After running for six seasons,Peaky Blindershad its epic finale in 2022.
The series centered around the Shelby family and the gang they control, the Peaky Blinders. As the show progressed, the gang and its leader Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) gained more power throughout Birmingham and the rest of England. But as their influence grew, so did their list of enemies.
By the final season, the Blinders face their greatest enemy yet — fascist politician Oswald Mosley, who is aligning himself with Adolf Hitler and Nazism. The Blinders attempt to assassinate Mosley, but the plan is foiled by the IRA (Irish Republican Army), the same group that killed Aunt Polly (Helen McCrory). Her murder causes a massive rift between Tommy and his cousin Michael Gray (Finn Cole).
Mosley's powerful influence is also able to sway Tommy's doctor, Dr. Holford, and convince him to lie to his patient, telling Tommy that he has a deadly disease. Mosley hopes that the fear of a painful death will cause Tommy to die by suicide, thus eliminating a political foe.
What follows is classicPeaky Blindersviolence and scheming as Tommy contends with what to do next, fully believing he will soon die of an incurable sickness.
But the last scene of the finale episode changes everything, and with a sequel film premiering on March 20, it will have massive impacts on where the story goes from here. Here's what happened at the end ofPeaky Blinders.
How didPeaky Blindersend?
In the finale episode, "Lock and Key", Tommy believes he will soon die. His wife and son leave him at the start of the episode, and thinking he doesn't have much time left, Tommy doesn't try to stop them. He also instructs the Blinders to clear out his house before blowing it up, deciding to use the land for affordable public housing after he's dead. Once his house is gone, Tommy plans on living out his last days in a nomadic Vardo wagon.
The ghost of Aunt Polly is also heavily felt in the episode. Tommy's older brother Arthur (Paul Anderson) takes revenge for Polly's death and has a shootout with the IRA. Tommy is also confronted by his cousin Michael, who wants to kill him because he believes Tommy's criminal lifestyle is what put Polly in danger to begin with. Michael attempts to take him out with a bomb, which forces Tommy to shoot and kill Michael instead.
Afterward, Tommy gathers everyone for dinner and says goodbye. He doesn't say where he's going or why he's leaving, but it's made clear that he might be gone for a long time.
At the end of the finale episode, after Tommy has settled his affairs and left his family behind, he's seen living in a wagon in the highlands. Thinking he's going to die soon anyway, he pulls out a gun and prepares to shoot himself. But before he can, he hears the voice of his late daughter Ruby. He has a vision of her standing in the grass and he runs to her. After they embrace, she tells him that he's not actually sick and needs to get warm to stay alive.
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Listening to her words, Tommy grabs a newspaper for kindling to start a fire. But before he ignites it, he notices an article about Mosley's marriage to Diana Mitford. The guest list included Hitler as well as Dr. Holford, the same doctor who gave Tommy his diagnosis. Realizing there was a political alliance between Holford and Mosley all along, Tommy discerns that he isn't actually dying; it was all a lie to get rid of him.
Enraged, he travels to Dr. Holdford's house, intent on killing him. But before he pulls the trigger, the bell tower chimes 11, reminding him of Armistice and reaffirming to him that he is no longer at war, so Tommy decides to spare his life.
He returns to his wagon, only to find that Dr. Holford's groundskeeper has set it on fire. The episode ends with Tommy watching the wagon, along with all of his belongings, burn to the ground as the song "All the Tired Horses" plays.
What happens to Tommy Shelby?
The finale presents two different outlooks for Tommy. On one hand, he has lost everything. His wife and son have left him, many members of his family are dead, he's given away his possessions, destroyed his home and handed over control of the Blinders and his business.
From this angle, Tommy loses everything in the finale — perhaps karma for his life of crime and murder.
But through another lens, Tommy has just gotten a fresh start. Every piece of evidence that connects him to his criminal past is gone. If he so desires, he's free to reinvent himself as a new man with a clean slate.
Where doesPeaky Blindersgo from here?
In June 2024, Netflixconfirmed that aPeaky Blindersfilm was on the way. They broke the news by sharing a picture of the script on X, along with a quote from Murphy, saying, "It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn't finished with me… It is very gratifying to be re-collaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version ofPeaky Blinders. This is one for the fans."
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, seemingly referencing Tommy's uncanny ability to stay alive,takes place during World War IIand sees him return from exile. The movie also introducesBarry Keoghanas Tommy's son all grown up.
The timeline makes a lot of sense since the final season of the show was set in 1933 (just a few years before the Holocaust) and touches upon Mosley's connection with Hitler.
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