What was Tommy Shelby's diagnosis?
Tommy was diagnosed with terminal tuberculoma earlier in the season, and in light of this, he tied up all loose ends with his family, naming his illegitimate son as his successor.
From the beginning, Tommy has struggled with what we now understand as post-traumatic stress disorder, stemming from his time in World War I. In Season 6, he suffers from seizures, with his body reflecting the inner turmoil wrought from fighting at home and abroad.
To make matters worse, he was informed at the end of the instalment saw the gangster learn that he has tuberculoma in his brain stem, a growth caused by the same bacteria as tuberculosis. Tuberculosis was the illness his daughter died from, which was likely to have caused the tumour, according to his personal doctor.
He had tuberculoma in his brain stem, a growth caused by the same bacteria as the lung disease, doubtless picked up from daughter Ruby (Orla McDonagh). It wasn't infectious but it was inoperable. The symptoms (seizures, dissociation, hallucinations, sharp cheekbones – I may have added the last one) chimed with Tommy's.
Alas, the tests did reveal a growth in his brain stem that the doctor explains is called Tuberculoma. It is linked to tuberculosis but it is not infectious: this sure sounds like good news! While Tommy won't be passing this onto his loved ones, the precarious positioning of this benign tumour means it is inoperable.
Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy, was asked about this very topic during an interview with BBC Radio One. The actor explained: "That comes from the fact that the cigarettes, we cut the filter off or do we leave the filter on I cannot recall, but anyway if you don't rub them across your lips initially, they will stick.
Tommy proved how serious he was by having furious sex with Diana between purple satin sheets. Diana described it as the 'English aristocracy's way of shaking hands'. Shortly afterwards, Diana rubbed their extra marital dalliance in Lizzie's face, prompting Lizzie to storm out in tearful embarrassment.
One of the major symptoms of PTSD is "recurrent, unwanted distressing memories or dreams of the traumatic event."[1] A number of characters in Peaky Blinders appear to suffer from it, the most notable ones being Thomas Shelby, Arthur Shelby Jr., and Danny Whizz-Bang.
Rather than live with this fate hanging over his head, Tommy decides to end it himself. However, he discovers that he is in fact not dying, and he had been lied to by the good doctor at the behest of Mr. Mosley. In typical Tommy fashion, he confronts the doctor with the intent of killing him.
He is about to pull the trigger when he hears his late daughter's voice. Tommy then sees and talks to the ghost. The supernatural has been discussed in the show as their family are gypsies and believes (especially in this final season) in ghosts and some superstitions. She is the one that tells him that he is not sick.
Why does Tommy's head bleed?
Tommy Shelby's at death's door
He'd been beaten half to death, injected with drugs, was sweating profusely, viscerally vomiting and staggering around, having lost his eyesight. Tommy had a fractured skull, concussion, internal bleeding and haemorrhaging. He had to hop himself up on cocaine just to stay standing.
Control has always been something Tommy struggles to maintain: control of his business, of family members, and of the past. War trauma threatens to overtake him, his flashbacks sometimes seeming more real than the actual world. Not drinking is a way to stay in control of at least one part of his life.
After seeing her, Tommy finds a newspaper announcing the wedding of Lady Diana Mitford and Sir Oswald Mosley and sees Dr Holford pictured in attendance. He soon realises that his doctor has deceived him and that he isn't suffering from tuberculoma at all. Read about the real Diana Mitford here.
Cillian Murphy (Tommy Shelby) doesn't smoke cigarettes in real life. Instead, when filming he would smoke herbal cigarettes. In an interview with The Independent Murphy estimated he had smoked over 3000 herbal cigarettes. Joe Cole (John Shelby) does smoke cigarettes but as far as I can tell only for acting roles.
If you've ever noticed that Shelby never eats on the show, that's because it was an accidental choice that later turned into an intentional decision. Once fans noticed this quirk, Murphy and Knight decided to turn it into a “Tommy thing,” which added to the character's obsessive industriousness.
Though Tommy Shelby is a fictional character, real-life Peaky Blinders ringleader Thomas Gilbert serves as a partial inspiration. The first person to be named as a Peaky Blinder was a man named Henry Lightfoot. Henry later went to fight in WWI, a subject Peaky Blinders touches on with Tommy's character.
The whiskey that is drunk in Peaky Blinders is the Gallglennie Whiskey. However, this whiskey does not really exist but it was invented by the makers of the series. By the way, the actors do not drink real whiskey during the filming. Instead of whiskey they use tea.
Peaky Blinders is not slated for a Season 7, as series creator Steven Knight made the decision to conclude the BBC drama with Season 6 back in January 2021, a period marked by the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic.
Upon the realization that the diagnosis is false and with all his affairs in order, Tommy decides to start a new life, riding off on a white horse, renewed. The white horse is symbolic as the first time we ever saw Tommy in the show, he rode in on a black horse.
In Peaky Blinders, Tommy Shelby and Polly Gray were seen half naked dressing each other up, presumably after sleeping together.
Why did Lizzie leave Tommy?
Lizzie officially reached the end of her tether after discovering Tommy had slept with Diana Mitford and decided to leave him. Still distraught over the death of her daughter Ruby, she's surprised when Tommy's son Charlie asks to join her instead of staying with him.
Cillian Murphy also said he married her for loyalty. By s4, she was not a prostitute but a secretary-cum- friend with benefits. She is low maintenance, he had no emotional hassle with her and basically did what was told. So its a marriage of convenience overall.
As a Quaker, Linda is incredibly devout and is extremely disapproving of Arthur's participation in the illegal side of the family business. Linda is skilled at navigating the intense and volatile personalities of the people around her.
Tommy Shelby, the gang's leader, along with his siblings, Arthur, John, Ada, and Finn, have Irish-Romani heritage on both sides and consider themselves Gypsy. Their paternal aunt, Helen McCrory's irreplaceable Polly Gray, is the daughter of “Gypsy Princess” Birdie Boswell, and their mother comes from the Lee family.
Does Arthur Shelby die in Peaky Blinders? No, not in the show anyway.
