How Does 'Peaky Blinders' Season 6 Pay Tribute to Helen McCrory?

Peaky Blinders is not the same without Polly Gray, Tommy Shelby's (Cillian Murphy) no-nonsense aunt who was personified by Helen McCrory onscreen.

The BBC show, which landed on Netflix in the U.S. on Friday, June 10, is the final season, bringing the Shelby family's story to a close—at least until the release of its movie sequel.

McCrory sadly passed away at the age of 52 on April 16, 2021 following a battle with breast cancer.

Her illness meant she was unable to reprise her role as Polly Gray for the final season which was filmed from January to May 2021, and the show writers created a poignant storyline to explain the matriarch's absence while also ensuring she remained key to the plot.

What Happens to Polly in 'Peaky Blinders' Season 6?

Polly's absence is explained in the opening episode of Peaky Blinders Season 6 when Tommy receives a call from IRA member Laura McKee (Charlene McKenna) following the failed assassination attempt on Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) in the Season 5 finale.

McKee makes it known that she is the reason the Peaky Blinders attempt to take Mosley's life failed, and she informs Tommy that she's returning the bodies of several of the gang's members to his home as a sign of truce.

The IRA member then goes on to say that they "made some changes to the structure" of the Peaky Blinders and removed his "crutch," which is a reference to Polly and how her character came to die by their hand.

When Tommy steps up to the body bags and opens them flashbacks of the characters they were are shown on screen rather than the bodies themselves, the first two are Barney Thompson (Cosmo Jarvis) and Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen).

The third body is that of Polly, as previously mentioned her body is not shown on camera and instead Tommy is seen crying before the episode jumps to a portrait of Polly as the Shelby family hold a funeral for her.

Although this is the first reference to Polly's death in the show, the character does remain an integral part to the story because her loss becomes the factor that divides Tommy and Polly's son Michael Gray (Finn Cole).

This rift between the two is highlighted multiple times over the course of the season with a flashback scene of Polly warning Tommy of going up against Michael, saying that "there will be a war in this family, and one of you will die."

How Does 'Peaky Blinders' Season 6 Pay Tribute to Helen McCrory?

At the end of Season 6's first episode a title card is shown that says it is "dedicated to the memory of Helen McCrory OBE, 'Polly Gray.'"

Despite her tragic passing, Showrunner Steven Knight has shared that Polly will "absolutely" continue to be a key part of Peaky Blinders, including in the show's forthcoming movie.

In an interview with Radio Times magazine on Monday, March 28, Knight said of the late actor: "The death of the human being is the tragedy. The death of the character is something you can deal with, and hopefully we dealt with it in a suitable way.

"Helen was so brilliant. When anything happened in the rest of the series, I wanted people to think, 'What would Polly say?' It's like a family when someone passes away, their opinion remains in the house. Polly's opinion is going to last."

When Knight was asked if this meant Polly would be important to the movie as well, he added: "Absolutely. She's such a fundamental part of what Peaky is; her presence rules."

Peaky Blinders Season 6 is available to watch on Netflix U.S.