Happy Valley (TV Series) Episode #1.6 (2014) User Reviews

Good show & series, but......

[GLArm · 7/10 · 26 June 2017]

This is a well-done series. Interesting plot & characters. Well-written, well-acted, good pace. BUT in this particular show, there is an unbelievable plot detail that definitely detracts.

SPOILER: So Catherine is extremely upset, even obsessed, with the fact that the vile Tommy is at large. He has previously accosted her & her grandson, telling the boy that he is his dad. So what does she do: give the little boy permission to bike alone to and from school for the first time. WHAT?? As a parent, it would be unthinkable to let my small child go anywhere alone when his murderous father is whereabouts-unknown, especially since he has already expressed interest in him.

This is the kind of unbelievable plot line that definitely detracts from my enjoyment of a show. I am perfectly ready to toss my critical thinking aside to enjoy a TV show; but sometimes it just screams: You have got to be kidding me. No way!

The achilles heel you can see from outer space

[dabigplanet-96102 · 4/10 · 7 May 2023]

This guy allegedly rapes your daughter and is out of jail walking the streets. You know that he is, again, allegedly the father of your grandchild. You have been trying to find out where he's been living since he's been out and you almost find him. Then, he finds you first and is keen to be acknowledged as your grandchild's father.

He's later implicated in a kidnapping, you find him and rescue the victim, and he escapes. The one thing the viewers, the writers, the producers and everyone on planet earth knows about cop shows is that this guy is going to come back for his son.

The writers build in such open, obvious soft spots for these detectives they write and we all come running back for me. I despise the running theme of a bratty kid/whining spouse who then ends up in peril and the cop has to save them from the villain. The cop is trying to solve serious crime. I get it when a kid doesn't fully understand the gravity of the job they have, but when an adult starts whining about how little time the cop spends at home, I check out. That wasn't the case here, but it's the same trope.

A bit more on the cheesier, melodramatic side

[yavermbizi · 3/10 · 5 December 2020]

My overall rating of "Happy Valley"'s Season 1: 6/10

In this episode quite a few things seem to exist mostly for their dramatic quality and be generally less sober-minded than in the previous ones. There are continuity mishaps and strange things (Why exactly does Clare fall after Catherine does? - and don't tell me Clare pushed her and lost balance herself afterwards, because that's clearly not what happened). Most of all, the last two scenes seem outlandishly out of place in what is otherwise a work that earns its darkness and moodiness.

And the revelation/discussion about Becky seems like it should've gotten more attention, as it seems like quite an interesting plotline that would really upturn what we'd believed about the character of Catherine in an interesting way, as well as give more depth to her, her son and Richard, had it been given more time.