[Pat] Previously on Shining Vale...
[Robyn] This is Pat Phelps.
She bought the big house on Elm.
[Terry] Welcome to Casa de Phelps.
[Gaynor] In other words, Mom boned some rando,
- so we had to move here. - Hey, no!
I've been in a really dark place lately.
I have to finish this fucking book.
Kam says if I don't write it,
I have to give the advance back.
- You can do anything. - [all] We are Phelps!
[Pat] There's something very wrong with this house.
[Jake] Now is the game over?
[Daisy] Not until you're dead.
You think I'm going crazy?
I'm just really fucking sad.
Just take the clonazepam.
[Pat] My mother was my age when she went psychotic.
You're worried you're gonna turn out like her.
- [Terry] Pat's seeing ghosts. - [Pat] It's a '50s housewife.
- I'm Rosemary. - [Pat] She's like my muse.
So now I just take a little vitamin C,
and she practically writes it for me.
I need your help to finish my book.
Let me show you how it ends.
[distorted voice] We have a lot of work to do.
[Terry] She chops up her family with an axe.
You set an impossible standard
for what it means to be a spouse!
Because I wanted you to be happy!
I can't be happy!
- [Pat] Oh, my God. - Mom!
[sighs]
[doctor] You're in the Shining Vale Psychiatric Hospital.
[nurse] You overdosed on expired barbiturates.
- [Pat] I'm not crazy! - It's okay, Mom.
They're just gonna take care of you for a little while.
[Pat] I'm possessed!
Are we gonna be okay?
Yeah, we are Phelps.
[dramatic music plays]
♪ ♪
[singer] ♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la ♪♪♪
Roxy, don't shit where you eat.
[dog groans]
[singer] ♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la ♪♪♪
[Gaynor] Jake, let's go!
[singer] ♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪
Coming.
[singer] ♪ Your life was upended ♪♪♪
♪ When darkness descended ♪
♪ And these Are just merely the facts ♪♪♪
♪ The sudden upheaval ♪
♪ When she went medieval ♪
♪ And Mom hits your dad With an axe ♪♪♪
[door buzzes, closes]
♪ La, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪♪♪
[Jake] Gaynor!
- [tires squealing] - You forgot something!
[singer] ♪ La, la ♪
Father.
[singer] ♪ There's no sense In running... ♪
Daughter.
[singer] ♪ It's coming ♪
♪ Anxiety... ♪
[squeals in fear]
[singer] ♪ ...plans her attacks ♪♪♪
♪ So sit back and take it ♪♪♪
♪ And somehow you'll make it ♪
♪ When Mom hits your dad ♪♪♪
♪ With an axe ♪♪♪
♪ ♪
[song ends]
- Thank you, Shining Vale. - [feedback whines]
Somebody put gum in here.
♪ ♪
[door buzzes, closes]
[Dr. Siferr] Try to relax, Pat. We'll be done in no time.
Mm.
[Rosemary] Just bite down on this.
[Pat, muffled] No!
[screaming]
[device whirring]
[Rosemary] Hold on tight, Patricia.
- [groans] - [electricity crackling]
[screams]
[eerie music plays]
♪ ♪♪♪
[Gaynor] Welcome home, Casa de Phelps.
[Terry] It's so dirty.
What happened?
Well, our cleaning lady's been
in an insane asylum for four months, so...
Oh, what the fuck?
- [Terry] Fuck is that? - [Gaynor] Hi.
That's Roxy. You love her.
- Why? - Because it's Roxy.
[Jake] Hi, Dad.
Son.
Dad.
Son.
Hmm.
- Dad. - [cries]
[sniffles] Son.
- Dad. - Okay. Holy fuck, Jake.
Please go do your homework.
All right, Dad, I'm gonna take you upstairs.
[chuckles]
[eerie music plays]
[Gaynor, distant] Dad?
♪ ♪♪♪
[blade scrapes]
I-I don't think I'm going up there.
[tweeting]
[person screaming]
Crazy day.
Be better, Louise.
Oh, no, thank you. I don't smoke...
or drink or curse or do drugs anymore.
