The BBC’s Peaky Blinders is one of the more underrated period crime drama’s on television. For those who enjoy post World War I era series, it is an absolute treat, showing the struggles of men coming back from the war faced with a new reality and confused about how to reconnect with an industrialized world they no longer understand.
Peaky Blinders deals with the underbelly of this new modern society, a society where virtues are discarded for mere survival at any cost necessary. Life in Birmingham, England in 1918 is hard but no one knows the struggles better than the Shelby’s and their Peaky Blinders gang.
Thomas Shelby
Thomas Shelby is the second oldest of the Shelby boys and is the leader of the Peaky Blinders. His constantly relaxed demeanor and inability to be read, even unnerves his closest allies. In the season 3 finale, Thomas supposedly committed the greatest betrayal when allowing his family to be arrested for their various crimes. He collected them at his house without telling them what was going on, only to have them arrested. Turns out the arrests were inevitable with or without his cooperation, though, he did find a way to blackmail the king and get them released.
Arthur Shelby
Arthur is a troubled man through and through. His struggles with PTSD from his time in the war has significantly affected the stability of his personality. His anger issues have boiled over from time to time, no more so than when he killed a teenage boy who was his sparring partner. His uncontrolled crazed behavior was fueled by his cocaine addiction, causing him to be unable to stop himself from committing the horrendous act. Some actions can never be taken back, and no excuse makes them go away. This act has haunted him every day since.
Michael Gray
Michael is the newcomer to the Shelby gang. He is the estranged son of Polly Shelby, who recently has found his place within the family business. Unlike his mother and cousins, Michael is less disposed to violence, preferring a gentlemanly behavior at all times.
However, after he is sent by Tommy to expand Shelby Company Limited in the United States, Michael refuses to follow Tommy’s orders, and during the 1929 Wall Street Crash, he loses a substantial amount of their profits, causing Tommy to downgrade him in the family business.
Lizzie Stark Shelby
Lizzie is a former prostitute that had been in the business of providing services for Thomas Shelby at the beginning of the series. Thomas’ younger brother John ends up falling in love with her and is intending to marrying her even when his brothers warn him otherwise. Worried about his younger brother’s choice, Thomas tests her by offering her money for sex, money she accepts. Failing his test, Thomas tells his brother, who promptly breaks up with her. Lizzie manages to make amends and eventually becomes Thomas’ wife after the death of his first wife Grace.
Alfie Solomons
There is a bit of comic relief in Alfie Solomons’ character, as he manages to make a few funny comments before committing an obvious betrayal. Though he’s at least honest with Thomas when he states that business is business, and he does what is in his best interest first. Yet, when the Italians come looking to kill the Shelbys, Thomas feels a sense of betrayal when Solomons takes the side of the Italians during the war. Thomas blames Solomons for his son’s kidnapping, which Solomons doesn’t deny, telling Thomas that in their business, sons die every day.
Polly Gray
Polly has spent her life living on the edge of lawful society and does so with a certain ungracious mystique. Polly basically took over the role of mother to the Shelbys after their real mother passed and their father abandoned them.
Though after the return of her son Michael, Polly has been torn between loyalty to him or the Shelby boys. The worst Polly has ever done is accidentally divulge to Father Hughes that Thomas was going to kill him, leading to him kidnapping Thomas’ son. While it wasn’t her best moment, it wasn’t an intentional act of betrayal.
John Shelby
Like his brothers Thomas and Arthur, John has committed some egregious acts. Killing innocents and cheating on his wife with various women just to name a few. Sadly, such things are expected when running a criminal organization. So it wasn’t surprising that when Father Hughes kidnaps Thomas’ boy, Michael, in an attempt to blackmail them into blowing up a train, John and Arthur are the ones marked to do the dastardly act. While John wasn’t technically the one to do the deed, he was more than willing to do it.
Freddie Thorne
Freddie is a communist who is constantly trying to strike up angst among English workers, bringing about the ire of the police. His relationship with the Shelby clan is put to the test when he begins dating Ada Shelby without her brothers’ permission. When Ada finds out she is pregnant, Polly Gray attempts to give the couple a chance at a life outside of Birmingham by paying for train tickets. Ada wants to leave but Freddie refuses the offer, as he would rather be a revolutionary for the communist cause than just a father and husband.
Aberama Gold
Like Polly, the worst thing Aberama has done is get his family mixed up with the Shelbys. Thomas Shelby needs Aberama for his ruthlessness, but Aberama needs Thomas to help boost his son’s boxing career.
At first, it seems like a suitable business relationship that benefits both sides, but when the Billy Boys and the Shelbys go to war, Aberama’s son Bonnie becomes a casualty in the crossfire. Aberama seeks revenge for his son’s murder but, unfortunately, dies by the hands of the Billy Boys when the Shelbys are betrayed at the Oswald Mosley rally.
Chester Campbell
Chief Inspector Campbell is a ruthless monster who righteously demands that others remain lawful, while he himself commits despicable acts in attempts to destroy his enemies. He is a man who holds vendettas against those who cross him, and in the case of Grace Burgess Shelby, he becomes so infatuated with her that he stalks and eventually tries to murder her. Yet the worst act he has ever committed is forcing Polly to sleep with him to keep her son from spending the rest of his life behind bars.
