One of the best traits of the BBC's drama Peaky Blinders' is the way its characters interact with one another. They all have complex personalities that, most of the time, lead to just as complex relationships, which occasionally break the gender stereotypes typical of that era. The show depicts the characters as dangerous and vile people, who can be capable of anything.
Yet, the characters show they have a human side too, usually throughout their romantic relationships. They are capable of loving, however, it's often difficult to have a good relationship with the kind of life they do. Some of them were changed by love, others were destroyed by it. Here are the 5Best and 5 Worst Couples of the show.
Best: Ada And Freddie Thorne
Ada and Freddie were the first and most romantic couple of the show. They could be a couple from a novel; a rich girl and her bold boyfriend against the world. To avoid a negative reaction from her brothers, Ada and Fred dated and married in secret. They were crazy for each other, and she supported his fight against the system. She even had a child with him, however, he died because of the Spanish influence at the end of the first season.
Worst: John And Lizzie
John and Lizzie dated briefly in the first season when she used to be a hooker. She promised John she'd quit forever if they got married; Thomas, however, in an attempt to demonstrate to his brother that she wasn't right for him, tricked Lizzie into accepting one more trick from him, since he used to be a client, one last time before getting married. After Tommy told his brother, John left her and got married to someone else shortly after. Lizzie only wanted to marry him to settle, moreover, she had feelings for Tom since the beginning.
Best: John And Esme
Since theirs was an arranged marriage meant to solidify the peace between the Lees and Shelbys and to find a mom for John's kids, John and Esme had never met before their wedding day. However, they were both excited to marry each other and fell in love as time progressed.
They had two other kids together and, unlike any other couple in the show, dated gladly until season 4 when he was shot dead.
Worst: Thomas And May
After Grace broke his heart the first time, Thomas met May Carleton, a wealthy widow and horse trainer. Initially, he had hired her to train his horse, but he eventually went uncalled to her house and seduced her. May had connections useful for Thomas' business back in season 2, and that played a big role in his interest and feelings for her. He then stopped seeing May, and contacted her again only after his first wife's death, proving that he only wanted her when he felt lonely.
Best: Thomas And Grace
She started as the enemy, or rather an undercover agent sent to investigate on Peaky Blinders' illegal activities, however, she later abandoned her job and mission because she had fallen for Tommy. After a time of separation and new love interests, he chose to marry Grace over May. They were happily in love, as, during their marriage, she didn't even struggle to change him, since he already naturally was a better person with her by his side.
Worst: Michael And Charlotte
Michael had met Charlotte at Thomas and Grace's wedding, where they had an affair. Their relationship wasn't official, yet they kept on seeing each other even afterward. Their affair was only about physical attraction and a shared passion for drugs and money.
After some time, she got pregnant with him but refused to keep the baby. He set her an appointment for the abortion and after he left the abortion house, they completely stopped seeing each other.
Best: Michael And Gina
They're one of the newest couples of the show; they met in the United States when Michael was away from the Peaky Blinders. Gina puts a lot of pressure on Michael to get him away from the Peaky's business, but since they're about to have a child, it's easy to see why. They're always there for each other, and their love is true. Hopefully, the show will keep them together and well.
Worst: Thomas And Jessie
Jessie Eden was just another political resource for Thomas' businesses. Initially, the relationship they were pursuing almost seemed genuine; however, later on, the show revealed the reason he was seducing her was to get information on communists and their next moves. After their affair in season 4, she didn't appear much in the show, probably because Thomas didn't need her anymore.
Best: Polly and Aberama
A new couple as well, Aberama fell in love with Polly quite quickly, perhaps even at first sight. Even though Polly used to be aloof and too busy with her dangerous family and business activities, he never gave up on trying to get her; indeed, towards the end of season 5, before his death, he proposed to her and she finally accepted. They were one of the few couples with a romantic and non-toxic relationship, they deserved a better ending.
Worst: Arthur And Linda
Even though Arthur and Linda started as a genuine couple, the two of them were never meant to last. Linda tried to change Arthur into a better person, initially succeeding at it, as their relationship was in the "honeymoon" phase; however, Arthur got worse as time passed, thus she progressively started to realize that he could neither change nor improve. Because he grew abusive and more violent than ever throughout season 5, she decided to leave him for good.