Back in early February, the rolling hills, embittered northern sarcasm and unmistakable sound of Jake Bugg’s Trouble Town meant one thing: Happy Valley was back. And this made a lot of people very happy indeed…
We’re not quite ready for the series to be over just yet. So let’s relive the moments that got you talking in this in-depth look at your reactions.
*Spoiler alert* this post talks about the entire series, so turn back if you’re not up to speed.
Episode one opened with Catherine’s grim tales of a bunch of lads “off their heads on acid” who steal a sheep and release it – only for the poor animal to be mauled by dogs.
And the famous faces joining the cast proved a hit too:
But sadly Neville’sMatthew’s new moustache proved less popular:
This series we were introduced to Vicky, played by Amelia Bullmore, and immediately people sniffed out that this was not a woman not to be messed with:
And some people had their own insights into her compromising snaps of John:
In episode two, villain Tommy Lee Royce is allowed to attend his mother’s funeral – and no way was Catherine passing up the opportunity to show her face:
Though some of you were wishing Tommy’s suit looked a little more like this:
Catherine and the murdered Lynn Dewhurst had history. And Catherine was stoically refusing to provide an alibi. Had she actually committed this crime? You had your theories…
Oh, and everyone was totally right about Vicky, who tried to blackmail cop John to the tune of £1000 a month. So when adulterous John lost the plot and killed her, the Twittersphere reacted thusly:
But gratefully there was some relief with the introduction of the ever-so sweet and bullish Winnie:
Episode three opened with Catherine reluctantly attending a therapy session. So how would our no-nonsense cop find talking about her innermost thoughts and feelings?
And when we learned she’s got secret nicknames at work, she wasn’t the only one trying to guess them. These moments were honestly some of the best parts of the series.
And Catherine’s fall out with police receptionist Joyce provided one of our favourite scenes and lines from the series so far: when she gave her a cactus to say sorry.
Meanwhile, John attended the autopsy of Vicky, the woman he secretly murdered. And somehow Vicky still managed to steal the scene:
But it was another relationship that really gave us the creeps…
Episode four saw the Cawoods celebrating little Ryan’s birthday. A tough time as it falls close to the anniversary of his mum Becky’s death. So a surprise gift seemingly from Ryan’s violent dad just tipped Catherine (and us) over the edge:
After he’s identified by Leonie and found to have links with other prostitutes, Sean is arrested for murder. But you weren’t all buying it:
In a seemingly unrelated incident (eyebrows raised), Daryl flips out when local bullies taunt him outside the shop, and attacks them with a lump hammer. Cue a new prime suspect…
Episode five featured lots of people being drunk, actually, and it all went down rather well.
And Frances hatched a plan to hurt Catherine…
And with all fingers now pointing to Neil as the murderer after his drunken relapse, some of you were genuinely surprised when Daryl admitted his guilt to his mum:
But nothing could prepare us for how Darryl’s mum Alison dealt with the news…
Finale time now, and the truth unravelled about what happened in Alison and Daryl’s kitchen…
But amid the tension, Catherine still finds the time to deliver this killer line:
Catherine finally discovers Frances used her dead sister’s credentials to get a teaching assistant post at Ryan’s school. And when Catherine decides to pay Frances a visit at home, we were all on the edge of our seats...
When it’s revealed that Daryl didn’t kill Vicky, Catherine susses that it was John, and an incredible stand-off ensues…
So with the murders solved, Catherine should feel relieved. So why is she looking at Ryan like that?
The final episode of Happy Valley, series two will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer until 11pm on Thursday, 14 April 2016.
