange people. Principal Woodcock is borderline fanatical over the novel and her behavior implies something off. Combined that with an eerily blurry selfie and she carries some very disturbing vibes.
The unnerving aura continues with Pat’s visit to the doctor. The glitchy ultrasound and scary hallucinations of the physicians foreshadow more sinister things to come. As if you need even more of a foreboding nudge, Pat receives an unexpected visitor in the basement with a warning. With an episode filled with uneasy scenes, they leave the best scare for last.
“The Miracle” has a good mix of family moments, comedy, and creepy atmosphere to draw you into the Phelps’s exploits.
New episodes of Shining Vale air Fridays on Starz.
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