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Happy Valley Season 1 Episode 4 step outline

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SPOILER ALERT and CONTENT WARNING: references to suicide and sexual violence

I found Episode 4 more difficult to decipher the act breaks. I’ll explain why later. But let’s crack on and analyse the structure relating to the 4 storylines.

Before we start I have to admit I have missed a trick. There have been moments throughout the series where Catherine hallucinates her daughter’s suicide. This reflection on how this past trauma has affected her ‘mental health’ perhaps deserves its own colour code, or could be RED with the A story of the trilogy, considering it is connected to the A story of the trilogy: Catherine / Ryan V Tommy Lee Royce. I will have to analyse this thread in a separate post.

The colour codes are same as in the previous post.

Let’s begin.

So, Act 1 is dedicated completely to the A story (season) – Ann’s kidnapping.

Scene 12 seems to make sense for the act break if the act breaks in this episode revolve around the journey and rescue of kidnapping victim Ann.

Act 2 opens with Richard excitedly teaching a bemused Catherine all about the drugs trade – pointing to C story: police/drugs/corruption.

Next we’re into the A story of the season for a 3 minute scene where Catherine quizzes Ashley about the house. She also asks him if he has heard of Tommy Lee Royce, so actually scene 14 could also be RED, as Catherine is referencing her main antagonist – Lee Royce.

The following 3 scenes 15/16/17 – a 4 minute sequence – are solely focused on A story for the trilogy as at this point Catherine has no idea Lee Royce is connected to the kidnapping of Ann or the murder of Kirsty. As I said before, the hallucinating scene I included as A story for the trilogy as her daughter Becky killed herself on account of Lee Royce’s violent sexual assault.

The next 4 scenes, 18-21 are focused on the kidnapping.

I initially broke Act 2 after scene 18. However, I finally decided to break after scene 21 as it’s a harrowing scene when Helen tells Catherine that Ann has been kidnapped and breaking here means Act 3 will begin when D.I. Crabtree arrives from the National Crime Agency to question Helen and Nevison about the kidnap.

Act 3 opens with D.I Crabtree of the National Crime Agency arriving to interview Helen about the kidnapping.

The following scene Nevison arrives and explains that when the money is dropped they asked for the accountant, Kevin Weatherill. You can see the cogs in Catherine’s heads turning – superb thinking acting from Sarah Lancashire – as she remembers where she has heard the name Kevin Weatherill before. Actually, she didn’t hear it, but saw it, as she ran his number plate in the final scene of Episode 1 – which means the visual of Ep 1 was paid off with audio in Ep 4.

In Scene 24, Catherine visits Tommy Lee Royce’s mother. We might say that, although highlighted red for A story (trilogy) this scene is also A story (season) because Tommy Lee Royce is about to hide Ann there and it is the venue of the fight in the climax of the episode. However, at this moment, Ann is not yet there. He takes her there in scene 31 of Act 4. Scene 24 revolves around Ryan as Lee Royce’s mother asks Catherine if Ryan is Tommy’s son, which is the A story (trilogy). It is interesting to note that the location of this central scene of the episode foreshadows the location of the episode climax.

In Scenes 25 we’re back with D.I Crabtree giving instructions to Nevison and telling him that Kevin is a suspect.

Scene 26 is a little information about Catherine’s bio – we learn that she has been ‘back in uniform’ for 9 years. So actually, this scene needs its own colour code, as it relates to Catherine’s work history – the first time a scene has been dedicated fully to exposition about Catherine’s biography without being directly related to the two A stories.

Scene 27 shows Richard’s emotional arc for this season completing as he accepts Ryan as his grandson.

In Scene 28 Jenny is watching a news story on TV about Kirsty’s murder. Kevin snatches the remote control from her, turns the TV off, and tells her it was Ann’s kidnappers who killed her. I saw the act break broke here as it refers to Ann.

Act 4 gets much more entangled with story threads, with all 4 stories making an appearance.

