Peaky Blinders recap: How series 6 ended, who died and how it sets up Netflix’s Immortal Man movie
"Where you're going Tommy, there will I be"
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man takes place after the events of the main series – and you probably need a recap of what happened and who died in series 6 before you press play on Netflix.
It’s been almost four years since Tommy Shelby’s (Cillian Murphy) story came to an end – or so we thought. From the ashes of his wagon, The Immortal Man has emerged.
Written by the show’s creator, Steven Knight, it’s an official continuation, pitting Tommy against Nazis, gravely misinformed soldiers, and his son, Duke (played by Barry Keoghan).
So, before the movie comes out, we’re here to answer some questions. How did Peaky Blinders end, and who died by the finale? Let’s dive in.
***Warning: spoilers for Peaky Blinders ahead***
How did Peaky Blinders series 6 end?
Peaky Blinders series 6 concludes with Tommy Shelby riding off on his white horse, with all of his possessions burned in a fire. He may as well be dead – and that’s exactly the point.
We see him settle all of his affairs: that nasty business with Michael, Duke being brought into the fold, destroying his house to make room for affordable family homes, and handing the business over to Ada (Sophie Rundle).
However, remember how Tommy had terminal tuberculoma? Well, thanks to a message from his (dead) daughter Ruby, he realises that wasn’t true. His doctor is a fascist, racist ally to Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin), and Tommy’s seemingly life-threatening condition was all made up. (Why did he have a seizure? That’s open to speculation.)
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Tommy confronts him and holds a gun to his head. Out of all the people who die in Peaky Blinders, this guy had it coming to him – but Tommy opts for mercy.
Nevertheless, the doctor had already ordered one of Mosley’s goons to set Tommy’s caravan alight. When he sees it on fire, he quietly realises it’s a clean slate: everyone will think he’s dead, and he can leave with no strings attached.
Who died in Peaky Blinders series 6?
While there are multiple deaths in the finale alone, we’ve gathered all the major deaths in Peaky Blinders series 6, so you’re fully caught up before the movie.
Polly Gray
Polly Gray (Helen McCrory), the Shelby family matriarch, was murdered by Laura McKee (Charlene McKenna), an IRA commander.
McCrory died in 2021, before the sixth series started filming. This led to her death in the story, killed by the IRA as punishment for a failed plot to assassinate Oswald Mosley.
Her murder has a massive impact on everyone; particularly her son, Michael (Finn Cole), who seeks revenge against Tommy for causing the sequence of events that led to her death.
Michael Gray
Unfortunately for Michael, his plans to kill Tommy and take over the Shelby business fail miserably.
He spent most of series 6 behind bars, courtesy of Tommy tipping off a police officer in Canada. When he’s finally freed, he has one instruction from Jack Nelson (James Frecheville), a gangster with strong ties to the US president and other fascists: murder Tommy.
So, he concocts a plan that involves meeting Tommy on Miquelon Island and murdering him with a car bomb. Alas, thanks to Johnny Dogs switching the bomb to another car, it explodes and kills all of Michael’s stateside associates.
Tommy then shoots him in the head, right through the eye, fulfilling Polly’s prophecy that one of them would die.
Ruby Shelby
Ruby, Tommy and Lizzie’s daughter, dies in the third episode of Peaky Blinders series 6.
She’s unwell early on, and after a brief recovery, she badly falls ill from “consumption” caused by pulmonary tuberculosis. Despite doctors’ efforts to treat her with gold (a highly toxic, widely discredited approach), she passes away.
There’s another cause, too. Following Grace’s (Annabelle Wallis) death, Tommy gave away her sapphire, believing it was cursed.
It ended up in the possession of Evadne Barwell (Gwynne McElveen), who gave it to her daughter, Connie – and she died the next day. According to Esme (Aimee-Ffion Edwards), Evadne placed a curse on Tommy that would cause the loss of his daughter when she turned seven.
Laura McKee
Laura McKee, also known is Captain Swing, is shot and killed by Arthur (Paul Anderson) in the Peaky Blinders finale.
With Tommy aware that Billy Grade (Emmett Scanlan) is the traitor within the business, he gives him information to set up a trap for the IRA.
That night, they believe Arthur at the Garrison with Linda (Kate Phillips). Instead, they’re armed and prepared, and after Arthur throws gas grenades into the street, he guns her down.
