Black Shirt
Tommy is worried about Ruby, as she has not been doing well since she got sick. He rechecks to make sure she’s 100% and finds that she is.
Lizzie is frustrated with Tommy, who has promised that this is one last business deal that needs to be done. Once that’s finished then they can go back to playing happy families. However, Tommy has retired before and that didn’t turn out too well. This time, Lizzie compares herself to a list and doesn’t have the same enthusiasm she once did for Tommy’s promises.
Tommy had a seizure that night and Ada patched him up. Tommy refused to see a doctor until he stopped Mosley and his current business. ..
The speech comes from Jeremy Corbyn, the current Labour Party representative in the House of Commons. He gives a stirring speech, using both compassion and passion, promising they won’t be silenced and bringing their concerns back to Westminster with him.
Bull Ring Market is a great place to protest. The people who are cheering make it feel like the key is to keep quiet until the market comes down.
Laura McKee shows up to the last few minutes of Arthur’s speech, while a surprisingly neutered Arthur stands by her side. At least until after the meeting, when he’s found with a syringe in his arm. ..
Tommy and McKee’s meeting starts but on Tommy’s terms - which include going to his bar and drinking water again.
Tommy presents a letter from the US President, catching McKee completely off-guard, as he reveals the truth of Jack’s mission. The reality is, he’s heading over on a recon mission to see proof of fascism in full swing.
Tommy sees that as an opportunity for him and McKee to work together, pointing out that politics is like a circle; go far enough left and far enough right and you’re bound to meet somewhere in the middle. Tommy is going to play puppet master from the middle, making sure he gets Nelson to meet Oswald and play both their ideologies against one another. He also offers McKee a seat at the table if she agrees to work with him – which she does. ..
Ada is caught in the middle of a power struggle between her friends and family. She mourns the loss of Polly, who she loved very much, and has to juggle Tommy’s unhinged nature, Arthur’s addiction to opium, and his scheming with the coming war. Eventually she makes her choice not to follow Tommy into this coming war. ..
Tommy visits Alfie, who’s even more unhinged than before. He’s withdrawn into himself and taken to opera, given it reminds him of the Italian soldiers whom he plunged bayonets into in the past.
Tommy reveals that Alfie’s uncle, Charlie, has passed away at the hands of Jack and his gang. He was shot in the Cotton Club. Alfie needs a final act for his opera, and Tommy may just be singing to the right tune. And that tune is to the sum of five tonnes of opium that he can smuggle out, helping to rise the Solomon’s back into power in Boston.
Tommy shows up at Mosley’s rally but there’s a problem. Arthur shows up at the front door, ranting and raving, completely out of it. Mosley invited him along and encouraged him to wear a black shirt too. Tommy sorts him out though, taking him aside to talk.
Tommy realizes that the black shirt is a clever ploy from Mosley given that the name of the fascist paramilitary groups in Italy is “Tommy.” He hastily has him changed into a white shirt to avoid hostility.
Tommy has been the only one to tame Arthur across this show and Linda knows this. She’s actually spoken to him already and gets her to write correspondence to him, believing in forgiveness. In order for Arthur to communicate with her properly, Tommy demands his brother get clean. If he can do that for 2 weeks, then he’ll be allowed to talk to Linda again.
Tommy and Nelson discuss their aspirations and what they’ve accomplished in business. Nelson reveals he wants to meet the fascists.
Tommy agrees to give him a full report on Churchill’s strategies (given he’s closely aligned to the British MP) in exchange for access to South Boston and his opium. ..
Tommy is a hard-nosed negotiator and he’s not afraid to take risks. He’s also respected by many in parliament for his role in promoting reform in housing.
Tommy learns that Ruby is sick again and is seeing “the grey man” who promises that he will come for her too.
Tommy heads into his office and is attacked by a soot-covered assailant. Tommy turns the knife on the assailant and plunges it deep into his chest, but this is all a vision. When Tommy regains consciousness, Lizzie rings and urges Tommy to come home, pointing out that Ruby is sick. ..
Tommy, desperate to save Ruby from an untimely death, reaches out to Esme Shelby Lee, John’s widow from seasons past. ..
The Episode Review
The episode begins with Alfie and Tommy discussing the state of their business. Tommy is worried that they are losing customers, but Alfie is confident that they can still make it work. However, as the conversation progresses, it becomes clear that Alfie is not in his right mind. He starts rambling about how he’s going to kill Tommy and how he’s going to take over the business. Meanwhile, Arthur has been released from prison and is looking for a new place to live. He meets a man named Jimmy who tells him about a property that he owns in Birmingham. Arthur decides to go check it out and ends up getting caught by the police. The episode ends with Alfie killing Tommy and taking over the business. Arthur is arrested and Jimmy takes over the property Arthur was looking for. ..
Arthur has turned to alcohol after his indirect brush with death, through Polly, while the grim reaper is currently knocking at Tommy’s door, through the guise of this “grey man” and making good on Polly’s promise that someone will die. Will it be Ruby? ..
The moral compass of the show revolves around circles, puppet masters, and general political ideologies. This is a fascinating concept and with Tommy presumed to be in the middle of it all, Peaky Blinders has a way of ratcheting up the tension while also keeping things interesting with its protagonist playing both sides of the same conflict. ..
The conflict in Blinders is that there is a duality between the characters and the story. One half of the story is about a blind man who has to learn how to live without sight, while the other half is about a man who has to learn how to live with his blindness. The conflict in Blinders is that there are two different stories that are both important, but they are both connected.
The Shelby family is in a precarious situation. They have everything on the line, and no one knows who will come out on top. We’ll have to wait and see.
