Peaky Blinders: Season 4 Episode 2 Review
And, just like that, the Shelbys are back!
I really did enjoy this episode. It felt like a homecoming to me. It seemed that everyone (minus John, more about that later) is more or less back where they're supposed to be. We're back in Small Heath and back on Watery Lane, breathing in the smells of Birmingham. Tommy is organizing boxing matches on his factory floor and Arthur is taking bets. Good times, good times.
Of course, it's not that simple. The Mafia is after the Shelbys now (although, they're going to be honorable about killing them, whatever that means). I think Curly summarized the situation best when he said to May, "Yeah, there's 15 of them. Yeah, they want to kill us all. But we've got guns and grenades and Aunt Polly's back, so it's going to be OK. Yeah." I couldn't have said it better myself Curly. Plus, the expression on May's face was priceless.
Speaking of which, May is back! Hip hip hooray! I love her character. I doubt she's going to be shacking up with Tommy while he's got a black hand hit out on him, but maybe when all this is over...? I always liked them together. Plus, they both love horses.
But, if I had to bet, I would say that Jessie Eden is the woman for Tommy. Their complete and utter frustration with each other speaks volumes. Tommy always seems to like women who challenge him best. Plus, I saw Jessie eyeing that poster of the Shelbys in the conference room. She's curious about the family. Give it another episode or two and they'll be in bed together, just you wait.
Speaking of women, I like Polly telling Tommy to have Lizzy vet his whores. What does that process entail, I wonder?
Okay, now let's talk about John. My heart breaks a little every time I think of him. He had a certain joie de vivre that really brought a light to the show. Plus, who's going to deliver snarky one liners now? In all seriousness though, I think John's death impacted Tommy almost as much as Grace's. Although, in this case, his grief brought him clarity. In fact, from a narrative perspective, John's death seems to have been a unifying force for the Shelby family. Following those moments in the morgue, it seems like everyone is (temporarily) back on the same page. Tommy and Arthur are certainly friends again.
In fact, it really seems like Arthur was just waiting until he had Linda's permission to talk to his brother again. Aw Arthur, you might be my favorite brother.
Going back to John, at his funeral we finally learned the significance of "in the bleak midwinter..." Tommy talks about how they all "died" in France and decided that whatever they had afterwards was just extra, which explains a great deal of his attitude towards life if you ask me. I can't lie, that moment was really moving, as was seeing John lying dead in the caravan. It was all very sad.
I think we also have to have a discussion about Polly and Michael. I don't believe for one instant that Michael is going to Australia. I mean, he's Tommy 2.0 after all. And, if Michael doesn't go, you can bet your bottom dollar that Polly won't go. Like, Esme said, death is the only thing that can take the Shelbys out of Birmingham. Speaking of which, I like Michael significantly more this season and Polly significantly less. Although, Tommy did have a great line about her in this episode, "...my company treasurer, who is also, apparently, a witch."
Oh Tommy, I do love you so.
Speaking of Thomas, I love that all the guys in Small Heath are sporting the Tommy Shelby haircut. He's a real trendsetter, and, anyway, it's a lewk. I also gotta give props to whoever decided to include that long close up on Cillian Murphy's eyes (AKA the most beautiful eyes on the planet!) at the beginning of the episode. THEY'RE SO BLUE!
Anyway, I guess we should talk about our new characters. Luca Changretta is sufficiently menacing, but I sense that he has too much confidence. One of the Blinders will put a bullet in his head in a few episodes, he has too much Latin pizzazz to face off with someone as icy as Tommy. I also have to note that I find the idea of a Mafia hit man coming to talk to you about his motives and notions of honor before he kills you absolutely ludicrous. I'm willing to suspend a lot of disbelief for PB, but come on, that might be too much. Also, how dare he insult Tommy's suits!!!!
Aberama Gold, on the other hand, is much scarier, maybe because he has crazy eyes. On a side note, I just realized that he's played by Aidan Gillen, who was Littlefinger in Game of Thrones. That guy is a versatile actor, no?
On a random note, why do the episodes in season 4 suddenly have titles? We never had titles before. I guess that means they're trying to step up their game, huh?
