Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man ending and all the deaths explained
(Obviously, massive spoiler warning to those who haven't watched it yet.)
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man promised to be Tommy Shelby’s “biggest reckoning” and it delivered in spades.
We break down that devastating finale and the fates of the Shelby clan, namely who dies in the Peaky Blinders film.
Set in 1940, we are thrown straight into the heart of the Birmingham Blitz as the film begins. But Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), once the undisputed king of his domain, is nowhere to be found in the city.
Withdrawn and living in a rural manor with only Johnny Dogs (Packy Lee) for company, Tommy is a shell of his former self. Tortured by grief and haunted by the voices of those he has lost, he believes staying in exile is the only way to protect what remains of his family.
However, with his son Duke (Barry Keoghan) running riot as the Blinders’ volatile new leader, Tommy cannot stay hidden for long—especially when a Nazi-supporting wheeler-dealer makes a proposal to Duke that threatens to dismantle the Shelby legacy forever.
The film, now streaming on Netflix, brings the saga full circle as Tommy learns to once again embrace the leader he was meant to be. By the final act, Tommy finds himself back in the mud, crawling through tunnels to fight the Germans just as he did in the 1914-18 war.
In the final chapter of this story (at least until the new spin-off series arrives), here is what happened to our favourite characters, and whether they lived to “blind” another day.
***Warning: Huge spoilers for who dies in The Immortal Man ahead***
Don't miss a single story! Add us as a Preferred Source in Google for all your television news
How does Arthur Shelby die in the Peaky Blinders movie?
It takes The Immortal Man all of five minutes to deliver its first brutal blow: Arthur Shelby is dead.
While fans had long known that Paul Anderson would not return as Tommy’s eldest brother, the question remained as to how he would be written out. Having Arthur ride off into the sunset with Linda and his son, Billy, would have been far too kind for this world.
The truth is much darker. While most assumed Arthur might have succumbed to his demons via suicide, it is revealed that Tommy killed him.
In a blind rage after Arthur stole his car to fund his addictions, the two brothers clashed in a confrontation that turned fatal. Arthur died in December 1938, nine months before the outbreak of war. This act triggered Tommy’s psychological collapse, unlocking his darkest side and forcing him into the solitude of the countryside.
Who killed Ada Shelby and why did she die?
In the film’s most genuine shocker, Ada Shelby (Sophie Rundle) does not survive the Blitz. Though Ada spent years distancing herself from the Blinders’ illicit dealings, the violence eventually found her door.
Disgusted by Duke’s reckless leadership, Ada attempted to rally the people of Birmingham in an air-raid shelter to speak out against the gang. However, a Nazi sympathiser in league with the British traitor John Beckett (Tim Roth) was watching.
Beckett tasked Duke with executing his own aunt as a test of loyalty. Duke stalked her through the darkened streets but ultimately lacked the heart to pull the trigger. Recognising the failure, Beckett stepped out of the shadows and shot Ada in the head himself. Tommy only learns of her fate through a ghostly apparition on the road back to Birmingham.
Does Duke Shelby survive the finale?
We have a survivor. Duke Shelby’s loyalty was touch-and-go for much of the film, but he ultimately chose the right side of history.
While Duke ruled Birmingham with a terrifying lack of restraint, his actions were driven by a desperate need to live up to his father’s reputation. John Beckett exploited this “daddy issue,” manipulating Duke into helping funnel counterfeit banknotes into the British economy—a real-life historical Nazi plot.
The turning point came with Ada’s murder. Witnessing Beckett’s cruelty forced Duke back into his father’s arms (after a brief, brutal mud-wrestling match between the two). Together, the father and son teamed up to incinerate Beckett’s operation.
What happened to John Beckett?
The film’s primary antagonist met a suitably cinematic end. After Tommy and Duke blew his warehouse—and millions of pounds in counterfeit cash—to high heaven, Beckett attempted a desperate getaway.
He didn’t get far. Tommy stood his ground in the middle of the road, gun raised. In the ensuing shootout, Tommy’s legendary aim held true, delivering a bullet to Beckett’s forehead before his car slammed into a support beam and erupted in flames.
Does Tommy Shelby die? The Immortal Man ending explained
The “Immortal Man” is dead. In a finale that will leave fans reeling, the King of the Gypsies has finally fallen.
During the final stand-off with Beckett, Tommy took a bullet to the gut. Knowing his wound was terminal, Tommy initially intended to let Beckett’s rolling car crush him, but Duke pulled him to safety.
In a heartbreaking final moment, Tommy—cradled by his son—requested a “mercy kill,” asking Duke to end his suffering like a wounded horse. Duke, devastated, followed his father’s final order.
The film concludes with a traditional Romany funeral. Surrounded by photographs of the family he lost and the ashes of the counterfeit millions, Tommy’s vardo sets ablaze on the moor, finally granting him the peace he sought since the tunnels of France.
