With Peaky Blinders finally ending after six seasons last night, fans are praising the TV series‘ “perfect” season finale, branding it the “end of an era” as the story of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) comes to a close, at least for now.
The head of the notorious Birmingham crime family has been through the wringer in recent episodes. Not only has he been told he has 18 months to live due to a terminal illness, but also his wife Lizzie left him along with his two sons, leaving Shelby to uproot to Canada. However, there were plenty of twists and turns along the way for the explosive 80-minute finale, which also paid homage to the fierce matriarch Aunt Polly after the actor, Helen McCrory, sadly passed away in April 2021.
The question of who would avenge Polly’s death was a big one this season, and while Michael Grey seemed set on revenge by trying to kill Tommy with a car bomb, the head of the Peaky Blinders proved he wasn’t one to be messed with, ending the blood feud once and for all by putting a bullet in Michael’s eye. Meanwhile, in a poignant moment, it was Arthur (Paul Anderson) who ensured Polly’s death was avenged.
But that’s not all. Like a cat with nine lives, Tommy was revealed to not be dying after all, as he quite literally rose from the ashes (with a cigarette, of course) and shared an emotional moment with Arthur.
With the near-feature-length extravaganza encompassing a whole rollercoaster of emotions, fans on Twitter were quick to praise Murphy’s performance.
All hail Cillian Murphy. The best actor of his generation. His work on Peaky Blinders was, in turn, bold, epic, intimate, nuanced, and tremendously effective. I hope he is proud of it at least 1/10 of how proud we are. #PeakyBlinders
— 𝔸. 💜🏳️🌈 Peaky Blinders Spoilers (@veneredirimmel) April 3, 2022
“All hail Cillian Murphy,” one Twitter user wrote. “The best actor of his generation. His work on Peaky Blinders was, in turn, bold, epic, intimate, nuanced, and tremendously effective.”
“Cillian Murphy created one of the greatest protagonists of all time with Tommy Shelby,” another Tweet read. “He was born for this role,” a third user added. “He is definitely one of the best actors of his generation.”
Tommy Shelby is one of the greatest ever onscreen protagonists.
Massive props to Cillian Murphy's performance as Tommy Shelby. He was born for this role. He is definitely one of the best actors of his generation. His awards are long overdue.#PeakyBlinders pic.twitter.com/wpZ2XQVHi0
— best of peaky blinders (@bestpeaky) April 3, 2022
Although this may be the end of Peaky Blinders on the small screen, showrunner Steven Knight has long teased a future drama movie for the hit show, and in an interview with The Digital Fix, even teased that there may be more to come beyond the six-seasons-and-a-movie format.
You can watch all of Peaky Blinders season 6 on BBC iPlayer now, while it’ll arrive on Netflix June 10.