As this episode of Happy Valley begins, Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) gets a call from an officer who explains suspects have thrown a microwave on their vehicle. She gets a notification on the radio of workers finding bones when draining a reservoir. Catherine deals with PC Shah while rushing to the scene of the discovery. She arrives and checks out the skeleton remains which have a bullet hole in the skull. There is also a metal plate. After finding something in a barrel nearby, Catherine calls to confirm they’re dealing with human remains.

Moments later, she tells DSU Andy Shepherd (Vincent Franklin) about the torso with nothing below the waist. She suspects it has been there for seven and a half or eight years. Andy laughs at that before learning she is retiring in just over seven months. Catherine mentions the metal plate on the right clavicle similar to hers. They laugh at her when she says it is a he until she explains it is Gary Gackowski who fell off a third-floor balcony at Upshaw House in Elland. She also recognizes the teeth since he bit her when she arrested him for a public order offense. Catherine thinks his legs are in the blue barrel.

Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) learns he has visitors. Officers from H Met are there to arrest him on the suspicion of the murder of Gary James Gackowski around April 2014. When he is interviewed, he denies knowing the victim. He continues denying everything before being asked about Nazam Miraf who is on the same floor as him at Sheffield. Tommy is informed that Naz claims he told him he was involved in the murder of Gary. Tommy insists he wouldn’t tell Nazam anything and suggests chatting with him instead. He is told Naz was inside when Gary disappeared.

Tommy argues he is just trying to get himself a few privileges. Later, Tommy talks to Mr. Readyough (Simon Lenagan) in private. He learns that they’ve made further disclosures. They also say he told the prison chaplain he was there when Gary was killed and helped dispose of his body in the reservoir three months ago. When he is questioned by detectives, Tommy suggests the chaplain and Nazam are colluding. They doubt that since Naz has never met the prison chaplain. Tommy is asked if he ever wore a St. Christopher.

They remember he was wearing one when he went down in 2006 and it was logged in his property. It was returned to him in 2014. Tommy continues saying he doesn’t remember it. He is shown one. Although he comes interested in it, he denies recognizing it. He is told the St. Christopher was found in the concrete used to weigh down Gary’s body, but Tommy thinks they’re lying or they planted it. The prison log describes the St. Christopher Tommy had and it matches the one he was just shown.

DSU Andy Shepherd talks to his boss about Gary being shot with a 9mm Glock which was also recovered from the reservoir. Ballistics show it was the same gun used to shoot Ashley Cowgill two months later. He is asked if he thinks it is Darius Knezevic. Andy believes it was him and his brother on a motorbike. He argues that Tommy is close to admitting he was present when Gackowski was shot. They think he’ll name names and they’ll have Darius. Andy reveals they heard that Darius Knezevic ordered Royce’s death and that is how he got his face cut up. Tommy was meant to be dead. They learn that Royce wants to make a statement.

Readyough reads a statement saying Tommy never foresaw Gary’s death at any point. He understand that what was being done was a punishment to frighten him. When the man pulled out the gun and shot him, Tommy asked what the heck he was doing. He didn’t say much else because he could see the man was not the sort of person to argue with. Tommy tried to get him to throw the gun in the water, but he refuses since it could be used for another job. When Tommy got involved in this, it was understood that it was a warning to the lad. Tommy shows the detectives how Gary was shot in the head.

Once he is asked who shot Gary, Tommy claims it was Chris Oxley. Six months later, Ryan Cawood (Rhys Connah) talks trash while playing goalie only to give up a goal. He argues with his coach, Rob Hepworth (Mark Stanley), who calls him a little sh!t stain. Later, Catherine tries to find out what Rob said to him, but Ryan won’t tell her. He says Rob is a dog and everyone knows he is knocked Mrs. Oates off. When they get home, everyone continues talking about the game. Richard Cawood (Derek Riddell) gives Ryan a birthday gift. Ryan tells everyone he got a voucher to go skydiving.

Ann (Charlie Murphy) says they love the new house even though it needs a lot of doing. Catherine is asked about the vehicle outside. She explains she is going to fix it up and use it to drive to the Himalayas. Outside, Catherine tells Clare (Siobhan Finneran) that most police officers die within five years of their retirement. Catherine thinks she is different because she is counting the seconds until she retires. She is just becoming the person she always wanted to be. They discuss other things Catherine might want to do. Clare says it is Ryan’s birthday and they’re just happy since they haven’t had one bad word.

Catherine wishes she knew what Hepworth had said to Ryan. Clare tells her what he said before admitting she doesn’t know when to tell her stuff and when not to. At the school, Ryan yells at Hepworth and taunts him about Oats before fleeing on his bike. Rob begins chasing them in his car only to be blocked by other students. He gets a call from Paisley’s mom Leah who says she had to pick up Florence and Poppy from school again. She is worried about Joanna (Mollie Winnard) and wonders if she might be drinking. When Rob rushes home, Joanna tries to hide the pills and pretend she has been out of bed. She claims she just took a nap, but Rob doesn’t believe her.