I'm rehabilitated. I've learned my lesson.
I am no longer a danger to society.
That's the God's honest truth.
What'd you have for breakfast today?
Um...
I want to s-say oatmeal.
You had grapefruit.
You can't keep me locked up
because I can't remember what I had for breakfast.
You may as well lock up every woman over 40.
What did you have for breakfast?
Black coffee, two Sweet'N Lows, and a cigarette.
You don't remember breakfast
because the electric-shock treatment
wipes your short-term memory.
And you have had... [whistles]
sixty-six treatments.
And you zapped Rosemary right out of me.
I know she was a part of my schizophrenia.
Please, come on. Let me go.
I mean, I've been here for... [whistles]
four months.
I've been doing this a long time.
I see what has happened
to women who are released too soon.
They become dangerous, immoral, whiney.
I am better.
I'm a wife and a mother, and I need to go home.
You are a psychotic wife and mother.
Ideally, you'd be here for another three years.
"Three years"? My dog will be dead.
I said "ideally."
Unfortunately, I can only keep you here
until your insurance runs out.
[door buzzes, closes]
Hi. Pat Phelps. I'm checking out.
How'd they let you out after only four months?
I was locked away for four years,
and I just tried to kill myself.
I guess you have better insurance than I do.
Thanks for picking me up, Mom.
That's what mothers do,
and someday you'll do the same for Gaynor.
Oh, my gosh, I hope not.
My poor kids. How are they?
How should I know?
You were supposed to be taking care of them.
Then I'm sure they're fine.
Here are the clothes you came in with.
We couldn't get your husband's blood out of your shirt.
That's okay.
And a prescription for lithium.
Dr. Siferr wants to stick with 600 milligrams.
Six hundred? That's a pediatric dose.
I'm on 900.
You win again, Mom.
- [person screams] Help me! - [electricity crackling]
Please help me!
No! Please help...
Can I see your wrist, please?
Oh, no, I-I tried with pills.
She wants to cut off your wristband.
This is my daughter's first time.
[Pat] Sorry.
Okay, Mrs. Phelps, you're free to go.
Thank you.
I'm gonna go see my family.
[door creaking]
[insects chirping]
Jake?
Gaynor?
Mommy's home.
[house groaning]
I am in control.
- I am in... - [dog barks]
Oh. Roxy.
Oh, baby.
Oh, my goodness. Oh.
Mm, Mommy's back.
- [sighs] Oh. - [door clicks]
- [door creaks open] - [chuckles]
We both need a bath.
[eerie music plays]
♪ ♪♪♪
[eerie thud]
I am in control.
♪ ♪♪♪
Oh, fudge me!
Mom.
- Jake? - Mom.
[Pat] Oh.
Oh, my baby.
Oh.
You must have so many questions.
Do we have pizza pockets?
What?
Pizza pockets. My friends are hungry.
Friends, plural?
Yes. I'm popular now.
Are these adults? Did you meet them online?
I met them at sports. I'm a mascot now.
Bro, this is lame.
Let's go play Five Nights on the VR.
No. I don't play VR anymore. It's for virgins.
What happened while I was gone?
Dude, you still scared of that girl?
No, I'm just not a nerd, okay?
So let's just go use my drone
to go check the accuracy of Google Maps.
Bye.
I missed you.
Oh.
[soft music plays]
♪ ♪
Oh.
That felt good.
♪ ♪
Oh, your friends went that way.
[creepy music plays]
[goat bleats]
♪ ♪♪♪
[goat bleats]
[Pat] Gaynor.
Mom.
[soft music plays]
[Pat] Oh.
[sighs] I know.
I know. I know. [exhales deeply]
I forgive you.
Excuse me?
Forgive me for what?
For having me committed.
I know that's not easy.
Well, you made it easier
by trying to chop up your family with an axe.
Okay, to be fair, I never tried to chop up Jake or Roxy.
How about saying you're fucking sorry?
You're right. Let's go back.
- I'm sorry. - Hmm.
[Pat] Hey, how are you?
How do you think I am?
