The series got its swagger back in the nick of time. Here’s your breakdown of the penultimate ever episode, The Road to Hell …
Terminal Tom was man on a mission
After last week’s shattering diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour, Thomas Shelby OBE MP (Cillian Murphy) had nothing to lose. His in-built deadline had given the conflicted gang boss renewed purpose. He spent this propulsive episode striding from meeting to meeting, taking care of business. The show roared back to form in his newly turbo-charged wake.
First stop was Chinatown, where, with the aid of a ticking briefcase bomb (where’s Vicky McClure’s “Expo” team when you need them?), he instructed the Chinese cafes to stop selling opium or he would have the entire neighbourhood demolished. By order of the Peaky Blinders? Nope, “by order of the Birmingham urban district council”.
Neatly done – but not as neat as Tommy’s timing, as he dropped the bomb into the canal with seconds to spare. Pause … wait for it … ka-boom. Not a real bomb, you say? An explosive return to form, only five minutes in.
Meet Duke the artful dodger
Next came a clan meeting in the Garrison Tavern over a full Shelby breakfast (Irish whiskey and cigarettes, obviously). Fans had been wondering where on earth the youngest sibling, Finn (Harry Kirton), had got to, since he has been only fleetingly sighted this series. Now, we found out – marrying his sweetheart, Mary (Abbie Hern). Finn still didn’t get any dialogue, though. Perhaps wedlock has worn out his vocal cords.
Main item on the agenda? The introduction of Tommy’s long-lost son, Erasmus, AKA Duke (Conrad Khan). Tommy’s wife, Lizzie (Natasha O’Keeffe), simmered with fury about their deceased daughter, Ruby, seemingly being replaced so swiftly. Cracks between the couple are widening, not least because Tommy…