'Peaky Blinders' season 5 episode 5 review: There's a war coming for Thomas Shelby and Oswald Mosely
The review contains spoilers for 'Peaky Blinders' Season 5 Episode 5 — 'The Shock'.
The fourth chapter of season five of 'Peaky Blinders' drew the curtain on a suspenseful note as Arthur Shelby (Paul Anderson) and his wife Linda (Kate Phillips) stood at death's door. As the fifth one begins, the ballet party is a mare's nest. The Shelby clan hurry inside and there's only one question on everyone's minds: Is Linda dead? Thomas Shelby (Cillain Murphy) attempts to pull the bullet out of her body while the others gather around him. When Oswald Mosley tries to intervene, Arthur pulls a gun at his head.
It is a madhouse. Kate Phillips' performance is astounding as she howls and bawls in pain. Even in all that utter chaos, Polly Gray takes a moment to show Tommy her ring. That moment rightfully gives the gist of how cluttered and convoluted their lives really are. With great difficulty, Thomas tends to the wounds and Arthur starts to sob uncontrollably as Linda lies unconscious. "You should have let her do it, Pol." Thomas helps calm him down. "You have things to do," Tommy says, to which Pol adds, "Aberama wants you as his best man."
The sequence wonderfully orchestrates how the family sticks together in tough times paying no heed to any internal animosity building up.
Mosley (Sam Claflin) takes advantage of the situation and makes a rousing speech at the ballet party. "I have known that a change is coming. With the dawn of the new decade, I will be setting up a new course, a new political movement in the heart of England and Mr Shelby will be with me, shoulder to shoulder," he declares. "This revolution will be called The British Union of Fascists."
Mosley has already chalked out many plans and one-by-one narrows it down in his conversation with Shelby. "Shootings among family members. These things will have to stop. It is too lower class. Jimmy McCavern (Brian Gleeson) and his men will be in the North. In the middle, it will be you. When we succeed, even the king won't be ahead of us." Tommy, however, doesn't say a word. He sits with a long face and then simply downs a whiskey.
You can’t tell a Shelby what to do. #PeakyBlinders pic.twitter.com/9MZL2Weok7
— BBC One (@BBCOne) September 15, 2019
In moments of solitude, Thomas is anxious and seeks comfort in the memories of Grace (Annabelle Wallis) and even his wife Lizzie (Natasha O'Keeffe). "Lizzie, please, please, please stop. Don't scare me. I still want things to feel nice," he tells her when she quizzes him about his association with the "evil" Mosley. In what seems to be the last intimate moment between Arthur and Linda, she tells him she is glad she didn't shoot him. However, she storms off the very next moment in a black car. Arthur is broken and Paul Anderson's panging will give you goosebumps.
There's another death blow. Tommy's friend from the Great War Colonel Ben Younger loses his life to a bomb blast. Tommy goes to tell Ada that the father of her baby is no more. "I didn't love him, but I liked him. He was decent and good," she tells him as they mourn his passing.
To patch up the loose ends, Tommy needs more men. He goes to meet an old sniper bud who is locked away in a mental health facility. "We will come to fetch you", Tommy tells his mysterious friend whose happiness knows no bounds. An odd choice, but does Tommy have any other option?
"To any of you still alive, you do not f**k with the Peaky f**king Blinders." #PeakyBlinders pic.twitter.com/5VSKe8r93q
— Peaky Blinders (@ThePeakyBlinder) September 15, 2019
The scene shifts to Aberama Gold (Aiden Gillen) and Arthur, who wait in the dark as there is a storm of bullets around them. Showing off his deadly side yet again, Arthur lets his guns do the talking in a power-packed scene. The wild animal is unleashed and he wins the battle in the shoes of someone who has nothing to lose with his shooting spree. As tunes of 'Atmosphere' by Joy Division float in the air, Arthur and Jimmy come face-to-face and exchange a banter that ends with a wink. Together, they hatch a plot.
But it is Tommy's words that will keep ringing in your ear: "I would suggest the most competent organizer of men in the south is Alfie Solomons." Jimmy answers, "He’s [Alfie Solomons] dead. And, he’s Jewish and I’d say him being dead would be less of an obstacle for our boss than him being Jewish," but Tommy zips his lips, not revealing what he knows. Exuding his classic flamboyance, Tommy walks off leaving a trail of smoke and a string of questions behind him. Is Alfie Solomons still alive? Will Tommy really kill Oswald Mosley this season?
Ozzy Osbourne sings 'War Pigs' in the aftermath of a car bomb, a prison break, a cyanide capsule, a drug deal, and a political execution. The fiery episode has a mix of heart and hell and it's difficult to predict which one the Shelby clan will get in the final chapter of season five. But one thing is clear: A war is coming!
Missed the review of the third episode? Read it here: 'Peaky Blinders' Season 5 Episode 4 — 'The Loop'.