I had to take care of your mess for four months.
I feel like I went back, and you didn't go back.
Okay, whatever, Mom.
And why are you home?
Because I'm better.
And I'm gonna take care of this family.
Well, Jake and I don't need you,
and Dad doesn't remember you.
- What? - [Gaynor] Don't worry.
I didn't tell him what happened,
and he didn't hear my song about it, so...
Thank you.
I didn't do it for you. I did it for Dad.
His doctor said it would be too traumatic.
He's afraid of Roxy, and he calls me Button.
Button? Good gravy.
Did you just say "good gravy"?
I don't curse anymore.
Yeah, they zapped it out of me.
Oh, wow.
Well, I guess there goes your whole fucking personality.
I missed you.
[dissonant piano notes playing]
♪ ♪
[sighs] I'm in control.
♪ ♪
Terry?
Patty?
Yeah.
- It's Pat. - [Terry] Wow.
You're even more beautiful than in your pictures.
And you have a beard.
[dissonant piano notes playing]
Sorry. I don't know what happened.
I'm... [chuckles]
- Sorry. - That's okay.
Oh, Terry.
- [cries softly, sniffles] - Why are you crying?
I'm just so happy to see you.
Um...
is it true that you don't remember anything?
No. I...
I remember things.
Uh-oh. [chuckles]
Like what?
I remember you're...
a writer
and that you're funny
and that when I...
slipped and fell down the stairs,
you got sad, so you went to the hospital.
Yep, those are the bullet points.
And... and the phone is helping me
with my memory, and...
And here's you.
And... and that's Jake.
He is my son.
And that's Button.
That's... the dog.
And this man's very happy. I mean, he's...
- I don't know who he is. - Yeah, that's, um...
that's your cousin Albert.
Um, he is dead.
- So let's erase that, okay? - Pat?
Was I a good husband?
Oh, Terry, you were the best husband.
Were you a good wife?
I was okay.
I'm gonna be better.
I'm gonna be the best wife and mother.
I promise.
I'm gonna start by cleaning this place up,
and I'm gonna make a big family dinner.
You need to rest.
No, I've got way too much to catch up on.
You need to take care of yourself.
Okay. Maybe just for one minute.
[eerie music plays]
[drone buzzing]
[Jake] Come back! I command you!
[buzzing continues]
[static whirring]
[ominous music plays]
♪ ♪♪♪
What?
[Daisy] Jake.
♪ ♪♪♪
[whispering] Jake.
- I'm up! - Why?
[drone buzzing]
[Terry] "Patty, it was nice to see you.
"Going out with Button. Be back later.
Love, Terry."
What the heck?
[electronic music playing]
Dad, Jake, come on. Let's go.
I'm sorry I overslept.
Um, why don't you just give me a minute to brush everything?
And I'll take you to school.
No, that's okay. I got it.
No, really, it... I don't... I don't mind.
Mom, I dropped out of school, so...
Jeepers.
You have to go back.
Well, gosh, gee whiz, Mom.
How do I know you're not gonna go batshit again?
Because I am in control.
That's not helping me.
[Terry] Hey.
Oh.
Pat! Damn it.
Patty.
[door clattering]
Pat.
Honey, can I help you?
I got it.
[exhales sharply]
I got it.
[dramatic rock music plays]
♪ ♪
- Sure I can't help? - He says he's got it.
♪ ♪
[Terry] Ah.
♪ ♪♪♪
This happened yesterday. It gets stuck on this track.
You know what, honey? Just go without me.
No, you got this, Dad.
- Oh, for fig's sake, Terry. - No, don't touch him.
I got it. There we go.
I got it.
Got to run.
♪ ♪
[drone buzzing]
- [Jake] Come back! - Great.
Um, FYI, tonight is pizza night.
So is tomorrow and Wednesday. Have a good day.
Gaynor.
I know that you think you have this all figured out,
but you're too young to raise a family.
You're only 16.
Turned 17 three weeks ago.
Happy birthday.
I bet your father didn't remember either!
[Terry] Huh?
Nothing, sweetheart.
