{"id":29766,"date":"2023-02-05T23:10:52","date_gmt":"2023-02-05T22:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1779805"},"modified":"2023-02-06T09:44:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T08:44:16","slug":"happy-valley-ending-explained-it-was-the-perfect-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/happy-valley-ending-explained-it-was-the-perfect-goodbye\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Valley ending explained: It was the perfect goodbye"},"content":{"rendered":"

The acclaimed drama has drawn to a close in the best possible way. <\/p>

By Morgan Cormack\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 05 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Warning: This episode contains spoilers for the Happy Valley finale.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just like that, Happy Valley<\/a> is over. Done. Finished.<\/p>\n

And while many of us will likely be left dabbing away our tears from the emotional finale, there\u2019s a definite sense of completeness to the BBC drama<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that if you\u2019re yet to watch the finale of Happy Valley for yourself, please do so ahead of reading this as there are major spoilers<\/strong> ahead.<\/p>\n

While fan theories<\/a> have circulated for six long weeks as to how the series will end<\/a>, nobody could have quite guessed how it would all go down. From Tommy Lee Royce<\/a>\u2018s (James Norton) eventual demise, Ryan<\/a>\u2018s (Rhys Connah) beautiful character arc and Catherine being the one to save Tommy from burning to death, it was one rollercoaster ride of an extended episode<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We laughed, we cried, we clenched our fists tightly during\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>confrontation scene and grimaced in horror at the surprise killings that happened within the first few moments.\u00a0But would we really want it any other way? Read on for everything you need to know about Happy Valley\u2019s third and final season finale<\/a>.<\/p>

Happy Valley ending explained<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Like the previous two Happy Valley finales, we knew going into this episode that things would be tied up nicely, beginning in the first few moments with Matija (Jack Bandeira) and Ivan (Oliver Huntingdon) being arrested for false imprisonment, money laundering and assisting Tommy Lee Royce in escaping. Poor Ivan; he never did make it down the aisle after all.<\/p>\n

The episode then gets going properly with Ryan looking pensive the morning after speaking to his fugitive father. Catherine picks him up to go to Halifax to be questioned by police, after having visited him in prison multiple times.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in the police station, though, that Ryan really turns a corner and it all kicks off after being complimented by Detective Superintendent Andy Shepherd (Vincent Franklin) who says there\u2019s \u201csomething about him\u201d that made him think the teen was a new police recruit. It\u2019s enough to make Ryan crack a smile and go bounding up the stairs after his grandmother \u2013 but it\u2019s also something that may have had more of a profound impact, resulting in Ryan telling police about Tommy\u2019s use of the games console the night before.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Tommy is being moved by Darius\u2019s brother Zeljko<\/a> (Greg Kolpakchi), but he isn\u2019t happy about not knowing where he\u2019s going and if he\u2019ll see Darius. It\u2019s not part of the plan and angers him so much that he manages to kill Marco and Viktor all from the backseat of the car that Zeljko is driving.<\/p>\n

