Happy Valley Theories ***Warning: may contain spoilers***

The cafe scene when Catherine caught Claire out was just wonderful; both deserve an award for their acting. When Claire was trying to console Catherine and ask what had happened after the showdown in her house, and Catherine said 'We had a bit of a tussle - I won' - what superb, underplayed dialogue. I am so, so sorry that there won't be another series - 'think I'll start watching from the first one again.

I was a bit disappointed with the one sentence wrap up of the other criminals
My best scene was Tommy in the car , his fear for once!

Utterly brilliant mixture of subtle and spectacular. What a roller coaster ride!

Greyduster

^Sally Wainwright knows the north^. Aye but she doesn’t know there isn’t a prison in Sheffield - at least, I can’t find one! But I’ll forgive her anything after last night’s episode!

I bet she does know!
Artistic(or is it poetic) licence 😁

Gabrielle56

Susieq62

By the way it is West Yorkshire not Lancashire !!

Well said!👍 Get fed up of everyone getting everywhere wrong Oop here!

But some of it was filmed in Lancashire and some posters know the area where it was filmed.

It's not confusion, it's fact.

polly123

Very interesting and shocking ending from a brilliant scriptwriter who really understands human behaviour and expresses it in a subtle manner. The acting was superb. What a pity we are now getting the nonsense of the Portofino programme which looks so beautiful but offers little in the way of decent scriptwriting being both wooden and cheesy at the same time.

I might just watch the end episode as so many are raving about it.
Did give one episode a try last year, but couldnt get into it. Not my cup of tea in more ways than one.

HannahLoisLuke

Well I haven’t watched any of it as I really don’t like crime dramas or depictions of violence. However, I’m a big fan of James Norton and following the mass excitement over this latest series I might venture onto IPlayer and give it a go.

oops. Wrong quote above. I meant this one below it.

fancythat

polly123

Very interesting and shocking ending from a brilliant scriptwriter who really understands human behaviour and expresses it in a subtle manner. The acting was superb. What a pity we are now getting the nonsense of the Portofino programme which looks so beautiful but offers little in the way of decent scriptwriting being both wooden and cheesy at the same time.

I might just watch the end episode as so many are raving about it.
Did give one episode a try last year, but couldnt get into it. Not my cup of tea in more ways than one.

But you won't really know what's going on if you haven't watched the build-up to the last episode.
🤔

We hadn’t watched Series 1 and 2 so needed to read a synopsis. Didn’t fully realise who all the characters were but were riveted by this series and the acting was superb, to match the amazing writing of the script.

I’m still thinking about the 3 series and the brilliant finale. Sally Wainwright is a truly brilliant script writer. It’s clear from Happy Valley and her other triumphs, she inspires the actors. The want to work with her, she gets the best out of them. There wasn’t a weak link in the cast.
This series Hugh lighted the nature - nurture debate, again. It’s also shone a light on what are called kinship carers. The scene where the superintendent responded to Catherine’s ‘who will look after those two little girls now’ was another understated glory. ‘There’s a grannie, in fact w grannies” he said. Full circle, grannies stepping in as they almost always do. An invisible army of grannies and aunties coming in to love and care for children in their families.

Sorry - I need to cancel predictive text. ‘They’ want to work with her.
This series high lighted the nature-nurture debate
There’s a grannie - in fact 2 grannies
Sorry

Such mixed feelings, a great watch . I now want to know what happens next..but heyho…..

Just watched the final episode and thought it was a very good ending 👌

Iam64

Sorry - I need to cancel predictive text. ‘They’ want to work with her.
This series high lighted the nature-nurture debate
There’s a grannie - in fact 2 grannies
Sorry

😁I wondered who Hugh was.

Great series and great ending. I think James Norton is a fantastic actor.

Loved the series! Great script and brilliant acting. I've just watched the last episode and thought it was satisfying, which is really all I want at the end of such a fantastic series.

Great show great writing, great acting. Wish there were more similar. BBC at its best.

You've said it all very succinctly Farzanah I totally agree.

Brilliant last episode (well all episodes were!). The 3 main characters, Catherine, Claire and Tommy were amazing actors and surely deserve Baftas. The scene in Nev's kitchen when Catherine was upset and Claire really wanted to comfort her, but was too scared to, was almost too hard to watch, so much emotion without a word being spoken. A masterclass in acting.

That’s s good summary of the scene in Nev’s kitchen, Curlywhirley. The relationship between Catherine and Claire has been so well portrayed. There’s the cafe showdown and that final scene where Claire runs through the police tape shouting I’m looking for my sister Catherine, she finds her and strong Catherine falls into her sisters arms, sobbing.
I also enjoyed their clothes. Claire looks like so many of mt aging hippie pals who moved to Hebden in the late 60’s and 70’s.
Catherine’s scarf deserves a BAFTA

Some splendid acting.

Throughout I have been puzzled by Catherine's somewhat low-key approach to Ryan who could be forgiven for thinking she saw him as an encumbrance. No smiles or hugs.

Yes, the complexity of family relationships was so well explored.

I think the line about the two grannies was referencing Claire and Catherine, and reminding Catherine that her sister had been a granny to Ryan too. Catherine was hard with him, but that was because of how he came into the world. Not his fault, but how hard would that be? She clearly did love him underneath, and when she pointed out that he was nothing like Tommy the implication was that she might get more demonstrative with him in the future.

I feel Catherine's relationship with Ryan was summed up at the end. She was terrified that he would be like Tommy so she couldn't trust him therefore she had to keep her emotions locked away from him. Terribly sad but at least at the end she knew he was nothing like him and for me that was the best bit. True resolution.

There was resolution with Claire too, she went from not bing able to comfort Catherine in Nev's kitchen to rushing up to her after the last scene with Tommy to comfort her and she wasn't pushed away. A lovely neat ending.

I found the ending very satisfactory. I hoped that TLR would die but thought it would be more violent, rather than by his own hand. When he showed his vulnerability I felt a bit sorry for him and felt he needed a cuddle. At least our favourite psychopath died in the comfort of a hospital bed.

Ryan also came through because of being nurtured by his family and it looked like Catherine had found some peace.