Summary

  • Grace's tragic arc changed the direction of Peaky Blinders, showcasing how love can transform a character like Thomas Shelby.
  • Grace's undercover work, vulnerability, and toxic relationships revealed the complexities of her character and the dangers she faced.
  • Despite her tragic end, Grace's impact on Tommy and the Shelby family was profound, showing the fragility of happiness in their dangerous world.

Grace on Peaky Blinders was one of the British crime drama's most tragic characters. The focus on Thomas Shelby's criminal history with the titular gang is the driving force of the show, but over time, Thomas has changed to be something of an antihero. One major character has contributed, more than any other, to protagonist Thomas Shelby's radical transformation: the love of his life, Grace Shelby.

There were several sad and pivotal moments in Grace's arc that changed everything — not only for the lead character but also regarding the direction of the narrative. Although Grace was shockingly killed in season 3 of Peaky Blinders, she remained a fan favorite until the end. The former Grace Burgess helped shape Tommy into the man he becomes by the end of the series but even before her death, she was subjected to some of the most heartbreaking moments and storylines in Peaky Blinders.

Peaky Blinders is available to stream on Netflix.

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11 Grace Did Everything To Make Her Father Proud

A Tragic Loss Fueled Grace's Work In Law Enforcement

Grace Shelby (Annabelle Wallis) wearing a hat and looking curious in Peaky Blinders

Born as Grace Burgess, this character was an Irish lady who took up employment at The Garrison Pub while she was secretly operating as an undercover policewoman for the Birmingham Police. The original plan was to assist Inspector Chester Campbell in getting close to Thomas Shelby and the Shelby family criminal enterprise in hopes of bringing it down.

What prompted her to do this was a desire to avenge her father's death, a man who had been murdered by the Irish Republic Army during the Anglo-Irish War. So, her intention was to join her father's colleague to investigate the IRA's possible role in an arms shipment theft in Birmingham.

10 Grace's Undercover Position Made Her Vulnerable

The Conflict Between Duty And Love Put Grace In Constant Danger

As the plan went forward to root out and destroy criminals in the city, Grace slowly began to be charmed by Thomas Shelby's natural charisma. Eventually, they both fell in love with each other. This now meant that she was in a vulnerable position because she was battling an internal war - one between her heart and her mind. As the smart woman she had always been, Grace knew she would be in trouble if she ever betrayed them.

At the same time, she couldn't simply disregard her duties, so this made her get placed in a terrible situation. Although she was a tough woman who could more than handle herself, there were also several times when her life was on the line which made her even more vulnerable. Even after she was done with her undercover work, simply being in her position put her in jeopardy as it led to her death shortly after getting married.

9 Grace Was Used As A Sweetener

The Peaky Blinders Offered Grace's Body To A Business Partner

Thomas and Grace Shelby at the bar in Peaky Blinders

While working as a spy for the Crown, Grace went from simply being a barmaid to helping with the Peaky Blinder's true business. She was even promoted to keep the Shelby & Co books in order. As Grace and Tommy grew closer, he invited her to a prestigious horse race for their "date." Unfortunately for her, Tommy thought this was the perfect opportunity to conduct business and decided to offer her up to one of his potential "partners" as a sweetener.

This action blindsided Grace. The situation became even worse when Kimber attempted to force himself on her sexually. While Tommy managed to prevent this from happening, Grace was deeply affected that he used her in this way. There's no doubt that Tommy had done some horrible things on the show, this was right up there among the very worst.

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8 Grace's Relationship With Inspector Campbell Became Toxic

Campbell's Feelings For Grace Took A Dark Turn

Inspector Campbell and Grace Shelby talking in a museum in Peaky Blinders

What started as a strictly professional relationship between a chief and his agent soon became a personal one. Inspector Campbell started to develop feelings for Grace and, even though he tried to hide it for a while, he came clean at last. He went as far as proposing marriage, but Grace turned it down and resigned from her position. That's when Campbell realized that she and Thomas Shelby were having an affair.

In the final scene of Peaky Blinders season 1, an angry and heartbroken Campbell finds Grace and places a gun to her face. It's a traumatizing event that was part of a much larger problem. He couldn't handle that Grace had feelings for the man he was going after and he took it out on her in a terrifying manner.

7 Grace Shot Her Ex-Boss

Grace Realized How Far Campbell Had Turned Against Her

Inspector Campbell looking intimidating in Peaky Blinders

Long before her heartbreaking death on Peaky Blinders in season 3, there was a cliffhanger that made it seem that Grace died in season 1. The season ended with it seeming like Campbell shot Grace. However, in the Peaky Blinders season 2 premiere, fans were relieved to find out that Grace was alive. She survived this confrontation by shooting him through her handbag in the leg.

