Previously on Peaky Blinders: Tommy hired Grace to be his secretary, because he has all the guile of an eight-year-old, and one of her first moves was to rat out Freddie Thorne.
Tommy goes to the graveyard and visits Danny’s fake grave.
Back in town, Polly delivers some groceries to Ada’s and begs her to open the door and eat something, but Ada refuses. Looks like she hasn’t eaten the other groceries Polly brought either. Polly reminds her that the baby won’t eat if she won’t eat, but Ada still doesn’t open the door, so Polly takes her basket and leaves.
Freddie rots in a hellish looking prison cell.
Polly gets home, where Tommy’s waiting. He asks if he told Ada he didn’t tattle about Freddie, but Polly won’t say anything she doesn’t know for sure is true.
Probably looking for some peace, Tommy goes to Harry’s and finds Grace balancing the books. He puts a star on a date in the diary and when she asks he says that’s the day he’ll be killing Billy Kimber. Oh, come on, Tommy. Why are you telling her these things? Why do you trust this woman so implicitly? Because she’s pretty? Think, man! You know there’s a leak somewhere, and it hasn’t occurred to you that she just so happened to wander into town about the same time as Campbell, shopping a story you know is fake, and that all the intel that’s been passed on about you and your family is information that could be picked up or overheard at the bar? I’m starting to think that calling Tommy the smart one in the family is less a compliment to him and more a very profound insult to his brothers.
John and Arthur visit a boxing gym and demand a cut of the bets from the ringmaster. Ringmaster refuses to play ball, but before Arthur can press the matter, the shouting of one man nearby catches his ear, and he identifies his father, Arthur Sr.
AS is taken back to Polly’s, and it’s clear she’s not happy to see him, though she does give him a sandwich. Tommy comes in and immediately orders his father to get lost. Dad claims he’s a changed man, but Tommy tells him he’s about 10 years too late. Seems dad walked out on the family and Tommy’s still hurt. Arthur tries to defend their dad, but Tommy harshly tells him to shut up. AS makes himself scarce and Arthur Jr tells Tommy he’s not really one to judge, when he sold out his best friend/brother in law.
Grace is still working the books when Arthur comes into the bar, helps himself to a fiver and a drink, and stupidly tells her that Danny’s still alive, when she asks why they’re still paying him. She asks who’s buried in the grave, but he finally gets a little smart and warns her not to ask too many questions.
Grace takes a little field trip up to the cemetery and finds Danny’s grave, then looks around.
Arthur has tracked his dad down to the boxing gym for some bonding time. They agree that Tommy sucks and dad says he’s seen Jesus and been born again and has decided that the future is opening a Shelby family casino in Atlantic City. Arthur laps it up like he’s a kitten and this is a giant plate of cream. He’s ready to hand over a packet of cash to dad without even thinking about it. They take a drink, and then dad forces Arthur to go a round with him in the ring. Yeah, you really missed out by not having this guy around for the last decade. Dad proceeds to beat the shit out of his own son, then tells everyone how much he loves and is proud of Arthur. And because Arthur’s an idiot and completely messed up, he mistakes this for actual love.
Some Irish guy named Byrne finds Tommy at Harry’s and tells him that Seamus, the guy Grace shot, was really well connected in the IRA, so it’d do the Shelbys well to play ball just now. Tommy shows him to the back room so they can talk business. Byrne wants the guns, which he heard about through Danny. Tommy claims Danny’s nuts, which is true, to be fair. But Byrne knows the Peakys have the guns and warns Tommy not to mistake him for a fool. He threatens to kill all the Shelbys if Tommy doesn’t hand over the guns. I think we’re supposed to find him menacing, but his Irish accent is so over pronounced it’s almost comical, and the way he’s shot makes him look silly, so mostly I’m just amused. But Tommy muses that maybe it is time to unload these damn guns already.
Tommy meets with Campbell in Chinatown and tells him Byrne’s in town and they can take him down, together. He asks Campbell who told him about Freddie, but Campbell tells him nothing, of course.
Arthur steals a bunch of cash from the family and hands it right off to his dad. Like an eager kid, he asks when they start work and dad tells him to meet at the boxing ring on Friday.
Grace is clearing up at the end of the day when Tommy comes bursting in and tells her there’s going to be a bit of a thing there that night. Two men are going to come and try to kill him, so he needs her to go in the back with Tommy’s pistol and come out, pointing the pistol, and start a standoff. He promises the police will intervene before any shooting becomes necessary. A churchbell starts to chime, so Tommy sends Grace off and takes a seat.
Outside, the police lay in wait, and Copper with a Speaking Role tells the others that, whatever happens inside, it’s no concern of theirs.
Byrne and another guy enter the bar and sit with Tommy, who pours them a drink. Other guy pushes his away and Byrne demands the location of the guns. Tommy produces a map and demands his cash. They hand over a large wad and Tommy gives them the map. Just as Tommy predicted, Other Guy pulls a gun and Tommy cues Grace, who comes out guns blazing, killing Other Guy. Tommy and Byrne get into hand-to-hand combat, and Tommy winds up beating him to death, after having some more war flashbacks. Well, that didn’t go as planned. He helps Grace to her feet and asks her why she started shooting. She cries and says she just got confused. ‘You’ve seen me,’ he says. ‘And you’ve seen me,’ she responds. They hug, and finally the police come wandering in. Tommy yells at them for being late, but Copper just takes in the carnage and says Byrne looks like he was killed by a wild animal. He tells Tommy to get rid of the bodies and strolls back out.
