This could be massive but you probably forgot all about it.
As always, if you’re not up to date with the most recent Peaky Blinders episode, consider this to be your spoiler alert.
Similarly, if you’d like to remain blissfully unaware of what might unfold in the remaining episodes of Season 5, look away now.
To say that Tommy Shelby has plenty of enemies is a massive understatement but as Cillian Murphy told JOE, Tommy’s greatest enemy in Season 5 is himself.
However, it appears that there’s a traitor in the Peaky Blinders as seen by the fact that Oswald Mosley knows an awful lot about the inner workings of the Shelby family – Mosley knew that Linda was spending time with another man and the politician was aware of some intimate details of Michael’s social life during his time in the US.
To compound matters, the Billy Boys somehow knew the secretive location of Aberama Gold and his son.
Sadly, things didn’t end well for Bonnie Gold.
We’ve already discussed the likelihood of Esme being the traitor, but what about someone that’s much closer to Tommy? Aunt Polly.
A large part of Steven Knight’s brilliance as a writer is his ability to develop multiple storylines that are spread over different seasons and on that note, cast your mind back to Season 3.
In those episodes, there’s a scene when Tommy is in the hospital as he recovers from a beating that Father Hughes and his cronies gave him.
While he’s convalescing, Michael Gray visits Tommy and tells him that he knows things about the priest. It’s heavily insinuated that Michael was abused by clergymen during his time in foster care, and these things made Michael want to be the one to kill Father Hughes.
It is also hinted that Father Hughes was a part of this abuse.
Ever since Michael was introduced to the show in Season 2, it’s clear that his mother, Polly, does not want her son to be involved in the more vicious side of the family business.
However, Michael is naturally drawn to violence and he even asks Tommy, John, and Arthur to teach him how to fire a gun.
Well, in the fifth episode of Season 3, this conversation takes place when Polly enters Michael’s office.
Tommy: Shouldn’t go looking through other people’s private things.
Polly: He’s my son.
Tommy: The bullet was mine. I never got a chance to fire it.
Polly: And the gypsy rules say it must be passed on.
Tommy: It’s not about rules, Pol. It’s about he asked me. It’s about he told me why he wanted to do it. Now, if I tell you, I can’t take the knowledge back.
Better off without it.
Polly: So this is when he was with the parish.
Tommy: Better off without it, Pol.
Polly: This is when he was with the Fathers.
Tommy: This is when he was in the care of the Holy Fathers. Michael wants it so you don’t know.
Polly: That priest
Tommy: That priest who was there when he was taken in and who is still walking the fucking earth.
Polly: Fuck.
Tommy: He asked me, Pol and I said yes. I said, “You put a bullet in that fucker’s brains” by order of the Peaky Blinders.
Polly: No. Not my son. He’ll still be as dead if Arthur does it.
Tommy: And part of him will always stay dead.
Polly: I swear to God
Tommy: In whose house it took place.
Polly: If my son pulls the trigger. I will bring this whole fucking organisation down around your ears.
Well, Michael does kill Father Hughes – he stabs him – and in many ways, Polly seems like one of the few people that has the intelligence and patience to outwit Tommy.
Granted, she had the chance to nail Tommy in Season 4 when she pretended to double-cross him by appearing to make a deal with the Changrettas, but we’re frequently told that that Polly Gray never forgets a grievance.
Aside from this, Polly would also be privy to some very sensitive information that could be very damaging to Tommy’s interests.
It’s also worth remembering that Tommy’s actions put her – and the rest of the Shelby family – in a noose at the start of Season 4. If you watch the show carefully, it appears that things have never quite been the same between them since then.
To compound matters, Polly has previously spoken about her desire to move away to Australia and more recently, New York.
She’s clearly thinking about an exit strategy but yet again, it’s worth stating that Tommy does have an awful lot of enemies.
However, could Polly follow through on her words and “bring this whole fucking organisation down” on Tommy’s head?
Is she the ‘black cat’ that Tommy thinks is bound to betray him?
We shall wait and see.
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