Warning: This article contains spoilers for Peaky Blinders.
When Tommy Shelby is about to take his own life in Peaky Blinders‘ season 6 finale, he sees a vision of his dead daughter Ruby, who tells him that he must live – but was her ghost real? Season 6 of Peaky Blinders brings the show to a close, however, an upcoming movie will continue to tell the story of the Shelbys. Thanks to the vision of Ruby, it’s likely Tommy’s unfinished business with Oswald Mosley will lead him to return for the movie to fight the rise of fascism.
In Peaky Blinders season 6, Tommy’s doctor informs him that he has at most eighteen months left to live because he has tuberculoma. The doctor says that Tommy likely contracted the illness from Ruby’s deadly tuberculosis. After concluding his business with Michael Gray, Tommy isolates himself and is about to take his own life but a vision of Ruby tells him that light his campfire and doing so will show him that he “must live.” When lighting a newspaper for the fire, he sees a photograph from Oswald Mosley’s wedding – in the photograph is Tommy’s ‘doctor’, Dr. Michael Holford. In the past, Tommy has had visions of people he’s killed and his ex-wife Grace. It appears that Tommy believed these visions were linked to his ‘curse’, however, Ruby’s vision proves to be more of a blessing.
Tommy’s vision of Ruby in Peaky Blinders‘ finale is different from his other visions because she tells him critical information – information he could not conjure up from his imagination. Whilst it is possible that the vision was conceived by Tommy due to his drunken state, it is still the most concrete evidence that ghosts exist in Peaky Blinders. Ruby also has a connection to the supernatural, she heard the voice of “the gray man” who was coming for her and Tommy. Holford matches the description of Ruby’s gray man, proving that her wisdom came from an otherworldly force.
Tommy’s vision may be a result of the alcohol that he consumed in his isolation. When he wakes up on the hills, he has a bottle in his hand. In previous seasons of Peaky Blinders, he had visions whilst under the influence of opium. However, these visions were often of his time in the war, which suggests that PTSD is the root cause. His vision of Ruby could also be inspired by an underlying will to live, a sense that he cannot stop until he has defeated Mosley, Diana Mitford, and Jack Nelson in their plans to grow fascism in Europe and America. Despite this, Ruby tells him that he isn’t ill and that something in the fire is proof of that. This is something that Tommy cannot know himself. This is the greatest confirmation that ghosts exist in Peaky Blinders. Previously, the ghost of Grace encouraged Tommy to take his own life but this was something he had already considered and was therefore not new information like the instance with Ruby.
Ruby also exhibits a second sight, similar to Polly Gray. She has numerous visions and accurately predicts the future, suggesting that she has is blessed with supernatural foresight. In both scenes that Holdford appears in, he wears a gray suit and his eyes are green, matching Ruby’s description of the “gray man” with “green eyes.” Furthermore, in Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1, Ruby speaks the Romani words, “tikna mora o being”. Roughly translated, “beng” means supernatural being or devil. Holford could also be the devil that Ruby spoke of who, as she predicted, came for Tommy. The fact that Ruby demonstrates this ability means that she could also have the ability to communicate with the living, adding more credence to the theory that Tommy’s vision is real. Although Tommy has sensed ghosts previously in Peaky Blinders, Ruby should instead be considered his guardian angel.