[exhales deeply] Be better, Pat.
♪ ♪
[tires squealing, car horn honking]
♪ ♪
Wow.
Where did Button learn to drive?
- TikTok. Jake, wait. - Oh.
Okay, remember, you come straight home
from school, all right?
I can't. I have basketball rehearsal.
[Gaynor] It's called practice, buddy.
Jake.
I love you.
Hey, where do you think you're going?
Uh, I'm gonna pick some things up.
I made a shopping list.
Jesus. Okay, just please stay in the car.
It's too dangerous.
- I got to go to work. - Well, that's not fair.
No, I-I-I don't want to stay in the car.
I said no.
♪ ♪
Stay.
I can be safe.
[grunts]
[screams]
Holy fuckity!
- [person] Are you okay, boss? - [breathing heavily]
Yeah, yeah. [chuckles]
I think that shook something loose.
All right, be careful there, chief.
Name's not chief.
My name's...
Terry Phelps.
I'm gonna get me some "kigarettes"
and sun dry.
Ooh.
Could you get that?
[dog barking]
[light music plays]
I know. I know.
I missed you the most, too.
Shh, shh, shh.
[music turns eerie]
[dog barks]
♪ ♪
[dog barks]
♪ ♪♪♪
[muffled barking]
♪ ♪♪♪
[barking continues]
♪ ♪
- Ew. - [dog barks]
[gasps]
[house groaning, objects clattering]
[ominous music plays]
♪ ♪
I am in control.
♪ ♪
[clattering continues]
♪ ♪
[steps creaking, clattering continues]
♪ ♪
[creaking]
♪ ♪
I am in control.
I am in...
control.
♪ ♪
[screams]
[house groaning, clattering]
It's just an old house. It's just an old house.
♪ ♪♪♪
[both scream]
Hey, sorry, Dad. It was a total shit show today.
- How are you? - I'm great.
Apparently I'm a smoker.
[Pat] Uh, so are you here as my friend or my editor?
Don't be so cynical. I'm here as your editor.
Your friend would know that you hate flowers.
I'd like to talk about the book.
[Pat] Oh, yes.
I've been dying to get back to work on it.
I think that we switch the focus
from Rosemary to Cressida.
We have her get committed.
I have such amazing asylum stories, Kam.
- [chuckles] I'll bet. - Yeah, she goes through hell.
She comes out the other side even stronger.
I think this could be a really important book
about women's mental health.
We call it Cressida Recovered.
Oh, I fucking love it.
Let's put a pin in that, and I'm gonna show you
what the marketing team came up with.
Wait. You already published it?
No. I mean, technically, yes,
but it doesn't hit the shelves for another couple weeks.
[sighs] You can't do this without my permission.
You're a writer. We can do whatever we want.
We paid you, plus it's really good.
- It's just a pulpy slasher. - I disagree.
I think it's everything that you've been talking about.
[chuckles] The last 16 pages
is Rosemary chopping up her family with an axe.
Where is the recovery?
You are the recovery.
That's what you'll talk about on the book tour.
How this book helped you with your healing process.
[Pat] There's a tour?
Yeah, I don't want to be some mental patient on display.
Nobody wants that either.
Really? Is this a typo?
[Kam] You're looking at the straitjacket.
I am looking at how incredible your skin looks.
Okay, look, we will regroup,
come up with a new marketing strategy,
which, if we go with the deranged thing,
you're gonna have to keep your hair like that.
Oh, my gosh. What am I supposed to do now?
As your friend, take it easy.
You're home. Just enjoy your family.
- Hmm. - [knock on door]
Mommy, I hate my family.
I know. Me too.
Come on in.
Take off your shoes. I just had the carpets cleaned.
The kids don't want me, Terry doesn't know me,
and even Roxy is phoning it in.
I just... nobody gives a hoot that I'm home.
[gasps] They got rid of the cursing.
Don't worry. That comes back in a big fucking way.
Come on, I'll get you some seltzer.
- [sighs] - Oh, that's new.
[Joan] Oh, yeah, Tommy left me.
So I took the money and bought baby sharks.
