Happy Valley
- Thread starter MrJames
- Start date
That was pretty perfect. Could easily have lasted longer that episode but Catherine and clare made up. She had her showdown with Tommy which was needed and excellently acted by both and he died.
The only thing im unsure about is how much emotion and empathy Tommy showed towards the end for someone who is meant to be a psychopath.
The only thing im unsure about is how much emotion and empathy Tommy showed towards the end for someone who is meant to be a psychopath.
I'm mostly satisfied with how it ended.
Not sure how I felt about Tommy going a bit soft at the end with being almost grateful to Catherine for giving Ryan a great upbringing. I guess he knew his end was coming so put things in perspective for him perhaps.
Perhaps in 10 years there will be a sequel with Ryan being a new recruit... there was a slight nod.
Sarah Lancashire will now hopefully enter her Olivia Colman phase and start winning Oscars, etc.
Not sure how I felt about Tommy going a bit soft at the end with being almost grateful to Catherine for giving Ryan a great upbringing. I guess he knew his end was coming so put things in perspective for him perhaps.
Perhaps in 10 years there will be a sequel with Ryan being a new recruit... there was a slight nod.
Sarah Lancashire will now hopefully enter her Olivia Colman phase and start winning Oscars, etc.
The finale between Catherine and Tommy was brilliant - it wasn’t the usual cliché chase and a scrap etc, it showed more emotion and depth. What was rushed was all the stuff with the teacher and the pharmacist! Like, “oh yeah we need to tie up that story as well - just throw in a comment about them in the second to last scene, that’ll do”!
Yeh, the whole pharmacist/teacher subplot could've been taken out and it wouldn't have changed anything.
Maybe more time could've been given to developing Darius Knesovic instead.
Maybe more time could've been given to developing Darius Knesovic instead.
I agree it was a bit rushed in places. They probably wanted the kitchen scene to get all the attention it deserved, so had to trim elsewhere. Realistically we could have got a seventh episode as there’s plenty left to tie up properly.
Saying that, the kitchen scene was incredible. Everything Sarah Lancashire is in is an acting masterclass.
Saying that, the kitchen scene was incredible. Everything Sarah Lancashire is in is an acting masterclass.
"I think I might have singed one of your crochet blankets".
Quote of the episode.
That was absolutely phenomenal. I played every potential scenario over in my head and didn't come out with what happened.
I hope the show, the writers, Sarah and Siobhan are nominated for every award going. Bloody outstanding.
That kitchen scene was purposely built, the attention to detail.
Quote of the episode.
That was absolutely phenomenal. I played every potential scenario over in my head and didn't come out with what happened.
I hope the show, the writers, Sarah and Siobhan are nominated for every award going. Bloody outstanding.
That kitchen scene was purposely built, the attention to detail.
I found the ending a bit underwhelming? I definitely expected more action and more twists.
Felt quite rushed but it did wrap everything up, I'm really glad that Catherine and Clare ended up being okay though!
Felt quite rushed but it did wrap everything up, I'm really glad that Catherine and Clare ended up being okay though!
I agree with this. I’m glad they had more of a verbal showdown and, despite Tommy being mortally wounded, there was still buckets of tension in the scene.
However, I was expecting more. Some pretty big characters weren’t even in the episode (where were Richard, Ann and Daniel?!). I agree also with whoever said that the pharmacist subplot served no purpose and was wrapped up far too conveniently. We didn’t even see the end of that storyline, just an off the cuff remark from Catherine.
Either the episode should’ve been half an hour longer or they needed a whole other episode to tie everything up. We didn’t even see Ryan in the end!
I didn’t think it was rushed at all - Catherine solving cases flippantly against the backdrop of all the shit she’s dealing with is just iconic behaviour, and a deliberate echo of the first scene of this series when she identified the body.
That kitchen scene was phenomenal.
That kitchen scene was phenomenal.
What was brilliant about the last episode is that it didn't play out the way I expected. When Tommy turned up at Catherine's house and peered in through the window just where she was dozing below on an armchair, and then broke in to the cellar, I was expecting there'd be a moment of her going about the house not knowing he was there, to a shit scary "BOO" kind of moment when he confronts her. It created so much tension! But no, she then went out and on returning she spotted the broken window and entered the house vigilantly. Again I was expecting their initial confrontation to be jumpy, but while still very tense, it wasn't, and I think it not doing what I thought t'd do made for a better watch.
