‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6 Episode 5 Recap: Gypsies, Bastards, And Dangly Bits

With only two episodes left in Peaky Blinders Season 6, the Shelby family find themselves in a familiar position; up Shite’s Creek without a paddle. Arthur’s battling drug addiction, Ada’s fighting Nazi street thugs, and Tommy? Oof, where to start? Since last episode, he’s lost his daughter, lost his sobriety, and he just found out he’s got a year or two to live due to an inoperable medical condition. While this is usually the setup for him to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, the series keeps you on the edge of your seat until the gun smoke clears.

If Tommy has one reason to celebrate, it’s that he’s found out he has another son, Duke (actually his name’s Erasmus but don’t call him that), born before he went off to World War I. He can’t read or write but he’s a pretty good pickpocket and doesn’t like people, so he fits right in and actually does look like he could be actor Cillian Murphy’s offspring. He’s put to work at the Shelby’s betting parlor but prefers Uncle Charlie’s yard where he can care for horses, proving he’s cut from the same cloth as his father. 

Tommy, meanwhile, has a plan for Arthur to beat his opium cravings; drive his dealers out of Birmingham and bring back his ex-wife, Linda. Tommy offers to donate 10,000 Pounds to her children’s missionary if she agrees to help her ex on his “road to redemption.” She says that though she’ll never forgive Arthur for his litany of sins, including the disfigurement of her boyfriend last seasons, perhaps the Lord will, and yeah, the money sweetens the deal. “I need to look after everyone in the family,” Tommy tells Linda, which explains a lot about his character. 

While Tommy endeavors on behalf of his brother and son, his marriage is falling apart. After the death of their daughter Ruby, he takes his wife Lizzie to a hotel for a change in scenery and after making love tells her, “I know she’s still here with us,” which is actually really creepy. Lizzie says she hates their palatial mansion now and wishes she could, “blow it up.” Tommy says marrying her is his biggest regret because not only did she marry a man, “you married a curse.” Wow. Such a romantic. The Grim Reaper’s gone nothing on Tommy Shelby when it comes to sweet talking the ladies. 

Back at Peaky Blinders HQ in Birmingham, Arthur and the lads deal with a pesky referee unwilling to participate in their fixed football games. When the ref tells them to bend it like Beckham, Arthur makes disgraced footballer now Peaky Blinders bookie Billy Grade make his bones, killing him with a garrote.

Though it’s the first time we’ve seen Grade all season, he plays a big role in the current plotline. It was Billy that tipped the I.R.A. off about the attempted Mosley assassination and he continues to feed them info about the Shelby operation. He’s later cornered by Jack Nelson in a bath house who puts his dangly bits in a garrote, which looks like it REALLY hurts.

Nelson explains that while him and his associates are going to “take care” of Tommy Shelby, they need Billy to serve up Arthur. Actor James Frecheville, who plays Nelson, does tough pretty good even if his Boston accent is still wanting. If Billy doesn’t comply he’ll receive the “Italian death. Because it was the Italians that taught me that above God, above children, above his wife and above his mother, most of all, a man loves his balls,” which, you know, is fairly accurate.  

While others scheme against him, Tommy finds time to meet with Lady Diana Milford, the future Mrs. Oswald Mosley, to discuss his charitable work. The only work she’s interested in, however, is sex. “Oswald has f**ked your wife so my suggestion is about balance and proportion. It would be only fair.” After they bonk, Tommy hallucinates that he’s back in the tunnels in World War I and sees a pile of his victims, including the Baswell family that he gunned down last episode.

Back home, Tommy and Lizzie entertain Nelson, who’s a pretty crap dinner guest, before the Mosleys crash the party. Oswald congratulates everyone on all the good work they’re doing for fascism and Lady Diana lets it drop that she and Tommy did some good work between the sheets, telling Lizzie, “You are a very lucky woman to have each day what I have only sampled once.” Lizzie storms off, which was actually the Mosleys’ intention all along. 

“She doesn’t deserve you, Mr. Shelby,” says Mosley. What with the new fascist world order at hand, Mosley says Tommy needs a more suitable spouse, not a former Birmingham prostitute. Tommy agrees but not in the way Mosley means it. After pouring his first whiskey in years, Tommy lays into his dinner guests, saying, “Truth is, I belong here at this table with f**kers like you. She doesn’t. For all I tried to hide it, I’m just one of you. Could there be a sadder ending, eh?”

Well folks, that ending is near. After six seasons, Peaky Blinders is about to unveil its final episode. Will Tommy Shelby pull everything off and vanquish his enemies before the series finishes or will he go off to the big Gypsy caravan in the sky? Only Aunt Polly can say for sure. Just ask her son Michael Gray, who’s released from prison in episode 5’s final moments and has murder on his mind.  

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.