He searches for drugs and gets rough with her. He eventually finds the pills in her pocket. While holding her down on the bed, Rob says her family thought she had weaned herself off this nonsense. Joanna denies that they’re illegal since they’re only Diazepam. Rob scolds her for bringing that filth into his house. He tells her she isn’t even worth screwing before warning her she’ll have to tell the police. He calls the police with Catherine showing up after dark. She tells Clare about the visit. Catherine reveals he didn’t even recognize her. She founds Joanna at the kitchen table and a lock on the fridge.

Catherine noticed that Rob was wearing Nikes and Adidas while Joanna is in Primark. She is a pasty little thing with bruises up her arms. Catherine learns Joanna’s name and that she didn’t have a prescription for the pills while Rob keeps answering her questions. Jo says she had a prescription for it a few months ago. Rob says she did briefly but dealt with it admirably. He can’t have anything illegal going on in his private life. Catherine says she is going to have to arrest her so Rob begins calling his mom. She refuses to let Rob ride with them since she isn’t a taxi and he isn’t under arrest.

Catherine tried to get her talking in the car, but couldn’t get a peep out of her. Later, she tells her she is going to release her on bail. Catherine asks if it is alright for her to go home. Joanna says yes before she learns what will happen next. Catherine tells Clare she could’ve let her go with a caution if she’d told her where she got the pills. She learns that Joanna had depression, anxiety, and panic attacks so the doctor put her on diazepam. She gets hooked only for the doctor to stop prescribing her those pills. Catherine told her to talk to her sister who runs a group for people addicted to drugs.

Joanna wouldn’t go to the safeguarding unit because of the girls. Rob was waiting in reception for her just as Joanna thought he would be. When Rob takes the kids to school in the morning, Faisal (Amit Shah) visits Joanna at home after hearing about the police visit. Joanna tells him that Rob called 999 after he found some of the pills he had given her. He wants to make sure she got rid of the packaging so they can’t trace it back to him. She tells him what happened and claims she took the pills out of the blister packs as well as the boxes. When he agrees to give her more, Joanna asks if he wants to go to bed. He says she is okay since he has to get to work.

At work, Bhatti learns Mr. Brooks is there for his prescription. He takes Ezra into his office and receives 1,200 quid in a paper bag. Faisal wants to make sure he gets rid of all the packaging before he gives it to people. Ezra says he has other people interested, but Faisal thinks moderation is important. At work, another officer tries to convince Catherine to go out for drinks but she isn’t interested. Catherine is told she is popular in certain circles. Joyce (Ishia Bennison) claims she had drinks although Catherine doesn’t remember coming. Mike Taylor (Rick Warden) tells Catherine he had a phone call involving Samantha Greenwood who is the prison liaison officer at Dewsbury.

She heard that Catherine must be getting soft for letting her grandson go visit Tommy Lee Royce. Catherine doesn’t want to believe it. Mike informs her that Royce got transferred to Sheffield over two years ago. Ryan was supposedly with a man and woman. Mike explains any kid would have to be if they’re under 18. He agrees to contact the prison to see if he can find out who has been visiting Royce. She learns his court date is coming up. Royce tries to learn how to speak Spanish. Catherine talks about it with Richard who thinks it is unlikely. She couldn’t imagine who would do that.

Richard tells her that Ros is sleeping in the spare room. Catherine reveals Nev has invited her out for a meal. Richard urges her to ask Ryan about this other business, but she doesn’t want to put ideas in his head. Two men visit the pharmacy because one of them has been with a woman and suspects he might’ve picked something up. Faisal is held at gunpoint and told they run things around here. He should keep doing what he is doing, but hand the money over to them. Faisal doesn’t want to do that. The gunman warns Faisal that he wouldn’t worry about the police since they know where his kids go to school.

Faisal isn’t given any other choice but to cooperate. He watches the men leave in a black vehicle. Catherine found out the MHRA knows about the illegal diazepam problem and has an inquiry going. They suspect it would be the Knezevics. Mike heard back from the prison in Sheffield and she isn’t going to like it.

 

Happy Valley Review

The opening episode of Happy Valley’s final season likely won’t disappoint hardcore fans of the series or avid fans of Sarah Lancashire. Fine performances have become a staple of Happy Valley and that won’t change in the next five episodes thanks to the likes of Sarah Lancashire, James Norton, and others.

The opening episode tends to align more with the second series than the first which brought more originality to the table at the time. While the performances are outstanding, it is hard to see anything new being added to the equation by the third and final series. Tommy Lee Royce’s role is somewhat hindered by the fact that he is now locked behind bars with no chance of escape making him less menacing.

In other words, the role is played well, but there is no sense of danger as a result of Tommy’s imprisonment. Instead, Mark Stanley’s Rob Hepworth may become the focal point of viewers’ hatred even though there is a whole host of characters to despise with more coming in future episodes. The crooked doctor is a good addition although very unbelievable in the opening episode.

Thankfully, Happy Valley isn’t an accurate representation of the real world but it is a decent form of entertainment as usual. The series already feels like the second and will likely take more time to develop with so many characters and so many stories being explored simultaneously. The first episode had good points even if it was a bit long-winded from time to time.

I would expect the series to get better as it gets down to the nitty-gritty. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Happy Valley are available on Reel Mockery here. Consider supporting an independent voice in entertainment by following this link.