Effective? After 5 weeks of this dark story unfolding and several twists it seemed a bit of a cop-out.
Yeah I’m in the ‘it was great but it wasn’t perfect’ camp.
The bits that focused on Catherine and Tommy? Great. I loved that shot of her asleep in the armchair and him popping up outside, the ensuing tension from him being in the house, and the majority of that kitchen table scene, glorious. Clare and Catherine’s final scene together? Exquisitely written.
it’s not that I needed main character deaths and massive set pieces.
But
1) why have I just watched five weeks of Faisal, Joanna and Rob when it had little to no impact on where we were headed? Fair enough if a subplot has a domino effect to main plot but.. did it? and especially things that were SUB subplot like Richard going to interview Darius only for it to be called off… for why???
2) I thought it was a shame we barely saw any of some of the major characters, if we did at all, in the final ep.
I have loved the whole thing, and I greatly enjoyed the finale, I just don’t agree with it being categorised as perfect and the description that nothing happened without great thought and purpose, some of it seemed unfinished or just irrelevant.
The bits that focused on Catherine and Tommy? Great. I loved that shot of her asleep in the armchair and him popping up outside, the ensuing tension from him being in the house, and the majority of that kitchen table scene, glorious. Clare and Catherine’s final scene together? Exquisitely written.
it’s not that I needed main character deaths and massive set pieces.
But
1) why have I just watched five weeks of Faisal, Joanna and Rob when it had little to no impact on where we were headed? Fair enough if a subplot has a domino effect to main plot but.. did it? and especially things that were SUB subplot like Richard going to interview Darius only for it to be called off… for why???
2) I thought it was a shame we barely saw any of some of the major characters, if we did at all, in the final ep.
I have loved the whole thing, and I greatly enjoyed the finale, I just don’t agree with it being categorised as perfect and the description that nothing happened without great thought and purpose, some of it seemed unfinished or just irrelevant.
I thought it was a good ending, but don't think Wainwright landed the story arc very well, so it relied on the great acting and good script to carry the story through. I do like that she avoided more conventional final episode narratives - so many go down the explosive over-the-top route, so to have Catherine and Tommy alone in the kitchen was a great shout, and that particular ten minute two-hander was complex, challenging, enthralling stuff brilliantly delivered by Lancashire and Norton.
The story arc shortcomings were in the poorly realised endings for several subplots, which felt like the equivalent of wedging in 'oh, so and so did this!' and 'oh, by the way, so and so was that,' and I get why one particular storyline ended with that text, but it again reaffirmed a feeling of rushing the ending. As another example, having invested in Siobhan's Clare over the last ten years / three series, I can't say I was satisfied with where we left her.
Oh, and Wainwright knew exactly what she was doing with that 'you should join the police' chat on the stairwell insurance policy - clever cookie!
Overall, a solid 8/10 and hopefully some awards for Lancashire are in the bag. Now, Wainwright or someone needs to write something for a Siobhan Finneran lead.
The story arc shortcomings were in the poorly realised endings for several subplots, which felt like the equivalent of wedging in 'oh, so and so did this!' and 'oh, by the way, so and so was that,' and I get why one particular storyline ended with that text, but it again reaffirmed a feeling of rushing the ending. As another example, having invested in Siobhan's Clare over the last ten years / three series, I can't say I was satisfied with where we left her.
Oh, and Wainwright knew exactly what she was doing with that 'you should join the police' chat on the stairwell insurance policy - clever cookie!
Overall, a solid 8/10 and hopefully some awards for Lancashire are in the bag. Now, Wainwright or someone needs to write something for a Siobhan Finneran lead.
2014
Staff member
So was the teacher checking Ryan out in that flashback scene (when the police guy asked him about what he thought of him)? I also felt the whole subplot was there just for the 2 little girls to be left with their grandma, just like Ryan was left for Catherine and that was a nod to where this show all started. I think it was an amazing series overall, and Sarah Lancashire just deserves everything.