Peaky Blinders

[BippityBoppityBloop]

I keep hearing rumours but can't see anything set in stone. Does anyone know when the new series of PB starts?

I don't really know what's going on and I don't care, I'm just enjoying the show. It's properly entertaining, the first show I've made sure to be in front of the telly as it goes out since Giri/Haji.

Roll on next Sunday.

We no one can accuse them of glamourising fascism can they? What a thoroughly repulsive couple Diana and Mosley are. I loved Ada putting Karl in his place. How can he be so cruel about his own sister?

Well I knew that Tommy had well and truly lost the plot when he opened fire randomly at the Gypsy camp not caring who he killed. Does anyone else think Esme's playing him like a fiddle?

Yes I think Esme is playing him, to be honest I thought he'd take his wrath out on her for taking him all that way just to show him the gravesite of the little girl, delaying his time left with Ruby.
And yes to Diana and Mosley, horrible (well acted though).

Esme probably has more cause than any one to hate Tommy, probably even more than Michael. So I don't know why he's buying into what she's telling him so much. I know that's why he was looking for her initially, because he assumed it was her curse. But still. Also I wanted to give Tommy a good slap for not immediately saying "I've already got a son, thanks!" When Esme wheeled Duke out.

Well, two sons of Tommy sets up a nice rivalry for the next iteration of the Shelby story.

@TottersBlankly

Well, two sons of Tommy sets up a nice rivalry for the next iteration of the Shelby story.

I didn't think of it like that. But yes, I'm onboard with that idea.

I didnt think last night was slow at all - i really felt the tension in last nights episode - particularly around the table with Mitford and Moseley who are repulsive.

Gina is really annoying me too - but all that aside - i am loving it! Seeing the whole family falling apart to the celtic music was spellbinding.

Knowing his days are numbered frees Tommy to take whatever risks he wants. Suicide by saving the world from fascism is better than suicide by cop.
I don't feel Michael is a worthy enemy. Insignificant little man.
I think Diana is overplaying the anti-semitism. Did Hitler really enjoy watching Jews being made to eat grass as after-dinner entertainment?
I like the idea of Lizzie and she's a good actress, but, call me shallow, I can't get over the fact that she's so much taller than Tommy. They just don't look right as a couple. Feel the same about Rod Stewart.

@marmitedoughnut

I am hugely disappointed with this series so far. Hardly nothing has happened compared with previous series, no theme tune, not enough Alfie, Finn gone with no explanation, Arthur is, well just not Arthur and now they are saying Tommy is ill and got 18 months or so.

Piss poor imo, if Tommy is going to die, and he surely will, it needs to at least be in a hail of bullets or similar as we have come to expect of Peaky Blinders.

Agree and I think everything is going to be teed up for the film what sometimes makes something like this so good is that it is just for tv ... feels more intimate somehow than a film which feels a bit like selling out.

Yes, Diana's role is not well-acted or well-written at all. She's such an over-the-top villain and not at all clever or witty. Also, she appears to have the hots for Tommy quite bad. Whereas Mosley is a lot more believable and really comes across as pure evil under the veneer of an upper class upbringing

I didn't know there were only 2 episodes left 😱

The filming and art direction was beautiful, even by PB standards; so many images were like a painting.

I think Arthur's too far gone to make a recovery now. He looked pretty jaundiced when he was sat in the wine cellar. I think cirrhosis has set in by now. He's just a shell of person really. It does feel a lot like this series is all about getting the pieces in place ready for the film rather than tying everything up by the end of the series.

Where is Arthur's son? Does he never see him?

I don't like the idea of a film at all. Small screen to big screen is often a disappointment. Sex and the City was dire.
And it's a bit of a cop-out, not ending a series properly. Breaking Bad got it right. Loose ends tied up and then retrospective spin-offs with Better Call Saul.

Arthur may not even make it to the next episode, he stole the opium didn't he?
Can't believe there are only 2 episodes left.

@Thymeout

Knowing his days are numbered frees Tommy to take whatever risks he wants. Suicide by saving the world from fascism is better than suicide by cop. I don't feel Michael is a worthy enemy. Insignificant little man. I think Diana is overplaying the anti-semitism. Did Hitler really enjoy watching Jews being made to eat grass as after-dinner entertainment? I like the idea of Lizzie and she's a good actress, but, call me shallow, I can't get over the fact that she's so much taller than Tommy. They just don't look right as a couple. Feel the same about Rod Stewart.

I didn't realise that Cillian Murphy is only 5'7". They do well at filming him at an angle that gives him a really big presence, but when he's standing right next to Lizzie you can't help but notice that he's on the shorter side!

It's just unrelentingly dark with no shafts of light. I still love PB but this is the worst series of a great show. It feels like someone different is writing it. It's not about the Shelby family anymore, it just seems to document Tommy's slow demise. Make uncomfortable viewing when you've emotionally invested in these characters over 5 series.

What I love about previous series was how the whole family took part in a big, clever secret plan to overcome their enemies. Tommy was the brains and he was always one step ahead. There was always a satisfying confrontation full of twists. Now we open an episode with long funeral scenes and it just seems to get more painful after that.

I read an article saying the movie is the next generation, which makes sense of why they've introduced Duke with only 2 episodes left.

Meh, Tommy is peaky blinders to me, it did say he's in the film but I wouldn't be surprised if they kill him off at the start. www.nme.com/news/tv/peaky-blinders-creator-says-new-characters-set-up-forthcoming-movie-3186021?fbclid=IwAR1jqdFFCeMBMQ04061Ftxkb-UV9aPRYC47iudNmFcrzAQ7H1R54fUzRgGw#l1111uldhdrlab812vd

I think there's been lots of rewriting after poor Helen died.

The diagnosis is not really a surprise. It's like Breaking Bad - Walt could not gave ended the series any other way: he was too despicable. Tommy is the same. He's not a flawed hero. He's a horrible man.

I was thinking when I was watching it though - this is beautifully shot.

I don't think Tommy is that horrible (by gangster standards). He is no Michael Corleone. And I thought he went "soft" for the idea of socialism and he wants to fight the war on fascism. I think he's quite a good guy for gangster. In Season 1 I thought he would kill Freddie Thorne for sleeping with his sister, but instead he brought them together. He's soft at heart

Too much grief, misery, sadness. Tommy is trying to stop the rise of fascism but we know how that ends. Where is Finn?? Arthur is in a terrible state and it's so bloody sad. Tommy looked the picture of health beside him but now he's dying. Is that Stephen Graham's bit over?

After this I am going to have to rewatch the first few series to remind myself of what was really good about it. The fun bits, the camaraderie between the brothers, yes there was some dark stuff but a lot of it was tongue in cheek. Remember when he took Grace to the races and Kimber tried to rape her she quipped that she started the day as lady something or other and ended it as a whore with the clap?

Tommy should gather up his family, don't forget Finn, and head off to somewhere far away and safe to live out his days.

But he wants to end his days before he stops being Tommy. He wants to be the captain of his own ship, not passively wait for the Grim Reaper.
If he can play a part in stopping GB's slide into Appeasement, beating the Fascists who support Hitler on home turf, then it's as close to saving the world as he can get. And, yes, we do know how it ends. Britain standing alone against the Nazis, 'our finest hour'...

I think I might have a kink for gangsters. I don't see Tommy as a bad man. Had a soft spot for Tony Soprano, too. Anti-heroes?

@Thymeout I have a thing for anti-heroes too but Michael Corleone was too much for me. He was truly terrifying. But I had such a crush on his brother Sonny 😍

John Cusack as an assassin in Grosse Pointe Blank...

I do like a bad boy in a good suit.