Only the first episode of Happy Valley season 3 was made available for review.<\/strong><\/p>\n After seven long years, we are finally back in the Calder Valley for a third and final instalment<\/a> of BBC One\u2019s hit crime drama Happy Valley<\/a>.<\/p>\n Firstly, if you\u2019re expecting a slow burning introduction episode, you\u2019ll be pleasantly surprised\u00a0 \u2013 the premiere is anything but. Like the hurried rate of Sarah Lancashire\u2019s speech and her smart quips (which are an incredible and unmissable feat in themselves), the first episode of the anticipated season kicks off at a similar rate,\u00a0with the discovery of a body at a reservoir.<\/p>\n From the offset, it\u2019s as though no time has passed since the last season as we see Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Lancashire) firmly but hilariously tell her PCs off over the phone, and later smirk as she calls senior officers \u201ct***s\u201d after initially ignoring her opinion about the victim\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n As the opening credits roll, you can\u2019t help but think \u201cshe\u2019s back\u201d, as though our television sets can now breathe a sigh of relief that Catherine is safely at the helm of another season of Happy Valley. Now, she is counting down the days till retirement when she can set off for the Himalayas in her new 4\u00d74 and, in the familiar comfort of a tea and cigarette break with her sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran), she speaks excitedly about what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cI\u2019m counting the seconds \u2013 I mean, don\u2019t get me wrong I\u2019m very proud my 30 years, I\u2019m the best copper that ever lived \u2026 I\u2019m just becoming the person I\u2019ve always wanted to be. Don\u2019t take s**t off anyone anymore, I say it like it is, I know who I am finally.\u201d<\/p>\n The anecdote is a drastic turn away from the Sergeant we\u2019ve all come to know and will surely surprise many. But of course, as comes with the expected sense of finality in this season, Catherine too is ready to hang up her police uniform once and for all.<\/p>\n And a major part of that sense of calm, we learn, is because there\u2019s been relative peace on the Cawood front. We understand that the last few years for the Cawood family have \u201cseemed a bit easier somehow\u201d with Ryan having moved school and the family finally moving on from the past.<\/p>\n But the episode is woven through with a sense of doom for the viewer as we quickly learn that, actually, the threat of Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton<\/a>) has not been as far from the Cawood doorstep as they think. In a new prison and with a shocking new look, Royce is as cocky and chilling as ever before. This time round, he\u2019s being questioned in conjunction with the body found at the reservoir. While the details of Royce\u2019s possible involvement remain a mystery to viewers at this point, the episode allows the cogs in our crime drama brains to be turning right from its first quarter.<\/p>\n In a way, it\u2019s what fans expect of Happy Valley. The viewer is often more informed than the characters within the episodes and so, we start off as we mean to go on \u2013 knowing certain details before others and waiting for their anticipated emotional responses. We see it with the ongoing Catherine and Royce feud, as too do we see it in the new plot line with pharmacist Faisal Bhatti (Amit Shah). It gives the viewer a sense of omniscience, which only adds an unmistakably endearing note to the series that makes it far too easy to watch.<\/p>\n In a similar way, much of the first episode is a blanket of familiarity: the intimate Cawood household kitchen and the faces around the dinner table, but this time round with some noticeable changes. Daniel (Karl Davies) and Ann (Charlie Murphy) are together, working on their new home renovation and of course, Ryan (Rhys Connah) is a teenager. He\u2019s as opinionated and straight-talking as he\u2019s been in previous seasons, this time with more of an older male bravado that only seems to visibly worry Catherine more.<\/p>\n Underpinning this episode also is the realisation that the growing drug problem in the valley \u2013 that has been present throughout its previous two seasons \u2013 is stronger than ever. \u201cDid you tell her we get more people addicted to prescription drugs than we do heroine?\u201d Clare asks Catherine, highlighting the very real plight in this part of the UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n Part of this means following Joanna Hepworth (Mollie Winnard), a recovering drug addict who is married to Ryan\u2019s football coach Rob (Mark Stanley). Stanley\u2019s performance as Rob makes him a clear contender for season 3\u2019s villain, rivalling Royce. From the offset, he is the controlling, angry teacher, husband and father who keeps a padlock on the fridge, a detailed meal plan for everyone in the house and doesn\u2019t allow Joanna to answer any of Catherine\u2019s questions after he calls the police about his wife.<\/p>\n Catherine obviously expertly handles the situation, remarking to him simply that she\u2019s \u201cnot a taxi service\u201d when he assumes he can ride in her police car.<\/p> Although Happy Valley is the kind of gripping drama that shouldn\u2019t typically warrant laughter, Sally Wainwright brilliantly manages to weave in comedic lines \u2013 yet again \u2013 into scenes. From squeaking toys when pharmacist Faisal Bhatti is trying to figure out what\u2019s going on with Joanna, to Catherine talking about her non-desire to do yoga on account of farting, the first episode is laced through with moments of genuine hilarity that make the one hour go by all too quickly.<\/p>\n Lancashire\u2019s multi-pronged performance \u2013 as a doting grandmother, a sister, a policewoman, a manager, and even a confidante for coercive controlling relationships \u2013 never ceases to amaze. But in this episode, her obligation to protect Ryan and her fierce sense of territory is also absorbed by the viewer in an unmistakable way that will likely be tested throughout the season. We\u2019ll just have to ensure we\u2019re appropriately strapped in.<\/p>\n Happy Valley season 3 will premiere on New Year\u2019s Day at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The first two seasons are available to watch on BBC iPlayer<\/a> now.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for more to watch, check out our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and Streaming<\/span> Guide<\/span><\/b><\/a> or visit our\u00a0Drama<\/a>\u00a0hub for more news and features.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013 subscribe now<\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Morgan Cormack Published: Sunday, 01 January 2023 at 12:00 am 5.0 out of 5 star rating Only the first episode of Happy Valley season 3 was made available for review. After seven long years, we are finally back in the Calder Valley for a third and final instalment of BBC One\u2019s hit crime drama […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27981,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/happy-valley-season-3-review-sarah-lancashire-is-stronger-than-ever.png",2048,1366,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/happy-valley-season-3-review-sarah-lancashire-is-stronger-than-ever-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/happy-valley-season-3-review-sarah-lancashire-is-stronger-than-ever-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/happy-valley-season-3-review-sarah-lancashire-is-stronger-than-ever-768x512.png",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/happy-valley-season-3-review-sarah-lancashire-is-stronger-than-ever-1024x683.png",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/happy-valley-season-3-review-sarah-lancashire-is-stronger-than-ever-1536x1025.png",1536,1025,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/01\/happy-valley-season-3-review-sarah-lancashire-is-stronger-than-ever.png",2048,1366,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Morgan Cormack Published: Sunday, 01 January 2023 at 12:00 am 5.0 out of 5 star rating Only the first episode of Happy Valley season 3 was made available for review. After seven long years, we are finally back in the Calder Valley for a third and final instalment of BBC One\u2019s hit crime drama…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/405822-ef49c0e.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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