Happy Valley’s 11 big unanswered questions before Sunday’s finale

Spoilers for Happy Valley season three below

In two days, the final episode of Happy Valley ever will air on the BBC. We’re going to be bereft without the marvellous Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), but hopefully creator Sally Wainwright will give us a grand finale to remember.

As it stands, there are at least half a dozen relationships that are about to blow and, of course, there’s the big showdown between Catherine and the vile Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) to come.

With a number of pressing questions remaining, how is Wainwright going to tie it all up? As expected, fans have been excitedly speculating how it’s all going to pan out. We’ve trawled through all of this (sometimes wild) conjecture and pulled together what we think are the 11 major unanswered questions...

Is Neil Tommy’s Dad?

Tommy asking his Dad for tea & biscuits, Neil is scared of his son so he does WHATEVER he’s told to.. #HappyValley pic.twitter.com/pfBSvLEq0a

— Andrew McBride (@andrewmcb) January 31, 2023

When this theory first surfaced, it seemed a bit bonkers. Tommy and Neil (Con O’Neill) don’t resemble each other in the slightest, and, most importantly, it seemed like too much of a coincidence that Clare’s boyfriend would already be linked to the family.

But, that’s with the assumption that Neil just happened upon Clare (Siobhan Finneran). What if he planned all this from the start? Perhaps he isn’t as hapless as he seems; that he knew Clare was kind and vulnerable and chose her because of her connection to Tommy?

If this is the case, the follow-up question is, of course, why? Was he using Clare to get to Tommy, to help Tommy or to hurt him? Does he too have designs on Catherine?

Or was it the other way around? Did Tommy get in contact with Neil and ask him to help facilitate the connection with Ryan (Rhys Connah)? You’ll remember that Ryan’s visits to Tommy all began because “a man handed him an envelope outside of school”. What if this man was in fact Neil, or what if there was no man at all?

Perhaps Wainwright has been leaving us some clues: if Neil is Tommy’s dad, then it would also make him – like Catherine – Ryan’s grandparent, and some people have pointed out online that Neil has been particularly supportive of Ryan ever since he started dating Clare.

Tommy’s father has never been revealed. All we really know about Neil’s past is that he’s a recovering alcoholic, like Clare, and that he had an affair with Vicky Fleming (the same woman who had an affair with DS John Wadsworth and then drugged and blackmailed him in season two – he retaliated by killing her) which is why a connection between the two is genuinely a possibility.

Will Tommy kill Catherine?

the way I have NEVER been so scared for someone’s life like I am for catherine’s going into the final ever episode #HappyValley pic.twitter.com/HSMkMiLmeo

— fern (@_fernfernfern) January 29, 2023

We know that Tommy plans to kill Catherine. He’s asked Darius Knežević (Alec Secareanu) for a gun when he escaped from his trial, chillingly saying, “I’m going to find her, I’m going to follow her, I’m going to bide my time, I’m going look for an opportunity”. We know that Catherine knows that she is at risk too, but she is far more concerned about protecting Ryan than she is about protecting herself.

Surely (we really hope) Wainwright can’t kill off Catherine in the very last episode of the show? It would be a cruel denouement to see the police officer die now, not to mention maddeningly unjust for Tommy to prevail after the pair’s long-running feud. No, we think Wainwright has something much more agonising planned for Catherine. To really hurt Catherine, Tommy would need to harm Ryan.

Is someone going to kill Tommy?

praying that one of them kills tommy #happyvalley pic.twitter.com/CRvpzIsxm4

— m (@cathcawoods) January 29, 2023

Then, while Tommy is set on killing Catherine, there are also a handful of people who might indeed target Tommy. Catherine has never been one to shy away from a fight, and while she wouldn’t explicitly try and kill Tommy, there’s no doubt that Catherine has it in her to go as far as it takes, particularly if her grandson is under threat.

Then, some fans online have suggested that Ann Gallagher (Charlie Murphy) could become integral in the finale. Series three has been brilliantly showing the ongoing implications of her hideous kidnap ordeal from the previous series.

So might she do away with Tommy? Ann’s fury towards her rapist, her outburst at Ryan, her fear knowing that Tommy is at large, and its effect on her mental health and ability to do her new job, all point to her being an important player in episode six. But while it would be nice for Ann to get some sort of retribution against Tommy, perhaps this could be in the form of locking him up again.

Then there’s Ryan. While it seems a little improbable that Ryan would kill his dad – after all, Ryan is the one who has been most open to his father, despite now knowing something about the role Tommy played in his mother’s suicide. However, if Tommy tried to attack Catherine, and it was in Ryan’s power to stop him, surely Ryan would step up and protect his grandmother.

