Peaky Blinders Finale Asked 10 Questions About Tommy Shelby

Peaky Blinders season 6 ended with 10 unanswered questions about Tommy Shelby that must be resolved in the upcoming movie. While Peaky Blinders was originally conceived for seven seasons and a story-concluding movie, production delays with the pandemic shifted this plan. As such, Peaky Blinders’ season 6 finale isn’t structured as the show’s ending per sé, as it leaves viewers with more unanswered questions about Cillian Murphy’s Thomas Shelby than it did at the start.

Peaky Blinders’ season 6 finale saw the conclusion of many of the Shelby family’s more emotional, internal gang conflicts—particularly the escalating feud between Tommy and his cousin Michael Gray (Finn Cole). After the death of Peaky Blinders matriarch Polly Gray (the late Helen McCrory) in season 6’s premiere, Tommy and Michael are driven apart by vengeance and Polly’s prophecy about a war in the family that would leave one of them dead. As always, Polly’s words rang true in Peaky Blinders’ finale, with Tommy killing Michael after the latter failed to assassinate him with a bomb. All the while, the Peaky Blinders crime gang did away with many of their weak links and enemies, including Arthur’s deadly shootout with the IRA, Tommy’s son Duke expelling Finn Shelby from the family, and even Tommy’s fatal battle with himself.

Heading into the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie, one question is already answered: Tommy will be going after the fascists once and for all. While the real-life history of Oswald Mosley and Hitler gives away a few plot points, Tommy’s final battle with the rise of the dictatorial regime will prove the greatest test of his criminal and strategic strength. However, Peaky Blinders’ season 6 finale still asks several unanswered questions about Tommy Shelby in order to wrap up his story for good, including whether he’ll survive through the end of the movie.

How Is Tommy Going To Take Down The Fascists?

There’s no question that Tommy will be going after the fascists in Peaky Blinders’ movie, but the finale leaves the question of how he’ll accomplish this. In the final moments of Peaky Blinders season 6 as Tommy held a gun to his head, the protagonist had a vision of his deceased daughter Ruby, who informed him that he was never actually sick and needed to live. Tommy then put the pieces together that his doctor lied to him at the behest of Oswald Mosley and Diana Mitford, as the fascists realized no person could kill Thomas Shelby but Thomas Shelby himself. With Tommy having already come to terms with his own mortality at the end of Peaky Blinders season 6, it seems the movie will showcase his final act of vengeance on the fascists, though his tactics in preventing Britain’s downfall are unknown.

Tommy’s strategies for taking down the fascists aren’t clear after Peaky Blinders’ season 6 finale, but the outcome of his fight is already revealed in broad strokes by real-life history. Oswald Mosley comes straight out of real historical textbooks, with the fascist figure surviving until 1980, proving Tommy won’t have his fatal revenge on Sam Claflin’s Peaky Blinders character. American gangster Jack Nelson is loosely based on politician Joseph Kennedy, who survived until 1969 and had several children with long political careers, including U.S. President John F. Kennedy. And, of course, Tommy won’t be able to stop Hitler’s heinous crimes in Peaky Blinders, which leaves the character’s plans to destroy the fascists ahead of World War II far more intriguing.

Will Tommy Shelby Reveal His Fate To The World?

Tommy explained to the Shelby family that he would be “going away” at the end of Peaky Blinders season 6, with his burned funeral pyre signaling his “death” should his family find it. The idea of Tommy faking his own death and living in the shadows during Peaky Blinders’ movie was hinted at by Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy), who told Tommy that being perceived as dead has many benefits in the criminal underworld. While he did confront Dr. Holford and left him alive, the rest of the world may still believe that Tommy is dead; taking a page from Alfie Solomons’ death twist, Tommy can utilize this to tackle the fascists from the shadows in the Peaky Blinders movie. Tommy already left the family businesses (legitimate and criminal) in the hands of his siblings and son, Duke, so Tommy may see no reason to reveal his true fate to his family.

Did Tommy Tell The Other Shelbys He Killed Michael?

Peaky Blinders’ season 6 ending sees Tommy fatally shoot Michael after his cousin tried to kill him with a bomb, but the series doesn’t feature a scene in which the murder is explained to the rest of the family. It’s likely that the other Shelbys expected Tommy would kill Michael when they met again, so didn’t need a verbal confirmation when Tommy returned to Birmingham alive. However, Michael was still their cousin and the son of their beloved Aunt Polly, so Peaky Blinders’ protagonist may have avoided revealing Michael’s fate before heading to his own funeral pyre.

