‘Happy Valley’ season 2 episode 5 review: Ryan asks questions about Tommy Lee Royce
With Tommy’s threat to break off his relationship with Frances if she doesn’t get rid of Catherine, we couldn’t help but dive into the next episode of “Happy Valley” right away. As dark and twisted as Tommy is in his manipulation of Frances, there is something equally as sinister about her. Will she actually attempt to kill Catherine?
Sean is trying to clear his name on these murders and admits that the DNA of one of the women found in his van was there because he helped move one time years in the past. He also says that he’s fearful that because he drinks so much that he’s done things he can’t remember, but feels that no matter how drunk he was he would remember killing someone. They feel that they have enough to charge Sean with the murders of all four women even though one of the detectives still isn’t convinced that Vicky was one of his women. John is of course relieved that he got away with this and is feeling powerful, so he heads home and throws his wife out for having an affair and tells her he’s staying at the house with the kids. When she refuses, he tells her that he’s going over to this mans house to punch him out and tell his wife about the affair. So is John really off the hook with this murder? When another body turns up after Sean’s arrest things are looking bad for John once again.
Ryan is lashing out about his dad, saying that he doesn’t want the replacement gift Catherine got him – he wants the gift his dad sent him or nothing at all. Catherine is still on the hunt for who left the gift on their doorstep, but for Ryan he’s on the hunt for a way to be in contact with his dad. When he confides in Frances that he wants to write his dad, she encourages him to reach out and gives him a way to do so. He sends a letter to his dad and later asks Daniel a lot of questions about his mom and dad. Daniel being the perceptive man that he is, puts two and two together and tells Catherine that he notices that when Ryan comes home from school is when he starts asking a lot of questions about his dad. After pulling a video from the shop where Ryan’s gift was purchased, Clare confirms that it’s Frances, Ryan’s new teaching assistant, who is buying the gift for Ryan.
Neil has gone off the deep end and is drinking again when Catherine is called in to subdue him as he is trying to kick the door down at a pub. When he won’t calm down, Catherine has no other recourse outside of arresting him. She calls Clare who is visibly upset about what’s happened to Neil, but still doesn’t tell Catherine about why Neil is going down the hole (his connection to Vicky). When he’s released, Catherine offers Neil any help she can give, but also offers a warning that she won’t let Neil drag Clare down this road. Daniel brings up an interesting point saying that while Neil went off the wagon for three days, another woman turned up dead… but we see across town that Daryl admits to his mother that it was him that murdered those women and that it’s only a matter of time until they link him to the murders now that the police have his DNA and are looking for his red car. She tells him that they are going to escape to America together, but when he’s not paying attention, she murders him.
Very intense episode that’s ramping up for a great season 2 finale. Will Catherine get to Frances before she hurts someone? The chase is on between these two ladies and we can’t wait to see the outcome in the next episode. If Sarah Lancashire isn’t up for every best actress award available for this season of “Happy Valley” then it’s going to be a travesty. Episode grade: A
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Photo: BBC One