Tommy walks Grace home, which I guess is the least he can do, and when they get to her door they share a cigarette and he apologises before leaving her there. She goes in and he walks home.
Grace and Campbell have a new meeting place: some park. He promises he had no idea Tommy was going to involve him in this ugly business. He also says that he heard Grace and Tommy were hugging when the police showed up. She neither confirms nor denies that, but she does claim that she killed both the IRA men. She tells him she doesn’t feel the need to avenge her father any more, and since that was her whole reason for joining the mission, she wants to resign. But first, she’s pretty sure she knows where the guns are hidden. Before she says anything, she wants Campbell’s word that Tommy won’t be harmed or harassed once they have the guns. Campbell tells her she’s too goodhearted and promises to spare Tommy. So, she tells him that there was a funeral for Danny, even though he wasn’t dead, and that the grave is unusually deep and lined with lead. How the hell would she know that? Did she dig it up? I find that rather difficult to believe.
While Grace sings at Harry’s and Tommy listens, Campbell and his men excavate the grave and find the guns. Arthur, meanwhile, waits at the boxing ring for a dad who’ll never come and Ada cuddles her baby.
Grace goes to meet Campbell at the gravesite, and he hugs her happily, telling her that all the guns are accounted for. And now that he’s not her boss anymore, he can offer her the engagement ring he’s apparently been toting around with him. Ew. And no, I’m not saying that because I’m some sort of ageist who thinks May-December romances are inherently gross, it’s because this relationship has thus far read as very paternal, which makes this move rather icky. Grace evidently feels the same way and gently turns him down. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t take the rejection well and yells and asks if this is because she has a thing for Tommy. She says nothing, only says he’ll receive her formal resignation in the morning, and heads off.
Arthur manages to find his dad at the train station. Apparently dad has not only ripped them off, he also left Arthur with a bill for his prostitutes. Charming. Arthur pouts and asks how his complete deadbeat of a father could even think of betraying the children he clearly cares absolutely nothing about and dad’s pretty much like, ‘uh, money? Because I’m a scamming douchebag?’ It probably goes without saying that dad is utterly unrepentant and has the nerve to quote the bible before bidding Arthur farewell. Arthur rushes him and dad threatens to cut his throat if he ever tries that again. Wow, this guy’s a piece of work.
He goes home, where Polly makes it clear she knows he stole the money, and where it went. She scolds him like a child and he has no defence.
Campbell gathers his men and tells them they’re going after the Peaky Blinders, especially Tommy. Meanwhile, Finn takes Tommy to the graveyard and they see the disturbed grave. Tommy tells Finn there’s going to be trouble and he needs to lie low for a while. Finn nods and rushes off.
Arthur, drunk, tries to pick a fight at the boxing ring, but the place is closing up and nobody has time for him.
At the bar, Harry tells Grace the police are coming, in large numbers. Tommy comes in and takes her aside to tell her he has to lie low for a while, but he’ll be back soon, once it’s safe. Finn comes in and tells Tommy the police are in the street, so Grace hustles him out the back way.
Police burst into the house/betting parlour and Campbell arrives at Harry’s and announces he’s looking for Tommy. Because they all value their lives and faces, nobody speaks up, except for Finn, who says they’ll never find him. Campbell tells the boy to go home and he runs off. Campbell tries a new tactic: putting a gun to Harry’s head and asking him to give up Tommy. Harry says Tommy left with Grace and he thinks they were going to her place. Oooh, Campbell’s going to be pissed off now. Maybe he is, but his first instinct is to tell his men to call the whole thing off.
Grace does indeed take Tommy back to her place and offers him tea. He promises to leave once the trouble dies down. You could be there a while, Tommy. Grace comments that he could be there until the morning, and he agrees, then asks her to dance, despite the lack of music. I have to admit, their chemistry is much better in this scene than in any of their previous ones. Outside, Campbell creepily watches her window, where you can see two shadowy figures dancing. Inside, Grace and Tommy make out, and then have sex.
Afterwards, he asks her to basically become a completely integral part of his life and business. She kisses him. Guess that’s a yes.
Meanwhile, Arthur, still drunk, stumbles around the boxing ring, and then finds a jump rope and a stool and tries to hang himself. Jesus, that’s a hell of a reaction to finding out your jerk of a dad is, in fact, still a jerk. Luckily for Arthur, the rope breaks, and he lives.
Campbell orders a telegram sent to Churchill with news that he intends to leave the city, just after tidying up one last thing.
Tommy arrives home to find Arthur sitting there, looking pathetic. He notes the rope burn on Arthur’s neck and just claps his brother on the shoulder. Arthur asks if Polly told him and gets an answer in the affirmative. Tommy tells his brother he should have used a gun and Arthur asks if Tommy’s laughing at him. Tommy says he sure is and says it’s foolish of him to try and commit suicide, especially over their dad. He has so much to live for! Fancy parties and pretty girls and business cards with his name on it! Tommy’s apparently gone and created a company called Shelby Bros., Ltd. and made Arthur one of three shareholders. And good news: Campbell’s clearing out of town, so it’s all blue skies from now on, right?
Polly, Esme, and the brothers proudly survey their domain while Tommy smokes and reads the paper in the betting office, then goes out to smile at things himself while some more indie music this show favours plays. This seemed so much like a final scene I actually had to go and check that there’s still another episode to go, but yes, apparently there is.
