By Morgan Cormack

Published: Sunday, 22 January 2023 at 12:00 am

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It goes without saying that Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) has never been – and never will be – a character that can be trusted. He’s a serial killer and all-round evil presence, but even we were surprised at just how seamlessly he managed to escape the courtroom at the end of Happy Valley‘s fourth episode.

His insistence at Ryan (Rhys Connah) coming to see him in court of all places should have rung serious alarm bells but it’s only until Catherine mapped out her theory to Inspector Mike Taylor (Rick Warden), that we really started to listen. Of course Tommy would be staging an elaborate escape plan, why hadn’t the thought crossed our minds sooner?

Catherine first learns of Tommy’s upcoming trial in Leeds after confronting Neil (Con O’Neill) in his corner shop. He tells her that Tommy wanted Ryan there “just to see him” but in the scene straight after, we see Tommy getting a haircut by a fellow prison inmate.

He’s got a subtle smile on his face throughout and even gives the makeshift barber an extra tin of tuna as payment. First hint that something’s off? Tommy’s in a grand mood for someone who could very well be adding on more years to his life sentence.

“Why would you want your kid to go into court to watch you being sentenced for god knows how long, on top of what you’re already serving, for murder?” Catherine asks Richard after she finds out. “It’s the why – why would he ask him to go?”

Catherine suggests Richard should go to the sentencing for Gary Gaggoski’s murder in order to continue his own investigation into the Knezevics. But the next day – the day of the trial – Catherine also learns of Tommy’s hopes to take Ryan bungee jumping after finally speaking to Clare (Siobhan Finneran) again.

“Start again – you think Tommy Lee Royce is planning to escape because he told Ryan that they’re going bungee jumping?” Mike asks Catherine later in his office. But she’s serious, she explains – Tommy isn’t supposed to be going anywhere for at least 500 years, so making plans like that would seem futile.

“He wants him there so that when he doesn’t turn up, he’s there to witness the fallout, the disarray, the big man sticking two fingers up at the crown,” she explains. “And what about me? I need protection, because if he gets out, he’s coming for me. You need to find out what sort of escort he’s got and whatever it is, they need to triple it.”

Mark thinks Catherine could be “making too much out of a few glib comments he’s made”, but Catherine says: “Yes, if it was anyone else, I might – but it’s not.”

And so, when we see that Darius Knezevic’s heavies Ivan (Oliver Huntingdon) and Matja (Jack Bandeira) are also at the courthouse, we instantly smell trouble. After messing up with Darius (Alec Secareanu), the pair have been ordered to go to Leeds and it soon becomes clear what they’ve been tasked with doing.

Ryan bunks school and indeed, makes it to court but not before seeing that his grandfather Richard (Derek Riddell) is in attendance too. He sits on the side, trying his best to hide from Richard but is almost immediately spotted by Tommy, who greets him with an all-too-intense stare and knowing smile. Again, far too cheery for court.

Tommy chooses not to stand up when the judge enters the room, providing Ryan a glimpse into his cocky attitude. But it’s outside the room where the drama kicks off. As the clock strikes 12.55, Ivan picks a fight with a random stranger, and soon, Matja gets involved in the violent scuffle.

Security guards sound the alarm, trying to interfere, and Tommy’s courtroom can hear the commotion outside. With the officer inside Tommy’s secure dock temporarily distracted, he turns back and Tommy elbows him in the face. He assaults the other officer before clambering over the high wall and running out.

Although the building is being locked down, Tommy shouts out “police” in order to get people to move out of his way and easily out of the building. Of course, with the building on a temporary lockdown, the real officers are delayed in being able to exit and chase after Tommy, who finds a corner shop to hide in.

He dons the uniform and steals a bike, gleefully riding off into the distance with the police radio informing everyone of the current manhunt for Tommy Lee Royce.

BBC/Lookout Point

Let’s face it, it was an escape that was far too easy to pull off, but realistically would have likely been manufactured by the Knezevic brothers. But why? If you cast your mind back to the first episode of season 3, officers thought that Tommy would likely confess to Gaggoski’s murder out of fear for his own life.

Detective Superintendent Andy Shepherd (Vincent Franklin) had explained that Darius had ordered Tommy’s murder in prison, which is why his face was cut like it was in episode 1.

But if you also remember episode 1, Tommy can be seen practising Spanish in his cell six months after being initially questioned about Gaggoski’s murder. He has a book and DVD that reads, “Speak Spanish in 7 days” and although he’s clearly struggling with it, he sighs and looks up to the picture he has of Ryan.

The rush to learn a new language now seems natural for someone planning to flee soon. But could he have struck a deal with the notorious Knezevics and does this plan actually involve escaping to Spain with son Ryan in tow?

We know one thing’s for certain, with only two episodes to go, the reality of a “big showdown” is filling us with both excitement and dread for Catherine.