Warning: Contains spoilers for Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1.
In Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1, it is revealed that Polly Gray is dead, but the show is already working to replace Polly’s role in the narrative. From Peaky Blinders season 1, Polly Gray (Helen McCrory) played an important role in the show as one of the few people who could match Tommy Shelby and persuade him to back down. After Helen McCrory’s unfortunate passing in 2021, Polly Gray will not be seen in Peaky Blinders season 6.
Peaky Blinders season 6 picks up where the dramatic end of season 5 left off, but when Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) returns to his house he learns that Polly Gray has been killed. After a funeral, Peaky Blinders jumps four years into the future to 1933 and shows the new dynamics of the Shelby family in England. Lizzie (Natasha O’Keefe) and Ada (Sophie Rundle) are both at Tommy’s house for Christmas with their children, and Ruby (Orla McDonagh), Lizzie and Tommy’s daughter takes ill and has visions while reciting Romani words.
Polly Gray played a central role in Peaky Blinders and the Shelby family dynamic, and with her gone the family has lost their matriarch and Tommy Shelby has lost his crutch. However, these primary roles are being filled in for by other characters in the cast to keep the family and Peaky Blinders afloat. Ada Shelby’s handling of Arthur (Paul Anderson) marks her transition towards a leadership role in the same matriarch position that Polly once held. While Ada notes that she feels the loss of Polly, saying that Arthur wouldn’t have been allowed to get so bad if Polly had been around, Ada’s handling of the situation in the opium den demonstrates that she will step up in Peaky Blinders season 6. Polly was also always the person that Tommy would go to with questions about Romani spiritual matters and history, with this only getting more intense after Polly’s near-death experience and her belief that she was having visions. In season 6 episode 1, the introduction of Ruby Shelby’s visions and use of the Romani language highlights how she can fill that need for Tommy, allowing him to lean on those superstitions, for better or for worse.
The other major role that Polly Gray served in Peaky Blinders was as a moderating force on Tommy’s ambition and aggression. While Polly’s death could have seen Tommy spiral out of control he has sought to improve himself instead. In many ways, Polly’s death has forced him to reign himself in, making him his own moderating force to a degree as he has stopped drinking and attempts to abstain from violence. This is all foreshadowed by Peaky Blinders season 6 not including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand” as its episode 1 theme song. However, it remains to be seen how long Tommy can be his own restraining force.
It is a testament to how important Helen McCrory’s Polly Gray was to Peaky Blinders that even with three different characters picking up parts of her role, Polly’s absence will still play a huge role in the final season of Peaky Blinders. While Tommy seeks vengeance against those who murdered Polly, her son, Michael Gray (Finn Cole), now blames Tommy for her death. Polly’s absence has caused a massive rift between Tommy and Michael, one which, if it was ever going to end peacefully, would have required Polly to play her games and get each of them to settle down. It is perhaps fitting, that even with Polly Gray and Helen McCrory absent from the screen, Peaky Blinders will still head towards the movie defined by her character.
Peaky Blinders releases new episodes Sunday on BBC.