Peaky Blinders: Season 2 Episode 2 Review
Now THAT was an episode.
As you may have seen, I wasn't a huge fan of the first episode of this season, but this one really turned it around for me.
As I mentioned last week, I almost felt like the first episode of this season came out of a different show, but this one was back to being Peaky Blinders for me. I say this because this episode was really focused on the psychological aspects of the characters, which is what makes the show interesting to me.
Tommy's psychology in particular is so interesting. It's hard to get a handle on him as a character because, on one hand, he can be really loving and kind, but he also has a dark side, and it's not always clear which Tommy you're going to get in a particular situation.
Like, when he started yelling at Arthur, I was genuinely shocked. Given what Tommy went through with his PTSD in season one, you'd think he'd be a little more sympathetic to Arthur's situation. You'd also think he'd know that telling Arthur to shut the door on the war wouldn't help. On the other hand, I'm sure Tommy is still processing what happened to him in France (even though he might not realize it), so maybe that's where that anger comes from.
Speaking of which, I am EXTREMELY concerned about Arthur. Like, who knows what's going to happen with him next. And, obviously, introducing him to cocaine in this episode was a HORRIFICALLY bad idea (I'm assuming Tokyo is cocaine in this show; it sure seemed that way). Like, give it an episode or two, and that's going to explode in everyone's faces. Also, like, why does Finn have coke? I'm pretty sure he's like thirteen years old; he shouldn't be doing drugs.
Anyway, back to Tommy.
He starts off the episode by going down to Camden Town to meet the Solomons, which was an interesting scene. Is it just me, or is that guy totally and completely insane? I'm guessing it's not just me. Like, he is the personification of the phrase "off his rocker." That was a fun scene though. I especially loved what Solomons said at the beginning of their meeting, "I’ve read very bad, bad, bad, bad things about you Birmingham people." When he said that, I was like "yeah, I think that's what they're going for." Maybe the PBs should put that on a bumper sticker. Anyway, I do hope that Tommy has a real plan for dealing with the Solomons and the Sabinis though because I think Mr. Solomons has a lot of cunning behind all that crazy.
On the kind and loving side, we got to see Tommy buy houses for both Ada and Polly in this episode. Say whatever you want about Tommy, but he believes in taking care of his family. It was actually really moving to see him tell Polly that he's going to reunite her with her kids. You get the sense that behind that icy exterior, Tommy cares deeply about the people around them, and he wants them to know it.
Another great Tommy moment was when he burnt the letter from Grace. Like, that scene had me thinking for HOURS after I watched the episode. It was just ENDLESSLY interesting to me because I couldn't really figure out why he burnt the letter. Was it because Grace broke his heart and he can't forgive her? Is it because he wants to let her go and put her behind him? Maybe it just hurt too much to think about her and what he lost. Whatever it was, it was a great scene. I'm hoping Grace comes back at some point during season two. It would be so unbelievably satisfying to watch them reunite. Although, I would feel bad for Lizzy if she came back.
On another note, I was blown away by Helen McCrory's (Aunt Polly) performance in this episode. She was FAN-TASTIC. Watching Polly deal with receiving a house from Tommy, learning about what happened to her children, and then being reunited with one of her children was just so moving and interesting. We saw Polly's son Michael turn up at the end of the episode; so, hopefully that plot ends happily for Polly's sake. She's had a tough life.
Plus, who didn't enjoy watching Campbell get embarrassed when Churchill started to talk about the war. It was just a GREAT scene. I love that Churchill (and all the other guys that were there) actually recognized that Tommy made huge sacrifices during the war and that he had literally one of the worst jobs ever. Seeing their respect for what he did was really satisfying. And seeing how uncomfortable it all made Campbell was even more satisfying.
Speaking of Campbell, who didn't love watching Tommy give him the sickest of burns when he was like, "I imagine being shot by a woman hurts the same as being shot by a man. Just a bit more shameful. You know, Mr. Campbell, when I got shot, they gave me a medal. Yeah. No medal for you, I bet." Ugh, that was such a gratifying moment!
So, anyway, I think season two started off slow, but this episode really redeemed it. I hope the rest of season two continues to be this good.