Isn't it fun?
You should see what they do to a chicken.
- I didn't know Tommy had money. - Tommy was a bum.
- I took the advance money. - From my book?
That... that's supposed to be for the kids.
The kids are fine.
And it's practically my book.
A beautiful, sexually active housewife...
you're lucky I don't sue you.
Why is everything so terrible?
What'd you think would happen, darling?
You'd go away, get your brains scrabbled,
come back better, and life would be perfect?
Yeah, that's exactly what I thought would happen.
Once I was cured, everything would be better.
No, no, honey, there's no such thing as cured.
You can't ever get rid of mental illness.
That shit is like glitter.
So I'm back to where I started.
- You... you hear voices? - No.
- You want to end your own life? - No.
- The ghost come back? - No.
Then you're miles from where you started.
Come on.
Let's go watch the sharks. It'll relax you.
[Pat] I just thought I'd be missed.
Oh, you'd have to disappear
for a lot longer than four months.
And you can't run away from your family.
You did.
No... and now I have to have this fucking conversation.
- [scoffs] - Cheers.
[glasses clink]
Can I stay here for a little while?
No, you cannot. You go home.
You go fight for your husband. Fight for your family.
Fight the urge to do something
that sends you back to that hospital.
And if all else fails, get yourself some sharks.
[light music playing]
♪ ♪♪♪
Welcome home. I made meatloaf surprise.
Oh, here we fucking go again.
[Jake] You better not be messing with me.
Meatloaf surprise is my favorite.
Remember when I found a Jolly Rancher?
It really turned my fifth-grade year around.
I'm not messing with you. Where's your dad?
Oh, he wanted to get out of the car by himself,
- so don't wait up. - I'll go help him.
No, he doesn't need your help.
Meatloaf surprise is supposed to have surprises in it.
- This is just meat and loaf. - Keep looking.
Okay, I'm gonna go eat in my room.
Gaynor, come on. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for all of this.
I really do know exactly what you're feeling.
I really don't think you do, Mom.
Wait.
[Gaynor grunts softly]
When I was your age, I had my mother committed.
I gave up college to take care of her.
It took me a long time to forgive her.
I was just waiting for the right time to tell you.
Grandma told me last year.
I hate her so much.
Yeah, I guess we both have bad moms, then.
Mm-hmm, we do,
but I'm not leaving.
And I will make this up to you.
Nobody wants you here.
You broke this family.
An onion? Is that the surprise?
I am so mad right now.
Eat pizza, then. I don't care.
- Don't yell at my brother! - I'm not yelling!
I just... I just want this to go back to a normal,
gosh darn family!
Stop saying normal, 'cause we're not normal!
We have never been normal!
[Terry] Button's right.
[dramatic rock music plays]
♪ ♪
These last few days...
I've...
gotten to meet every one of you all over again,
and she's right.
You aren't normal. None of you are.
What you are is amazing.
We are amazing.
Are you smoking?
We are smokers.
[chuckles] No, we are not.
But we are a family.
That's right, honey. We are. We... we are...
We...
we are...
♪ ♪♪♪
Come on, Dad.
♪ ♪
Phelps.
Yes. We are Phelps.
♪ ♪
We are Phelps.
- [Pat] We... - [both] ...are Phelps.
We are Phelps.
We are Phelps!
That's right!
[Terry and Jake] We are Phelps!
[all chanting] We are Phelps! We are Phelps!
I remember. Come on, Button.
[all] We are Phelps!
- We are Phelps! - [barks]
- We are Phelps! - He is Phelps!
- [static whirring] - [all] We are Phelps!
We are Phelps!
[muffled] We are Phelps! We are Phelps!
We are Phelps! We are Phelps!
- We are Phelps! - [doorbell rings]
We are Phelps! We are Phelps!
We are Phelps!
Hello, dear. So good to see you.
♪ ♪
Fuck.
[singer] ♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪♪♪
♪ La, la ♪♪♪
♪ ♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la ♪
♪ La, la, la, la ♪
♪ ♪
[person whistles]
[seagulls cry]