“Peaky Blinders”: A Reaction and Review

I know it’s been a while since I’ve last written. I wasn’t sure I had any material that would interest my readers and myself, so I’ve perpetually had writer’s block for the past few months.

But, anyway, there is something I want to talk about. It’s not a book, but it is a story. About two to three weeks ago, I started watching the BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders. I just finished it recently.

The story of how I decided to pick it up is really rather silly. Jeremy Jordan purportedly got a haircut inspired by the show, and I got tired of hearing the references to a Thomas Shelby without getting the joke.

So, that’s why I dove in.

A Sherlock-Like Obsession?

The long and the short of it is, I haven’t felt this excited about a television show since I watched Sherlock for the first time in high school!

That’s seven years ago at least now!

The main protagonist Thomas Shelby is not Sherlock, though. He is more prone to emotion than the crime-solving sleuth, and he has people he genuinely loves, even if he shows it in his own unique way.

Thomas Shelby

Cillian Murphy shows Thomas’ cold businessman side while also bringing moments of high emotion and turmoil to the character when he experiences something awful.

My favorite performance from Murphy comes from the episode three in series three where Thomas is furious at the character Vincent Changretta for something he did.

Murphy’s acting throughout the scene is breathtaking! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! It was so intimidating and frightening that Changretta – the villain – actually looked pathetic!

Cillian Murphy managed to make this character completely his own, and I loved seeing Thomas break down as more happened, as the series went on.

The Shelby Family

Moving on from just Thomas, I was really captivated by the lives of the entire Shelby family. From Ada Shelby falling in love with and tying the knot with a Communist, to Aunt Polly’s search for her long-lost children, to Arthur Shelby’s struggle with postwar PTSD (the Shelby men are WWI vets), I just couldn’t let go of my love for these characters!

Speaking of the family, let’s start with Aunt Polly and her children before going into the other Shelbys.

Elizabeth (Aunt Polly) Gray

This woman is a freaking badass. There, I said it! Polly is not one to be messed with!

Seeing her relationship with Thomas and how they relate is captivating! I love that it’s obvious that she loves him, and her care whenever he does something dangerous is obvious.

I feel like she adds a certain closeness to the Shelby family, she is the glue that keeps them all together. Her care for every family member is amazing to see, especially as the plot kicks in.

That said, I love that she has moments where she’s not sure of herself and/or vulnerable. Her situation regarding her children is a great example. Seeing her trying to seek answers as to their whereabouts (with Thomas’ help! That’s how close they are!) is great because we see the human behind her somewhat-intimidating presence as the Shelby matriarch.

Michael Gray

Aunt Polly is established as having lost her son and daughter. Her son Michael eventually becomes curious about his birth mother, leading to their first connection in series two.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I felt for Polly missing her children and actually liked Michael in the beginning. When it’s established that he has a vendetta against the series three antagonist Father John Hughes – and why – I wanted to see him get revenge, and it was incredibly satisfying to see it play out the way it did.

All that said, as time went on, Michael turned against Tommy, and wanted to usurp his power as the head of the Shelby family, in part at the urging of his wife, Gina.

As a result, I was watching a character I once rooted for become more and more insufferable as time went on. My opinion of Michael now is a complete one-eighty from where it was when I first got to know him.

Seeing Michael actively work to sabotage Tommy was terrible and – while I was anxious to see what would happen next – I can’t help but mourn the loss of the man I once really cared about.

Ada Thorne (Shelby)

I like Ada a lot. I love that she is not a damsel in distress, and can be quite fierce when she wants to be. I love that, when she falls pregnant in series one, she is not afraid to tell Thomas who the father is, even when she knows he won’t approve.

And at the end of the first series, when she uses her status as a mother to stop the Peaky Blinders and Billy Kimber’s gangs from fighting each other in the open streets of Birmingham – I was speechless! She was amazing!

I love that it’s clear that she cares enough for Thomas that she will often help him in running Shelby Company Limited – seeing her go to meetings for her brother or work in the company’s interests was great to see, given that there’s some friction between them in the first series. To see her still be part of the family later on was awesome!

Arthur Shelby

I think I feel the most sympathy for Arthur. It’s obvious throughout the series that he is suffering from the aftereffects of the war, and seeing how he reacts and deals with it is heartbreaking.