Rating: 8/10
As you may have seen, I wasn't a huge fan of the first episode of this season, but this one really turned it around for me.
As I mentioned last week, I almost felt like the first episode of this season came out of a different show, but this one was back to being Peaky Blinders for me. I say this because this episode was really focused on the psychological aspects of the characters, which is what makes the show interesting to me.
Tommy's psychology in particular is so interesting. It's hard to get a handle on him as a character because, on one hand, he can be really loving and kind, but he also has a dark side, and it's not always clear which Tommy you're going to get in a particular situation.
Like, when he started yelling at Arthur, I was genuinely shocked. Given what Tommy went through with his PTSD in season one, you'd think he'd be a little more sympathetic to Arthur's situation. You'd also think he'd know that telling Arthur to shut the door on the war wouldn't help. On the other hand, I'm sure Tommy is still processing what happened to him in France (even though he might not realize it), so maybe that's where that anger comes from.
Speaking of which, I am EXTREMELY concerned about Arthur. Like, who knows what's going to happen with him next. And, obviously, introducing him to cocaine in this episode was a HORRIFICALLY bad idea (I'm assuming Tokyo is cocaine in this show; it sure seemed that way). Like, give it an episode or two, and that's going to explode in everyone's faces. Also, like, why does Finn have coke? I'm pretty sure he's like thirteen years old; he shouldn't be doing drugs.
Anyway, back to Tommy.
He starts off the episode by going down to Camden Town to meet the Solomons, which was an interesting scene. Is it just me, or is that guy totally and completely insane? I'm guessing it's not just me. Like, he is the personification of the phrase "off his rocker." That was a fun scene though. I especially loved what Solomons said at the beginning of their meeting, "I’ve read very bad, bad, bad, bad things about you Birmingham people." When he said that, I was like "yeah, I think that's what they're going for." Maybe the PBs should put that on a bumper sticker. Anyway, I do hope that Tommy has a real plan for dealing with the Solomons and the Sabinis though because I think Mr. Solomons has a lot of cunning behind all that crazy.
On the kind and loving side, we got to see Tommy buy houses for both Ada and Polly in this episode. Say whatever you want about Tommy, but he believes in taking care of his family. It was actually really moving to see him tell Polly that he's going to reunite her with her kids. You get the sense that behind that icy exterior, Tommy cares deeply about the people around them, and he wants them to know it.
Another great Tommy moment was when he burnt the letter from Grace. Like, that scene had me thinking for HOURS after I watched the episode. It was just ENDLESSLY interesting to me because I couldn't really figure out why he burnt the letter. Was it because Grace broke his heart and he can't forgive her? Is it because he wants to let her go and put her behind him? Maybe it just hurt too much to think about her and what he lost. Whatever it was, it was a great scene. I'm hoping Grace comes back at some point during season two. It would be so unbelievably satisfying to watch them reunite. Although, I would feel bad for Lizzy if she came back.
On another note, I was blown away by Helen McCrory's (Aunt Polly) performance in this episode. She was FAN-TASTIC. Watching Polly deal with receiving a house from Tommy, learning about what happened to her children, and then being reunited with one of her children was just so moving and interesting. We saw Polly's son Michael turn up at the end of the episode; so, hopefully that plot ends happily for Polly's sake. She's had a tough life.
Plus, who didn't enjoy watching Campbell get embarrassed when Churchill started to talk about the war. It was just a GREAT scene. I love that Churchill (and all the other guys that were there) actually recognized that Tommy made huge sacrifices during the war and that he had literally one of the worst jobs ever. Seeing their respect for what he did was really satisfying. And seeing how uncomfortable it all made Campbell was even more satisfying.
Speaking of Campbell, who didn't love watching Tommy give him the sickest of burns when he was like, "I imagine being shot by a woman hurts the same as being shot by a man. Just a bit more shameful. You know, Mr. Campbell, when I got shot, they gave me a medal. Yeah. No medal for you, I bet." Ugh, that was such a gratifying moment!
So, anyway, I think season two started off slow, but this episode really redeemed it. I hope the rest of season two continues to be this good.
Rating: 8/10
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