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

I don't watch mainstream tv these days and if I did I wouldn't bother watching a series because I always end up missing part of it, or I get bored.

I live near the locations.Lots of huge hilly fields.I have just walked up 9ne on my dog walk this am !I can see that the bodies wouldn't immediately be visible from the road. It was a huge field and they had driven down an incline so probably not visible from the road.

Luckygirl3

Psychopaths are very good at seeming to need a cuddle!

Exactly. It’s scary that so many people seemed to see him as remorseful and capable of love

The two things that spoiled it for me were:
1. Surely the police would have been guarding the house, expecting TLR to turn up there
2. How did he drive all that way, leaving the bodies in the field, without being spotted?

Thrilled with all your responses, I’ll definitely miss my Sunday fix.

Psychopaths are very good at seeming to need a cuddle!

Doodledog

I thought TLR's death was perfect, as it tied in with the very first scene in Series 1. We came full circle.

For those who didn't see it, the series opened with Catherine talking down a drugged-up drunk man who had poured petrol on himself and was threatening to light it.

I'd forgotten that, thanks Doodledog

foxie48

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.

It was a very complex relationship on Catherine's part and must have been difficult to come to terms with. She was the only one there for him when her beloved daughter committed suicide leaving this tiny baby, a result of her abusive relationship with Tommy. Her father and brother couldn't cope with it all but Catherine was determined to do the right thing by this child. She loved him despite knowing how he'd been brought into the world.

So many levels of complexity, so many nuances in relationships and all brought together brilliantly in the final episode

I thought TLR's death was perfect, as it tied in with the very first scene in Series 1. We came full circle.

For those who didn't see it, the series opened with Catherine talking down a drugged-up drunk man who had poured petrol on himself and was threatening to light it.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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’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.