Peaky Blinders (Season 6, Episode 1) (2022)
Peaky Blinders (Season 6, Episode 1)
- 4/5 Cameras 🎥🎥🎥🎥
- Directed by: Anthony Byrne
- Starring: Cillian Murphy, Finn Cole, Anya Taylor-Joy, et al
- Where to find it: BBC iPlayer
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| No Copyright Infringement Intended |
Cast your mind back to September 2019. Stormzy has just performed
a stellar headline set at Glastonbury, the world was yet to hear the word ‘Covid-19’,
and season 5 of one of the BBC’s most popular shows, Peaky Blinders, had just
aired its final episode. Fast forward 888 days and the world is a completely different
(and far scarier) place. After what has felt like a never-ending onslaught of
horrible news, it will come as a relief that Birmingham’s finest current export
is able to provide a much-needed familiarity with its long-awaited season 6
premiere.
With previous seasons of the show involving a range of storylines,
ranging from the Italian Mafia to a fascist political figure, season 6 is
moving into even bigger territory, America. Set 4 years after the disastrous
events of season 5’s conclusion, in 1933 and at the end of prohibition, we
start the episode in Miquelon Island, a remote outpost of La Francophonie that
falls outside of both Canadian and American jurisdiction, making alcohol legal.
It’s here, in a run-down bar, that we are reunited with Shelby family leader
Tommy (Cillian Murphy), who has seemingly changed his ways since the
traumatising events that transpired 4 years prior, by abstaining from alcohol and
trying to have a more peaceful demeanour. Despite this new attitude, audiences
are quickly reassured that the patriarch hasn’t strayed too far down a righteous
path as the scene unfolds, with Tommy slicing the face of a fellow pub-goer who
tries to pick a fight with him.
Cillian Murphy continues to be the leader of Peaky Blinders’
large ensemble cast, falling seamlessly back into the ever-cunning Tommy Shelby
after a 3-year gap, almost as if he had never stopped playing him, and giving a
performance just as captivating as the first time he ever graced our screens. Another
standout is relative newcomer to the show Anya Taylor-Joy as Gina Grey, one of
the few characters who cannot be intimidated by Tommy as she herself is clearly
a force to be reckoned with. Taylor-Joy was clearly given a larger role in
season 6 due to her spectacular rise to stardom since the last season aired,
and it’s a decision that’s paid off. One highlight of the episode is a scene
involving both Murphy and Taylor-Joy that creates a sense of intrigue as to how
their struggle for power will play out as the season progresses.
It would be wrong to review this episode or any future episode
of Peaky Blinders without mentioning the indescribably sad absence of Helen
McCrory’s Aunt Polly due to the actress’s tragic passing last year. McCrory’s
Polly was undisputedly the backbone of the Shelby family and the glue that held
them all together. Some may argue that Peaky Blinders will never be the same
without Aunt Polly, but writer Steven Knight found a way to give a touching
tribute to the beloved matriarch, whilst also ensuring that the ramifications
of her absence will be felt throughout the entirety of the final season.
After being left disappointed by many shows’ final seasons
(Game of Thrones, I’m looking at you), it’s a welcome change to see a show
start the beginning of its end so strongly. I have high hopes that the quality
of episodes will not only stay at this calibre, but also improve as the season
goes on, proving once and for all that you don’t mess with the Peaky Blinders.
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