If you’re still in denial that Peaky Blinders has finished their TV show run, join the club. I’m not going to lie, this season was quite rough writing-wise and while it served some iconic moments on a platter, it did leave me hungry for more.
It has been teased many times that Tommy will die. So what ultimately happens to our hero, our god, our guru? Did the red right hand finally claim his life?
In the Peaky Blinders S6 finale, Tommy escapes Michael’s bomb and kills him in retaliation. He then learns that his tuberculoma diagnosis was just a lie fabricated by Mosley and Mitford.
The season ends with Tommy still left to deal with the threats of the IRA, Mosley and Nelson.
The season finale has been filled with so much anticipation. But did Tommy’s fate really live up to the hype? I will go into detail about each of these events and how it fared narratively:
Tommy vs Michael: Who is the last one standing?
Michael finally gets out of his prison garb on Nelson’s condition that he will kill Tommy. He agrees all too quickly because that’s exactly how Michael is: rash, cocky, and extremely unintelligent when it comes to making important decisions.
He believes he can trick Tommy by appearing friendly, but miscalculates that Tommy is a step ahead and avoids being in the car that has the bomb, thanks to Johnny Dog’s help.
Instead, he walks out of the bar only to be greeted by Tommy’s gun. Michael was never a formidable antagonist and his arc has been stretched on for so long that it’s relieving to hear the gunshot.
Should Tommy have given Michael yet another chance? Could this duo have ever worked out? We’ll never know.
Before he goes, at least he says something of significance: “No one close to you makes choices without your opinion, Tom […] Your lethal hand was always on our shoulders.”
Tommy’s Diagnosis Is a Lie
Alright, so Tommy survived, nay, vanquished one enemy. But there’s another lurking around—no, I’m not talking about the still active IRA who may want to seek revenge, Mosley, or even Jack Nelson.
It’s the tuberculoma that may be eating him alive. Because of his diagnosis, he’s ready to embrace death and we find him fittingly in a caravan filled with all his dearest trinkets and a gun in his hand.
It’s why in the months gone by he’s tried to get business in order, and even let Lizzie and Charlie go without a fight.
But just as at the start of S6, when Tommy mourned about how “they (the spirits) won’t let me pass,” Ruby’s spirit appears to tell him it’s not time yet.
Turns out his diagnosis was nothing but a lie fabricated by the doctor on a fascist payroll. You can thank Mosley and Mitford for that one.
Tommy apprehends the doctor but spares his life, showing that he plans to continue living the “glass of water” ideology (not literally, as he is seen back with his whisky).
At the end of the finale, all that goes up in ashes is his caravan. Is it a symbol of a chapter ending or a new one beginning? Take it as you will.
Tommy’s S6 Ending Wasn’t Satisfying
Everyone’s happy about Tommy making it out alive and getting some kind of upper hand. But neither was the conflict engaging, nor was the victory well-earned. Instead, it came across as convenient since Tommy is the protagonist and had to survive.
Several plotlines were introduced this season that simply went nowhere.
I get that the season was trying to set up the movie and spin-offs, but it should’ve had at least one arc that could stand on its own legs and provide an enjoyable climax filled with clever plotting and drama like we’ve known the show to previously have.
If the season has any saving grace, it’s that seeing a new side of Tommy was indeed so much fun. Well, now that he knows a terminal illness is not killing him, maybe he will show off more of this side in the upcoming Peaky Blinders endeavors.
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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