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So, in the final episode of “Happy Valley”, Sally Wainwright’s brilliant television drama, a scrapbook with family photographs proved better than any gun. The evil which was deep in the

heart of Tommy Lee Royce was dissolved by photographs — photographs of the joy of his son brought into happiness by the boy’s grandmother Catherine, the woman he hates. You notice that it

happened accidentally? A concatenation of circumstances leading to an absolutely necessary confrontation. When Tommy is asked by Catherine to hand over his knife, he does so — gently. The

final scene is almost a conference in love. No gun was needed…. just the recognition that love properly presented is the most powerful weapon of all. To see the evil we associate with Tommy

Lee seep away in his final moments is Sally Wainwright’s benign bait and switch. The happiness he sees in those photos are balm to the evil in his soul. Ryan is the character I most admire.

A child who understands the elemental nature of the father-son relationship. Ryan got it right. Every moment he insisted that Tommy was his dad he was shouted down. He had every right to

make up his own mind. Without getting to know his father, Ryan couldn’t make his own mind up because he was surrounded by powerful voices. Ryan is the constant voice across all three series.

That’s the point of the final scene. Ryan announces loyalty to all who will listen to him. But we didn’t. There is something about the father-son relationship. My 13 year old sometimes says

stuff which turns my world around.  Not because he’s spotted something but because I missed it. It’s a relationship that’s almost impenetrable. Isn’t that the message of the Incarnation?

What was brilliant about “Happy Valley” was the central insight: that evil, in its initial iteration, presents as benign and trivial. The first lie you tell is the first lie you live. In the

end, though, this drama turned ou to be about the nature of redemption. The character who is most evil finds unexpected redemption, in the form of a scrapbook. A MESSAGE FROM THEARTICLE _We

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