Happy Valley: Season 3, Episode 4

January 22, 2023 2:10 PM - Season 3, Episode 4

As Tommy’s big day approaches, Catherine becomes suspicious, and Ryan finds a new way to defy her.
posted by penguin pie (5 comments total)

OMGGGGGGG!

If Tommy Lee Royce does Catherine in before she gets to drive her Land Rover to the Himalayas, I shan't be in the least bit surprised, but I'll still be right upset.

The "manslaughter" aside about Alison without missing a beat was an excellent game raiser on last week's stew aside. I have no memory of the guy she was talking to from previous series, but I assume he's her ex-husband? Sounded in the last episode like he was the father of Catherine's daughter?

One thing that amazes me is that so little of the plot is actually surprising by the time it happens. It's telegraph city. It was obvious the pharmacist was going to kill Joanna right through that whole scene last week when he was overly doing his nut, even though it felt like we were supposed to be surprised when he finaly did it; it's been obvious since Tommy invited Ryan to go to Leeds that he was planning to escape (and in case there was any hint of doubt, he helpfully had a good, obvious look at the open roof of the dock so that we knew he'd shortly be climbing out). As soon as Mr Hepburn cast a long glance at the suitcase in the garage we knew Joanna was in there.

But the writing's so good that doesn't even spoil it.

Though it does make me all the more concerned for Catherine's longevity, since it seems kind of obvious that she's doomed, which might mean that she actually is.
posted by penguin pie at 2:21 PM on January 22, 2023

Also - TIL - Susan Lynch, who plays Alison, was once married to Craig Parkinson, who played DI "Dot" Cottan in Line of Duty. Way to corner the market in roles in compelling TV dramas.

And she is not, as my subconscious had vaguely thought, Helen Baxendale with a false nose.
posted by penguin pie at 2:32 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

This really jumped the shark along with the courtroom cage.
posted by gnuhavenpier at 1:45 PM on January 23, 2023

"But the writing's so good that doesn't even spoil it."

I think it's very much intentional; Catherine is pitched very much as a Cassandra-like figure, forever being ignored as people think they know better (after just one week in CID etc) or that she's over-reacting.

All of which helps ratchet up the tension; we know that Tommy Lee is going to go after Catherine, and we know that if Richard's been warned twice by her to look out for himself while doing his local newspaper pieces on the Knezevics that he's going to end up in trouble etc.

As you say, playing with such things means that such heavy leaning into the "just one day from retirement, big party, that car being fixed" trope raises the stakes even more. Am very much hoping that Alison and Catherine drive off into the Himalayan sunset together, but we'll see...
posted by Hartster at 4:01 AM on January 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

As I mistakenly posted under the previous episode:
How on earth are they going to wrap everything up in two hours, after this one? I was rooting for the pharmacist but the way he has switched from “innocent in over his head” to… something else, means I’m not any more. The character doesn’t ring true, for me.
posted by altolinguistic at 5:12 AM on February 4, 2023