The death of that character in Peaky Blinders is more than just a tribute

Helen McCrory’s Polly Gray was for five seasons the center of much of the plot of Peaky Blinders. So the actress’s death from cancer last year posed a considerable dilemma. The series lost one of her great talents. She also reframed her story around her absence and honoring her memory. How could such a narrative prodigy be achieved?

As a fundamental element of Peaky Blinders  — which includes the emotional and intellectual pillar of the Shelby family — the possibility of minimizing his absence was unthinkable. So several options were considered, including keeping the character alive and sending Polly to Australia. Also, to attribute her physical disappearance to natural causes. Neither of the two possibilities was satisfactory for the writer or the production.

In the end, Steven Knight decided to create an entire narrative line around Polly’s death. A perspective that allowed Peaky Blinders to find a way to interconnect her value as a character and include her in the future of the series. The plot twist that results is not only flawless, with a note of unexpected emotional depth in the increasingly twisted story. Also, a way to preserve the memory of Polly (and McCrory) as an essential part of the great history of the Shelbys.

A death, revenge, and a journey into fear from Peaky Blinders

As the writer Steven Knight had anticipated, Polly Gray is killed in the first ten minutes of the series. Or rather, Tommy Shelby receives the news of her death. The beloved character became one of the victims of the IRA, once the organization betrayed the Shelbys.

Of course, it was a well-structured narrative explanation, showing Polly’s death as something more than a tragedy. This is a turning point in the series. The sixth season of Peaky Blinders has just put considerable interest in the rivalry between Polly’s son Michael and Tommy. So the death of the character only adds pressure and makes the future of the most famous crime family on television more complicated. Without Polly’s companionship, support, and especially strategic intelligence, Tommy finds himself adrift. Much more dangerous still, he is as he must face new and more enemies. Some have shown that they are capable of betraying him and what is even worse: they will kill without mercy. Polly’s death also has a hard component within the family. Michael demands revenge, and Tommy’s leadership figure depends on how capable he is of doing it. But revenge involves facing an armed and violent army over which he has little control. So Tommy must deal with two possibilities of violent death or loss of power.

On the one hand, with the threat of the IRA that will take advantage of the fact that Tommy is overwhelmed by family duels and his demons. On the other hand, Michael’s vow of revenge moves the Peaky Blinders forward into the dangerous terrain of an all-out showdown. After all, the possibility of being defeated or his leadership changing hands has been part of Tommy’s recurring fears. Will it happen this time? What is Michael up to after the death of his mother?

Eyes that look and the time that passes

Peaky Blinders moves towards its unexpected and unpredictable end. What is clear is that Polly’s death is not the end of her influence on the series. From her eyes in the sky above the funeral pyre of her final resting place to Tommy’s plea to her memory for Ruth’s health.

The powerful personality of one of the most beloved members of the Shelby family will continue to be essential to know his story. A plot success that underpins the intelligence in the resolution of its most complex conflicts at the beginning of its sixth season.