'Peaky Blinders' Ending Explained: What Happened in The Season 6 Finale?

It's official. After almost a decade on screen, Peaky Blinders has ended with a bang, quite literally. The Birmingham-based historical-series-meets-gangster-drama has come to an end with an epic Season 6 finale.

From surprise character deaths, Tommy's (played by Cillian Murphy) fate and revenge for Polly Gray (Helen McCrory), there is so much to unpack from the final ever episode.

Newsweek has everything you need to know about the ending of Peaky Blinders.

What Happened in The Season 6 Finale of Peaky Blinders?

Goodbye Lizzie

The final ever episode of Peaky Blinders picked up from the events of the end of Episode 5, when Diana Mitford (Amber Anderson) revealed at the dinner table to Lizzie (Natasha O'Keefe) that she had slept with her husband.

Quite rightly, this was the last straw for Lizzie who had been holding onto her marriage by a thread throughout the final season.

Despite Tommy's hopes Lizzie would understand his actions because he just "had to go" to Canada, Lizzie walked away from the life she shared with Tommy and it came as no surprise that her stepson Charlie wanted to go with her.

"Your more of a mom to me than he has been a dad," he said, standing up to his absent father once and for all.

Just 10 minutes into the final episode, Tommy really was on track to lose it all. And, he was sitting with the uncomfortable secret that he would soon need to be "surrounded by people who love him very much," but it was becoming quite clear to him, he had very few people around him.

Arthur Learns The Truth

Sitting waiting patiently for Tommy after his debacle with Lizzie was his loyal brother Arthur (Paul Anderson).

Arthur, now clean from his opioid addiction thanks to Tommy's intervention, had stolen the keys to Tommy's office and raided through his belongings, only to uncover the crushing news Tommy had been diagnosed with tuberculoma (a clinical manifestation of tuberculosis).

Facing the prospect of losing another brother not long after John's (Joe Cole) death, Arthur broke down in tears, leading to one of the most tear-jerking moments of the series.

That hug between Arthur and Tommy would have been felt by audiences at home across the world. Their hug also symbolized that Arthur, Tommy's ruthless older brother was back, clean, and ready to do anything to protect Tommy's legacy and the Peaky Blinders.

Finn Who?

Finn Shelby (Harry Kirkton) was stripped of his Shelby name in the final episode, thanks to his friendship with Billy Grade (Emmett J. Scanlan).

Audiences will have to cast their minds back to remember why Finn had this coming to him for a while. He had let slip to Billy that the Peaky Blinders had plans to kill Sir Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) at a fascist rally in Birmingham. However, as Peaky fans know all too well, Tommy's plans to kill his biggest rival backfired entirely.

Instead, it was the Peaky Blinders who suffered, and in Season 6, it was revealed not only did Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen) and Danny Whizz-Bang (Samuel Edward-Cook) die but Aunt Polly was also killed in the ambush at the hands of the IRA.

As Season 6 progressed, it was also revealed that the black cat Tommy suspected to be operating within the Peaky Blinders was football fixer Billy Kimber, who had told Mosley and the IRA of the Peaky Blinders plans thanks to the information provided by Finn.

Testing Finn's loyalty to the Shelby clan, he was tasked with shooting Billy dead by Tommy's illegitimate son and technically Finn's half-brother, Duke (Conrad Khan).

Instead of shooting Billy dead, Finn made the bold move to pull the trigger on Duke. However, thanks to advice from Uncle Charlie (Ned Dennehy) to empty the first two chambers, Duke survived and shot Billy himself.

Finn swore to seek revenge on Duke, setting events up nicely for the Peaky Blinders film.

This One Is For Aunt Pol

With one traitor out of the way, it was time for the Shelby family to take down her killers, Captain Swing (Charlene McKenna) and her IRA soldiers, and who better than to avenge Polly, than her oldest nephew, Arthur.

After learning of Michael's plans to have Arthur killed (presumably via Alfie Solomons, more on that later), at the Garrison pub, Arthur, Charlie, and the Peaky Blinders lay in wait for their arrival.

Armed with mustard gas and a World War I gas mask from the Battle of Passchendaele, Arthur unleased the poisonous weapon on Swing and her men, taking them down one at a time. He then shot Swing dead after looking her in the eye to say: "Her name was Elizabeth Gray, she was my Aunt Pol."

Tommy Vs Michael

It may come as some surprise to viewers that Michael (Finn Cole) really did go through with his plans to kill Tommy.

Arranging to meet Tommy in Canada, Michael planted a bomb in Tommy's car—but always one step ahead, Tommy had Johnny Dogs (Packy Lee) switch the bombs around, killing all of Michael's minions and ensuring Michael and Tommy lived.

Tommy then got the chance to put an end to Polly's prophecy that "there'll be a war" and one of them will die, by shooting Michael dead as Johnny went off to "look at the fog."

Another enemy defeated, Tommy faced an old frenemy, Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy) in the pub shortly after executing Michael.

With Michael dead, Alfie was now the top dealer in Boston, and in return, Alfie signed over Camden Town to the control of the Peaky Blinders, because that is what friends do for each other, right?

Peace at Last, Peace at Last

With the Shelby mansion blown to smithereens and the family set up for life, Tommy has said goodbye to Birmingham and hello to the beautiful countryside, where he believes he will spend the last of his days suffering from tuberculoma.

Before he set off for his final days, Tommy thanked his entire family, told Ada (Sophie Rundle) to run for MP, asked his son Charlie to look after Lizzie, and most importantly, whispered something in Duke's ear.

What exactly Tommy said to Duke, who is now sporting the classic Peaky cut, audiences do not know but it is sure to be of some relevance in the upcoming Peaky film.

As he awakens for another day (looking healthier than ever), Tommy intended to take matters into his own hands and take his own life with one single bullet, but thankfully, he was stopped in his tracks when his daughter Ruby (who died of tuberculosis) approached him in a vision.

"You're not even sick, Daddy. Light the fire again and get warm, and you will see that you must live", Ruby pleaded.

On Ruby's instructions, Tommy lit a fire where he spotted a familiar face on the front page of the newspaper he was ready to burn. Mosley and Diana really did marry but that was not what caught Tommy's attention, it was the face of his doctor Dr. Holford (Aneurin Barnard) among the wedding party.

As it turns out, Dr. Holford was on the payroll of the fascists and had tricked Tommy into believing he was a dead man walking with tuberculoma and just one year to live.

Tommy made his way back to civilization where he looked like he was set to confront Dr. Holford in true Peaky Blinders fashion, gun in hand. However as the clock struck 11 a.m., Tommy was reminded of the armistice taking him back to his roots in World War I, before everything he had experienced in Birmingham started.

Instead of killing Dr. Holford, Tommy fired a shot in the air and returned to his wagon on the hills, only to see it go up in flames.

Riding off on his beloved horse in the bright sunshine, Tommy's past burned behind him. As for the Tommy Shelby of the future, we can't wait to meet him.

Peaky Blinders is streaming on the BBC iPlayer now and will drop on Netflix on Friday, June 10.

A Peaky Blinders movie is currently in the works.