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'Peaky Blinders' season 5 episode 1 review: Thomas Shelby is the real 'God' of Brummie gangster world!

'Peaky Blinders' gets two shades darker, bolder, classier and sassier in its fifth chapter. Loaded with a perfect mishmash of masculine dominion and feminine energy, the fiery start to the series is a marvel to behold

The review contains spoilers for 'Peaky Blinders' Season 5 Episode 1 — 'Black Tuesday'

'Peaky Blinders' is already wheeling into its fifth chapter with Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby, the tall, handsome man in a dusty black coat. Can we expect anything less than a rousing fire in the belly? Not a chance. It only gets two shades darker, bolder, classier and sassier! Loaded with a perfect mishmash of masculine dominion and feminine energy, the fiery start to the series is a marvel to behold.

Autumn leaves fall and the calendar shifts two years forward on October 29 in late 1929. The Brummie gangster boys are in the eye of the hurricane and they know better than to kick up a storm. Riding a horse, the Shelby leader sways hearts with his quintessential swagger. The ruthless mafioso is now an elected Labour MP for Birmingham South. 

With a whopping 48,564 votes and people who call him "a politician who gets things done," he definitely has all the support, but will he change his ways? The arrow points at that thought right in the beginning, but a shadow of doubt looms over. Tommy is as unpredictable and clever as one can get. But he has competition. Sam Claflin wriggles his way as the British politician Oswald Mosley. He may have just one dialogue, but the glint in his eyes reveal what words conceal—there's more to come.

Tommy lives with his "now wife" Lizzie (Natasha O'Keeffe), son Charles and daughter Ruby away from the hustle-bustle in the Lickey Hills. His son is angry because a horse is dead. He has complaints: "It's what you do. Shoot horses. Shoot people. Everybody says." 

"In the bleak mid—..." Tommy cracks up after burying Dangerous, his racehorse. A man, who has shot hundreds of men, now grieves at a horse's death. Isn't it ironical? Brilliant cinematography and metaphor play in the scene where Tommy blasts off the horse and points it blank right at his own head. It is a cue to the classic theme: Fire a bullet and two men die, one who gets shot and the one who shoots. To say the least, the scenes are compelling and groovy. Sharp and witty, the dialogues hit home and the direction is exquisite.

Flirting with freedom, Polly Gray (Helen McCrory) is in high spirits in Monte Carlo—she is the boss lady, gorgeous, wild and elegant as ever! So is her son, who seems to be "dancing, playing and f**king in the snow" in America. Yes, the Shelby Company has established new headquarters in Detroit USA. Sloshed on his couch, Michael Gray (Finn Cole) wakes up to the thundering news: "The Wall Street Stock Exchange crashed like a steam train and the Peaky Blinders were most definitely on board."

There's a hint that it might be Michael's fault and he is in troubled waters. Oh, and he has a pretty eye-candy Gina (Anya Taylor-Joy) by his side, who pleads him to let him meet his family. Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen) sports a chic haircut as he guns down men with the youngest Shelby, Finn (Harry Kirton)—who takes a bullet up his sleeve—all in a shallow act to "prove himself".

No one cares about Tommy's warnings and he is pissed. "What do I have to do to make people fucking listen to me?" Tommy screams. Guess what he does? No, it's not just another pack of cigarettes he lights.

Tommy goes back to his "saving Grace"—yes, literally. Annabelle Wallis is back as Grace Shelby, if only as a ghost! "What am I, a genie?" she asks Tommy. The scene is perhaps, the most beautiful moment, in the hour-long episode. Even after death, she is the only one who can calm his tormented mind. "All this time, our love still remains," Grace tells him and at that moment, we can see Tommy as a different man. The moment fills hearts with a tremble, a deep ache. He may have lost his love, but his love is not lost. 

Linda (Kate Phillips) is snorting cocaine and still trying to dominate Arthur (Paul Anderson). Snarky and the typical lady villain, she wants her husband to be "the chairman, not the doorman"—even if it involves pitting two brothers against each other. Arthur, however, is as loyal as can be. Together, Tommy and Arthur juggle their way out of another chaotic mess. How? By ignoring it. Chinese writing on the bullet. Bad news? Let it be. Angels of Retribution, new trouble? Burn the letter.

There's good news too: Ada (Sophie Rundle) is pregnant! But it is handled differently this time around. Writer and creator, Steven Knight seems to be trying too hard to show that times have changed and the show has come a long way. While in season one, Tommy wanted to kill his best friend and the father, he doesn't care to know who it might be this time around.

Polly, who advised Ada to abort the child is no longer the same woman. "The baby is Black, a bastard and it is Birmingham. But she has golden eyes and you leave him with Aunt Polly every day to look after," Polly tells Ada in a heart-warming chat.

Turmoil takes us back to the same road: Is Tommy Shelby a changed man? He spills wine on a Cavalry man's desk as a threat, makes false promises in a speech and gets a "pimp" killed to show how he is the "bigger man". You decide. But, the biggest twist is in the eye-opening tête-à-tête with a journalist. With a straight face, he tells him: "Oh well, no need to worry, I am no gentleman." The scene is intense, with 'Godfather'-like vibes. Thomas Shelby is the new face of Don Corleone. With just the right amount of salt-and-pepper, the witty banter shows how powerful men in powerful positions quash the weak ones.

Tommy is a family man now, with his own set of marital woes. Not just that, he feels the burning hatred in his son's heart for him when he tells him: "But you're not God," and runs away. Tommy answers: "No, I'm not God. Not yet."

We disagree. Thomas Shelby is God, at least, in the poignant and power-packed premiere titled 'Black Tuesday'. Back with a bang, the last scene will leave you with a smirk that says: Once a gangster, always a gangster! Tommy's horse Dangerous might be dead, but its soul is alive as the plot rushes adrenaline through veins like a speeding racehorse. There is drama, romance, violence, humor, mystery, and thrill—all bundled up in a stupendous storyline with an exceptional cast to breathe life into it. The show has both, style and substance. Worthy of five stars, the bodacious homecoming will tempt you for more.