Summary
ThePeaky Blindersmovie sequel is officially underway, andI couldn’t be more worried about Tommy Shelby’s fate. I’ll admit, I was apprehensive when rumors of aPeaky Blindersmovie began to float around. Barring some standouts, I’ve never been fond of the TV series movie follow-up, withThe Many Saints of Newarkleaving poor taste in recent years, and I was in the camp of audiences who found thePeaky Blindersseason 6 endingto be moving and conclusive in its own right.
All episodes ofPeaky Blindersare streaming on Netflix.
While not widely perceived as thebestPeaky Blindersseason, I experienced season 6 as an emotional deep dive into the anxiety-inducing psychology of Tommy Shelby. There was no Luca Changretta or Father Hughes to root against; the villain was instead Tommy’s personal demons, andI found his choice to live and seek out redemption far more compelling than just another dead TV antihero. The final plot twist rattled me, and I could have lived happily knowing Tommy had ridden off on a beautiful white horse, putting his past behind him, but it seems there’s still business to attend to.
The Peaky Blinders Movie Being “At War” Makes Tommy Shelby’s Death More Likely
The Peaky Blinders Movie Sequel Should Amp Up The Action For An Explosive Climax
Everything I’ve read about thePeaky Blindersmoviesuggests that it will be an explosive, climactic finish. Creator Steven Knight described it as"Full-on Peaky Blinders at war.“Cillian Murphy stated,“It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn’t finished with me,“suggesting a particular “one last ride” type of feel to the movie. After seeing Tommy just barely survive the TV series and find his will to live, I’m excited but anxious to see where the film takes him. Given the amped-up violence and action in the movie,death seems like the most likely outcome for Tommy Shelby.
Like many of TV’s greatest morally ambiguous antiheroes, there were times when Tommy deserved to be fully recognized as a villain. Even in season 6, he guns down several innocent people in outrage after his daughter’s death. Characters like Lizzie and Arthur constantly suffer in his sphere of influence, for which he shows little compassion. Yet, after the show’s ending, I still want to believe he’s capable of doing something good, and I feel genuinely worried about what will happen to him.Tommy’s death must be satisfying, given how the idea was already danced aroundfor an entire season.
30 Best Peaky Blinders Quotes (That We Will Always Remember)
Peaky Blinders is a gritty crime series of gangsters fighting for supremacy. The BBC series has given many memorable quotes, but here are the best.
Why Dying Makes Perfect Sense For Tommy Shelby’s Peaky Blinders Ending
Death Would Perfectly Conclude Tommy Shelby’s Redemptive Arc, If He Has One
Much ofPeaky Blindersrevolves around this idea of “borrowed time.“Tommy Shelby’s WWI tunneling flashbacks are vital to his origins as the pure danger of such a job leaves him with a feeling that he shouldn’t have survived, and that anything beyond that is extra time he’s been gifted. After cheating death again in season 6, when he realizes Dr. Holford has lied to him, Tommy once again feels like he’s on borrowed time, though this time, deciding to follow a more righteous path, signified by Tommy sparing Holford’s life and by the white horse.
Tommy dying at the end of season 6 would’ve felt incomplete
This thematic questioning and characterization is a massive part of what made thePeaky BlindersTV ending so satisfying to me. Tommy dying at the end of season 6 would’ve felt incomplete, as he’d have left behind a path of nothing but revenge and destruction with Ruby and Michael’s deaths. Now, Tommy can use his second batch of borrowed time to do something meaningful for a good purpose, andthere’s nothing like a sacrificial death in a movie to enforce the argument for his redemption. After thePeaky Blindersmovie, we can decide for sure whether he’s redeemed.
Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders is a historical crime drama created and written by Steven Knight and starring Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, and Helen McCrory. The television show is based on the gang, Peaky Blinders, a group that banded together after the end of World War I.
