Happy Valley season 3 spoilers follow (but mild ones).
Happy Valley's Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) has already cemented herself in the hall of fame along with the very best television characters.
Thanks to Sally Wainwright's writing, Cawood is a fully-fleshed personality who's equal parts vulnerable and headstrong. She is also representing the over-40s and does not hold back on issues that are painfully relatable to women; two aspects that are sadly still revolutionary to see leading the charge in a show.
Despite being away from our screens for six years, the no-nonsense West Yorkshire police sergeant has remained in our hearts with her bolshy yet seemingly fair (well, most of the time) attitude.
But that seems to be unravelling in season three, and episode five saw her at breaking point. No, we're not talking about her sharp-tongued outburst at often-bewildered but well-meaning sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran). We are, in fact, referring to the punchline from the prior episode's 'alien life-form liaison officer' wind-up.
Related: What Happy Valley's big Tommy moment means for season 3's ending
Having already filled out the application form and filed it with his superiors, PC Tekeli (Mete Durson) discovered what the rest of us had already cottoned on to: far from responding to the possibility of extra-terrestrial life, Cawood was pranking the crew and making an example of Tekeli's belief in a local UFO sighting.
He filed a complaint, alleging racist and bullying treatment, pointing to Cawood's ongoing outbursts as unfair treatment.
When pulled up on it, the idea that she might have been considered racist seemed more offensive to her than the original complaint – particularly when parallels were drawn between that and the sexist harassment she had quite rightly been vocal about coming up against earlier in her career.
Up until this point, you tended to root for Cawood even when she was verbally dressing someone down. She's mostly got right on her side, and the person on the receiving end has usually got what's coming to them. But this time it didn't quite sit right.
Even without the context of the past few years, which have seen conversations about white privilege at an all-time high and promises from the privileged to self-educate and do better, it is never a good look for a white person to be so dismissive when pulled up on how something they've said or done has been received by an already marginalised person.
Add in the history of white women in particular, and how they have weaponised tears and outrage at the expense of Black and brown people, and Cawood's indignant reaction leaves a bitter taste.
We never thought we'd have to ask: but is Catherine Cawood a Karen?
Related: How I May Destroy You tackles the danger of "Karens"
It feels like a betrayal of the fiercely fair and compassionate character we've come to love. She walked away from her own marriage in order to care for her helpless grandson; she goes above and beyond for others, often at the expense of herself. But it just goes to show that anyone can rustle up an attitude like that, even someone you've got a soft spot for.
As for the show itself, for all its grittiness, Happy Valley has never touched on the topic of structural racism. Its decision to wade into those waters by way of a throwaway comment, framed as a joke, is disappointing. This becomes even more true when one quick search of the internet reveals that a certain crowd, which throws around the word "woke" as if it's an insult, is using this storyline to further undermine real-world diversity initiatives.
It's still hanging in the air on the show, and we know that Catherine Cawood and her boss are planning to circle back on the conversation. With one episode still to go (which just so happens to be the big finale), we sure hope that Happy Valley has something up its sleeve to change our mind on how this one has been handled.
Happy Valley airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