One fan Tweeted, “Let’s have your best guess for the Happy Valley ending: here’s mine – Ryan is an idiot, thinks he’s going to *save* his dad, tells him where he is. Tommy kills Clare. Ryan FINALLY realises he’s a sh*t. Ryan kills Tommy. Catherine has to arrest him.” Another said: “Ryan will somehow obtain the gun off Tommy Lee Royce and end up shooting his dad. Catherine will end up taking the fall for him.”

Or maybe Ryan has even planned to kill off Tommy the whole time, to avenge his mother. Has Ryan been fooling everyone throughout the series?

Finally, there is also speculation that Alison Garrs (Susan Lynch) could play a key role in the finale. Could she kill Tommy? After all, she killed off her own serial killer son in series two. Throughout the third season, a friendship of sorts between her and Catherine has been growing – where will it lead?

Will Tommy abduct Ryan... or worse?

God its only Friday morning and already I am getting anxious for Catherine and Ryan, even the trailer makes my stomach lurch. #HappyValley

— Dee Dee (@deesixtyfive) February 3, 2023

Tommy’s big plan is to pick up Ryan so they can travel together to Marbella – but what if this is all just a cover-up for a much more sinister plan? What if Tommy plans to murder Ryan? It would, after all, be the most devastating thing possible for Catherine.

Others think that Tommy will end up killing Ryan, but as an accident. He does have a giant tattoo of his son’s name on his back, which indicates that, despite being a psychopath, he might actually like his son. “I think Tommy will accidentally kill Ryan when Ryan jumps in to save his grandma,” tweeted one Happy Valley fan.

Will Faisal get busted?

Faisal’s wife knows somethings up with him 👀 #happyvalley

— Dave (@DavidMackayy) January 29, 2023

Remember how naive and well-meaning Faisal (Amit Shah) seemed in episode one, despite getting himself into a pickle with the Eastern European gang the Kneževićs? Well, it wasn’t long before the pharmacist showed his true colours. His treatment of Joanna (Mollie Winnard) and the way he so easily suggested killing off her husband Rob (Mark Stanley) should have been warning signs, but we were still caught off guard by his brutality when he beat Joanna to death.

Will he get the comeuppance he deserves? Happily, it’s very likely. He seems unable to keep his cool and his wife is starting to notice his jumpy behaviour. Even if he did manage to completely clear the crime scene of his DNA, he is still linked to Joanna by the Diazepam, and the police are now investigating who supplied her last batch.

On top of this, Faisal is having flashbacks which are making him all the more edgy, there is unresolved beef between him and Rob after their scrape in the cul-de-sac, and the gang members – who have been distracted by their own problems up to this point – are likely to return to the pharmacy, which belongs to his father-in-law, at the end of the season to collect their money. Things don’t look bright for Faisal.

Will Rob take the fall?

The thing that gets me is, that PE teacher really didn't do it but who's gonna believe him, even I don't believe him and I saw the pharmacist in the kitchen with the rolling pin myself 😂 #HappyValley

— Alison Louise (@alisonlouise94) January 29, 2023

The brilliant way that Wainwright has written the series means that both Rob and Faisal are culpable in Joanna’s death, and that most people wouldn’t mind at all if Rob got locked up for Joanna’s murder. It’s made things a bit of a puzzle. Of course, Faisal, as the killer, should be the one behind bars – and that mad rage in the kitchen was more than enough proof that he remains a danger to others – but then Rob, who treated his wife appallingly, would get off scot-free, and who would want to see that?

There’s also something else going on that we can’t put our finger on. When the police were at Joanna’s house, investigating her murder, Rob was held in a police car outside. The camera repeatedly showed Rob looking at Sergeant Cawood as she spoke to her colleagues in the driveway. It made us think that the antagonistic relationship between Rob and Catherine isn’t over.

She was the one that picked up Joanna when Rob called the police on her, she was the one who ran the Diazepam tests and she was the one who came into school to defend Ryan when Rob was accusing him of vandalism. Then later, not to Catherine’s knowledge, Rob and Ryan had a bit of a heart-to-heart. The two families are more linked than we’d like, and it’s adding to the unease as we approach episode six.

Why is Rob and Joanna’s daughter always wearing a coat?

I worry a lot about the little girl who won't take her coat off 😭 #HappyValley

— weeladybird1981 (@weeladybird1981) January 29, 2023

Joanna’s storyline has been one of the most difficult to watch, as the young mother was not given a moment of respite – coerced and abused by all the men in her life. Unable to cope, terrified of everyone and struggling to look after her children, her short and unbearably troubled life was then ended in the most brutal of ways.

