Happy Valley Series 1-2 (2014-2016) - Review

Starring: Sarah Lancashire, James Norton, Siobhan Finneran & Charlie Murphy

Written By: Sally Wainwright

Directed By: Euros Lyn, Sally Wainwright, Tim Fywell & Neasa Hardiman

Certificate: 15

 

Even before it aired, everything was working in Happy Valley's favour. Written by the acclaimed Sally Wainwright, and featuring an equally acclaimed cast, including Sarah Lancashire, Steve Pemberton and James Norton, it looked like the show was set up to be a massive hit. Then the first series aired … and it somehow surpassed every expectation I had. It became possibly the best TV drama I have ever watched. It was honestly so good that I was really worried that the second series just wouldn't be able to live up to the standards of the first one. Then the second series aired … and it kept the ball rolling. What's the secret behind Happy Valley's unparalleled quality, and what makes it one of the best dramas ever to grace television?

 

In Series 1, we are introduced to Catherine Cawood, a no-nonsense police sergeant operating in West Yorkshire. After serving eight years in prison for drug offences, Tommy Lee Royce, the man who raped and eventually drove Catherine's daughter to suicide, has been released. At the same time, accountant Kevin Weatherill has been refused a much-needed pay rise by his boss and friend Nevison Gallagher. Feeling cheated, Kevin devises a plot with property developer Ashley and his employees, including Tommy Lee Royce, to have Nevison's daughter kidnapped and to demand money for her safe return. But when various events see the plan go wrong, and with Catherine on their tails, things quickly get out of hand.

 

The vital component in what makes Happy Valley such an astounding show, is a wonderful lead character in Catherine Cawood. Catherine is a wonderful, no-nonsense and down to earth character that you just can't help to admire. Over the course of the series, Catherine has to go through a lot, including multiple assaults, corruption in the police service and looking after her recovering alcoholic and heroin addict sister. Yet with all this going on, Catherine never entirely caves in, and she manages to keep her head above water. She isn't perfect by any means, and she does make the occasional wrong decision, but you can still tell that her heart and morality are in the right place, and this is largely what makes her such an engaging character. Happy Valley is a very serious and gritty drama, but at the same time, there are moments where Catherine is so droll that she lightens things up with some dark humour, most notably at the start of the first episode. The character is all the more watchable thanks to a pretty much flawless performance from Sarah Lancashire. I'll never hesitate in saying that Sarah Lancashire is seriously one of the best actors working today, and here she gives probably the best performance of 2014. Catherine and her sister Clare also share a great and believable relationship as they both try to do their best for Catherine's grandson, no matter how difficult he may be, while also being there for each other during rough times.

 

The first series of the show is made even better thanks to a seriously brilliant script from Sally Wainwright. Sally Wainwright has put so much into her script, and every bit of it works – it's tense and never fails to leave you wanting more by the time the credits are rolling. A story about a major kidnap might not sound like anything new or unheard of before, but it's created and handled so well here that you're barely allowed to leave the edge of your seat. Honestly, there was not a single episode that went by where I wasn't left wondering where the next instalment would have to offer. A lot of this was down to the actions of the villainous Tommy Lee Royce. Tommy is an incredibly dark and twisted character who is irredeemable to the core. At first he may look like nothing more than a one-note psychopath, but as later episodes prove, he's not just out to kill, rape or torture people, as he spends a lot of time trying to win the affections of his son, in some very disturbing scenes. The character is helped enormously thanks to a strong, convincing performance from James Norton. Together, Sarah Lancashire and James Norton create an incredible dynamic between their two characters. They are as different as day and night, and whenever they share a scene, it's one where you just won't be able to avert your eyes.

 

There's one particular moment of the first series that I want to draw attention to – and that is the … perfect ending to Episode 4. (Spoiler Warning!) The end of Episode 4 sees Catherine finally recover the kidnapped Ann Gallagher, but as soon as Catherine discovers her, Tommy walks in on the both of them. Tommy tries, in a very violent way, to stop Catherine in her tracks, but both she and Ann take down Tommy and escape. However, Catherine is left in a very bad state after Tommy's attack and she collapses in the street. After four episodes of build-up, it's the showdown between the two that we've been hoping for, and it is honestly the only time that a drama has genuinely left me breathless. I was in awe at this cliff-hanger, and the beeping of Catherine's pager over the silent credits reflected just how stunned I was. One of the rare criticisms of Happy Valley is its over-use of violence. While you could argue that in moments like this, I personally don't agree. I would instead argue that Happy Valley is justified in being so violent and bloody, particularly at the end of Episode 6, when Catherine and Tommy encounter each other again. Speaking of Episode 6, I was further glad to see the series end on an impressively noble note. (Spoiler Warning!) When Catherine has Tommy at her mercy, she has the option to completely pulverize him, but chooses not to. If anything, this just proves that Happy Valley doesn't use violence for the sake of it and that just like its lead character, its morals are in the right place.

