As this episode of Peaky Blinders begins, Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and the gang hold a funeral for Ruby. Thomas tells Arthur (Paul Anderson) he has written some words, but he can’t speak them. He’d like Arthur to do it since he is the oldest. Arthur apologizes to his brother because he can’t do it either. Thomas stands in front of everyone and says they could’ve afforded a golden carriage which is what she deserved, but they didn’t afford themselves that luxury because gold doesn’t work. That was the last lesson Ruby taught them. This was Ruby’s favorite place in the world and she used to say you never know what is going to come down the river. Thomas says it is true because little Ruby’s fate came a thousand miles too soon.

He wants things to change in her name and memory. From now on, they will make peaceful, honest, and good whatever comes down that river. Then, they’ll send it on down the river better than it was. Now, they will send her on. If there is a destination, it is hopefully a yard like this with horses and boats for her to play on. Charlie Strong (Ned Dennehy) approaches him to say he has the petrol. He asks who will light the flame. Tommy calls Jeremiah Jesus (Benjamin Zephaniah) over. He tells Jeremiah that he made her laugh so he should light the flame. Lizzie (Natasha O’Keeffe) hears and begins screaming no. They agree to go see her in person before they go into the carriage where Tommy tells Lizzie the devils who did this will pay.

Once they step out of the carriage, it begins burning. After that, Tommy goes to a gypsy camp and calls for Evadne Boswell (Gwynne McElveen). Once she identifies herself, Tommy says he is there on behalf of the blue sapphire. He shoots many of the people there, but he lets some of them run. As he walks back to his car, he slams his gun against a nearby tree multiple times. Moments later, Esme (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) gets into the car with him and receives gold dust. Although Thomas says their business is done, Esme believes there is unfinished business. She says the Christians say the lord gives and the lord takes away. Their spirits are the same. She claims the spirits took away his child and want to give him a different child.

Esme says it was a daughter lost and a son found. Before he went to France a long time ago at Appleby Fair, he slept with a girl named Zelda. She told Esme they slept together under a hazel tree in May 1914. Once she fell pregnant, her father threatened to kill Thomas, but he joined the army and went to France. She tells him she brought the boy to him. He calls himself Duke. His mother is dead, he is a thief, and he works the fairgrounds. He wants more to his life than big wheels and carousels. If losing Ruby has put a hole in his heart, Esme will send the boy to Tommy. If Tommy offers her a little more gold, she tells the boy that Tommy can offer him more than big wheels and carousels.

She asks whether their business is done or not. When he returns home, Lizzie tells him she knows where he went. Thomas says he is going to spend more time working in the Commons with Mr. Churchill. He will set up a fund to research the causes and cures for consumption. Lizzie complains that she sat like a stone while thinking about him killing someone in her name. She asks whether the woman he killed had children, but he won’t answer her. After an outburst, Thomas admits he killed a woman and three men whose bodies will be thrown aboard a boat with the other bodies. He is stepping off that boat and onto another. He learns the doctor from the sanitorium called and wanted to speak to him urgently.

She suspects he is beyond the help of doctors. Before she storms off, she says Frances told her Arthur was here. Thomas finds Arthur on the ground of the wine cellar and asks him for a light since he can’t find his lighter. Arthur apologizes for not being able to speak at the wagon after throwing him the lighter. Tommy tells him not to be sorry before learning Arthur is waiting for his cup to fill up as alcohol drips into it slowly. He didn’t start another barrel because he was worried they might be filled with blood.

While Arthur claims the junk messed him up, Thomas suggests he was messed up when he was a kid. He believes it happened when Thomas beat him when he was 12 and Thomas was 9. He might’ve given him one too many to the head although Arthur says it was a draw. Thomas says he is so messed up that he can’t remember, but Arthur claims to remember little things. Tommy says the fog and the gas are clearing. When the cup is nearly full, Tommy asks him to pass the cup to him even though he doesn’t drink anymore. He drinks some before saying he thought he could march and march after Polly was gone. Once Ruby went, he stumbled and crashed. Now, he is sitting on his butt like a tunneller with his old comrade Arthur.

