Lately, I've seen people trying to defend Tommy's ambitions by arguing that he had no other choice and needed to become even more powerful because of his enemies, and that he only did it all for the good of his family and had no other option.

When I read things like this, I wonder if people have truly grasped the show's purpose and its central theme. Yes, there were situations where he had no other choice and had to do certain things to protect his family, like the Russian situation, but many events were based on Tommy's voluntary decisions, such as using the stolen weapons to his own advantage in season 1, expanding further in season 2, becoming a politician, or confronting Billy Kimber. The end of season 4 deals with how Tommy is haunted by his wartime demons as soon as he stops focusing on his business and ambitions. The central theme of seasons 5 and 6 was whether Tommy's ambitions knew no bounds, how they cost him almost everything, and how he sacrificed his entire family for his ambitions.

I really wonder if some fans have actually understood the show or Tommy's ambitions, or if they are just trying to defend Tommy and portray him as the good guy, even though Tommy made many decisions voluntarily in the series.

he actually told Hayden Stagg in Season 6 that he only does it for the "thrill," and that drugs don't even come close to that feeling. A large part of his actions is still driven by his ambitions and the fact that, due to his PTSD, he simply cannot stop. To claim that he does it solely for the sake of his community or his family would be a exaggeration and not the truth; in fact, Ada confronts him about this in Season 6, pointing out that Tommy is fighting against fascism for the money.

In the end, he himself admits that he deserves to sit at the same table as Mosley, Diana, and the others-yet his entire family ended up dying because of his ambitions.

.., Tommy cannot stop his business dealings or the pursuit of his ambitions, because if he were to stop, he would be tormented by horrific PTSD flashbacks and the demons of war. He uses his ambition as a coping mechanism for his PTSD. Even Cillian Murphy has confirmed this in several interviews.

In an interview, Cillian said that Tommy transforms his war trauma into this relentless ambition.

He named her after his horse, using her name: Grace’s Secret.

He got a tattoo, along with a wedding ring, with her initials: TGC.

She had her own favorite horse, which he took away with him.

In S1, the bartender said that Tommy wasn’t interested in any women. She was the first, and, as we later saw, the only, woman he ever took an interest in.

He had photos of her everywhere. In the film, she was the only one who had a photo of herself with him.

She was the only one he missed, as we saw when he burned the letter.

The only one for whom they said he would laugh and be soft.

She was the only one he was faithful to. He rejected Tatiana for her, without even a moment’s hesitation.

She is the only one to whom he said, "I need you."

She was the only one he loved.She will always be his one true love.

I really feel like it was a missed opportunity to make a blast off season 5, the tension was there from the start of episode 2, then leading to episode 3 it felt like jimmy mcavern had declared war on tommy, then they made a truce because of mosley, and in season 6 the billy boys were nowhere to be seen???

So basically I was talking with a friend who’s already finished Peaky Blinders and she told me that Tommy loses everyone he loves. I’ve just finished season 2 and idk the spoiler left me super like depressed? and unmotivated to finish the series. Without spoiling anything else pleaseee just tell me if my friend spoiled it all for me or if it’s still worth watching :(

I just finished the show the second time and I wanted to j say the following thoughts/opinions

1. Arthur is literally the backbone of the show. Even though Tommy is the one that’s the heart of the show and because of whom the show is so massive, it is absolutely clear that Arthur through his humour, his crazy, and his loyalty to his family is clearly the reason the family manages so well. If Arthur needs Tommy, I could potentially argue that Tommy needs Arthur. (Thus, I would argue that the movie should just be considered a fever dream and not something for genuine consideration).

2. Micheal is extremely stupidly written. From the very start of the time that he was hospitalized all the way back in Season 3, his character starts being written extremely poorly. He is shown to be the smart one of the family, the one with a very long and bright future. Yet after being in the hospital he immediately become the black sheep of the family through something Polly convinces him to do (for again no reason to do so). Ya, Tommy wanted to test his loyalty, but really that’s so stupidly written. He’s shown to be played by Gina, Uncle Jack, Tommy and to a certain extent even Polly. Neither was he a credible friend to the family nor a foe that anyone thought could actually outsmart Tommy. I don’t blame the character or the actor for this, I genuinely blame the writing.

3. Polly completely had her own trip going on. She loved tommy yet she hated tommy. She enjoyed all the money and the luxury from Tommy’s lifestyle yet constantly complained about it. It felt weak and forced that she was kind of playing both sides and telling Micheal he had to kill Tommy yet we’ve seen through the years that Tommy was the one that gave Polly a life of luxury and she was the only one who could speak to tommy.

4. Season 6 absolutely sucks because it is incomplete. The revenge of the Gold family, the killing of Jack/Mosley, none of those happen. I get they’re inspired by true characters, I get a character like Mosley could’ve been shown to be the end of Tommy, but I would rather have seen that than whatever this crap was where Tommy ends up just realizing he’s not sick and ends up killing Micheal who genuinely felt like his weakest enemy. The movie and the new sequel of the show would never really explain to us what happened to Mosley or the Billy Boys and I personally find that to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Tommy does this whole interaction with Mosley because he wants to make a change and suddenly he gave up in the middle after realizing he’s not dead. What a fuckall ending to what could’ve been a very good way to kill Tommy, showing that finally when he wanted to do good, he ended up failing or something.

I thought the first time I watched it, I found the last two seasons to be quite stretched. However now perhaps after a few years, and watching it with a fresh pair of eyes, I genuinely feel had the ending of season 6 been different or more concluding to the antagonist that the show showed was smarter than Tommy, than the entire show would have been even better.

