The Peaky fookin’ Blinders will soon arrive on Netflix for the final season (after viewers across the pond got lucky), and before they retire their razor-edged caps, they’ve got more scheming, more bootlegging, and more Nazis to contend with. It’s been nearly three years since the historical drama found its way into our binge-watching queues, and the show’s fifth season left plenty of questions on the table, questions we hope we’ll get the answer to when Americans can see the sixth and final season.
Whether you need your memory jogged when it comes to failed assassination plots and cliffhanger endings of seasons past, or you just want to see if your final season predictions are on the mark, we’re previewing the gang’s last outing by asking the questions every fan wants answers to.
Who’s responsible for the failed assassination plot?
As he always does, Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) spent most of season five scheming to defeat his enemies and rise in the political ranks of Parliament. Part of that ascension strategy hinged on the successful assassination of Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) a real-life anti-Semite and Fascist party leader who gained power in the 1930s. Tommy did some deal-making with Mosley early on and even entertained the idea of helping lead his new political party, but it was all a guise. His real endgame was to see Mosley dead, seeing the danger he posed to Parliament and the people of Birmingham. Unfortunately, despite recruiting an expert marksman in his former fellow soldier Barney and orchestrating a well-time riot to explain away the crime, Tommy’s plan to kill the future Nazi sympathizer was foiled by someone close to him. What’s worse? The failed plot ended with the deaths of more than one Peaky Blinder – RIP Aberama. Obviously, Tommy won’t let this betrayal slide, but first, he needs to figure out who the informant amongst his ranks is, and who they’re giving information to. Is it the IRA? The British government? The Billy Boys – the gang that caused so much trouble for the Shelby’s in season five? Whoever it is, they’re on Tommy’s sh*tlist in a big way.
What does that mean for the Tommy vs. Oswald Mosley feud?
Because Mosley is still breathing that means he remains a clear and present threat to Tommy’s business. It’s unlikely the man knows about the assassination plot, but his cluelessness might make him all the more dangerous. Currently, he thinks he’s got the power in his relationship with the Shelbys and he’s making deals with influential figures in Parliament that could make killing him that much more difficult. Obviously, someone is invested in his well-being – so invested that they went against Tommy Shelby to secure it – and previews for the new season show Mosley partnering with his mistress and future wife, Diana Freeman Mitford, a woman with her own prejudices who helped make connections between Mosley and some of history’s most evil figures – think Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. These two are likely to face off again in season six, but a Fascist poster boy isn’t the only enemy Tommy needs to keep his eye on.
Is Michael Gray trying to kill Tommy?
In season five, tensions came to a head between Tommy and his cousin, Michael Gray (Finn Cole). After failing to tell Tommy about his mother’s scheme with mobster Luca Changretta – which was later revealed to be orchestrated by Polly (Helen McCrory) and Tommy, together – Michael was banished to America where he was put in charge of the Shelby family holdings. It was there he met his current wife, Gina (Anya Taylor-Joy), who has ties to Boston’s top crime family, which Tommy seems to be dealing with quite a bit in the season six previews. Michael made some bad business decisions before the Wall Street crash which forced him to turn tail back home and be made an example of by his cousin, a pill he just couldn’t swallow. Eventually, he staged a coup, trying to take over the Shelby Company’s business in America, insisting his contacts there didn’t want to deal with a gang of thugs from Birmingham. In the most recent clips from season six, Michael seems to be hell-bent on dealing out some vengeance to his estranged family members with Tommy at the top of his hit list. He might not be as clever or capable as the leader of the Peaky Blinders, but he’s got the backing of the Boston mob and a grudge he’s been nursing for a few years now so Tommy better watch out.
Who is Jack Nelson?
Speaking of Irish gangsters, little is known about Gina’s extended family but they’re set to impact the world of Peaky Blinders in a big way when the show returns for its final season. Gina’s uncle, Jack Nelson, heads up the empire which, like Tommy’s own, exists off the profits of smuggling alcohol during the Prohibition Era. Now that booze is legal again. Tommy’s looking for new business opportunities and Nelson, who has his hands in all kinds of pies — even political ones with ties to the White House — is his next prospective partner in crime. A deal between the two men could make both rich, and even more powerful than they already are, but Nelson’s ties to Michael and Gina, plus his questionable political leanings might throw a wrench in that plan.
What happens to Aunt Polly?
Helen McCrory, who played the show’s beloved, street-smart Polly Gray, sadly passed away in 2021 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Her death came just as the show was scheduled to begin shooting its final season so it’s unlikely she’ll have any scenes when the series returns. Of course, the biggest question fans likely have is how will the writers address McCrory’s passing? It would be nice to imagine Polly could just retire in peace to the Gypsy countryside. But this is Peaky Blinders, and trouble always follows a Shelby. Another bad omen for Polly’s fate is the fact that she ended things with Tommy on bad terms before season five wrapped, quitting the family business over his mistreatment of her son and setting herself on a path to oppose Tommy should his feud with Michael begin threatening the lives of the people she cared about. Would Tommy kill Polly? We hope not, but we’re also not holding our breath for a happy ending here. Whatever happens, McCrory was one of the best things about this show and her presence will be sorely missed.
Is Arthur okay?
Okay, this is a bit of a trick question because technically, Arthur Shelby (Paul Anderson) has always had problems, but judging by promos for the show’s final season, his demons seem to be catching up with him in a bad way. Season five ended with his estranged wife trying to gun him down in front of his brother’s home and his reconciliation attempts thwarted by his family members. Add to that the whole failed assassination plot and the death of more than one of his friends and Arthur’s not looking too hot. Whether it’s booze, opium, or something else, he’s certainly not in the state of mind Tommy needs him to be in so that the Peaky Blinders can take on their many enemies, which should have fans worried.
The final ‘Peaky Blinders’ season comes to Netflix on June 10.