They begin talking about the January which was the family boat where everyone lived. One night, the cops came and everyone swam like rats except Arthur who held them off with the boat hook. When Thomas saw him doing that, he knew Arthur let him win that fight many years ago. Arthur asks what chance he’ll have if Thomas starts doing that again. Tommy tells him he’ll stop because the family needs him to stop. Thomas tells him an old story to describe where they are now. Arthur will change his ways while Thomas will change the world. Later, Diana Mitford (Amber Anderson), Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin, Jack, and Laura McKee arrive at the Shelby mansion.

Frances (Pauline Turner) finds Charles (Billy Jenkins) sitting on the stairs because he heard cars outside. Thomas steps out and tells his son to go to bed. Charles says he can’t sleep and keeps seeing Ruby when he shuts his eyes. When he is told to go to his mom, he says she holds onto him. Thomas instructs him to always let her hold onto him. Then, he tells Frances the agenda is in his head. He asks if he looks okay. She says he wouldn’t shatter if someone touched him. Downstairs, Jack Nelson (James Frecheville) tries to convince Laura (Charlene McKenna) to sing the rebel song, but she doesn’t think it is appropriate. Oswald asks Diana whether she should ring a rebel IRA song while they wait.

Diana says she went to a similar event in Berlin with the Chancellor himself as well as Goering and Himmler. It lasted until the sun came up and they spoke about the future of the world in a serious way. When the first rays of light entered the room, they stood and stared at it as if it were the world to come. There was no singing or giggling. Once breakfast was served, they brought up some Jews who ate grass while everyone else ate eggs. She encourages them to remember that this is serious business. Oswald complains that she killed the mood so he asks Laura to sing the song. As she begins singing, Diana looks over and sees Thomas standing in the darkness.

Meanwhile, Ada Thorne (Sophie Rundle) feeds her son before a brick comes through the window. She sees a group of Nazis outside and a note on the brick telling her blacks aren’t allowed around there. Arthur gets angry at the opium den when they don’t give him any drugs. Lizzie runs out of the house while freaking out. Ada goes outside with the gun to confront and scare the Nazis. Lizzie makes it outside to the stable where she pets the horse. Thomas thanks everyone for coming before sitting down. He starts by asking Mosley what practical things Nelson can do to further their cause while he’s in the country. Jack confirms he has the ear of the President of the United States which is why he is here.

Oswald and Diana want him to tell the President that they are England and the mood England is currently in. Laura says appeasers to the English are abound in Ireland, but they represent the true liberated spirit of the country that populated America. Diana says they’re the bulwark against the Communists he has heard about. Laura is confident they can move the working class to fascism with just a nudge because they trust them. Jack reminds Thomas that he ran as a socialist so Mosley says he will resign his post and run as an independent when the time comes. Oswald also encourages Thomas to prove his loyalty to the movement.

Thomas emulates Oswald as he stands up, salutes, and says perish Judah. Ada’s son enters the room to tell her that thing is going to get them killed and the kids at school have even stopped talking to him. They claim the black rubs off. Ada is warned that they’ll separate everyone and take her when they come to power. She asks Karl (Callum Booth-Ford) where they’ll send him before revealing his dad was a Jew. His dad was the son of a tailor who had to change his name to Thorne to stop the bricks coming through the window. Oswald tells Jack he can report to the president that the aristocracy and meritocracy are united in their conviction that a new order is coming. Laura says their weapons are currently coming from Germany, but the British have been closing their supply lines.

They would value a supply from Boston. Jack agrees if the weapons are going to be used for a good cause. Then, he says to Thomas that Boston is now officially open for the importation of his merchandise since he has proven his commitment in the most extraordinary way. After a long silence, Thomas gets up and walks away. Diana suggests they should say good night since they’ve accomplished what they were meant to accomplish. Thomas goes out into the field and shoots one of his guns while screaming. Later, Lizzie enters to find Tommy using the typewriter he bought her many years ago to help her become more respectable. She gives him a letter that came from the sanitorium. It isn’t a bill. Instead, it is urgent and from the senior consultant.

She asks why he didn’t come to bed. She asks again so he explains he is typing up his recollection of the meeting so he can quote people word for word. It’ll be more useful for Churchill if it is word for word. He reveals he burned her chair and the paint on the wood left a smell in the air. When she holds his hand, Thomas says not yet. He has this work to do because he knows that he will change and has to change. Thomas goes to Parliament where he gets a phone call. We see Gina Gray (Anya Taylor-Joy) having sex with Mosley. Thomas watches Oswald Mosley leave before he goes to Gina’s room to tell her what he just saw. She asks why he has been following her. Thomas explains he likes to know someone’s secrets when he does business with them. He claims he has a gift for reading people.

