Cillian Murphy’s Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders has certainly been through a multitude of problems throughout the five seasons of the show, but his biggest threat yet may come from Anya Taylor-Joy’s character, Gina Gray. Joining the series at the start of season 5 as Michael Gray’s (Finn Cole) new bride, the character entangles herself in the lives of the Birmingham gang. With the final Peaky Blinders season releasing in 2022, fans anticipate Gina’s mischievous and manipulating schemes will further disrupt Tommy Shelby.
With the 1939 Stock Market crash kicking off the penultimate season, Michael rushes back to Birmingham with Gina, whom he met while handling the family business in New York. Marrying on their trip over from New York to the UK, Gina soon reveals to the family that she is pregnant with their first child. Throughout the season, Gina puts pressure on Michael to have Shelby Company Limited restructure and relocate to New York. This decision puts him at odds with the Peaky Blinders and his uncle Tommy. When Gray asks to take over the company, Tommy banishes them from the family. Suspicions of her motivations continue to mount when Gina shares a charged look with real-life fascist leader Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin), Tommy’s once-ally turned main antagonist, at the ballet. There is little known about her background, but showrunner Steven Knight confirmed more is to be revealed about Gina and her family in Peaky Blinders’ upcoming season.
Season 6 of Peaky Blinders will pick up with Tommy Shelby struggling against the ghosts of his past, his PTSD, his backfired assassination attempt against Mosley, the messiness of the Changretta family, and a mole amidst his trusted circle as The Great Depression grips the world. It may seem like one of these factors is the key to his alluded demise, but, a wildcard like the return of Gina Gray could be his perfect undoing.
Tommy may be too preoccupied with his other problems to focus on the now-scorned Gina who is likely retreating to her powerful family. Additionally, many fans speculate her pregnancy is fake as a means to draw sympathy from the family and expedite company takeover efforts. Gina’s power and calculations should not be overlooked. After all, she is a huge influence for Michael’s falling out with his mother, Aunt Polly, played by the late Helen McCrory. Before the Gray’s falling out with the family, Gina had a birdseye view of all of the players and proceedings and could have easily picked out her allies.
After a two-year hiatus and filming interrupted by COVID-19, fans are excited for the final season of Peaky Blinders, and the conclusion to Tommy Shelby’s story, to release in early 2022. It’s not the end for the Birmingham family as showrunner Steven Knight has confirmed a movie for the future, but given his circumstances, it could be the last we see of the family patriarch. Whether Tommy is taken down by the cunning of Gina Gray, the betrayal from his inner circle, or the rise of fascism preceding WWII, the final season is sure to be one to watch.
