Despite maybe not being as ‘clockwork’ as other seasons, series three does the impossible: providing a satisfying conclusion to a much-anticipated return.
There’s always a risk in the return of a critically-beloved series after a significant gap that it may not live up to expectations – the cast is too old, the production team have lost their step, or the writer just wants to finish the story as quickly as possible. Thank the gods for writer/director/executive producer Sally Wainwright, because this isn’t just a return to form for our favourite gritty northern crime drama. The third and final series of Happy Valley has real dramatic weight, pathos and closure for its characters.
We pick up seven years after we left off: Sergeant Catherine Cawood (the spellbinding Sarah Lancashire), weeks away from retirement is called upon to investigate a body discovered in a drained reservoir. There are links to organised crime, and political corruption and it all comes back to a familiar face: Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton).
When diving into season three, you immediately notice that the wait, however frustrating, is definitely justified. While the cast and crew were certainly off doing other noticeable work, the real reason for the wait was clearly to allow Catherine’s grandson Ryan (Rhys Connor) to grow into the role. The ageing of Ryan allows the creators to take the story into new and difficult territories regarding the relationship with his father Royce and the tension that causes between Catherine and her sister Claire (Siobhan Finneran).
If there’s one notable surprise this season, it has to be Connor’s performance. It’s hard enough to find a child actor to convey the appropriate response to the dark subject matter, but to find one that could grow into an actor capable of holding their own against powerhouse performances from seasoned veterans like Lancashire and Norton is seriously impressive. As Emperor Palpatine once said, “we’ll be watching your career with great interest.”
And Connor needed to impress, because this season is Ryan’s story more than anyone else’s. There are the classic Happy Valley subplots which, despite seeming disconnected, all weave together to form one complete story. Amit Shah, Mark Stanley and Mollie Winnard bring to life a very contemporary, personal domestic abuse storyline that unfortunately gets dropped as soon as it gets going. As does the role of the Knezevich crime family, this overriding faction we’ve heard mentioned throughout previous seasons, who finally make an impressionable, but ultimately fleeting, appearance. But, and I can’t stress this enough, this doesn’t matter. Ultimately, this is a story about Catherine and Tommy, locked in one final battle over Ryan’s soul. Without spoilers, this tale concludes in an unexpected, biblical, thoroughly satisfying way.
Sally Wainwright has said that Happy Valley isn’t a police drama. It’s a story about a woman with an extremely complicated life, who happens to be a police officer. Watching this final chapter in a story that has meant so much to so many, it finally dawned on me: this isn’t a police drama at all. It’s a Western, in the vein of Unforgiven or even Logan, about a lone Sheriff who has to protect her town from bandits and the evil man in the black hat. The marketing and Ben Foster’s twangy score have always pointed towards this, but now it finally clicked into place for me. Which made me appreciate it even more. Because what Happy Valley represents is a cultural moment in time: a truly unique and genre-defining program, bolstered by stunning writing, amazing characters, and a beautiful sense of humanity that other shows can only try to reach for.
It will truly be missed, but if it was going to go, I’m glad it went out like this.
All three seasons of Happy Valley are available now on BBC iPlayer.
Words by Ed Foster
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