Tommy, he drinks too much and partakes of opium to cope, to keep the dreams and memories of tunnels and war and horror. They all deal with this trauma in different ways. And yet they all know how doomed he is and serves as a reminder, if we needed it, of how much of themselves they all left behind on Flanders’ fields. The traumas and horrors of war never left him, and neither do his friends. The final veteran is the tragic, shell-shocked, doomed Danny Whizzbang.
From their time in the tunnels beneath the French trenches, Tommy owes Freddie his life, and so despite their animosity and contrasting natures, they have a loyalty to each other a loyalty tested by the fact that Freddie is in love with Tommy’s sister Ada. Next amongst the ensemble is Tommy’s former comrade-in-arms Freddie Thorns, a communist union leader and rabble-rouser loved by working men. As she frequently points out, while the men of the family were at war, it was the women that ran the family business. He falls from grace throughout the first season as he realises he’ll only ever amount to second in command he sinks from leader to pub owner.Īside from Tommy, the main powerhouse of the family is their Aunt Polly, played by the formidable Helen McCrory, a tragic but strong figure that even Tommy respects, she is the only one he ever takes into his confidence. Yet even he is afraid of the frightfully clever Tommy. Arthur is the older brother, ostensible leader of the family. Here we are introduced to the major theme: family. And amongst this, with a sudden change of musical and visual pace is the freneticism of an illegal bookmakers. Industrial, grey and soundtracked by Nick Cave, this is a dangerous place and we are in no doubt that Murphy’s character Tommy is a dangerous man that even police officers respect. This is a tale of a northern gangland in the aftermath of the Great War. Then the caption comes up: Birmingham, England 1919.
WATCH PEAKY BLINDERS SEASON 4 EPISODE 1 SERIES
The rider, seemingly satisfied, leaves a horse racing tip as he rides away, illuminating a major plot line of the series a mere 2 minutes in. In the first minutes of Peaky Blinders, we’re not sure of the genre China Town, Cillian Murphy on horseback inspiring fear on the streets, and a fortune teller gloriously shot fear and ominousness. On Thursday the 2nd of October, Peaky Blinders returns to BBC 2, so here’s a recap of season one.