We open with Clare telling Catherine the good news about Richard and Ryan. Catherine counters in the next scene with the bad news that Lee Royce’s mother knows Tommy is Ryan’s father – B story – family.

In Scene 31 Lee Royce brings Ann to his mother’s house and acts the most disturbing and creepiest scene of the season – A story (season).

Scene 32 brings us back to drugs and police corruption as Catherine’s Chief Super tells her, just as she wanted him to turn a blind eye at her illegal breaking and entry of the hostage house when she was looking for Tommy Lee Royce, so she should also turn a blind eye at the cocaine she found in Councillor Gascoine’s car. Quid pro quo – C story.

Scene 33 gives us the first direct confrontation between Catherine and Lee Royce in the street over Ryan – A story (trilogy).

Scene 34 – A story (trilogy) Catherine / Ryan V Tommy Lee Royce.

The final scene of the act brings us back to the season plot – the kidnapping of Ann.

Phew!

So, Act 5 is a little simpler. No B or C stories, only the two A stories: season and trilogy.

The final scene sees Protagonist and Antagonist in actual, physical, violent combat – interweaving both A stories together with juicy expertise.

Happy Valley

Happy Valley (by Sally Wainwright) – S1 E01 summary: Act 1

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What is interesting after watching this and reading the screenplay are two things:

  1. The writer only reveals the name of the antagonist (Tommy) at the end of the act in the script and on screen. Whereas on screen we can expect to have information held back from us, Sally Wainwright expertly withholds his name from us in the script as well.
  2. We know that this Tommy Lee Royce has been released, because we hear it several times, from Catherine, Richard and Clare. But we don’t know what the fascination is, who he is, and what he has done… yet.
  3. Tommy is the main antagonist of the trilogy, but arguably not the main antagonist of the episode, which goes to Kevin Weatherill. Yet his name stated marks the end of Act 1. ‘Tommy, do you wanna cup of tea?’ Now we know that this is the man everyone is talking about.
  4. The opening scene is a man threatening to set himself on fire. Everyone seems to hear about it, so it seems quite important, but Catherine doesn’t consider it worth talking about. In fact, it has nothing to do with the plot that unfolds. Is it possible that Sally Wainwright knew the end of season 3 even though she wrote season 1 a full 8 years before season 3 and foreshadowed the 2023 climax in episode 1 of season 1 in 2014?

Below is a summary of scenes in Act 1.

  1. PARK – 0.00 – 2.36 (2.36)

Catherine Cawood tries to stop a youth from setting himself on fire. So we open with a kind of save the cat scene. During the scene we instantly learn Catherine has a wicked sense of humour. Told to keep the kid engaged in conversation, introducing herself, Catherine tells the youth (and us) “I’m Catherine, by the way. I’m 47. I’m divorced. I live with my sister, who’s a recovering heroin addict. I’ve two grown-up children: one dead, one who doesn’t speak to me, and a grandson, so…” And we the audience have Catherine’s life in a nutshell. This is, in fact, a clever technique by the writer. As the season continues we learn that the ‘one dead’ and ‘a grandson’ are pivotal to the main story. An active question we are left asking ourselves is ‘why is her grown up child dead?’ 

What do we learn about Catherine in this scene? She is caring. She is witty, with a dark sense of humour. She has a complicated family life. 

  1. Opening Credits: 2.36 – 3.04 (0.28)
  1. NEVISON GALLAGHER’s OFFICE – 3.04 – 5.28 (2.24)

This scene introduces us to Kevin Weatherill who asks his boss Nevison Gallagher to give him a pay rise to cover his daughter’s school fees for a private school. We learn from the dialogue that Nevison Gallagher did not attend a private school ‘a clever kid will do well wherever they go – look at me.’ We learn that Kevin is the accountant.

