PEAKY BLINDERS: SEASON 6
REVIEW
DISCLAIMER: This review contains spoilers
Gangs, politics, corruption, the pursuit for power – these are the conquests which Thomas Shelby of Peaky Blinders has wielded through thus far. The main protagonist of the early 20th century-based gangster drama was last seen experiencing a roller-coaster of emotions as he closed out season 5 with a gun to his head – this time, the hand behind the trigger was his own. The loss of his first wife, his younger brother, and countless fellow soldiers in World War I caused a traumatic descent for him as he navigated through a society season after season. With each passing obstacle he returned back from the dead. Whether it was gaining control of Small Heath, dealing with communists, the Italian Mafia, or Britain’s growing number of fascists, Thomas Shelby always found a new adversary who challenged him in ways he could not imagine. And this was especially evident in regards to the parliament’s powerful fascist Oswald Mosley. We witnessed a high-octane climax in which Tommy’s plot to assassinate the MP failed, as someone within his own organization betrayed him. This led to him spiraling out of control, attempting to shoot himself. Season 6 begins with this exact visual. As he pulls the trigger, nothing happens. In the distance, his wife Lizzie stands, observing, and informing him that his brother Arthur took the bullets out, when he had a feeling that Tommy was unstable. She reminds Tommy that the war is over and clearly by his behavior, he is no longer a soldier. He has lost all courage, along with the habit to check his weapon. It is at this moment when Tommy realizes that something needs to change, if he has any hope to continue living. With his back against the wall, he realizes that he needs to find a means to regain confidence and stability. The remainder of the season becomes a pursuit to precisely that.
Years pass by, and we see a new version of him – one that has given up drinking alcohol as he claims that “whiskey is the fuel for the loud engines inside your head”. Ironically, he claims this at the time when prohibition has come to an end as he travels to Canada to negotiate what appears to be the licensing of alcohol exports to North America. Within that meeting, he joins his nephew Michael with whom he’s had a distrusting relationship with throughout the last couple of seasons. He prompts Michael and his associates to negotiate the alcohol exports deal with an Irish-American gangster named Jack Nelson who they have strong rapport with. In exchange for this deal, Thomas then unveils his true motive. He mentions to Michael and his associates that he is planning to import opium into North America as an underlying condition on this deal. With Nelson’s political connections, Tommy wants all ships with the supply of opium to come into the docks undisturbed. On the home front, Thomas begins to deal with what appears to be psychological issues, the health of his loved ones, and a crumbling of his family life, while also continuing to toe the line between remaining in power as an MP and systematically identifying how to overturn the growing influence of Oswald Mosley within the country. The ensuing events of the season revolve around the ideas of ambition, betrayal, sins and ego which culminate the rest of the journey between the key characters. The most philosophically moving part of this final season is how it portrays the way that Tommy gains an understanding that in order to change the circumstances around him, he must first believe that the old version of him is simply dead, and it is through this process that he can begin anew.
When assessing the plot and character development for this season, it seems quite evident to the viewers that something is completely off in terms of the writing and production in comparison to the previous seasons of the show. The amount of excessive character arcs without closure and the lack of clarity within the editing stick out quite noticeably, and to me that is due to the two uncontrollable factors. Showrunner Steven Knight was faced with both the COVID-19 pandemic and the untimely death of Helen McCrory who played the key character of Polly Gray. Knight had written season 6 in its entirety and it was slated to film in March of 2020, just before the global lockdown began. It wouldn’t be until January of 2021, that the actual filming of the season would eventually commence. By that point, McCrory, who had been battling cancer, was unable to film her scenes and she would eventually pass away in April of 2021. Due to this, the season’s re-writes began midway between filming. One could only wonder how marvelous of an impact McCrory could have made within this season, had she remained healthy. The first episode of season 6 is dedicated to her and goes onto explain the fate of her character within the show. For me personally, it is undeniable how significant of an impact this actress made on this series. Her character defied conventions of the era in which the show was filmed in. And on more than a few occasions, she was able to display a level of courage, wisdom and shrewdness in the times where Thomas would prove to be weak. A true maverick in nature and someone who could single-handedly carry Shelby Company by herself.
With the show slowly ticking its way towards what would be the start of World War II, we are seeing familiar excerpts from history. And this is most evident with the character of Jack Nelson, who by all accounts appears to be inspired by Joseph Kennedy Sr – the father of President John F. Kennedy. With pre and post-prohibition involvement with alcohol imports along with Irish ancestral roots, its quite easily discernable that Knight fictionalized this character based off of him. In addition to this, the continuation of Oswald Mosley’s character along with the addition of his wife, Diana Mitford, Steven Knight has been able to expand upon this saga of exciting historical fiction. However, with this final season, it was more than noticeable that multiple character arcs lacked a sense of conclusion and closure, which likely will be seen in the planned feature film for Peaky Blinders. Despite knowing that there is more to come, I had hoped that we’d finally get the satisfaction of seeing Tommy obliterate the ruthless villains that stand in his way, as the previous season had also left us at a cliffhanger. Due to this feeling of an unfinished story, I felt that the show was not able to live up to its complete potential.
In terms of the performances in season 6, Cillian Murphy continues to amaze audiences as Thomas Shelby. His back-and-forth mental state from cool and collected, to volatile and unstable, comes off as entirely believable, and the ease in which he’s able to portray this diverse array of emotions greatly underscores how talented of an actor he is. Sam Clafin and Amber Anderson in the respective roles of Oswald Mosley and Diana Mitford both put out a riveting performance – up to the extent that their very presence within the room puts the audience in a mortified feeling of moral repugnance. They portray exactly what is wrong with politicians in who seek to further their agenda by the means of creating a divisive narrative. Finn Cole’s performance in the role of Michael continues to effectively explore the forefront of ambition, ego and revenge, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy who does the same in her role as Gina. Despite the great performances listed above, the show does seem shorthanded when it comes to the screentime of the characters of Arthur and Ada (played by Paul Anderson and Sophie Rundle, respectively). With the level of potential that both of these characters have, they seem to fade into the background and no longer appear as central as they were in previous seasons. The pattern of Arthur occasionally flying off the handle with his anger is now replaced in season 6 by a state of addiction and helplessness. To me, I can’t help but feel that this change of character just doesn’t live up to the kind of potential that Paul Anderson has as an actor. In contrast, Ada’s character seems to only be within the frame only at times when she’s in support of Tommy’s character arc. The once promising, legitimate, and intelligent character who had the potential to take on the issue of workers’ rights within the storyline of the show, seems to be close to non-existent in the final installment. Had these characters been layered more throughout this season, even with an addition of more episodes, I believe the conclusion would have seemed more substantial to the audience.
As an overall series, Peaky Blinders has been extremely poignant and masterful in its storytelling. Seeing multiple adversaries of the Shelby Company present themselves and ultimately meet their fate has been quite the ride for viewers. And while the final season has some great moments of introspection from Tommy and explores his need to change himself as a person, it does not live up to the hype in the way a final conclusion should. Despite a highly effective plot twist which leaves audiences awestruck in the final minutes of the series, I still couldn’t help but think of all the loose ends which still have yet to be woven together in the upcoming feature film. Virtually nothing is changed from the end of season 5 other than the fact that Tommy once again endures loss, and now knows the kind of tactics he wants to use (and not use) in terms of accomplishing his goals and leaving a respectable legacy. I am hoping to see a complete sense of closure within his character and an effective elimination of those who have been standing in his way throughout the past couple seasons. With that being said, the final season was entirely too underwhelming for a series which has been this good for so long. Due to this reason, I give season 6 of Peaky Blinders 3 stars out of 5.