Even James Norton appeared to have no words to sum up that Happy Valley finale as he shared a very simple sign-off after the last-ever episode of Happy Valley. The actor somehow managed to make viewers of the BBC One drama 'feel sorry' for Tommy Lee Royce as he was seen in the role of the ultimate villain for the last time.
Millions of us have been tuning in to the third and final series of the gritty programme in a bid to find out how things really ended between Sergeant Catherine Cawood and the killer, who raped her daughter, Becky, resulting in the birth of her grandson Ryan and Becky later taking her own life.
The last ever outing of Happy Valley began on New Year's Day and saw Catherine gearing up for the end of her 30-year policing career. However, the discovery of the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir sparked a series of events that drew her back to Tommy.
READ MORE: Sarah Lancashire's thoughtful gift to BBC Happy Valley co-stars with parting quote
Warning: Spoilers ahead...
After his escape from court mid-way through the series, Catherine, played by Sarah Lancashire, and her family were left in fear of when Tommy may emerge as he planned to do a midnight flit with Ryan after the teen had been visiting him in prison with the help of his aunt Clare Cartwright and her partner Neil Akroyd.
After hiding out at a mysterious home, the series finale got off to a brutal start as, after deciding that killer Tommy was a liability when helping him to go into hiding after he escaped from court, mob boss Darius Knezevic's henchman arrived to silence him for good. But it didn't take a nervous Tommy long to figure out something wasn't quite right and, armed with a kitchen knife, he got into the car with the three men.
And viewers could barely watch as Tommy used the kitchen utensil to attack the thugs. The bloody battle saw Tommy emerge as the only survivor and despite being in a pretty bad way, he nicked the car and headed straight to Catherine's house. The pair almost came face-to-face but Catherine was saved by Ryan who phoned her from the police station where he told the police he had been in contact with his dad since his courtroom escape.
However, fans finally got the moment they had been waiting for when a neighbour alerted her to a smashed window at her home. As she headed back inside she found Tommy sitting at her kitchen table, bloodied and bruised and having just taken a load of pills with alcohol in a bid to end his own life.
And rather than a physical, hate-filled face-off between the pair, there was a more emotional showdown between Tommy and Catherine as Tommy told his son's grandmother that he could finally see what she had done for his son Ryan, in raising him following the suicide of her daughter Becky, who he still claimed to have loved, as opposed to his delinquent childhood.
Despite his unsuspecting emotion, his buttons were still pressed by an unforgiving Catherine, leading Tommy to dose himself in petrol, giving Catherine a choice to tazer him and end it all. However, it was Tommy who decided to take his own life when he set himself a light, only for Catherine to rush in to save him.
Taking to Instagram after the end of the rollercoaster 70-minute spectacle, James simply shared a picture of himself with Sarah before filming their bloody end. "#happyvalley," he simply captioned the post and he didn't need to say much as Happy Valley fans - including famous ones - flocked to respond.
Radio 1 star Greg James said: "It’s actually a joke how good that episode was." Singe Jessie Ware replied: "That was unbelievable." Talk TV star Piers Morgan commented: "Brilliant," alongside a string of applause emojis.
And it turns out, there were a lot of tears. @debbiewebster2709 said: "Brilliant !! I even felt sorry for TLR ... Cried proper blubby tears." @em_bellis75 wrote: "Bloody brilliant! I cried, I loved Tommy in the end. Amazingly done." @jules_hieatt echoed: "Such an amazing finale. I was crying with TLR, what’s that all about. Brilliant stuff from everyone involved. Thank you."
@danielrfriar shared: "Masterclass in acting from you two tonight. What a finale! Bravo. Bravo. Bravo." @rosiekate66 posted: "Magnificent. We v been discussing all week how will it end ... but OMG better than we could have expected. Well done to all involved." @melanie.johnson.353 added: "Omg this is the best drama ever ...phenomenal acting,fabulous script, superb all 3 series...genuinely gutted its finished... Now for @jginorton to be the next James Bond as you just have it all..."
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