What To Remember Before Tommy Shelby Returns in ‘The Immortal Man’

Peaky Blinders might have ended on a cliffhanging note back in 2022, but Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) still has some business to tend to. Nearly seven years after the events of the final season, Tommy returns from the “dead” in the upcoming Peaky Blinders: Immortal Man. With his nation at stake from World War II, so is his well-established business empire in Small Heath, Birmingham.

Once a humble gambling den, Shelby Ltd. has, over six seasons, expanded into a feared enterprise with multinational exports and imports. However, that growth came at a cost. Along the way, the Shelbys formed alliances and made enemies with powerful figures, ranging from the revered Winston Churchill to outright Nazi sympathizers. Much of his business success is built on sacrificing his family’s well-being in pursuit of long-term profit, but if there is one thing Tommy consistently fails at, it’s setting limits. With Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man around the corner, here’s what to remember about where the story last left off with the Shelbys.

Tommy Shelby Finds Post-Prohibition Business in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6

The last time fans saw the Shelbys in Peaky Blinders, they were at rock bottom after the failed assassination of fascist Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin). Tommy takes the outcome too seriously, nearly killing himself were it not for his wife, Lizzie (Natasha O’Keeffe), taking out the bullets from his gun. Tommy learns the ambush on the Shelbys wasn’t ordered by Mosley himself, but carried out by IRA brigades. Two of Tommy’s closest confidantes are killed: Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen) and his aunt Polly Shelby (Helen McCrory, whose death is implied off-screen following the actor’s passing). Polly’s son and Tommy’s cousin, Michael Gray (Finn Cole), who has been holding a business-related grudge since Season 5, is shattered by her death and swears revenge.

Fast forward four years to December 5, 1933, when Tommy arrives on Miquelon Island, a French territory located near Newfoundland that was a major hub for alcohol smuggling during U.S. Prohibition. With Prohibition ending at midnight, Tommy plans to use the same smuggling systems already established on the island to smuggle opium he has imported from Shanghai. During a meeting on Miquelon, Tommy invites Michael to join his new business venture and gives him a bag of opium. Unbeknownst to Michael, Tommy tips off Boston authorities that Michael is carrying drugs back to the city, framing him and getting him arrested.

The Shelbys Are Haunted by a Curse in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6

Tommy returns to London for both family and business. Haunted by a prophecy foretelling that one of the Shelbys will die, he is shaken when he learns his young daughter Ruby has been running a high fever. More disturbing, she claims to hear voices and see a “grey man.” Though a combination of modern medicine and centuries-old remedies briefly eases her condition, the worst is yet to come. Ruby’s fever suddenly returns, she begins coughing up blood, and her hallucinations grow more severe.

On the business front, Tommy seeks to build ties with Jack Nelson (James Frecheville), a powerful Boston broker and uncle to Michael’s wife, Gina Gray (Anya Taylor-Joy). Despite his proximity to the U.S. President, Nelson secretly sympathizes with fascist ideology. Using his position in Parliament, Tommy trades political access for influence, informing Oswald Mosley and his aristocratic mistress, Lady Diana Mitford (Amber Anderson), of Nelson’s interest in advancing fascism abroad. Meanwhile, as Nelson visits London to secure alcohol import licenses while quietly advancing his agenda, Tommy proposes a deal: open Boston’s borders to his opium trade. If Nelson refuses, Tommy threatens to partner with the Solomon family of Boston’s Eastern Jewish community, risking a gang war.

Ruby is rushed to the hospital, where doctors discover she has tuberculosis in her left lung. Although the disease is detected early, the treatment is harsh and uncertain. As a result, Ruby’s chances of recovery are slim. Tommy is convinced her illness is caused by the curse, and sets out to find Esme Lee (Aimee-Ffion Edwards), the wife of Tommy’s late younger brother John (Joe Cole). Esme tells Tommy that many people wish him harm, and he is shown a grave connected to a cursed sapphire he gave his late first wife, Grace Burgess (Annabelle Wallis), back in Season 3. Although he has given the sapphire away, the curse is apparently still attached. Esme believes the curse was placed by Evadne Barwell (Gwynne McElveen). Desperate, Tommy offers money, gold, and a monument in exchange for Ruby’s life.

In Tommy’s absence, his younger sister Ada Thorne (Sophie Rundle) steps in to run the business. As the more morally just and well-composed Shelby, Ada gets into an argument with Mitford and Mosley. However, her confrontation secures an invitation for the Shelbys to attend a future meeting. Ada also sends one of Shelby’s family friends, Isiah Jesus (Daryl McCormack), and a newly sober Arthur to Liverpool to control Hayden Stagg (Stephen Graham), who has been stealing opium from the docks. Instead of killing Stagg, Arthur pulls back when he is challenged about his addiction.

