Twitter Couldn’t Cope With The Happy Valley Finale

And so it ends. On Sunday night (Feb. 5), the nation tuned in to watch the last-ever episode of Happy Valley. Fans were eager to see how creator Sally Wainwright would tie up storylines – both new and old – within such a short time, with the week preceeding the finale being full of speculation. Some even theorised the end of the episode by studying the poster, with one user predicting that Tommy Lee Royce would set fire to something due to smoke rising from a home on the poster, which also included the bike he used to escape the court, as well as a farmhouse and a field.

Well, there was a fire alright, but not in the way fans expected. Instead, Wainwright took the series full circle, echoing the opening scene of the first episode with Catherine Cawood attempting to stop someone from setting themselves on fire. And as for Ryan’s involvement in the last episode, that also comes full circle, as Rhys Connah explained to RadioTimes, speaking of Ryan’s “vital choice” between his dad and grandmother. “The fact that he chose Catherine is what makes his character come full circle. He proves that he isn’t like Tommy, that he isn’t going to be a bad person, and that he can be a good person when a lot of people don’t think he can.” Despite Ryan choosing who viewers wanted him to choose, it was never “clear cut,” Connah said.

The actor also shared his respect for Wainwright in an interview with The Observer. “Sally always said it would end at the third series, and I really respect that she is so passionate and stood by that. She had a story to tell and didn’t want to carry it beyond this.” Connah said he’d be watching like the rest of the UK with his family, and Twitter was buzzing with live reactions during the last episode of the award-winning drama. Below are just some of the best memes and reactions to the finale of Happy Valley.