It was messy, psychologically stimulating, and raw.
I am on my n-th rewatch, and I absolutely love season 3 still.

Tommy shows more than his one shade of colour- calculating and composed.
From the first episode, he is unravelling, and we can clearly see it in his body language.

Grace dies, he gets closure from the Duchess.
His family starts falling through, and his deep pain through it all.
Him trying to play a double game with the Russians and the British Government.

I like to see my Thomas a little unpolished, because he is that Birmingham boy at his heart.

To me, season 3, portrayed us his entire emotional range.
He is juggling so many things at once, and we can feel his nervousness, his desperacy, and his fear.

The other family members go through deep character developments themselves.

Polly’s heartbreak, and Arthur’s shame are the highlights for me.

The story is so dark and deep. It is sultry and sad.
I fell in love with Thomas again and again and again in this season.

This has to be the best piece of writing I have seen- complex, detailed and tied together still.

Season 2 was a bit of a slow burn, but the last episode where Thomas was saved by Churchill from the RRH was the beginning of his unwinding, and I loved that the most from that entire season.

I know everybody has differing opinions, but just wanted to share my thoughts.

Ready to channel my inner Tommy for Christmas.

The best part is that you’re going to read 3,000 comments adoring Tommy and Grace and Grace as a character. The haters wouldn’t dare to comment.

What do you think people get wrong about Peaky Blinders, missing the point entirely of either what was intended but specifically what was on the screentshow but totally misses the context of the actual scene/show

I remember the common consensus around the time of S3 finishing and then later S4 trailer dropping, that S3 wasn't as good as the first 2 and that S4 seemed to be a return to the gangster roots of the first seasons (even literally with how they go back to Small Heath in S4).

S3 had the real international political element really surge, the espionage and deeper political context really became a focus. From SECTION D, the Odd Fellows, the Russians, all that plot did take a change from the more traditional gangster territory wars of S1 & S2.

Everytime I rewatch S3, I appreciate it more. Sure, some of it is still a little lost in translation at times due to how convoluted the plot can be, and some of the Russian stuff is just a bit too 'weird' for a lack of a better term. But I think it does really well at showcasing how high the family have risen, how dark & dim Tommy's world is becoming, and how deep they are into business with figures like Churchill and his Odd Fellows. It still has the gangster elements with the setup for the Changretta's & the mentions of Sabini, plus the reintroduction of Solomons. I also think the character work outside of Tommy that we do get is sowing the seeds for things to come (John & Esme breaking away / Linda's Introduction / Micheal becoming more involved). It's probably the funniest series & also has some of the best performed scenes, and I its downfall is probably Knight just having so many ways he wanted to go that some of it does seem convoluted and uneven.

Are there flaws? Yes. Definitely. Grace killed off way too soon in my opinion, not saying she shouldn't have died. There are other things as well, but I do think there's a lot of great quality stuff in S3 that tries to enrich the characters on their rise & that throws Tommy into the darker world we later see seasons like S5 & S6 really explore.

For me, the first event that changed him was Grace’s death.

Then there was the kidnapping of Charlie, and perhaps the time his head was smashed in.

But I think it was taking everyone to the prison that made him realize he no longer had any limits; he was capable of anything.

Then the deaths of Polly and Ruby.

I believe all these things changed Tommy, they killed off his human side.

Couldn’t Ollie have just went and checked if Tommy did indeed place a hand grenade? At which point, he would have seen that there is no grenade and therefore Tommy was bluffing?

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What do you think? Which character, in your opinion, was the most toxic and destructive, and caused people to die—either directly or indirectly

It seems so out of character for Finn to try to pull the trigger on Isiah and Duke just because of Billy. At the very least I think it would make more sense for Finn to just refuse to shoot. But turning the gun on two Peaky Blinders and one being Tommys son?? Just feels like bad writing to me

Grace: true love.

May: the other woman.

Lizzie: the lady of the manor.

Tatiana: a dangerous liaison.

Officially, that is what each one represents.

From Tommy Shelby's iconic walk to the cold on screen presence - Cillian Murphy has time and again proved why he is the perfect casting for the role. Short pauses before the most unprecedented deliveries, fearless encounters and the sharpest moves made this somewhat villainous role so famous that people ended up loving him anyway!

Which character in the series is over defended by the fans and the fans doesn't realize the flaws/mistakes from this character and should be viewed more critically by fans.

It's kind of obvious, that Tommy and the Shelby family are bad guys. They are murderous, violent gangsters. Ofc the story shines a light on the weak and humane side of Tommy to have some angle we can root for him, as he is the protagonist of the show. And yeah, Killian Murphy's acting is peak and he is for some people good looking. But the character he displays is a disgusting, cold hearted murderer. I wouldn't shake his hand, because he's got blood on it and he knows it. He doesn't care. That's not badass, that's just ass... and more of the shit part of the ass aswell. And yes a lot of people here, me included, fans of the show, because it's a very well written story and the cinematography and the acting is peak performance. But then there are way too many who think they'd love TO BE Tommy or in his skin (not gay at all lol), or want to be just like him. No you don't want that kind of stress, never knowing if you get shot randomly, you don't want his cancerous lungs or his ptsd from war. He is a broken man and definitely not a role model. Why do so many even fetishis him and his behaviour??

I watched the movie of peaky blinders and got very disappointed. I read your review of the movie and I agree either way that bubble that says „The movie is a bad one.“.
I expected more action and not only drama of Thommys messi head also his battles inside his head.
The death of Aida wasn’t also so spectacular that she deserved to die. I really love Peaky Blinders but that end ain’t worth for a very hyped show. Overall I think I would give that movie a 2.5-4/10.