Even with all the twists and turns being thrown their way, eagle-eyed Happy Valley fans were not distracted and spotted a nod to the first-ever episode as the drama came to a nail-biting end. The gritty BBC One drama first burst onto our screens in 2014 when following her teenage daughter's suicide, Sergeant Catherine Cawood led a team of strong-willed police officers in West Yorkshire to solve cases in the area.
However, Catherine heard that Tommy Lee Royce, the man responsible for the brutal rape that impregnated her daughter Becky and drove her to suicide shortly after Ryan was born, is out of prison after serving eight years for drug charges and she soon became obsessed with finding the psychopathic character, unaware that he is involved in the kidnapping of Ann Gallagher.
But now, as they say, the rest is history and after a seven-year wait between series two and series three, viewers finally got to see one last stand-off between Catherine and Tommy following his dramatic escape from court.
READ MORE: Sarah Lancashire's thoughtful gift to BBC Happy Valley co-stars with parting quote
Warning: Spoilers ahead...
In nail-biting scenes, viewers watched Tommy close to being bumped off by mob boss Darius Knezevic as his 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 a bloody battle soon ensued with Tommy the only survivor. Despite being in a pretty bad way himself, Tommy, played by James Norton, managed to get himself to Catherine's house where he broke in just as Catherine, portrayed by Sarah Lancashire, left to collect Ryan from the police station after he gave a statement on his contact with his dad.
He ended up going into his teenage son's bedroom where he saw his footballing medals and photograph's from his life with his granny. Heading downstairs, Tommy found Catherine's photo albums featuring photos of Becky before her death leading him to sob.
After she was alerted to a smashed window at her home, there was an emotional showdown between Catherine and Tommy as the latter was found, having just taken a load of pills, sitting at her kitchen table. He 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 alight, only for Catherine to rush in to save him.
And fans of Happy Valley have spotted how writer Sally Wainwright brought the entire story back full circle due to the fire scenes being a nod to the first ever episode of the drama. @robreviews94 tweeted: "Talk about full circle, Happy Valley started with someone trying to set themselves on fire and then it ends with Tommy Lee Royce setting himself on fire. Phenomenal writing, what a show #HappyValley."
@rebeccalucia94 said: "#HappyValley we go full circle, we meet our protagonist Catherine trying to fight a fire starting, we finish watching her antagonist burn." @meg_h_s echoed: "I LOVE the full circle. First ever ep we saw Catherine convincing someone not to set themselves on fire. And the last thing she did...was convince TLR not to do the same thing. #HAPPYVALLEY #HappyValleyFinale."
@ToriesOut8 commented: "Remember in the first scene of the show Catherine tries to convince someone not to set themself on fire! Pure poetry! #HappyValleyFinale #HappyValley." @MJPGallagher added: "Well that was f*****g brilliant. First time we saw Catherine she was telling someone not to set themselves on fire, and her last action as a copper was to do the very same thing. #HappyValley #HappyValleyFinale."
Others, however, think they spotted the real demise in the final episode - and it wasn't that of Tommy Lee Royce and instead Clare's crochet blanket. Afterward leaving her house, Clare finds Catherine in the street, reeling from the confrontation. As her sister pulled her straight in for a hug, Catherine said: "We've had another bit of a tussle. I won. Obviously.' And then she added: "I think I might have singed one of your crochet blankets."
@actonituk tweeted: "Started on a replacement for Claire’s blanket. It’s demise was the highlight of the night #HappyValley." @FillyDeb joked: "#HappyValley Best Performance in a Supporting Role goes to .....The Singed Crochet Blanket!!" @Lorraines_Veg wrote: "I will never be able to look at a granny square blanket in the same way again #crochet #happyvalley."
@prkirkley shared: "So the real victim was Clare's crocheted blanket. #BitOfATussle #HappyValley." @VeroNorton posted: "What a finale! Though RIP Claire’s crochet blanket." @TeaAndMonsters added: "We were so busy wondering who would die that we forgot to appreciate what was in front of us… RIP crocheted blanket #HappyValleyFinale #HappyValley."
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