Attention: SPOILERS for the sixth season of “Sharp Visors”.
Content Warning: This article discusses suicide.
The sixth season of “Sharp Visors” ended on an encouraging note, which aptly prepared the film “Sharp Visors”, but at the same time the crime drama missed the opportunity to let the story of Tommy Shelby end in the best possible way. Starting with the Shelby family picking up the pieces after the failed assassination attempt of Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) in the season 5 finale, in season 6 of “Peaky Blinders” Shelby faced the consequences of this event, including the death of Polly Gray (Helen McCrory). The sixth season of “Peaky Blinders” gave Tommy (Cillian Murphy) a chance to avenge Polly, but also revealed that he is apparently cursed as he lost his daughter and was forced to face his fate, as Tommy’s death was guaranteed due to inoperable tuberculosis, which Dr. Wilson revealed. Holford (Aneirin Barnard) informed him.
Although Holford faked tuberculosis as a conspiracy devised with Oswald Mosley to convince Tommy to commit suicide, death often loomed over Tommy both because of the nature of the cases he handled and the way he approached them. Climbing the corporate ladder, as the Shelbys did from the 1st to the 6th season of “Sharp Visors”, moving from petty criminals to criminal authorities whose cases spread around the world, the stakes for them increased as the Shelby family became more involved in business. dangerous characters. Tommy’s ambitious and clever tricks have brought him success over the years, even helping him get a position as a member of parliament, but his reckless approach has often led to his death.
The events of the season 6 finale of Peaky Blinders, especially Tommy’s refusal to kill Holford and his symbolic funeral for his past life, indicate that Tommy’s redemption is beginning to be fully explored, which is likely to be central to the movie Peaky Blinders. While this still indicates progress in Tommy’s story, it won’t be the “Peaky Blinders” finale foreshadowed by the six seasons. In the perfect ending of “Peaky Blinders”, Tommy should have died, as his death had been hinted at since the 1st episode of the 1st season of “Peaky Blinders”, and his death could have been the final part of his own redemption story, especially if it came in the form of sacrificing himself for something.
Why Tommy Shelby had to die in the finale of “Peaky Blinders”
Tommy’s death would be the perfect ending to “Peaky Blinders”, since his demise was always foreshadowed by the series. Not only did not a single character find happiness in “Sharp Visors” without being torn out, but Tommy’s death was always considered inevitable. For most of the series, Tommy was portrayed as having already died during the First World War, mostly referring to the scars that the war left him, and only waiting for his death to become final. Although falling in love with Grace (Annabel Wallis) showed him a different way of life, Tommy was constantly haunted by death and suffering, as evidenced by the curse that Tommy believed was placed on him, and the recurring quote: “In the harsh Middle of winter, ” when commemorating the death of a dear person or preparing for his own.
Every detail revealed by the “Sharp Visors” suggested that the only possible outcome for Tommy would be death. While his redemption could also bring something new to the story, it goes against everything hinted at and set in seasons 1 through 6 of “Peaky Blinders.” Indeed, the fact that Tommy didn’t die in the season 6 finale of “Peaky Blinders” doesn’t mean anything. it means that he will not be in the movie “Peaky Blinders”, especially since his story and the story of the Shelby family will come to an end. However, the movie “Peaky Blinders” could have created stories related to “Peaky Blinders”, but not directly with Tommy, and also give his story a perfect ending, instead, the 6th season of “Peaky Blinders” missed the chance and returned to the show’s numerous hints about reasonable consequences. the end of Tommy’s story.