He warns her that her uncle will disown her for sleeping with his business partner behind his back. Since he is a Catholic, men do what they want and women do what they’re told. She asks if he’ll tell Michael. He responds saying Michael is family and they’re a family healed. Gina suspects he has no interest in her or Michael so she’d like to know what he actually wants. He sits down next to her before saying she will be with Mosley when he is in Berlin. She’ll be in the room when Oswald meets with senior members of the German government. Thomas wants Gina to tell him what is discussed and what is decided. He is confident he’ll know if she lies. Before he can leave, Gina tells him that Michael thinks he is the devil and she thinks he might be right.

Thomas also admits he came to find out what Michael’s true intentions are for him. She claims he intends to finish the deal before they both walk away. Thomas mockingly laughs before walking away. Gina cruses once he is gone. Later, Thomas finishes a glass before noticing the letter still on his desk. When he reads the letter, he learns that he has been diagnosed with tuberculoma and it is a matter of urgency. A bit later, Frances tells him that Doctor Holford (Aneurin Barnard) is there to see him. The doctor sits down and begins explaining that there was no TB found when he was x-rayed ten days ago.

Instead, they found something else related to his daughter’s illness. Thomas offers him tea while admitting he looks like death. The x-ray shows the tuberculoma in the base of Tommy’s skull. His blood tests suggest it is tuberculoma which is caused by the same bacteria as TB. He might’ve picked it up from his daughter since the disease often runs wild when it enters a household. Holford warns him that this is very serious since the size of the tumor shows expansion was rapid. He suspects Thomas has already been suffering symptoms such as seizures. He lists other symptoms such as bouts of weakness, dissociation, and hallucinations. Thomas says he didn’t come to see him because he has work to do before learning he is not a danger to others.

Although it is not infectious, it is inoperable in Thomas’s case. Since the growth is in his brain stem, any attempt to remove it would result in trauma and brain hemorrhage. Doctor Holford has already shown the x-rays to three of the best surgeons in the country and all said they would not operate because it would be futile. He recommends getting a second opinion though so he gives Thomas the contact details for Doctor Helen Rutherford at St Thomas. After he asks how bad it’ll get, he learns that the physical and mental deterioration will increase as the tumor grows. Eventually, he will need people around him constantly who love him very much. Holford knows he has defeated many enemies, but he has a new one inside of him that he cannot defeat. If he lives correctly, is determined, and fights, he can keep it at bay for a while.

Thomas asks how long he has again, but he doesn’t get an answer because Lizzie interrupts. Tommy acts like Holford is his accountant. Before he goes, Holford says one year and maybe 18 months. Once he is gone, Thomas says it isn’t anything serious. He asks Lizzie for a minute on his own. When he is alone, he says he isn’t a devil and instead is just an ordinary mortal man. He remembers Polly telling him about the war and one of them dying. He asks Polly to give him enough time to do what he needs to do. He hears her saying kill before the episode ends.

 

Peaky Blinders Review

In some ways, the sixth season of Peaky Blinders is doing a lot of things right since it is working hard to close many doors and give the series a fitting end. Arthur might be getting clean, Thomas could be dying, and Michael may be dead before the reason is over. The series has been emotional although the effectiveness may vary from viewer to viewer. On the other hand, the war viewers were expecting hasn’t manifested itself yet.

Instead, the season feels like a rehash of the last with more deaths, more dialogue, and a gangster from America. We really don’t know anything about Jack Nelson despite the fact that he is likely the main antagonist of the season. The same can be said about Michael who wants to kill Tommy. The season might’ve been too ambitious since it is trying to tackle too many problems at once.

I wasn’t a fan of the last season either so it was disappointing to see that storyline continued. However, the last was more eventful than this one so far. That hurts considering this is the last season ever. We can only hope that the last two episodes really buckle down and focus on what matters and what made the series special. The episode scores a 6 or 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Peaky Blinders can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support Reel Mockery by following this link.