Peaky Blinders's Shocking Twist Betrayed Its Perfect Ending
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the finale of Peaky Blinders.
Peaky Blinders season six finale had the perfect ending for Tommy Shelby, but it was ruined somewhat by the unexpected twist that was shoehorned in before it. The gangsters of Small Heath in Birmingham had humble beginnings, with the Shelby brothers returning from war and trying to build up a criminal empire. Headed by Tommy, the Shelby gang soon became infamous, even having political ties with figureheads such as Winston Churchill. The storylines have only grown in extravagance each season, which is to be expected with its ever-growing popularity, but the shocking twist of the finale might have been a step too far.
Season six of Peaky Blinders opened up a lot of mysteries and new plot lines, and one huge one was Tommy's diagnosis of tuberculoma. After his daughter Ruby caught the disease and became Peaky Blinders season 6's most tragic death, Tommy's doctor revealed that he too had it. This led Tommy to give up his sobriety of four years, and become even more determined and ruthless in his retirement plans, all whilst keeping his diagnosis a secret. Tommy's diagnosis, however, wasn't everything it seemed to be, with a shocking twist reveal happening in the last few minutes of the Peaky Blinders finale.
Tommy has yet again another battle with suicidal thoughts, coming dangerously close to pulling the trigger of the gun aimed at his head. He is then visited by a vision of Ruby, who tells him ''You're not even sick...light the fire again...and you will see, you must live.'' Tommy sees a piece of newspaper in the fire announcing Oswald Mosley and Diana's wedding, and he spots a guest of particular importance. Tommy sees his own doctor at the union of the fascist couple, and deduces the plot conspired against him to make him believe he was sick. Thus, Peaky Blinders' perfect ending was betrayed by an offhand last-minute plot twist that tarnished it due to the tonal shift.
Peaky Blinders is not immune to plot twists, even in this episode the IRA's planned hit on Arthur was flipped as it turned out Arthur already knew. However, playing with Tommy's life, setting up another suicide attempt only to be thwarted again and then the doctor twist, felt like it was only there to make the audience hold their breath. Whilst the sentiment was right, ''Only Tommy Shelby can kill Tommy Shelby,'' it felt misplaced in conjunction with how perfect Peaky Blinders' ending was, and there wasn't enough time to digest the revelation before the sentimental conclusion took place. Tommy was saying his goodbyes to his family in the woods, surrounded by wagons, and it felt like a real return to his humble roots, before things in his life became very messy and dark. Tommy even chokes up talking to his son, a sign of strong emotion that is rarely, if not ever, seen from him. The authenticity of the scene set up the perfect ending; Tommy witnessing his own funeral, killing his ghosts, and going to live a solitary life away from the empire that has controlled his life for so long.
Sandwiched in between this, though, was Tommy Shelby's ending twist, which diverted from the heartfelt tone of the two other scenes. It's also odd that Tommy Shelby, who is constantly one step ahead and definitely doesn't trust strangers, didn't once vet his doctor in the three years he knew him. This was also during the period when he was sober, and his vision thus less clouded, but the all-knowing gangster decided to trust this man with his most personal and vulnerable information with no background check whatsoever. Overall, whilst a clever and interesting twist, it betrayed the beautiful imagery and profound feeling of Peaky Blinders' ending.