The last season of Peaky Blinders (Season 6) wraps up Tommy Shelby’s story with a mix of vengeance, betrayal, and a symbolic rebirth.

What happened in Season 6

  • Aunt Polly’s death and fallout
    Season 6 opens with the aftermath of the IRA‑ordered killings of key figures from the Shelbys’ circle: Polly Gray, Aberama Gold, and Barney Thompson. The IRA targets Polly because she helped Tommy foil the assassination attempt on fascist politician Oswald Mosley in the Season 5 finale.

Michael Gray, Polly’s son, blames Tommy for her murder and becomes a bitter, unstable ally‑turned‑enemy, setting up the main conflict of the season.

  • Tommy’s personal and political spiral
    Tommy grows more entangled with Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists, while also wrestling with trauma, paranoia, and the lingering “Shelby curse.”

His daughter Ruby falls ill, speaks of a “devil” in Romani, and eventually dies, which deepens Tommy’s psychological spiral and strains his relationship with Lizzie.

  • Michael’s revenge and the American showdown
    Michael, released from prison in Boston, plots to kill Tommy with a car bomb. Tommy anticipates this, arranges for the cars to be switched via his associate Johnny Dogs, and lets Michael blow himself up instead.

In a final confrontation, Tommy kills Michael, clearing the immediate threat and eliminating the last major internal betrayal in the family.

  • Arthur’s revenge on the IRA
    Arthur Shelby tracks down and kills the IRA members responsible for Polly’s murder, delivering a brutal act of retribution that mirrors the show’s recurring theme of family vengeance.

This storyline closes the circle opened at the start of the season, giving the Shelbys a sense of closure even at great emotional cost.

The ending and Tommy’s fate

  • The “curse” and the caravan
    Tommy believes the Shelbys are cursed, so he deliberately has his grand house in Birmingham blown up to make way for working‑class housing, symbolically shedding the old life.

He then lives in a caravan, which is later burned down by Mosley’s man Holford, but this blaze represents Tommy casting off the weight of the past.

  • Tommy’s “new life”
    Earlier in the season Tommy is told he has a fatal diagnosis, but in the final episode it turns out the diagnosis was false.

Lizzie, having grown distant, takes their son Charles and leaves Tommy, leaving him stripped of family obligations. In the last shots, Tommy walks away (or rides off) on a white horse, implying he’s starting a new chapter free of the Shelby empire and its burdens.

Quick‑reference table

Aspect| What happened in Season 6
---|---
Aunt Polly| Killed by the IRA in retaliation for the Mosley‑assassination plot. 35
Michael Gray| Attempts to kill Tommy with a car bomb; is outsmarted and blown up himself. 13
Arthur’s storyline| Avenges Polly by killing the IRA members linked to her murder. 35
Tommy’s home and curse| Tommy has his house blown up; his caravan burns, releasing him from the “curse.” 37
Tommy’s final state| Leaves with no family ties, implying a fresh start rather than a traditional death. 57

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