 

Moving on to Series 2, the second series take place eighteen months later and sees the return of several of the cast. Catherine is still working with the West Yorkshire police, and Ann Gallagher has also trained to become a PCSO. This time, Catherine is implicated in a string of grisly murders and has to work to prove her innocence, whilst also trying to put an end to a human trafficking operation. Meanwhile, Tommy Lee Royce is serving a life sentence in prison, but is manipulating school teacher Miss Wealand to try and get access to his son whilst also trying to get revenge on Catherine. Meanwhile, following an attempt to blackmail him, police detective John Wadsworth ends up killing his lover and ends up having to avoid being implicated in her murder.

 

Just like the first series, Series 2 brings even more engaging plots to the table and there's arguably even more going on here. There are three main plots involving - a serial killer on the loose, Tommy's attempts to steal back his son, and Detective John Wadsworth's efforts to avoid the blame for murdering Vicky Fleming. The three stories do have some surprising connectivity, and there's definitely enough going on to keep the audience hooked over a course of six weeks. However, if there's one story that stands out from the rest, it's John Wadsworth's. Actor Kevin Doyle truly steals the show as somebody who is really out of their depth and the more he tries to resolve things, the worse it gets. He's somewhat reminiscent of Kevin Weatherill from the first series, and Kevin Doyle does just as terrific a job as Steve Pemberton did. Although John has done terrible things, including adultery and murder, you still feel some strange sense of sympathy towards him. Unlike the psychopathic Tommy Lee Royce, John doesn't enjoy doing all this, and almost instantly regrets his actions, as you can see on his face once he's killed Vicky Fleming. Kevin Doyle is superb in the role, and his last ten minutes in Episode 6, are as gritty and shocking as ever, yet somehow still being tragic.

 

Another fantastic addition to the show is the character of Miss Wealand. As she works with the imprisoned Tommy to win back Ryan's affections and poison the young boy against Catherine, you can't help but see how sinister she is. While Tommy might be dark, aggressive and violent, Frances is more quiet and subdued, and that somehow makes her feel all the more dangerous. During the scenes in school when she sits and talks to Ryan about his father, it becomes genuinely unsettling to watch. Still, rather like John, Frances is another character out of her depth, and doesn't really understand the man she's getting involved with, and as a result of this, you can understand Catherine's more negotiable attitude towards her.

 

While Series 2 introduces some terrific new characters and some great new storylines, many of the original cast reprise their roles, giving us the chance to learn more about them. One thing that I was really glad to see was greater exploration of Catherine dealing with her sister, a recovering drug-addict. In the first series, we never really saw just how much of a struggle it had been for Clare to recover from her addiction, but here we get to see just how bad it has been for both her and Catherine. Mid-way through the series, Clare suffers a lapse and ends up getting drunk and aggressive towards her family. Siobhan Finneran does a stellar job here, and the fact that Catherine still tries to stop her abusive sister from getting in any trouble or danger, really hit home the fact that these two are sisters who deeply care about each other. I was also glad to see Ann Gallagher return to the show, and to see what her experience in the first series had done to her. It was a nice touch to see that the abhorrent things she endured in the first series had encouraged her to train to become a Community Support Officer, and seeing her so much more empowered added another level to her character. The incredibly tense dynamic between Catherine and Tommy, a dynamic we saw in the first series, is still here as well, albeit briefly. Seeing the two characters meet again at a funeral, makes for great viewing and it's a shame that we don't see a bit more of it. That's the only real problem that I have with the second series. While the first series is, in my opinion, pretty much watertight, there are several elements of the second series that feel a bit undercooked. The human trafficking subplot and Tommy's attempts to see Ryan again never get the chance to entirely take off, especially in comparison to John's own story, which by comparison feels a lot more solid.

 

So to sum up, both series of Happy Valley make for some of the absolute best drama you can currently find on television. The show gets so much right that I honestly can't recommend it enough. Out of the two, I would argue that the first series is slightly stronger, but both are impeccable watches. Series 2 might not top the first series, but to be honest, I'm not really sure that anything could manage such a feat. At the time of writing, a third series is looking highly likely, and while I would say that a third series wouldn't be able to top those that came before it, I thought exactly the same thing before the second series aired, and was proved entirely wrong. Featuring one of the best lead characters, matched by a range of cast-iron performances and an incredibly tense and nail-biting script, watch Happy Valley as soon as you can.

 

 

Happy Valley



10/10