  1. STREET – 5.28 – 6.46 (1.18)
  1. Richard asks about the kid who set fire to himself (he didn’t).
  2. Richard tells Catherine the local newspaper is going online so he’s losing his job. 
  3. He asks Catherine out. 
  4. He tells her Tommy Lee Royce has been released.
  1. RYAN’s SCHOOL 6.46 – 7.54 (1.08)

Ryan’s teacher asks Catherine to speak to her. Tells her Ryan has been aggressive and using unacceptable language.

  1. Catherine’s HOME 7.54 – 9.21 (1.27)

Clare mentions the youth setting fire to himself. Catherine tells her 

  1. Richard has asked her out 
  2. Ryan is in trouble at school.
  3. Tommy Lee Royce is out of prison.
  1. WEATHERILL’s HOME 9.21 – 9.59 (0.38)

Kevin Weatherill talks to Jenny (his wife) about being refused a pay rise. Jenny tries to be positive and reassuring. Kevin can’t hold it together. 

  1. GALLAGHER’S HOME 9.59 – 11.06 (1.07)

Family dinner. Nevison talks to his wife, Helen and daughter, Ann, about Kevin wanting a pay rise. Father-daughter friction between Nevison and Ann. He quips that paying for Anne’s private education was a waste of money – “might as well have pissed it up against the wall.”

  1. RESTAURANT 11.06 – 13.13 (2.07)

Catherine and Richard have dinner. Richard moans about being too old to change career. Richard asks about the kid setting fire to himself again. Catherine really doesn’t want to talk about work. She advises Richard to write a big story about drugs to sell to the national papers, then asks if Richard knows where Tommy Lee Royce is staying.

  1. RICHARD’S CAR 13.12 – 14.03 (0.51)

Richard and Catherine kiss. 

  1. WEATHERILL’S BEDROOM 14.03 – 15.16 (1.13)

Weatherill moans about Nevison as he puts Jenny, who is suffering with MS, to bed. Jenny is positive. Weatherill is self-deprecating and negative. Weatherill is bitter that he doesn’t own half of the company. He feels like he is is being shafted.

  1. CEMETRY 15.16 – 16.10 (0.54)

Catherine is looking at Rebecca’s grave stone. Clare and Ryan arrive. Ryan notices old pens left on the grave of Sylvia Plath Hughes.

  1.  COWGILL’s CARAVAN PARK 16.10 – 17.49 (1.39)

Ashley Cowgill greets Weatherill, Jenny and their daughters. Cowgill says he has worked out wheelchair access for Jenny to play table tennis. Weatherill groans about how wealthy Cowgill is compared to his own situation.

  1. OUTDOORS WALKING 17.49 – 18.43 (0.54)

Catherine speaks to Clare about where Tommy Lee Royce may be living.

  1. CARAVAN PARK 18.43 – 21.22 (2.39)

Two young men lift sacks of cement as Cowgill watches. Weatherill presents Cowgill with a cheque and sees a bag of cannabis fall out of the cement bag. Weatherill says he won’t say anything. The men stare fiercely at Weatherill. Cowgill coerces him into going for a beer. It is interesting to note that in the screenplay the two men are referred to as two men. Then, when LEWIS is named, Tommy Lee Royce’s character is still only referred to as the the OTHER MAN. So, just as when we watch the scene, we don’t know that this man is the released prisoner (and main antagonist of the entire trilogy) Tommy Lee Royce, who both Clare and Richard (and Catherine) have been talking about, also, when we read the script, we don’t know that this ‘other man’ is significant. The script withholds information, just as the scene on our screens does.

  1. CARAVAN PARK – BAR 21.22 – 23.30 (2.08)

Weatherill proposes Cowgill make half a million from kidnapping Ann Gallagher. He explains the backstory and why he hates Nevison Gallagher so much.

  1. CARAVAN PARK 23.30 – 24.32 (1.02)

One of the men (Lewis) tells Cowgill he doesn’t like the new fellow. Cowgill says to give him a break. He’s been inside for 8 years, and only just got out. Now we hear Cowgill call the ‘other man’ by his name. “Tommy, wanna cup o’tea?” Now we know this is the one Catherine is worried about. But we don’t yet know why.