Peaky Blinders Episode 3 was quite a shocker, not just for Thomas but also for the fans. Perhaps it’s just me, but I expected Ruby to last longer and make more predictions about the grey man with the green eyes.
However, episode 3 takes an entirely different direction and kills off Ruby. We see Ruby’s condition worsen, and the doctors diagnose her with tuberculosis. While Lizzie doesn’t believe in curses or any of the ‘gypsy-stuff’, Thomas searches for Esme.
Although Esme had cursed Thomas, this wasn’t her doing. Instead, she leads him to the grave of a person who died because of a sapphire Tommy had given someone years ago.
So what exactly is the story behind this sapphire, and how has it caught up to Thomas and Ruby?
A Russian businessman gave Thomas the cursed sapphire, and Grace was killed while she wore it. The sapphire reaches Navadni Barwell because of Tommy, and she loses her daughter to Tuberculosis because of it. So Navadni, in turn, curses Ruby.
I’m sure all these details are pretty overwhelming. So let’s start the story from where it began.
Where did the sapphire come from?
If you look back and remember, in Season 3, Tommy was dealing with the Russians. One of the Russian archdukes had given a sapphire as a gift to Thomas. Thomas then gifts it to Grace and ties it around her neck.
Now we all remember that Luca Changretta’s men killed Grace. However, if you have forgotten, she was wearing the sapphire when she was shot.
Before this happened, one of the guests also mentioned how the stone’s curse was so strong that she could feel it.
So, Tommy blames himself and decides to give the stone to a gypsy named Madame Barwell. That is the end of that arc, and we don’t hear from it until season 6. The sapphire’s return is also the story of how Ruby got cursed and died.
How did Ruby get cursed and die?
When Thomas goes to Esme, she narrates the events surrounding the sapphire after he left it with Madame Barwell. Madame gave the sapphire to her sister Navadni Barwell who ties it around her daughter.
The moment she wore it, she started coughing, and within seven hours, she died of tuberculosis.
Both Madame Barwell and Navadni were from the gypsy tribe, and it was natural for Navadni to blame Thomas for it. So she decided to curse his daughter Ruby.
This is most likely why Ruby got tuberculosis and died like Navadni’s daughter did. However, what’s not explained is the voices she heard, the phrase ‘Tickna Mora O Beng,’ and the grey man with the green eyes.
We may or may not find explanations for these in the upcoming episodes, but by the looks of it, Season 6 might be more focused on the politics and Thomas’ exit plan than anything else.
About Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, England, the series follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family and their leader Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) in the direct aftermath of the First World War.
The fictional family is loosely based on a real urban youth gang of the same name, active in the city from the 1890s to the early 20th century. It stars Cillian Murphy, Sam Claflin, Aidan Gillen, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Finn Cole, and Tom Hardy
Peaky Blinders season 6, which is also its last, will premiere on February 27 on BBC One.
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