This was definitely one of the saddest moments for Grace in Peaky Blinders, as Campbell was someone Grace used to trust as his supervisor. While her shooting him was understandable, especially in how she had to defend herself, having to defend herself against someone so important to her was no victory. After this event, Grace moved to New York for a long period until she returned to England.

6 Grace Married Her First Husband Without Really Loving Him

Grace Couldn't Run From Her Doomed Love For Tommy

Grace Shelby in a hat looking into the crowd in Peaky Blinders

At the beginning of season 2, after a few years had passed, Grace had changed into a very different woman. She was now married to a rich banker called Clive Macmillan and was living in the US. However, it became clear that her feelings for Thomas never disappeared, as she sent a letter to him even though he burned it.

While facing fertility issues with her husband, Grace came to London to find medical help. The combination of a loveless marriage, fertility issues, and lingering issues from shooting Inspector Campbell made for a rough patch for Grace before she reconnected with Tommy.

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5 Grace's Happiness With Thomas Shelby Was Always Short-Lived

Tommy's Life Brought Tragedy With It

There's no doubt that Tommy and Grace's love story was the most romantic and idealistic of all of them. They looked like the perfect couple with chemistry like no other. During season 2, when Grace told Tommy "The thing is... I love you, not him," it was clear that there was still a ray of hope for the couple.

Ultimately, they were able to get married and settle down (after Grace's husband's death). Yet, her happiness next to this man was always compromised due to the nature of Shelby's "work," which brought danger and drama to their home life more often than not, leading to her death on a special day.

4 The Peaky Blinders' Business Was Too Much For Grace

Grace's Willingness To Escape The Dangerous Life Wasn't Shared By Tommy

Grace Shelby looking concerned in Peaky Blinders

As the leader of the Peaky Blinders gang, Thomas Shelby has always had a lot on his hands. Taking care of his "businesses" while managing the explosive and untamed egos of his siblings - namely his brother, Arthur - were a big focus of his day-to-day work activities.

That, of course, had a strong impact on his relationship with Grace because, as a married woman, she couldn't help being linked to the Peaky Blinders clan. Season 3 saw her as a mom to young son Charles while the couple lived in a luxurious country state. However, her happiness at home was often obstructed by Thomas's unwillingness to leave "criminal work."

3 Grace Lost Her Job (And Identity) As A Wife

Did Grace's Romance To Tommy End The Character?

Grace Shelby from Peaky Blinders smiles at the camera from a dressing table

Peaky Blinders may have been focused on criminals and their conspiracies but that's not all there was to those characters. Throughout the show, the lives of Peaky Blinders' characters and the importance given to family ties made them more empathetic. Thomas Shelby was surely a complex person but his love for Grace was never something that could be doubted.

Although treachery and time apart temporarily separated this couple, their love remained strong. The sad reality is that after Grace married Tommy, she became reduced to her role as a "wife" (like perhaps another Shelby trophy) as writers didn't give her a chance to develop more storylines. She used to have a job and a career purpose but her identity became lost in her new status.

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2 Grace May Never Return To Peaky Blinders

There Are Few Options For Bringing Grace Back For The Movie

Grace meets Polly in the streets of Birmingham in Peaky Blinders

While the characters who could return for the Peaky Blinders movie is an extensive and exciting list, a pivotal role for Grace seems out of the question given her death in season 3. Grace has been glimpsed in some of Tommy's hallucinations throughout the series, and while it is nice to see Grace back on the show, simply having her as a ghostly vision is not worthy of the character. Undoing her death in any way is also not an option as it would ruin so much of the show. Fans can only hope for a fitting flashback to when she was alive.

1 She Didn't Live Long Enough To See Her Son Grow Up

The Loss Destroyed The Shelby Family In A Significant Way

Unfortunately, Grace didn't live to raise her son and have the "happy ending" that she and Thomas hoped for. At the time of her death, during season 3, her son was only two years old. Sadly, she turned out to be murdered by a bullet that was meant for her husband. The loss and grief carried out by her husband in the following episodes (even seasons) are perhaps the saddest moments of the entire show.

The death was made even sadder by what it did to Tommy as a father. Though he clearly cared about his children a great deal, Tommy never recovered from the death of Grace and didn't seem to know how to raise his kids with the kind of love and compassion she would have. After going on a mission of revenge which seemed to turn him more heartless, he then seemed to lose his will to live.

Peaky Blinders
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
History
Thriller

Peaky Blinders is a historical crime drama created and written by Steven Knight and starring Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, and Helen McCrory. The television show is based on the gang, Peaky Blinders, a group that banded together after the end of World War I.

Cast
Annabelle Wallis , Ian Peck , Helen McCrory , Paul Anderson , Cillian Murphy , Ned Dennehy , Aimee-Ffion Edwards , Sam Neill , Sophie Rundle , Tony Pitts , Joe Cole
Release Date
September 12, 2013
Seasons
6
Streaming Service(s)
Netflix
Writers
Steven Knight