Warning! SPOILERS for Peaky Blinders season 6.
The ending to Peaky Blinders season 6 is full of twists and turns, and one of its most surprising aspects is that it inverts a scene from season 2. Peaky Blinders will live on in a subsequent film—however, season 6 waves goodbye to the popular gangster show. Speaking of goodbyes, Tommy Shelby says farewell to his family in Peaky Blinders' final episode for what he believes to be the last time. Tommy is convinced that he has tuberculoma in his brain and will eventually die from it. Too proud to allow his family to see him whither, he keeps his illness a secret and gathers his family for a final supper in the woods before he retreats alone into the wilderness.
Tommy's illness is ultimately a lie conceived by Oswald Mosley and Dr. Michael Holford, with the intention of coercing Tommy into taking his own life. Tommy discovers the truth and looks set to reunite with his family again in the movie. However, his final farewell to them remains poignant. With Tommy believing he will soon die, he ensures that the Shelby company will provide for his family and people in need in Birmingham, and he also settles many scores, such as the feud with Peaky Blinders' Michael Gray. Tommy's arc in Peaky Blinders season 6 is about him learning to be a "better man," practicing forgiveness and placing the needs of his family above his own needs. The final supper he hosts is the culmination of this arc.
Surprisingly, this scene shares visual similarities with a scene in Peaky Blinders season 2, where Alfie Solomons invites Arthur Shelby to a dinner in a basement. Under the illusion that Alfie will work alongside the Shelbys, Arthur attends a meeting where Alfie recounts the persecution of his Jewish ancestors. Alfie sacrifices the passover goat, which he names "Tommy Shelby," and it sparks a flurry of violence and reveals that Alfie is actually working with the Italians in London. In a quickly cut sequence the audience sees Arthur's man, Billy, is shot dead by Alfie's men. Simultaneously, Polly's home is raided by Peaky Blinders' Inspector Campbell, Michael Gray is arrested, and Sabini retakes his London club and slashes the faces of two members of the Peaky Blinders.
The scene shocks audiences when Alfie's speech twists into an explosion of violence in a Tarantino-like fashion. The final supper scene in Peaky Blinders season 6 is equally shocking, despite its quietness. The shock of the final supper scene hinges upon the audience's belief that Tommy cannot leave his family and that he cannot die. The lack of a twist, therefore, is the shock. The melancholic tranquility of the scene demonstrates how Peaky Blinders and Tommy Shelby changed over the course of the series. When once everything was sorted with bullets and blood, Peaky Blinders' season 6 ending is resolved peacefully, with a simple goodbye to his family.
Since both scenes include a variety of people at a long table, it's fitting that they are both laden with biblical connotations. The scene at the end of season 6 thematically compares Tommy with Jesus, center frame as he gathers his disciples before walking off along to accept his preordained fate. While this scene deals with a Jesus-like figure, Alfie Solomons' betrayal could be compared to Judas. Nonetheless, there are more overt biblical connections, as Alfie tells the table about the Egyptians who persecuted his Jewish ancestors, a story from the Old Testament. Alfie compares the oppressive Egyptians to the Peaky Blinders, who in season 2 took over clubs in London through violence. When the mirroring scene occurs in Peaky Blinders season 6, Tommy has eliminated his enemies with the help of Alfie, who he now calls his partner. This aids the thematic strand of forgiveness that runs throughout Peaky Blinders season 6, as the ending is concerned about Tommy being at peace with himself, and those he was once at war with.