‘Happy Valley’ series finale: Catherine finally gets her end

Which TV shows dominate the conversation, capture the zeitgeist, have something interesting to say, or are hidden gems waiting to be discovered or rediscovered? We look forward to your weekend watch. And be warned, there are spoilers ahead.

If you’re a fan of “Happy Valley,” his hero, Police Sgt. Catherine Cawood, you probably said hello.

Or rather, “I’m Catherine, by the way. I am 47, I am divorced, I live with my sister who is a recovering heroin addict. I have two grown children, one dead, one who won’t talk to me, and a grandson.”

That was our introduction to Catherine, played by the wonderful Sarah Lancashire, as she tries to persuade a drunk man to set himself on fire because his girlfriend had left him.

You may remember the rapturous reception of “Mare of Easttown” in 2021, in part because it featured a flawed female cop with a messy personal life in a very specific and quirky place. With apologies to the brilliant Kate Winslet and Brad Ingelsby, Lancashire and Sally Wainwright arrived first.

Mare and Catherine are very different, of course, but they share the trauma of losing a child to suicide and the burden of raising a grandchild at an age when they should be done raising children.

‘Happy Valley’ debuted in 2014 and is set in the Calder Valley in Wainwright’s native West Yorkshire, the region that is also the setting for her critically acclaimed shows ‘Last Tango in Halifax’ and ‘Gentleman Jack’.

But after two harrowing seasons that premiered in the UK nearly two years apart, “Happy Valley” disappeared, leaving fans desperate for a solution to Catherine’s gnarly story (here in North America, the show really did disappear for some because it was no longer available on Netflix after March 2020).

Fortunately, a third season finally came, seven years later. It began streaming in Canada on Acorn and AMC Plus in May.

The quirky, no-nonsense Catherine is still a force to be reckoned with in these last six episodes, both at work and at home, though it initially looks like she’ll finally find some measure of peace in her impending retirement. .

But the discovery of bones in a reservoir opens up a murder case involving Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), the man who raped her daughter Becky and whom she blames for Becky’s suicide; who brutally murdered a beloved police colleague; who raped a kidnap victim who later became Catherine’s daughter-in-law; and who nearly beat Catherine herself to death.

There is a lot of hatred on both sides and it is complicated by the fact that Tommy is the father of Catherine’s grandson, Ryan (Rhys Connah), now a teenager, who has dared Catherine to enter into a relationship with the imprisoned Tommy.

Against this background, Catherine continues her police work. This season’s cases involve the illegal trade in prescription drugs and include the murder of a battered wife and mother with a diazepam addiction.

But it’s the unfinished business between Catherine and Tommy that gives the season its drive.

The method of bringing them together for a final confrontation puts some strain on the credulity, but a confrontation they must have. And it’s not the black and white, good versus evil, fight to the death showdown you might imagine. In fact, it’s a strangely intimate but tense encounter where Wainwright makes Tommy seem more human than at any other point in the show.

It’s hard to call it a happy ending, but happiness seems over the top anyway for someone as wracked with guilt and regret as Catherine. (The title of the series, by the way, has nothing to do with happiness, but derives from a bit of black humor among local cops who nicknamed the area because of its drug problem.) But contentment seems within reach, and that’s a more realistic goal for this great but troubled heroine of the show.

A dynamo plays the first modern lesbian

Sally Wainwright delved into the history of her beloved Yorkshire for her period drama ‘Gentleman Jack’.

While you could say that all the women in Wainwright’s shows are strong – and her shows are mostly about women – Anne Lister is perhaps the most energetic of them all.

In real life, Lister has been described as the first modern lesbian. She was an anomaly in early to mid-1800s England: well-educated, a globetrotter, masculine in her dress, and deeply involved in the management of her family’s estate and in the coal industry. She also “married” another woman, Ann Walker, in 1834 and they lived together at her Shibden Hall estate (which still stands) until Lister’s death at the age of 49.

Fortunately, Wainwright found another dynamo to play Lister: her regular collaborator Suranne Jones. The British actor, known for ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Doctor Foster’, brings Lister to life with an abundance of energy, intelligence and humour.

Sophie Rundle (“Peaky Blinders”) plays the more reserved Ann Walker.

Unfortunately, unlike “Happy Valley,” there won’t be a third season of “Gentleman Jack,” unless a streamer saves the day. The series was canceled after HBO pulled the plug, reportedly due to low ratings. However, that’s no excuse not to watch.

Incorporating Lister’s diary entries into dialogue, the drama often deals with topics such as coal mining, estate management and local politics that may seem dry, but Jones hurtles through the scenes with an intensity that can be thrilling.

It’s a tour de force worth checking out.

Debra Yeo is an editor and writer for the Star’s Culture section. She is based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @realityeo

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