‘Happy Valley’ Recap: ‘Season 3, Episode 3’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Rhys Connah and James Norton as Ryan Cawood and Tommy Lee Royce in Episode 303 of ‘Happy Valley’. (Photo Courtesy of Acorn TV/AMC Networks.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 303 of ‘Happy Valley’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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We are taught from a supremely young age, that family means everything, and we should do everything and anything to keep them near us. Because we only get one and we need to cherish that fact because there will come a day when most of them are removed from our lives due to the ravages of old age and the world. So, we hold to that lesson deeply as we grow and try to be the best family member we can, only to learn in adulthood that such an edict… is a difficult one to hold to. Because we come to learn as we grow that we don’t align with the values of some of our family members, or some of them end up being well… utter morons that cause harm and trouble and that teaches us a vastly different type of lesson about family.
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In that, it isn’t forever and that to maintain our mental health we sometimes have to stay away from those toxic family members and/or cut them out of their lives because giving them our agency, is a painful affair. And that is hard lesson that Ryan and Clare came to learn in the next episode of Happy Valley. For this was the story that saw Catherine confront her sister for her role in putting Ryan face to face with his murderous and monstrous father and well… that led to some powerful moments in this tale. The kind that spoke to how while we value family dearly and understand its importance, when lines are crossed and hearts are broken and betrayed… hard decisions must be made, and Catherine made some difficult ones here for certain. 

Because she straight up sent Ryan packing with an ultimatum in mind. In that, if he was going to continue to see his father, he couldn’t live with grandma anymore. Because Catherine was still deeply devastated by everything that Tommy did, and she wasn’t the only one that felt rocked by this and well… that left Ryan in a unique place mentally. Wherein he was torn between two worlds since he wanted to continue to learn about his dad since it was his right, but also wanted to please his family. All of which hammered home the lesson in question, and reminded of us how hard it is to take part in such an act when family is involved. But it is sometimes necessary when the pain is too great. But what also made this sequence quite worthwhile, is that it offered an important caveat to the whole mess. 

In that, if we are going to shun family and walk away, we best express every reason to them as to why. Because Ryan’s big complaint here was that he didn’t fully understand the why behind the decision made to cast him out. In part because, as Clare pointed out, they had kept so much from him. Such as what really happened to his mother and every detail regarding Tommy’s actions back in the day. And that perhaps… would have helped him understand and better decide how to handle this. But alas, what’s done is done and Ryan is caught between a rock and a hard place, and it will be interesting to see how Ryan navigates this new normal in the weeks to come, in between while his grandma navigates the new trouble that is brewing in town. 

Since the matter with the woman that fell to her death escalated here and has ties to something bigger and uglier. Not to mention… the whole mess with Faisal and Joanna boiled over into something quite horrifying. Since all that fear and all the lies and maneuvering, finally exploded in this tale since Faisal snapped and basically murdered Joanna. Adding a whole new layer to that investigation, and her death will rock the community undoubtedly. But while we wait to see what tribulations await our intrepid Sergeant, we can celebrate one powerfully human tale. One that really did offer up an honest look at the modern family dynamic and what people have to do these days to survive it when it turns sour, alongside a fine examination on how the family unit can also collapse because emotion can get in the way of communication and well, this is a story that leaves us eager for more, so we can see what comes next from the devastating and life-changing decisions made in this tale. Until next time.

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