On that note, it’s obvious why Thomas took Arthur’s role as head of the family from him, because Arthur becomes more volatile as time goes on. If Arthur had lived today, I believe he’d need years of counseling to face his demons. He’s been through way too much.

While talking about volatility, it is awesome that Arthur recognizes that trait in both himself and Thomas. Particularly in the scene with Vincent Changretta (the one I mentioned earlier), Arthur’s actions and lines show that he is far from a dumb brute – he recognizes his flaws and can see them in others as well.

Seeing how he actively works to help his brother maintain the Shelby enterprise is amazing. In the series four finale, for example, the stunt he and Thomas pull at the end gives him a moment in the limelight that I believe he needed to show others that he is way more capable than he’s given credit for.

Also, in series six, I loved seeing his more vulnerable side when he learns of Thomas’ diagnosis. How he reacts is both to be expected and amazing to see, because Paul Anderson shows both Arthur’s rage and the character on the verge of tears while Tommy is just as cool, calm, and collected as he usually is. It’s an amazing contrast!

Plot/Seasonal Arcs

We’ll be here forever if I cover every character, so I’m going to move on to the plot.

This series is easily one of the most addictive I’ve ever watched! From the closing of the first episode of the first series (and the twist that came with that), I was hooked!

In series one, seeing Inspector Campbell work to identify and then take back guns that the Peaky Blinders got their hands on was awesome, because it was clear that he was dedicated to his work and would do anything to recover them!

Every interaction between him and Thomas was gripping, and I love that they eventually come to a point of mutual respect, even if they are on different sides of the law.

Seeing how things unfold on this show is fascinating! Moving on from series one, one of my favorite twists is at the end of series one, when the show makes you believe one thing, then does a complete one-eighty and reveals that the exact opposite of what we thought happened was true! (They do the same thing again in series four… also awesome!)

Seeing each villain in every season was fascinating! I think one of my favorite bad guys was Luca Changretta – he’s so sure of himself, so calm and calculating, and he never loses that cool. That scared me more than if he had snapped and shown a bit more venom!

And he’s not the only one!

Seeing Oswald Mosley from series five, and what he stands for – it’s obvious what the show was trying to build toward with him, and it was terrifying!

Speaking of Mosley, I cannot wait for the feature film! Seeing the hold he started to gain on Britain, to see his admiration for a certain German chancellor… I was genuinely afraid of him, and I could tell he sincerely believed he was doing the right thing. That’s scarier than anything else about him!

Also, while on the subject of series five and six, I love the final twist the show gives! It wrapped up most of the series so nicely, while still allowing openings for the upcoming movie! It also made Thomas even more of a badass than he already was, which I didn’t think was possible!

I love that everything is connected! Seeing, for example, Polly go seek religious counsel for something she did at the end of series two was a great way to connect everything, and it gave a sense of how it all ties together. Watching every series of this show, every episode, is incredibly important!

Music

I have to talk a bit about the music as well. The opening track is a great place to start!

Using “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds fit so well with the show that I thought it was an original song written for it! I was shocked when I learned it was almost twenty years older than the show! It’s an amazing song, and it’s no wonder they picked it to be the theme for the show!

Moving on to the incidental music, two tracks that come to mind for me are the music that plays when Tommy and Grace are alone on their wedding night and the track in series five where Mosley delivers a speech.

Starting with Tommy and Grace, the track is pretty and playful, showing Tommy’s desire for her while she gets pulled in and wants to be with him. It complements what’s happening perfectly and – along with the pretty warm lighting of the scene – I was gushing at my computer, and didn’t even mind that they had people waiting downstairs!

Moving on to Mosley, the way the track is set – the drumbeat in particular – as he talks about the formation of his new political party is terrifying! The command he has over the room is clear, and the music backs him up, showing that this man has total control, and his ideals are seeping into Britain little by little!

Final Thoughts

Honestly, even though I was comparing my love for this show to my love of Sherlock, I actually think this show is better by a long shot! It handles its themes and stories almost perfectly, while Sherlock (in my opinion) faltered significantly after Moriarty’s arc was wrapped up.

I cannot wait to see how it finally ends with the movie! I love these characters and this story so much that I have no doubt the show runners are planning to go out with a bang, and I can’t wait to see how Thomas Shelby’s story concludes.

If you are on the fence, I can’t recommend this series enough! It’s not perfect, but it comes pretty damn close. The story, the characters, the twists… I promise, it will grab you and refuse to let you go until the final episode!