Pat's demons of the literal and figurative variety plague Courteney Cox during the two-episode premiere of Shining Vale — but strangely, it's the metaphors that appear to wreak more havoc.
Shining Vale, which debuted Sunday night on Starz, focuses on the vaguely dysfunctional Phelps family: a depressed writer Pat, who is still trying to write a follow-up to his popular erotic fiction novel from 17 years ago; her husband, Terry (Greg Kinnear), who isn't quite enough about Pat's recent affair with his handyman; and their two children, rebellious teenage daughter Gaynor (Dickinson's Gus Birney) and video game addict son Jake (PEN15's Dylan Gage).
In the wake of Pat's breakup with the Handyman, she and Terri move their family from Brooklyn to Shining Vale, Conn., hoping to find a fresh start there. Instead, they find that the house they bought for a good price (in this market?!) is a huge, rather spooky Victorian mansion. And though Pat hopes to use the house's sizable attic as an effective writing space for her next novel—she'll have to pay back the advance if she doesn't turn in a chapter for her editor soon. - There's clearly too much of a weird way to get Pat focused on the crap going on in his new home.
For example, when Phelps drives to his Connecticut residence for the first time, Pat thinks he sees a young girl running down the street to chase her ball, but when she tells Terry to stop and check in No one is there under or around the car. , She (maybe?) hallucinates a woman dressed in 1950s clothes while hovering outside one of the mansion's windows that night, but again, Terry finds nothing upon investigation. On one occasion, she hears a ghostly whisper of her name, which leads Pat to worry that she, like her mother, is prone to psychosis. And perhaps most worryingly, the Shining Vale resident is another terrifying presence who looks horrified every time Pat meets him. "I sense something. It wants you. Please be careful," the woman tries to warn Pat, but Pat can hardly hear her from across the street. (All of this, of course, as Pat tries to mend his intimacy-free marriage and overcome crippling depression.)
However, it may be best for Pat to heed his neighbor's advice. Near the end of the first episode, Pat is in the attic once again, attempting to write a chapter of Cressida: Rebound. "Please," Pat whispers at his laptop, hoping for a sudden inspiration—and just then, the lights twinkle, a wind blows, and Pat's pupils suddenly widen. She begins to type frantically, as if she is possessed by a woman, and continues her super-focused writing spree for hours until it gets dark outside. And when Pat comes down to dinner with her family later, she's acting a little awkward at first, but she, Terri, and the kids eventually enjoy a pleasant evening together.
That night, someone called Pat by his name again. She goes out with the family dog Roxy, who is barking and growling, but Pat is relieved to learn that it's actually a deer this time, as Terry has been suggesting all episode long. Whenever Pat sees or hears something strange. Then, inside the house, Pat opens the window screen where he had previously seen the woman hovering; There is none at the moment, and she is feeling even more relieved.
But when Pat turns around, the woman - played by Mira Sorvino - is now inside the house, and she is watching Pat. "Patricia, what are you doing in my house?" The woman asks, and a timid Pat weakly calls on Terry for help. (In episode 2, Pat encounters the same spirit three times, each a little less scary than the last. I doubt they'll be besties any day now.)