Peaky Blinders: episode by episodePeaky BlindersThe Blinders was dripping in betrayals this week in a sorrow-filled hour haunted by the ghosts of war
For all its gaudy swagger, Peaky Blinders has always had a melancholy streak, and is arguably at its best when indulging it. Certainly, Blackbird was the strongest episode of this series so far, a sorrow-filled hour haunted by the ghosts of war and what might have been.
It was also dripping in betrayals, large and small. Thus, the rest of the Shelbys went behind Arthur’s back to agree Aberama Gold should kill Luca Changretta – an act of mercy conceived by Polly and forced through by the increasingly vocal Linda. Unfortunately, Arthur’s no-show at the family meeting meant that he ended up having a run-in with two of Changretta’s men, having apparently been betrayed by a member of Devlin’s workforce (poor, beleaguered Devlin, I really do hope he makes it out of this alive).
There were emotional betrayals, too: Michael’s loyalties were tested as his other mother visited him in hospital, bringing apples and the promise of a quieter life as well as the news that his brother missed him and his father had died. Meanwhile, Tommy took Lizzie to the canal where he once took another lost love (he does seem to collect them) and sold her sweet lies that he wasn’t thinking of Greta De Rossi, that long-dead girl, as they made love under the arch.
The biggest betrayal of all, however, was saved for the episode’s end as Polly, defiantly marching to the beat of her own drum and with a fabulous new haircut to boot, met up with Luca and offered to sacrifice Tommy in exchange for the lives of Michael, Arthur and Finn. Will she really go through with it? Before this series I would have said: not a chance, but post-“execution” Polly doesn’t believe that she’s truly alive anyway. It may just be that dancing with the devil is the price she’s prepared to pay.
Our heroes
Peaky Blinders has always been very clear that the Tommy Shelby who went to war was not the one who came back and this week we learned a little more about the “sweet boy” who joined the Great War in a fit of despair after the girl he loved died of consumption. Yes, that does also sound like the plot of a fantastically trashy novel, but the scene between Jessie and Tommy was beautifully played, from the calm way in which she laid out everything she knew about his “Water Lane gypsy” youth to his own devastating exhumation of her past: “I’ve also done my research, your sweetheart was at Passchendaele. When he came back he was listed among the shell-shocked. He blew his fucking brains out …”
Tommy clearly thought that brutal recitation of the facts would be enough to make Jessie wilt and examine the photograph. However, you don’t become a force within the Communist party without being able to withstand a few hard facts and I’d say that Jessie’s response – “Do you recognise the boy in the photograph?” – won her the round. Certainly, it was Tommy who appeared most shaken by the encounter, telling Lizzie: “I once promised someone I’d change the world.”
Tommy wasn’t the only Shelby battling demons this week as Arthur also found himself under pressure, desperate to revenge John and yet forced to admit that the killing times were a-changin’. Paul Anderson has long been one of the best things about this show and he excelled this evening, making you understand Arthur’s genuine need for vengeance and very real fear at what pulling the trigger might mean. By the time he fired the bullet with Luca’s name on it into his backyard I was an emotional wreck.
The bad guys
The Shelby family might have had a bad week but it wasn’t much better for their would-be nemesis and his band of increasingly hungry men. Everyone’s a frustrated food critic it appears – certainly Luca’s right-hand men were far more interested in moaning about the (less than) culinary delights of Birmingham than eradicating pesky Brummie gang rats. Personally, I’m not sure why they bothered, given that Luca was too busy chewing the scenery to notice their bellyaching. That said I have to tip my razor-sewn cap to Adrien Brody’s over-the-top dedication to his role – like Tom Hardy, he’s pitching it somewhere between entirely compelling and so hammy it hurts. It won’t work for everyone, but I’d argue that his delivery of “That’s a shame cos you’re dancing with me,” was worth the price of entry alone.
Additional notes
Tonight’s episode title, Blackbird, referenced Arthur’s haunting line before he shot Changretta senior last series – “I heard the blackbird sing” – and was then echoed in Jessie’s choice of music for her solitary dance.
There’s considerably more to Jessie than meets the eye. Someone last week suggested that perhaps she was the person who let Changretta in and, given she burned the photograph without looking at it, they might have a point. Tommy would be wise to consider if he’s not the player but the played.
Talking of Jessie, not everyone is happy with Charlie Murphy’s attempt at a Birmingham accent but she’s bringing a welcome intensity to her scenes.
I wonder if Michael might leave the gang life behind? He looked genuinely upset by the news about his father and it was interesting that he called his mother “Pol” the next time they met.
Polly put Ada back in her box rather sharply this week. I wasn’t sure if she missed Ada out deliberately when pleading for the Shelby lives or if that was a slip of the script.
It was interesting to learn more about Linda, her sinful Catholic mother and her facility with mental arithmetic. Truly a mind for business and a bod for sin.
Poor innocent Finn. I do hope he makes it to safety with Lizzie, Curly, Charlie, Johnny Dogs, Mr Devlin, Frances and the rest of the small band of people who deserve nice things on this show.
Anachronistic yet strangely right song of the week
This can only go to Rachel Unthank and the Winterset’s unsettling I Wish. Firstly, because it was perfect for the scene in which Arthur made his decision; secondly, because it’s an English folk version of Irish ballad The Butcher Boy, which is one of my favourite songs.
Quote of the week
“I run a factory full of blacklegged non-union labour. I live in a street full of men laid off or on strike … I get spat at, my windows are smashed, there’s petrol thrown on my curtains, but for fear of you I clock in every fucking morning. Today two men were shot and burned on my shift and you ask me why I’m getting on the midnight train to Glasgow …” All hail Mr Devlin, long may you continue to speak truth to power.
So what did you think? Will Polly send Tommy to his death? What game is Jessie really playing? And how much scenery will Adrien Brody have chewed up before this series ends? As always, all speculation and no spoilers welcome below.
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