Billy Grade
After foiling the plot to assassinate Mosley, Billy Grade gets his comeuppance in the Peaky Blinders series 6 finale – and it’s Duke (Conrad Khan) who kills him.
By this point, he’s acting as an informant for Nelson, too. His arc comes to a brutal end in the last episode when he turns up drink at Arrow House with Finn (Harry Kirton).
We’ll get onto Finn in a minute, but the long and short of it is this: Duke executes Billy for being a rat.
What happened to Finn?
Finn is banished from the Shelby family after not only refusing to kill Billy, but turning the gun on Isiaah (Daryl McCormack).
Considering his actions led to the deaths of Polly, Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen), and Barney (Cosmo Jarvis), he should have been happy to do it.
However, Finn and Billy are close friends by the end of series 6. So, when Duke tells Finn to shoot Barney, he points the gun at Isaiah instead.
Fortunately, Duke had emptied the first two chambers, saving Isaiah’s life and illustrating Finn’s misplaced allegiances. Duke tells Billy he’s out of the family for good, “by order of the Peaky [bleep] Blinders”.
Peaky Blinders recap: What about Oswald Mosley?
After surviving the Peaky Blinders’ assassination attempt, Oswald Mosley becomes an even more powerful (and polarising, to say the least) figure in the United Kingdom.
He’s in full “Heil Hitler” mode in series 6, saying things like “perish Judah” and rallying support for fascism wherever he goes.
He also puts more pressure on Tommy, warning him that Lizzie (Natasha O’Keeffe) will be an unsuitable partner if he climbs the political ranks.
By the end of the series, he’s alive and continuing to spread the British Union of Fascists’ message. He escapes the Peaky Blinders’ wrath, much to the ire of fans.
However, it’s important to remember that he isn’t a fictional character. He was a real man, so the series has to follow his actual history (to an extent).
Does Arthur die in Peaky Blinders?
By the end of Peaky Blinders series 6, Arthur is still alive… but things don’t look good for him.
He struggles with opioid addiction throughout the sixth series; when Ruby dies, the toll of withdrawal is so much that he can’t speak.
As Tommy prepares to part ways with the family, Arthur is nowhere to be seen.
What is Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man about?
According to Netflix, Tommy Shelby will be "driven back from a self-imposed exile" in the chaos of the Second World War.
As he returns to Birmingham, he'll "face his most destructive reckoning yet".
"With the future of the family and the country at stake, Tommy must face his own demons, and choose whether to confront his legacy, or burn it to the ground. By order of the Peaky Blinders," the synopsis adds.
This will also involve a reunion with his son: Duke (played by Barry Keoghan), who's become the divisive, violent leader of the Peaky Blinders.
“Where you’re going Tommy, there will I be. Very soon. Love Arthur,” he wrote in a note to his brother.
The clear implication is that Arthur planned to take his own life, or he was acutely aware of the inevitability of his death, be it from drugs or Peaky-related violence.
No spoilers here, but you can read what happens to Arthur in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
What happened to Lizzie?
Lizzie leaves Tommy by the end of Peaky Blinders series 6, and she takes Charles with her.
Why? Well, there are plenty of reasons (like literally everything Tommy does and his obsessive behaviour towards stopping Mosley and Michael). However, there is a final straw: he sleeps with Mosley’s wife-to-be, Diana (Amber Anderson).
Charles tells his mum that he’d rather go with her, and to Lizzie’s surprise, Tommy agrees. Whether or not she’ll be seen or mentioned in The Immortal Man remains to be seen.
As for Tommy’s son, Duke, you can read more about his role in Peaky Blinders here.
How Peaky Blinders series 6 sets up The Immortal Man
We know Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man will be set during the Second World War, involve the Nazis in some way, and heavily feature Duke.
The final series clearly tees up another chapter. Duke was destined to become the highest-ranking Peaky Blinder, and given the lingering fascism that looms (and sometimes howls) over series 6, the Nazis were the obvious next step.
“It’s a mysterious process,” Knight told HuffPost when asked how he came up with the idea for the film.
“I tend to just start writing before doing the research sometimes… I started writing, ‘Tommy Shelby lives alone…’, that was before any thoughts of anything that’d come next.”
Speaking to Mashable, Knight said he always wanted to finish “this part of the Peaky story” during the Second World War.
