Writer Sally Wainwright gets off to a good start this season, intermixing levity with serious drama. On one hand, the police discover the remains of a heinous crime at the reservoir. On the other is the comical incident with the phantom refrigerator tosser.
We're given a sly foreshadow of upcoming events in episode three as "alien remains" are mentioned in passing at the top of the show. Also there is the wonderful sequence where Catherine cuts the paternalistic CSI guys to ribbons. Demonstrating that professionalism and attention to detail is far more important to policing than scientific pretense.
Realistically, this episode is not as exciting as the episodes to come, primarily because it's a set-up episode. The tension and dramatic climaxes begin to manifest in episodes 2 & 3.
Reviewing this series has helped me to see why Happy Valley is so enjoyable to watch. Sally Wainwright is a superb writer. It's obvious the entire season has been plotted out. And yet, NOT in a tired, formulaic way. As the season progresses, the events and characters intersect - reinforcing one another. The writer never relies upon character incompetence for plot development. Which is SO refreshing, since that is the tiresome crutch employed by the majority of crime drama writers. It was that quality of consistently competent law enforcement which made Dick Wolf's Law & Order series highly esteemed for so many years. Whereas, Engrenages relied upon police incompetence so often, over time that series became completely unwatchable.
Happy Valley is a class act and will sorely be missed when this season is over.
We're given a sly foreshadow of upcoming events in episode three as "alien remains" are mentioned in passing at the top of the show. Also there is the wonderful sequence where Catherine cuts the paternalistic CSI guys to ribbons. Demonstrating that professionalism and attention to detail is far more important to policing than scientific pretense.
Realistically, this episode is not as exciting as the episodes to come, primarily because it's a set-up episode. The tension and dramatic climaxes begin to manifest in episodes 2 & 3.
Reviewing this series has helped me to see why Happy Valley is so enjoyable to watch. Sally Wainwright is a superb writer. It's obvious the entire season has been plotted out. And yet, NOT in a tired, formulaic way. As the season progresses, the events and characters intersect - reinforcing one another. The writer never relies upon character incompetence for plot development. Which is SO refreshing, since that is the tiresome crutch employed by the majority of crime drama writers. It was that quality of consistently competent law enforcement which made Dick Wolf's Law & Order series highly esteemed for so many years. Whereas, Engrenages relied upon police incompetence so often, over time that series became completely unwatchable.
Happy Valley is a class act and will sorely be missed when this season is over.