"Peaky Blinders" Series 1 Review
Dow chooses to watch things, here's what he thinks about "Peaky Blinders" Series 1.
Peaky Blinders isn’t a show I would naturally decide to watch. I always asked myself when scrolling Netflix, “what about this show cleared it for six seasons?” I mean, I could take a guess to why but I want to be objective. I actually tried to watch the show a few years ago on a whim and couldn’t get passed the first couple episodes. But, here I am and here you are.
This is your one and only spoiler alert. I hate spoilers so don’t spoil me either.
The Review
The show has many themes and I can appreciate how they bridge historical relevance. Admittedly, before watching the show, I didn’t know Ireland’s history during the time periods leading up to World War 1 (WW1) and after. I rate Series One a 7.1 out of 10.
The Plot
A negative of this first season is the sheer amount of characters it introduces. It’s the first season, so I get it. However, I think it fluffs up the story when most of these characters are temporary. The plot is kind of confusing as the writers tie in a lot of history around Ireland and the military relationship with Great Britain in the early 1900s. After doing my own research, the plot starts to make sense but could’ve done better in tying in the information. Between the history and random characters, the show can be easy to walk away from.
You’re introduced to Thomas (Tommy) Shelby and off the bat you know he’s the main character. Some would say he’s a heartthrob (I wouldn’t but hey, it’s subjective). Through this season you see Tommy struggle with PTSD. This brought up a good question, when did PTSD become something people were aware of? Through Tommy’s experience we know that WW1 soldiers were faced with inhumane conditions and expectations.
Tommy is trying to grow the family business — take the Peaky Blinders from the small betting pond to the bigger lakes. With that, he takes on several large risks. One such risk is when Tommy’s crew recovers a secret shipment of guns from the Crown to another country. What says big money like a large shipment of weapons. Something this large triggers the Crown to send Inspector Campbell and his cronies to investigate.
Tommy’s ultimate goal is to take over the horse racing tracks that Billy Kimber currently owns. The war between the Peaky Blinders, the Birmingham Boys, and Inspector Campbell is your stereotypical “Art of War” or “48 Laws of Power”. I give kudos to Tommy. He had a plan. But, you can tell he was someone who started to look at the bigger picture after his return from war. Through his interactions with his Aunt Polly, (she ran the Peaky Blinders while the men were away at war) you can tell Tommy was a different person before the war. Tommy creates ally-ship with Campbell to overthrow the Birmingham Boys. When plans back fire, the Peaky Blinders preserver with Tommy’s leadership.
Overall, the plot isn’t bad, but the show feels exhausting given the run time of each episode. With it being the first “series”, I understand the character introductions but it’s so many and some seem useless to the story. Almost like they were swinging for “Game of Thrones” world-building which is tough to do when you’re dealing with reality. The end of Series One is a “plot twist” but I feel was poorly executed; it does create for a neat opening into Series Two.
Character Spotlight
I already spoke a decent amount on Thomas Shelby and I want to quickly highlight a few characters as they impacted my watch.
Grace
Grace is our heroine and the normalcy Tommy craved. If you didn’t know, when it comes to criminal organizations, love is an easy undercover agent. Correctly executed, Inspector Campbell employs Grace to gain access to the Peaky Blinders. Through Grace, we see what Tommy missed so much in his previous life before the war.
Inspector Chester Campbell
One of the main counterparts to Tommy. Inspector Campbell constantly lobbies his similarities to Tommy. I agree with Campbell’s opinions that him and Tommy are alike, but equally, there are obvious differences in character and morals. They are both similar in their choice of women 😉. A ruthless character in his investigations, the risks Campbell takes don’t play out the way he wants — obviously because he’s not the main character. He was an okay member of the main triad this series.
Aunt Polly
Auntie Polly ran the Peaky Blinders while the men were away at war. She battles misogyny and patriarchy when the men return. She was able to successfully run the gang for a few years and felt she had right to contribute to the gang’s direction. She disagrees wholeheartedly with Tommy’s vision, and rightfully so, Tommy was swinging for the fences. Aunt Polly’s core mistake is thinking she understood who Tommy was post-War. She’s loyal to what protects the family.
Final Thoughts
“Series One” was okay. I plan to watch Series Two soon and I’ll report back. If you’re looking for a show that may take you some time to binge, and you like crime organizations, then, “Peaky Blinders” may be the show for you. Enjoy (or get over) the accents!