In a series that often time jumps between seasons, it’s important to remember where things left off going into the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders. In season five, Thomas “Tommy” Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and company were threatened by new political, territorial, and internal rivals.
In addition to the new threats to their business, a plethora of major character shifts occurs among the Shelbys, leading to the most unstable time in the family’s history. In order to pick up where the show left off, here are the things to remember from the show’s most recent season.
The 1929 Stock Market Crash
At the beginning of season five, the show finds Michael (Finn Cole), the best Peaky Blinders character according to Reddit, at the Shelby’s Detroit office during Wall Street’s collapse. After relaying the news to the rest of the family, Michael returns to Birmingham and Polly (Helen McCrory) returns from Monte Carlo.
While Tommy reassures them they have a secondary source of income, doing dirty work for a high-ranking government official, there’s general disagreement amongst the family as to what to do next. Michael, in particular, seems to have found independence in America and has been making deals of his own.
The Rift Between Tommy & Michael
Over the course of Peaky Blinders season five, the distrust between Tommy and Michael only grows, with Michael even conducting business with people who want Tommy dead. When questioned about this, Michael claims he didn’t know that they were enemies, but Tommy suspends him from the business anyway.
They both stand in the way of what the other wants. For Michael, it’s moving forward, and for Tommy, it’s maintaining power. When Tommy dreams of a black cat, it only furthers his suspicion that Michael is gunning for his position as head of the family.
Tommy’s Visions
One of the biggest questions explored during season five is whether or not Tommy is starting to lose his grip on sanity. The most prominent example of this is his frequent visions of Grace (Annabelle Wallis), his dead wife, both when he is sober and under the influence.
Other instances of Tommy having some kind of mental breakdown include when he almost kills himself in the minefield during episode 2, when he visits an old war buddy in episode 5, and in the aftermath of the assassination attempt in the finale. As a result, both his family and his enemies start to take advantage of his questionable state.
Finn Gets Involved With The Family Business
Finn (Harry Kirton), now a young man and the youngest of the Shelby clan, yearns to join his siblings in the gang. When Tommy relents and lets him in, it leads to serious consequences down the line.
In addition to being shot, parading around with a gun, and getting kidnapped by a potential business partner, Finn unknowingly reveals Tommy’s big political move to a spy when he can’t keep his mouth shut. As a result, his family suffers the consequences.
Conflict With The Billy Boys
While trying to set up a route for whiskey in Ireland, Michael comes across the Billy Boys, a Scottish gang with influence in Belfast. They soon come after the Peaky Blinders, killing Aberama Gold’s (Aidan Gillen) son in the process. After Aberama retaliates, the war is postponed due to a business deal between the gangs.
While things go smoothly, Tommy promises Aberama that once their business is concluded, Aberama can kill leader Jimmy McCavern (Brian Gleeson) however he pleases. That said, when the time comes, Aberama’s opportunity to avenge his son is taken from him.
Linda Leaves Arthur
Though their marriage has been on the rocks almost from the start, the events of this season turn out to be too much for Linda (Kate Phillips) to bear. She encourages Arthur (Paul Anderson) to take some of the responsibility from Tommy, to which he tells her to stay in her lane.
Not satisfied by her marriage, Linda begins seeing another man. When Arthur finds out, he tracks him down and beats him mercilessly. In response, Linda pulls a gun on Arthur at Tommy’s party but is shot by Polly before she can shoot Arthur. Once she’s stable, Linda leaves Arthur for good.
Mosley’s Speech
During Tommy’s party, fellow MP Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin), one of Peaky Blinders‘ most vicious antagonists, uses a lull after a dance performance to make a speech about unrest in Britain. Toting the slogan ‘Britain First,’ Mosley announces he’s leading a new political party: the British Union of Fascists.
The speech leads to a rise in Mosley’s popularity and causes Tommy’s spying on him to be unusable. In the aftermath, Tommy meets with Winston Churchill (Neil Maskell), who tells him to take Mosley down by any means necessary.
Polly’s Resignation
As the tension between Michael and Tommy escalates, Polly is torn between whether to support her son or her nephew. While she generally supports Tommy’s actions, Michael still has a hold over her heart.
At a family meeting in the final episode, Michael proposes a restructuring of the Shelby businesses that puts Tommy in a back-seat role, causing Tommy and Arthur to furiously leave. When Polly consults Tommy about the proposal, Tommy tells her that if she sides with Michael, she’ll die. Following Tommy’s threat, she resigns from Shelby Company Limited.
Alfie Solomons Is Alive
Previously seen shot in the head by Tommy, it was safe to assume Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy), one of Tommy’s most intelligent enemies, died during the season 4 finale. However, he is revealed to have survived the attack, albeit with facial scarring and a blind eye.
After briefly talking about how Tommy found out Alfie was still alive, Tommy asks Alfie to help him organize a riot to cover up the events of Mosley’s upcoming speech. After some convincing, and a focus on Mosley’s antisemitic beliefs, Alfie agrees and gives Tommy some of his men to help with the event.
Tommy’s Botched Assassination Of Mosley
In a Peaky Blinders scene that no one saw coming, Tommy’s attempt to kill and usurp Mosley at his own speech goes wrong. Though Tommy’s sniper is in position, the gunman is shot in the back of the head before the end of his cue to shoot Mosley. Simultaneously, Aberama, who is sneaking up on McCavern to kill him, is stabbed to death.
In the aftermath, Tommy and Mosley leave the stage for fear of being targeted. Once home with Arthur, Tommy admits to him he thinks he has finally found the man he cannot defeat. Following this interaction, Tommy goes out into a field while hallucinating and puts a gun to his head.