What will happen now to her daughters, Florence and Poppy? We hope they’ll be able to stay with Joanna’s parents, who seemed incredibly decent. The internet has been particularly worried about the youngest daughter, Poppy, who hasn’t removed her coat for the entirety of the series. What is she hiding under there? Bruises and other physical signs of abuse? Has she been wearing it as a protective shield? Whatever the reason, it’s unlikely to be good.

Will Clare and Catherine make up?

Catherine doubling down on being horrible to Claire fills me with the worst kind of dread for the last episode #HappyValley

— Freedom Littleseal (@TheShiftyShadow) January 29, 2023

Catherine and Clare’s relationship has been irrevocably damaged by the latter’s decision to take Ryan to see Tommy in prison – Catherine feels utterly betrayed. That would be devastating enough: the sisters have been together through thick and thin, from Clare’s alcoholism, homelessness, relapse and recovery, to when Catherine lost her daughter and Clare stepped up as a second parent for Ryan when Catherine’s own husband, and son, abandoned her.

But the situation is made even worse by the fact that Catherine’s way of dealing with her emotions is by getting defensive and berating others. In episode five she rants at Clare, saying how pathetic and boring her sister is.

The scene didn’t bode well: “Catherine doubling down on being horrible to Claire fills me with the worst kind of dread for the last episode,” one fan tweeted. Does it indicate that something will happen to Clare, and Catherine will forever regret this exchange? Will they make up just before the end? We really hope so.

Did Ryan really give Tommy his game tag?

So Tommy said he’d memorised Ryan’s gamer tag but did Neil give it him? I think you might be right.. x @sethellie_sarah #HappyValley pic.twitter.com/reZQJbAS0O

— Andrew McBride (@andrewmcb) January 30, 2023

One of the few things that Tommy can’t be criticised for is his lack of ingenuity. At the end of episode five, in an absolutely chilling turn, he manages to contact Ryan by using his games console. Imagine what would happen if Catherine knew, or what she’ll do when she finds out?

On the call, Ryan asked his dad how he found his game tag. Tommy says that Ryan told it to him when they hung out in prison, and while Ryan goes along with it, he doesn’t seem to be able to fully remember the incident. So did Ryan really provide his details to Tommy? It’s questionable – after all, Ryan’s a smart kid and wanting to spend time with his dad in the controlled prison environment is very different to actually sharing his personal details.

Some fans on social media think Neil, once again, has been involved: “Maybe Neil gave Tommy Ryan’s gaming tag?” they said. If Neil is Tommy’s Dad, and the two are in cahoots, it could follow that Neil passed the game tag onto his son.

Why all this talk about skydiving and bungee jumping?

@happyvalleybbc @SarahLancsUK @BBCNewsEnts
Is this significant....TLR also told Ryan that they'd go skydiving....something or nothing?x pic.twitter.com/AhZYbdT1Qh

— Sarah Gidlow (@SarahGid) January 29, 2023

Okay, it might be nothing, but there’s been a lot of talk about falling through the sky and it’s piqued our attention (read: started to worry us). You might remember that earlier in the season Ryan’s friends bought him a voucher to go skydiving for his birthday? Then, when Ryan visited Tommy in prison, Tommy promised that one day the father and son would go bungee jumping together. Ryan found the comment odd: he even asked Neil about it when they left the prison. Clare mentions it again to Catherine, and Catherine even speaks about it to her colleague, Inspector Mike Taylor. “Start again – you think Tommy Lee Royce is planning to escape because he told Ryan that they’re going bungee jumping?” asks Mike.

So could one of the characters be sent hurtling through the air in some form or other? It doesn’t seem like Wainwright to plant an idea without bringing it to some kind of fruition... This is why we’ve started to feel a little concerned about Ryan’s birthday present.

Why is everyone talking about Spain?

When Tommy successfully makes his big escape, he is picked up by none other that the crime boss himself, Darius Knežević. As well as offering Tommy some whiskey, a change of clothes and a place to stay, he lays out Tommy’s escape plan. Along with Ryan (eek), Tommy’s going to hide in a van, be driven to Brussels, and then fly from there to Malaga. Then a ‘guy’ is going to meet him in Marbella, “and that’s you done”, says Darius, which is a slightly odd way of putting it, surely?

But less than half an hour later in the episode, Spain is mentioned again. Just before Catherine’s grim takedown of her sister, Clare says, “Nev was talking about flying us all out to Mallorca.” Given that Brits absolutely love holidaying in Spain (as many as 17 million a year travelled there pre-pandemic) it makes sense that Nev would have a place out there, but we still can’t help but wonder whether Wainwright is giving us a clue that we need to keep our eye on what’s going on in the Iberian Peninsula.

So, which of these theories will be proved right? On Sunday all will be revealed. We just can’t wait, even though it means we have to wave goodbye to Happy Valley for good when it ends.