Happy Valley - Who helped Tommy Lee Royce escape and why?

Waiting in the wings and witnessing his father's true deceptive colours was Ryan, who was none the wiser as to what his father was planning on pulling off.

We knew somehow that the Knezevics were involved, with Darius ordering his heavies to go and create a distraction to allow Tommy to run. But in this fifth episode, we got some further insight into why and how Darius had helped Tommy to flee.

If you're still a bit confused, have no fear: scroll on for a rundown of the major Happy Valley plot line.

Who helped Tommy Lee Royce escape?

In a nutshell, Darius Knezevic.

The ominous Halifax gangster-turned-politician ordered Ivan (Oliver Huntingdon) and Matija (Jack Bandeira) to head to Leeds in episode 4. Their orders were simple: kick things off at the allotted time, thereby creating a major incident that would allow Tommy to somehow escape the courtroom.

In episode 5, we see Tommy manage to ride up to an empty hillside road, looking out with relief. But then, a van drives up and parks besides him. As he climbs into the back, the cap-wearing figure turns around and it's none other than Darius, who laughs: "You did it."

"You did it," Tommy smiles back. Darius informs him of a change of plan, saying that they can't go back to his house because of the police and that he'll drop him elsewhere. "It's safe, there's everything you need," Darius tells him.

Even though the police were watching his home, Darius boasts that he managed to sneak out in the boot of his wife's car, saying that the lack of police resources means that they don't tail her. "I didn't want anyone else to pick you up. I wanted mine to be the first friendly face you see," Darius smiles.

"You are a f**king genius man," Tommy later tells him before Darius maps out the plan: get passports for Tommy and Ryan secured, hide in a van, drive to Brussels, later fly to Malaga and then meet another associate in Marbella. "He's going to sort you out with everything you need, you and the boy," he explains.

Why did Darius help Tommy Lee Royce escape?

As Darius drives up to the house where Tommy can stay, the two exchange final details. Darius explains that Tommy shouldn't need to contact him and that "a week from now, you'll be in Marbella – you and your boy, laughing your socks off, alright?"

But even so, Tommy's mind is elsewhere still thinking about his revenge plot against Catherine. He wants Darius to get him a gun and when he refuses, Tommy reminds him of their deal.

"We had a deal. I saw to my side of things, beautifully. To the letter. All that barefaced s**t about Chris Huxley," Tommy reveals.

In episode 1, Tommy was called in to questioning about the gangland murder of local thug Gary Gaggoski. Catherine is one of the first to the scene and identifies the victim, who we later find out was murdered eight years prior.

However, Tommy's distinctive St Christopher's necklace is found at the scene of the crime, tying him to the murder. When questioned about it, though, his lawyer reads out Tommy's statement admitting he was present but not responsible for Gary's death. He claimed that he thought he was there for "punishment" and names Chris Huxley as Gary's killer.

We knew at the time that it was highly likely that Tommy was lying – all you had to do was see the smirk on his face. But now, it seems as though he did so in order to carry out a wider deal with Darius.

In that first episode, officers previously thought that Tommy would confess to Gaggoski's murder out of fear for his own life. Detective Superintendent Andy Shepherd (Vincent Franklin) explained that Darius had ordered Tommy's murder in prison, which is why his face was cut like it was in episode 1.

But clearly any fear that Tommy may have had was quickly replaced with his self-centred desire to escape prison and run away with Ryan. Darius has clearly thought that keeping Tommy on side is beneficial but will Tommy's desire to go against the original plan and seek revenge against Catherine turn the Halifax gangster against him once more?

Happy Valley season 3 continues on Sundays at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The first two seasons are available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.

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