The final season of Peaky Blinders focuses on Thomas Shelby trying to deal with the fact that for the first time he may have met an enemy he cannot defeat. The episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
In the immediate aftermath of the failed assassination attempt, the IRA call up Thomas and inform him that he will depend on them and Oswald Mosley for a little longer. They also drop off the bodies of those that lost their lives because of the attempt.
One of them happens to be Aunt Polly. The Shelby family put her to rest and Michael vows to kill Thomas once and for all because it was his ambition that led to her death. Four years go by before we see the Shelby family once again.
It’s 1933, and the end of the prohibition means that anyone who made their keep bootlegging will be out of work. Tommy goes out to Miquelon Island to make a deal with Michael and his new connections in the Boston Mafia run by his wife’s uncle, Jack Nelson.
He offers to sell them opium and hands them a little sample to confirm the quality. He also informs a contact at the Boston harbour that Michael will be carrying opium and succeeds in sending him to jail upon his return.
Back in Birmingham, Arthur has given in to his addiction and is struggling to get by, leaving Ada to hold things together while Tommy is out of town.
Gina visits Michael in jail and tells him that her uncle is working on his release but he’ll have to hang tight for a bit. They discuss Thoams Shelby’s true intentions behind doing business in Boston.
Tommy then pays a visit to Gina at her house to insist that a deal needs to happen, or else he’ll take his business elsewhere, maybe to the Jews of East Boston.
Lizzie calls up Tommy and tells him that their daughter has come down with a fever and cannot travel like they planned to. When she describes the symptoms, Tommy gets spooked and tells her that he will be returning home on the next steamer.
Tommy visits Michael in prison and tells him that he’s stuck in prison until Jack Nelson concludes his business in London, and has letters and paperwork to prove it. This revelation incenses Michael.
Tommy gets back home and gets Ruby checked by the doctors once more. Lizzie complains that Tommy isn’t present and needs to take a break from the gangster life and be with his family.
Tommy says that he’s got one last plan to take care of and then he’s done. He meets up with Laura McKee of the IRA and tells her that Jack Nelson is coming to the UK and he appears to be a fascist sympathizer who would most likely support their cause.
He’s going to introduce Jack to her as well as Mosely so that they can change the world together. He puts the same idea in front of Mosley and his mistress, Lady Diana Mitford, as part of his grand plan to get out for good.
Meanwhile, Ruby gets sick once again and Tommy is forced to seek out his Esme because he truly believes that his daughter is the victim of a gipsy curse.
The doctors confirm that Ruby is suffering from consumption but Tommy still goes out in search of Esme while Lizzie sits by her daughter’s side. Ada takes control while Tommy is going and attempts to bring some order back into the business.
Arthur is still struggling but a serious conversation with a gentleman while out on a job gives him the reality check that he needed.
Tommy finds Esme who gives him a lead on the curse but by the time he gets back to the hospital, Ruby has already passed and Lizzie is completely broken because Ruby’s father was not by her side.
After putting his daughter to rest, Tommy finds and kills the gipsy that he believed was responsible for the curse. He then gets to work on his master plan and hosts Jack Nelson, Laura McKee, Oswald Mosley and Diana Mitford at his home to discuss their next actions.
While they plan on furthering the dream of the fascists in Europe, Thomas wants to expand his business into Boston and secure the financial future of his family.
Tommy gets a letter from his daughter with some urgent news so he meets him the next day. The doctor tells him that his daughter’s illness has spread to him in the form of a tuberculoma and that he has maybe just a year to live.
Tommy sets about getting his affairs in order, he brings his illegitimate son, Duke, into the fold and reaches out to Linda to help get Arthur clean.
Jack Nelson meets with Billy who is their informant within the Shelby family. He tells him to provide information that will help them finish the Shelbys once and for all.
Tommy has plans to build housing for the working class and has been securing land around England to make that happen. He makes a deal with Alfie in exchange for gaining back control in Boston once he takes care of Jack Nelson.
Tommy gets ready to go to Canada and collect his payment for the opium that was shipped to Boston. Lizzie finds out that he slept with Diana and is not at all happy to learn about it. Michael is finally released from prison so that he can kill Thomas Shelby and get his revenge.
If you have any doubts about the ending, here is a detailed breakdown.
Peaky Blinders season 6 ending explained in detail (Episode 6: Lock and Key):
Setting things up for the end
Lizzie chooses to leave Tommy because he’s been so closed off from her and now that he’s slept with Diana, she’s had about enough. He lets Charlie go along with her and tells her that he will set them up somewhere nice so that they can live in peace.
Arthur is waiting for him at his office with his medical reports. He has found out about the tumour and wants to know why Tommy didn’t tell anyone. Tommy says that when the time comes he doesn’t want the people close to him to see him in a state of helplessness.
Tommy meets with Diana and Oswald at the House of Commons. He tells Diana about his housing plan and that he wants to buy off property from her connections who are struggling with their debts. Oswald invites him to their wedding in Germany but he says that he cannot attend because he’ll be in Canada collecting his payment.
Tying up loose ends
Tommy has a meeting with Arthur, Finn, Billy, Isiah and some others to tell them about his trip to Canada. He asks them to go back to his house and strip out anything of value because it is being demolished soon. Arthur says that he will be at the Garrison spending his anniversary with his wife.
Billy shares this information with Gina who relays it to Michael. The plan is confirmed to take out the key members of the Shelby family.
Billy and Finn arrive at the mansion where Isiah and Duke are waiting for them. They reveal that they know Billy is the mole and kill him. They tell Finn that he is banished from the family and he hits back saying that he’ll come for them.
Laura and two others arrive at the Garrison to kill Arthur, but he’s been waiting for them. Along with Charlie and Jeremiah, they fight off their attackers and come out on top.
Tommy is supposed to meet Michael on Miquelon Island for the exchange, but Michael and his associates have a bomb planted in the car for Tommy. Once he arrives, Michael gets him in the car and gets away but the wrong car blows up.
Johnny Dogs shows up and says that he switched the bomb to the other car, after which Tommy kills Michael for his betrayal. Nobody messes with the Peaky Blinders.
A new lease of life
Tommy takes one last look at his mansion before blowing it up. He has a meal set up nearby with his nearest and dearest. He tells them a few words of farewell and gives them advice on how to carry on.
Arthur doesn’t join and leaves word with Linda that he doesn’t do farewells, but that wherever Tommy is going, he’ll meet him there soon.
Ada is suspicious of the tone Tommy is speaking with and questions him further. She wants to know where he is going and for how long but he does not give her an answer.
A month later, Tommy is in the mountains with his carriage and horse, all ready to put a bullet in his head. Right then he is visited by his daughter who tells him that he’s not sick and should live on.
She points out to the fireplace and upon further inspection, Tommy finds a newspaper clipping reporting on Mosley and Diana’s wedding. He sees his doctor among the attendees and immediately a light turns on in his head.
The doctor’s residence was right down the mountain so he visits him. He tells him that he figured out just in time that his doctor was working for the other side and that his enemies decided that the only person who could kill Thomas Shelby was Thomas Shelby himself.
He spares the doctor’s life and rides back to his carriage which has already been burned down. Now that he’s got more time, he needs to take care of a couple of fascists who tried to take him and the Peaky Blinders out of the equation.
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