Zeljko and Tommy have a very tense face-off which sees them drawing their knives like a duel, and for one moment, you think that Zeljko could actually kill Tommy. But of course, Tommy finds a way out of the compromising situation and viciously kills Zeljko, leaving the three bodies in the field and driving off by himself.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Sarah Lancashire as Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC\/Lookout Point<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, Catherine is spurred on by an illusion of Becky (Emily Barnett)\u00a0to return to her home, even though the family\u2019s been warned against doing so. In the emotional scene, we see her break down crying looking at photo albums and old pictures of Ryan. She falls asleep and like a scene out of a jumpscare horror, Tommy appears directly behind her, peering in through the window. He\u2019s been stabbed by Zeljko and carries a canister of petrol as he clambers into the house through the basement window.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of the most nail-biting scenes in the episode as you wonder if Catherine and Tommy will see each other, but Catherine soon gets a call from Ryan and leaves the house just at the same time that Tommy comes up into the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Ryan thoughtfully confronts Catherine later on about her treatment of Clare (Siobhan Finneran), telling Catherine also about Ann\u2019s (Charlie Murphy) emotional confrontation with him the previous evening. \u201cClare\u2019s always been there, ever since I can remember \u2026 so you can\u2019t fall out with her, not because of me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It leads to Catherine finally having one final comforting chin-wag scene with Clare over a cup of tea. But while previous seasons have seen them perched on a stoop together, gossiping and laughing, this one is different. In the conversation, Catherine admits that she shouldn\u2019t have been frightened of Ryan meeting Tommy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I should\u2019ve had more faith in him not to be taken in by him,\u201d she says. \u201cI suppose I was just frightened he\u2019d be like him, that he\u2019d turn out like him. But he\u2019s just not, is he? For all his faults, he\u2019s just a happy, well adjusted, pretty flipping normal kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then, in the showdown we\u2019ve all been waiting for, Catherine visits her home to find her window smashed and she instantly senses trouble, producing her taser. We see Tommy downing liquor and pills, looking resolute and spent, to be honest. He\u2019s no longer the bravado-bearing criminal, but someone who seems to have reached the end of the line.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
James Norton as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC\/Lookout Point\/Matt Squire<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Even so, the pair greet each other like old friends, with the first question Catherine asking him being \u201cdo you need an ambulance?\u201d While talking to Tommy, Catherine manages to alert the station as to her whereabouts with a code zero, meaning she\u2019s in a life-threatening situation.<\/p>\n

Tommy then tells Catherine that Darius killed Gary Gaggoski eight years ago and says that he\u2019s lied for him. But even though he\u2019s come clean about that, he tries to goad Catherine and tells her about Ryan visiting him in prison. Catherine of course already knows, but tells him that she knows about his plans to flee the country with the teen.<\/p>\n

In a random turn of events, Tommy grows emotional, telling Catherine that he \u201cforgives\u201d her because looking at the photo albums of Ryan, he \u201crealised what a nice life he had\u201d. He says: \u201cI don\u2019t hate you anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

But like all viewers at home will be, Catherine is left confused by this admission, calling Tommy a \u201cdelinquent f**k\u201d. \u201cYou have no idea what you did to Becky,\u201d she says, explaining the abuse Tommy put her through. The pair exchange cutting insults, shouting and then Tommy pours petrol over himself, lighting a match and setting himself alight.<\/p>\n

Then, in the final scene, we see Catherine visit Becky\u2019s grave. While Mike (Rick Warden) texts her about Tommy, we can\u2019t help but spy that Catherine has made plans to go off to \u201cthe highlands\u201d on Saturday, getting a much needed post-retirement break after all. Queue the applause.<\/p>\n

Who dies at the end of Happy Valley?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
James Norton as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley season 3.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

While Catherine did save Tommy from burning alive, he was then placed in a coma. In the final moments of the episode, Catherine gets a text from Mike confirming that Tommy has died<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, we can all breathe one collective sigh of relief that Catherine Cawood lives to fight another day and can go on living her best post-retirement life.<\/p>\n

What happened to Rob and Faisal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Amit Shah as Faisal Bhatti in Happy Valley.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC\/Lookout Point<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

While Rob was initially questioned about Joanna\u2019s murder, we learn that he\u2019s actually been charged with the possession of indecent images after blackmailing a student at school to send them to him.<\/p>\n

As for Faisal<\/a>, in the final moments of the episode when Catherine and Andy are talking, she notifies him about the fact he\u2019s been dealing drugs out of his small pharmacy. \u201cHe\u2019s called Faisal Bhatti and guess what? He lives not 100 yards up the road from the Hepworth\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, while we don\u2019t know for sure, it looks like Catherine\u2019s last act as a police officer has been to help solve the case of Joanna\u2019s murder and nail Faisal as the perpetrator.<\/p>