What do you think?
As always, if you haven’t seen the most recent episode of Peaky Blinders and wish to avoid spoilers, look away now.
And so the Shelby family loses another member.
On Wednesday, the newS that we all feared was confirmed. John Shelby didn’t survive that vicious hit by the Mafia as Luca Changretta gained a measure of revenge for the murder of his father.
During that memorable finale, Michael said: “We’re not the Peaky f*** Blinders unless we’re together,” and with John (Joe Cole) leaving the show, the actor provided an interesting take on who Tommy’s next adversary could be.
So far, we’ve seen the leader of the Peaky Blinders battle Inspector Campbell, Billy Kimber, Father Hughes, Darby Sabini, Luca Changretta and even – to a lesser extent – Alfie Solomons and Winston Churchill.
While we’ve no idea what the next few episodes have in store, the creator of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight, has frequently said that he has a vision of how the show will end and Joe Cole has suggested a potential adversary Tommy to face, Esme.
“I want it to end when the first air raid siren sounds in Birmingham. It is a story of a family between two world wars. It begins in 1919 when they have just come back from the war and the family’s journey is towards legitimacy and respectability and to leave their past behind. The big question of the whole series is this: Is that possible?” he said.
In recent weeks, rumours have circulated regarding a possible film and a sixth season – something that Cillian Murphy and Knight are both open to – and Joe Cole reckons that his on-screen wife would be a very interesting nemesis for Tommy to face.
During a recent Q&A, the actor gave his views on the idea that Esme could ultimately prove to be a thorn in Tommy’s side.
I think she has the chops to do it. And I think it would be a real curveball were Steve Knight to go in that direction. Certainly not obvious. -JC
— Peaky Blinders (@ThePeakyBlinder) November 24, 2017
Truth be told, this doesn’t require a big stretch of the imagination.
As we saw in the scene where John dies, Esme screamed the following at Michael: “Tell Tommy Shelby that we can look after ourselves” before adding” Tommy says. Tommy says. Are you his fu**ing parrot!
It’s clear that Esme still hasn’t forgiven Tommy for his decision to send the Shelbys to prison at the end of Season 3. Will this fury at Tommy’s betrayal, combined with the sense of grief over John’s death, cause her to turn on the Peaky Blinders?
It’s also worth noting that during Season 2, she objected to Tommy’s plans to expand into London because she wanted John to be able to watch their son grow up and live in the country.
Hindsight, rage, and blame could be a terrible thing for the Peaky Blinders.
What do you think?