Rating: 8/10
I really did enjoy this episode. It felt like a homecoming to me. It seemed that everyone (minus John, more about that later) is more or less back where they're supposed to be. We're back in Small Heath and back on Watery Lane, breathing in the smells of Birmingham. Tommy is organizing boxing matches on his factory floor and Arthur is taking bets. Good times, good times.
Of course, it's not that simple. The Mafia is after the Shelbys now (although, they're going to be honorable about killing them, whatever that means). I think Curly summarized the situation best when he said to May, "Yeah, there's 15 of them. Yeah, they want to kill us all. But we've got guns and grenades and Aunt Polly's back, so it's going to be OK. Yeah." I couldn't have said it better myself Curly. Plus, the expression on May's face was priceless.
Speaking of which, May is back! Hip hip hooray! I love her character. I doubt she's going to be shacking up with Tommy while he's got a black hand hit out on him, but maybe when all this is over...? I always liked them together. Plus, they both love horses.
But, if I had to bet, I would say that Jessie Eden is the woman for Tommy. Their complete and utter frustration with each other speaks volumes. Tommy always seems to like women who challenge him best. Plus, I saw Jessie eyeing that poster of the Shelbys in the conference room. She's curious about the family. Give it another episode or two and they'll be in bed together, just you wait.
Speaking of women, I like Polly telling Tommy to have Lizzy vet his whores. What does that process entail, I wonder?
Okay, now let's talk about John. My heart breaks a little every time I think of him. He had a certain joie de vivre that really brought a light to the show. Plus, who's going to deliver snarky one liners now? In all seriousness though, I think John's death impacted Tommy almost as much as Grace's. Although, in this case, his grief brought him clarity. In fact, from a narrative perspective, John's death seems to have been a unifying force for the Shelby family. Following those moments in the morgue, it seems like everyone is (temporarily) back on the same page. Tommy and Arthur are certainly friends again.
In fact, it really seems like Arthur was just waiting until he had Linda's permission to talk to his brother again. Aw Arthur, you might be my favorite brother.
Going back to John, at his funeral we finally learned the significance of "in the bleak midwinter..." Tommy talks about how they all "died" in France and decided that whatever they had afterwards was just extra, which explains a great deal of his attitude towards life if you ask me. I can't lie, that moment was really moving, as was seeing John lying dead in the caravan. It was all very sad.
I think we also have to have a discussion about Polly and Michael. I don't believe for one instant that Michael is going to Australia. I mean, he's Tommy 2.0 after all. And, if Michael doesn't go, you can bet your bottom dollar that Polly won't go. Like, Esme said, death is the only thing that can take the Shelbys out of Birmingham. Speaking of which, I like Michael significantly more this season and Polly significantly less. Although, Tommy did have a great line about her in this episode, "...my company treasurer, who is also, apparently, a witch."
Oh Tommy, I do love you so.
Speaking of Thomas, I love that all the guys in Small Heath are sporting the Tommy Shelby haircut. He's a real trendsetter, and, anyway, it's a lewk. I also gotta give props to whoever decided to include that long close up on Cillian Murphy's eyes (AKA the most beautiful eyes on the planet!) at the beginning of the episode. THEY'RE SO BLUE!
Anyway, I guess we should talk about our new characters. Luca Changretta is sufficiently menacing, but I sense that he has too much confidence. One of the Blinders will put a bullet in his head in a few episodes, he has too much Latin pizzazz to face off with someone as icy as Tommy. I also have to note that I find the idea of a Mafia hit man coming to talk to you about his motives and notions of honor before he kills you absolutely ludicrous. I'm willing to suspend a lot of disbelief for PB, but come on, that might be too much. Also, how dare he insult Tommy's suits!!!!
Aberama Gold, on the other hand, is much scarier, maybe because he has crazy eyes. On a side note, I just realized that he's played by Aidan Gillen, who was Littlefinger in Game of Thrones. That guy is a versatile actor, no?
On a random note, why do the episodes in season 4 suddenly have titles? We never had titles before. I guess that means they're trying to step up their game, huh?
Rating: 8/10
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