How Will Gina Gray React To Michael’s Death?

Another unanswered question from Peaky Blinders season 6’s finale is how Michael’s wife Gina Gray will react to his death. Gina is closely allied with her uncle, Jack Nelson, who will be a significant foe to Tommy in the movie, and is now apt to have a personal vendetta against the Peaky Blinders leader. Michael left behind a son with Gina as well, so she and Jack will likely take their anger out on more of the Shelbys than just Tommy.

What Did Tommy Whisper Into Duke’s Ear?

One of the biggest Peaky Blinders season 6 unanswered questions asks what Tommy whispered into his son Duke’s ear at the Shelbys’ last supper. After cutting his speech to Charles short, Tommy walks over to Duke, whispers something inaudible in his ear, and prepares to leave. It’s been hinted that Tommy’s words to Duke featured the elder naming his son his true heir as the family’s power broker. Duke had just been tasked with killing the treacherous Billy and kicking Finn out of the Shelby family, so Tommy has likely given him an official place in the family’s morally corrupt business sphere.

Will Tommy’s Sons Duke & Charles Begin A Feud?

As Tommy bonded with his long-lost son Duke in Peaky Blinders season 6, the character neglected his son Charles. The young Shelby critcized Tommy for never being around, declaring Lizzie as far more of a parent to him even though the two don’t share blood. In Peaky Blinders’ finale, Charles leaves with Lizzie away from Tommy, with Charles’ animosity for both Tommy and Duke growing in the series’ banquet scene. After Tommy stops his speech to Charles short and walks over to whisper something to Duke instead, Charles gives his half-brother a menacing glance that suggests hatred is brewing within the young character. Charles has already grown to resent Tommy, with his father’s attention toward Duke inevitably inspiring hostility between the two brothers.

Will Tommy And Lizzie Get Back Together?

Peaky Blinders’ season 6 finale ends with Tommy’s wife Lizzie leaving him for good after discovering that he was having an affair with the fascist Diana Mitford. Lizzie takes the kindhearted Charles with her as she still grieves the death of their daughter Ruby. It seems that Tommy won’t be able to come back from his betrayal of Lizzie after Peaky Blinders season 6, with the couple unlikely to reunite in the upcoming movie.

Will Tommy Shelby Kill Jack Nelson?

While Jack Nelson is based on real-life American politician Joseph P. Kennedy, the two figures are very different, so Peaky Blinders doesn’t have to give Nelson the same fate. Tommy can’t kill Mosley or Hitler due to the two being real-life figures, but Jack Nelson isn’t necessarily safe considering how many changes Peaky Blinders already made to Kennedy’s story. If there’s any Peaky Blinders fascist character who Tommy can kill in the movie, it’s Gina Gray’s Uncle Jack Nelson. Jack also stands in the way of Tommy’s business moving opium in Boston, so killing the character in the movie would make sense on several fronts to conclude Tommy’s story.

How Will Tommy Deal With Finn Shelby In The Peaky Blinders Movie?

Finn Shelby was largely absent from Peaky Blinders season 6, with the character being banned from the Peaky Blinders in the finale by Duke Shelby. When Duke and Isiah were dealing with Billy at Tommy’s orders, Finn tried to shoot and kill both of the Peaky Blinders members, but his first two rounds were empty. Proving that Finn would have killed them both, Duke declares that Finn is no longer a member of the Shelby family, with this order clearly having been given by Tommy beforehand. Finn declared that he would come after Duke in the future, but it seems inevitable that Tommy will have to step in between this feud.

Is Tommy Shelby Going To Die In The Peaky Blinders Movie?

Although it seemed as though he was going to die at the very end of Peaky Blinders season 6, Tommy realized he was never sick, so dying would simply give the fascists exactly what they wanted. Tommy may have survived the series, but whether or not he’ll live through the Peaky Blinders movie is another question. The odds point to Tommy Shelby finally dying in Peaky Blinders’ movie, as the film will serve as the conclusion to the character’s story. Tommy has finally been given peace at the end of Peaky Blinders’ series, but this may be setting him up to go ahead with letting himself pass after the fascists are dealt with. As he declared, the only person who can take down Tommy is himself, with his work likely to be finished by the end of Peaky Blinders’ movie. Tommy has been dancing with death since before Peaky Blinders began, and his time seems to be running out.