Peaky Blinders 6: the fall of an empire … or maybe not

We know, we understand you … We feel exactly the same emptiness that you feel right now after the credits of the last episode of Peaky Blinders. We have come to the conclusion of one of the most popular series of the last few decades, signed by Steven Knight and transmitted by BBCwhich was able to land in Italy thanks to Netflix.

We hoped that this moment would never come, that Tommy Shelby and his gang would keep us company for a long time, but good things always have an end and then don’t despair, almost certainly in the next few years the film will come that will represent the true end of the Peaky Blinders. For now, let’s not get lost in further carnival sweets and let’s talk about this sixth season.

Plot

The new season of the British show picks up exactly where we left off history. Tommy Shelby is there ready, with the gun to his head to end his life after failing to assassinate Mosley, but something will stop him this time too. He and his family organize a moving funeral for Polly and for the other two men who died during the attempted murder, Barney Thompson and Aberama Gold.

From here, the series makes a temporal leap forward four years, moving the narrative to 1933. In the background there will be the rise of Hitler’s Nazism and Italian fascism, also paying attention to racial ideologies and the consequences on the population. . Tommy will have to definitively choose which side to take sides, settle the last remaining things and finally dedicate himself to the life that he has promised and promised to his family.

Cast

In the cast, in addition to the inevitable Cillian Murphythey also come back Paul Anderson as his brother Arthur Shelby, Finn Cole in those of Michael Gray, Anya Taylor-Joy, face of Gina Gray and with great enthusiasm on the part of the public, we find again Tom Hardywho will reprise the role of Alfie Solomons.

Despite the passing of Helen McCrory, was paid tribute with some flashbacks and some scenes that we imagine they had shot before her disappearance. Even the credits of the first seasonal episode remind her, with the whole technical sector dedicating the initial episode to her.

Review

We learned about Tommy Shelby from the first seasons, a man who does not accept failure, for whom business comes first and ready to defend his family from anyone who even tries to threaten it; yet the general public loves Thomas because after all he is a man like anyone else, full of weakness and pain, who from the very first episodes shows that he is fragile as if waiting at any moment to put an end to his existence. This last season, albeit with everything that revolves around it, focuses precisely on the last point. Tommy appears more and more tired and even business no longer seems to be his priority, he wants to finish all the “bureaucratic” part of his life in order to finally enjoy his family and children, he needs to put a definitive point on the constant complaints that are moved by employees, enemies and torturers.

Thomas Shelby, feared by his opponents, was never actually a hero, not even when he fought the First World War which still haunts him with constant nightmares. He perceives within himself the feeling of having done everything wrong in his life and tries to remedy it by giving his loved ones a different future, in which they will not have to worry about anything, but will only have to be able to appreciate everyday life, which he never is. managed to do.

The last six episodes start in a slow and schematic way, although there is no lack of action. They focus mainly on the dynamics that lead Tommy to try to discover all the cards in play by putting the pieces in the right place. The script hits the mark through dialogues full of references to previous seasons, to the adversities faced by the Peaky Blinders, with a nod to the figure of Mosley we met in the fifth season. The man who poses himself as a total supporter of Hitler seems to have “poisoned” Tommy’s brain, who does not find a way to beat him or at least try to counter him, always seems to be one step behind him. But if we have learned one thing in these five seasons, it is surely that Thomas Shelby is not one step behind anyone and this will be confirmed again in these last episodes.

One of the strong points of the series has always been photography, which also this season is confirmed at very high levels. The suburbs shown exude fatigue and sweat, we feel the stench of industrial districts even while sitting comfortably on our sofa at home. Unlike the previous episodes, however, these tend much more towards a gray / black color palette, transmitting to the viewer all the pain felt by the characters.

Yes, we say “by the characters” because Tommy isn’t the only one who suffers particularly this season. Even Arthur, for his part, after the divorce with his wife has returned to being a victim of alcohol and opium which is beginning to take hold in England, he no longer appears lucid and ready for action, but almost in all the times in which is shown, he is there helpless on the ground seeking help from his friends.

Another constant this season is Michael. Polly before leaving the scene had said during a speech to her son and her granddaughter, that very soon the two would have a fight and only one of them would make it out alive. As a result, in the last six hours of the show, we see Michael working out a perfect plan to end his cousin’s life, but we’re not here to tell you how this story will end.

The last season also provides us with a precise historical context. If on the political side we are shown the rise of Nazism and its supporters, on the health side we begin to see the first appearances of tuberculosis, which in those years made many victims, with doctors and specialists looking for a medical solution that could allow to cure patients of this disease.

The role of women

Peaky Blinders it has always been an appreciated show from all points of view and throughout the seasons we have found strong-willed women on screen who were never willing to stand on the sidelines while the men did their shady deals and so did quests. last season is no exception.

Lizzie (played by Natasha O’Keeffe) becomes more and more independent and unwilling to submit to her husband who constantly abandons his family for his personal affairs. She proves once again that she has a strong character, deciding very soon that she wants to dedicate herself to herself and her children, rather than staying behind the constant disappointments that she proposes to her husband. Another woman at the center of Shelby’s affairs is certainly Ada (Sophie Rundle), Tommy’s sister who at a certain moment of the season takes the reins of the situation by quietly clashing with men of the caliber of Oswald. Diana (Amber Anderson), Mosley’s second wife, also demonstrates that she is not afraid of confrontation with men and that she faces head on anyone who stands between her, her husband and the affairs with Germany.

What will the future hold for us?

As already mentioned during the introduction of the article, a film has already been confirmed by the same Steven Knight that he wanted to close the show with a final season, but didn’t find production support. However, there are no official dates or particular announcements to report, so we look forward to news that will certainly not be missing on our official pages.

What we can be sure of is that given the conclusion of this last season, a film could fit us perfectly to put a definitive point on the issues of the Shelby family and everything that revolves around them. What we feel like confirming, however, is that however this story will go, Peaky Blinders will remain one of the most successful products of the last decade, which has brought to light one of the most complex and particular characters that the TV series have ever shown us.

In you remembered that “There is God and there are the Peaky Blinders”we would like to leave you with the quote that made the history of the series:

“By order of Peaky f***ing Blinders”.