Peaky Blinders: 10 Biggest Twists & Surprises In The Final Season
Warning: This list contains spoilers for the final season of Peaky Blinders.
The finale of Peaky Blinders is finally upon fans, and after six seasons, it seems as though the majority of fans are happy with how Tommy Shelby's sendoff went - especially in the knowledge a movie is coming. The final season got very convoluted and full at points, but in typical Peaky Blinders fashion, there were twists and surprises around every turn that helped tie up a lot of loose ends.
There is more to come in the story regarding Tommy's fight against the fascists, but the final season has left fans emotional, jaw-dropped, and satisfied, not just with the final moments of the finale but with many of the surprises that came in the final six episodes.
Perhaps the most predictable twist to come in the final season came late on when it is revealed that Billy Grade was the informant, working against the Peaky Blinders from within.
Most fans predicted this would come to pass given the phone call he makes in season 5 and how little Finn got trusted following his association with Grade. Perhaps more surprising was Grade being forced to work with Uncle Jack, who, like fans and Peaky Blinders alike, worked out that Grade was an informant.
Perhaps the biggest question going into the show's sixth season off the back of the season 5 finale was who betrayed Tommy, prevented the completion of Tommy's wildest scheme, the assassination of Mosley, and killed Tommy's men.
This got answered in the opening moments of the season as Captain Swing phones a mentally broken Tommy and reveals herself and her organization to have plans for Mosley and Tommy, telling him that it was them who prevented the assassination. The reveal came very quick and can be seen as underwhelming by some; it just kind of happened.
There are a few twists that revolve around sex in Peaky Blinders' sixth season, and it is safe to say that most fans were disgusted at all of it, given the pairs who were doing the deed.
Many suspected that Gina and Mosley were having an affair with one another, which came to be revealed in the season. Although, it never really paid off as it is scarcely mentioned, and Michael does not even find out. The second pair to go at it are Tommy and Diana, with the latter pretty much forcing the former into it so that she and Mosley can remove Lizzie from the equation. Their time together does give way for one of Tommy's best lines regarding Tories, though.
Every season of Peaky Blinders sees one or two big bads form plans to deal with Tommy and the Peaky Blinders to little avail. The closest anyone came to truly damaging them was the Changretta's killing of John and near-killing of Arthur.
This season continued that trend of Tommy and the gang outsmarting their opponents and thwarting their plans. First off, the IRA's plans to eliminate Arthur backfired as he, Jerimiah, and Charlie deal with them in a great shootout. Then there is Michael's plan to deal with Tommy, which sees Johnny Dogs remove the bomb from Tommy's car into the car of Michael's allies. Thirdly, the use of Billy Grade as an informant falls through as Duke along with Isaiah kill him. Then, last of all, there is Mosley and the fascist's plan to deal with Tommy, which backfires and closes out the series.
The tragic passing of the wonderful Helen McCrory meant that Peaky Blinders would have to finish without the incomparable presence of Aunt Polly Gray, one of the series' best and most loved characters. The show said goodbye to her beautifully.
It was not surprising that Polly died in the show, but after wondering for months what her fate would be, many were definitely shocked that she got murdered by the IRA in the opening minutes of the final season. Through tributes to the incredible actress in the episode and an emotional funeral, the show gave her a fitting sendoff.
Finn has a seriously reduced role in season 6 in terms of how often he appears. He just pops up occasionally, not really doing anything or being in the loop with powerful characters like Tommy, Arthur, and Ada, and as it turns out, there is a reason for this.
The gang does not trust Finn for his association with Billy Grade and his bringing of Billy into the family. When Duke, Isiah, and other junior members of the gang kill Billy for him being an informant, Finn chooses to try and kill Isiah and Duke, in turn getting himself exiled from the family in a pretty shocking twist. Whether this comes to a head in the film or a spin-off will be seen.
As Polly Gray predicted, one of Michael or Tommy would die in their war with one another. In the excellent series finale, her premonition came true, as Tommy shoots Michael in the head, killing him instantly.
While many predicted the death of Michael, it still came as a surprise. Some expected him to be the big bad of the movie, some expected him to kill Tommy, and some expected him just not to die. The way in which he died is what took many by surprise, with him being so coldly and immediately shot in the head by Tommy after his failed attempt to kill the show's anti-hero. It was brilliantly done and satisfying to see.
Unquestionably one of the most shocking reveals in not just the sixth season, but overall in the series, was that Tommy had a long-lost son called Duke, who is introduced to Tommy by Esme of all people.
After being revealed to be in existence, Tommy quickly brings Duke into the family, and it turns out that he fit right in. He does not want to kill unfairly but is happy and skilled in killing Billy Grade and kicking Finn out of the family, and he just kind of appeared and established himself as though he had been in the family this whole time.
Early in the season, it is worryingly brought to light that Tommy's daughter Ruby is ill, and not just influenza type of ill, but cursed, which shakes Tommy to his core and shocks audiences.
The being ill itself is not some Earth-shattering reveal, but it definitely dropped the jaws of fans when she tragically passes away. It completely breaks Lizzie and is one of the most harrowing things to happen in the series, with Lizzie telling Tommy about her passing being one of the hardest scenes to watch in season 6. Tommy, of course, took retaliation on the woman who cursed Ruby, Madame Barwell, and closed out the story of the cursed sapphire in the show.
Peaky Blinders fans got let in early on how Tommy Shelby would meet his demise, not by a bullet or by a knife, but by disease, by Tuberculoma - or so everybody thought.
The TB reveal hugely saddened and surprised fans, but even more shocking was the twist in the final minutes of the series, as it turns out he did not have TB. It was all a ploy puppeteered by Mosley, which saw Tommy's doctor - another fascist who attended Diana and Mosley's wedding in Berlin in which Hitler was the best man - lie to Tommy, with all of them knowing Tommy would shoot himself before the disease took him. It was a brilliantly crafted bit of writing that wonderfully sets up the Peaky Blinders movie which looks to be Tommy and the Peaky Blinders versus fascism.