r/PeakyBlinders

Greeting, I'm just someone who's been watching the show all these years. I'm not a hardcore fan, but I've always enjoyed it, and I wanted to share my take on this film.

The Immortal Man is one of the best films I've seen this year, and I honestly don’t understand why it got such a bad rep, so I made a video about why it's great, maybe it will give you a fresh perspective on the final story :)

Imagine you are the writer for S4. Joe Cole is staying, but you have to write out another main character. Who are you killing off, how and why?

Every time I rewatch Seasons 1 and 2, I end up feeling like Tommy's story was leading somewhere completely different. He tells Grace he wants to leave parts of that life behind and become legitimate. Later, after he's with Lizzie at the canal, he talks about using his money for charities and says he once promised someone he'd change the world. Those scenes always stay with me because they show there was another Tommy underneath everything. That's the one I kept hoping would win. Maybe if Grace had lived, things would've gone differently. Maybe the battle wasn't supposed to be about building a bigger empire, but about becoming the man he was always capable of becoming.

What made me admire Tommy was never how ruthless he became. It was the warmth he had in the beginning. Look at Danny Whizz-Bang. Tommy never stopped seeing his friend underneath the trauma. There was real brotherhood there. With John, you see it in that family meeting. Everyone laughs when John says he wants to marry Lizzie. Tommy laughs too. Even calls her a whote. Then John finally says what's really bothering him. He tells Thomas directly in his face that he needs someone. Thomas sees his younger brothers pain and helplessness.. Suddenly Tommy sees his little brother isn't talking about Lizzie anymore, he's talking about how lost he feels trying to raise four children on his own. Tommy's whole expression changes. He takes him seriously now and finds a way forward. He wants to help his younger brother. With Michael, he doesn't want him dragged into that life because he respects Polly and wants to protect her son from becoming another ruthless Shelby. Even when Michael joins the family business, you can still see Tommy trying to guide him rather than simply use him. I fancy the scene where Michael turns 18 and gives him the watch. And with Polly, there was always this quiet understanding between them. They could argue harder than anyone, but underneath it was trust, loyalty and love. Tommy listened to her because her opinion mattered to him. I loved their relation, especially early on.

Then there's Grace. I honestly think that's the heart of the whole show. The lovestory that captivated so many fans. People remember the gangsters, the suits and the one-liners, but what kept so many of us emotionally invested was the love story. Around Grace, Tommy wasn't pretending. You saw him smile differently. You saw him relax. You saw him imagine a future that wasn't just another fight. One of my favourite lines he said to Grace: «I promise no guns in the house, and Charles will never see one». To me, that's what made his character so special. For all his intelligence, ambition and strength, there was also a man who loved deeply. He had so much depth, warmth and charisma. He actually treated people as equals with humility and respect untill you showed him otherwise.. I actually think that's where his greatest qualities came from. He wanted to lift his family out of the circumstances they were in. He wanted Arthur, John, Ada and Polly to have a better life than the one they'd been given. He carried the weight of everyone because he loved them. That's why his victories meant something in those early seasons. They weren't just for him.

That's why I sometimes wish the story had gone the other way. Keep the same discipline, courage, composure, leadership and ambition, but let the love win instead of the trauma. Imagine Tommy becoming known as the man who rebuilt Birmingham, looked after veterans because he understood them better than anyone, kept his family together instead of them drifting apart, and used everything he had to give other people a better life. I honestly think that would've been an even greater legacy. Millions of people already want to be like Tommy Shelby, and I understand why. I just think the Tommy worth becoming isn't the one who slowly loses himself and becomes more ruthless and dark. It's the one we caught glimpses of in the early seasons, the man whose strength came from how deeply he cared, and who could've shown that the strongest people aren't the ones who become colder over time, but the ones who hold onto their humanity no matter what life throws at them.

In an alternative universe that’s how the story of Thomas Shelby plays out in my mind. A man worth modelling your life after and not just a ruthless gangster. We all cheered for him because we saw some of that potential in him.

My plan for the weekend is to watch robin hood. Is it worth it?