Tommy Shelby Is Given 18 Months to Live in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Final Season

Ruby dies of tuberculosis, leaving Tommy, Lizzie, and their son Charles devastated. Tommy, however, is consumed by rage. Believing it was Barwell responsible for Ruby’s death, the vengeful Tommy visits the Barwells’ forest encampment and murders them. Before leaving, Esme reveals that Tommy has an illegitimate son. The child was conceived before the war and has been living in the encampment under the name Duke (Conrad Khan). Although Tommy is grieving, business continues as usual. McKee, Mitford, Mosley, and Nelson finally have a sit-down and discuss how they can benefit from one another. However, Tommy completely disassociates from the conversation.

It is later revealed that Gina has been secretly sleeping with Mosley. Tommy warns her that if she refuses to work as his informant, he will expose the affair to her uncle, Nelson. Nelson would not take the news lightly, especially now that he is Mosley’s business partner. Soon after, Tommy receives shocking news from his doctor, Dr. Holford (Aneurin Barnard). He is diagnosed with tuberculoma, caused by his exposure to Ruby. This explains why Tommy has been suffering from hallucinations and seizures. Given only 18 months to live, the diagnosis changes everything.

Tommy and Lizzie Shelby End Their Marriage in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6

Following his diagnosis, Tommy spends his limited time ensuring the Shelbys’ futures are secured. Tommy arrives in Chinatown and shuts down an opium operation by threatening dealers with a bomb, eventually detonating it outside their shop. When he’s done, he brings Duke into the world of Shelby Ltd, intending to make him his successor once he passes away — which he has not revealed to his family. Tommy meets Arthur’s ex-wife, Linda (Kate Phillips), and offers her £10,000 to her foundation if she helps guide Arthur toward redemption. At the Liverpool docks, Tommy puts Stagg back in charge of a weapons shipment from Boston and suggests moving supply routes through Liverpool.

Tommy tries to patch things up with Lizzie, but their intimacy is obviously hollow after all the mourning. At Shelby headquarters, Arthur forces the company singer, Billy Grade (Emmett J. Scanlan), to kill a boxing referee. Billy is not only the youngest Shelby, Finn’s (Harry Kirton) best friend, but also a secret informant who tipped off the IRA after Finn blabbed about the Shelbys’ plan to assassinate Mosley back in Season 5. Nelson finds Billy and nearly castrates him to force him into becoming his informant. Nelson wants Arthur killed because Arthur’s unstable behavior makes him a liability in Tommy’s organization. At a later meeting with Nelson, Mosley, and Mitford, it is revealed that Tommy had sex with Mitford before securing influence for a housing project. Lizzie leaves both humiliated and devastated.

Tommy Shelby Discovers a Shocking Truth in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Final Season

Michael is officially released from prison, with only one mission in mind: killing Tommy. After Mitford exposes her affair with Tommy, Lizzie confronts her husband and calls it quits, emphasizing that he is truly cursed. She departs with Charlie, who admits Tommy has never been truly present as a father. Tommy continues to settle his final affairs and leave Shelby Ltd. in a good place. Believing his time will finally come, Tommy visits Canada to secure £5 million for the family, negotiates housing contracts, and secretly prepares for his death. With the help of Arthur, who learns of Tommy’s condition, Arthur helps Tommy with his funeral arrangements.

Meanwhile, Michael and Gina arrange Tommy’s assassination and order Arthur’s death as well. In Parliament, with nothing else to lose, Tommy goes against Mosley publicly, declining an invitation to his wedding. In a full-circle moment, Michael sets up a bomb trap on Miquelon Island, believing Tommy is killed in the explosion. However, Tommy survives by switching cars and later kills Michaels by shooting him in the head. Back in London, Duke takes control of the Peaky Blinders, executes Billy, and cuts Finn out of the family. To avenge Polly’s death, Arthur kills McKee. After saying goodbye to his family during one last dinner, Tommy takes his carriage to the countryside and lives off the grid. Preparing to end his life, he discovers that his illness was fabricated by none other than Dr. Holford, who turns out to be an acquaintance of Mosley. In his final confrontation, instead of killing Dr. Holford, Tommy puts down his gun when the clock strikes at the eleventh hour, breaking the curse over his family at long last.

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man premieres March 20 on Netflix.