There are few shows on British television as popular and acclaimed as Peaky Blinders. With its incredible acting and great production value, the show has grown quite the audience of fans over its five seasons. There are, however, many unpopular opinions surrounding the show from both fans and casual viewers.
Reddit is the home to many of these unpopular opinions. And whether these opinions are related to liking or disliking various characters or opinions about the show's production, there are quite a few that most fans would disagree with.
Rooting For Gina Gray
Gina Gray, played by the emerging star Anya Taylor-Joy, joined Peaky Blinders in its fifth season as the American wife of Michael, and almost instantly, she became one of the most hated characters in the show.
Redditor u/wokeupabillionare states that "even though she’s a b**ch to the family, I’m still rooting for her." Gina has proven to be abhorred by so many fans of the show, so actively liking her and rooting for her is not a sentiment many fans will share with the Redditor.
Luca Changretta Was The Worst Acted Villain
Luca Changretta was the antagonist of Peaky Blinders' fourth season, looking to avenge his father's death and kill the Shelby family. The character is divisive, but Adrien Brody is seen by most as giving the character the best performance he could have.
But Redditor u/SmallHeath555 believes "Luca is the worst acted." There have been criticisms of Brody's performance related to his accent before, but the series has plenty of villains, and calling Luca Changretta the worst acted of all of them seems harsh. If anything, the writing lets the character down.
Arthur Shelby Should Have Died
Arthur Shelby is both a fan-favorite character and a key member of the Peaky Blinders and the Shelby Company Ltd. Even if there are criticisms of his arc, most fans are happy he is still around to play a part in the story.
But Redditor u/RogueFox22 says they "can't stand Arthur," going onto say they wish the character had died back in season 4 at the hands of Changretta and his goons. Arthur very well may die in the show, and if it makes sense for his story, it will be great, but few would go as far as to say they can't stand the character and wish he had died earlier.
The Show Would Suck If Tommy Shelby Turned Good
Throughout Peaky Blinders, there is the idea floated around of Tommy learning to care about something, to fight for a cause like he did before the war. For the most part, rather than doing this, he is power-hungry, ruthless, and unrelenting, but fans still root for him.
Redditor u/tvysldrz believes that the show "is gonna suck if Tommy turns good." But Tommy becoming good (relative to how he currently is) makes sense and will be a good endpoint for the character's arc to a lot of fans. It will likely make sense if it does happen, meaning the show is turning bad because it is unlikely and not something many believe.
Aberama Gold Is the Best Character
Peaky Blinders is full of great side and recurring characters outside the core group of the often unlikeable yet loved Shelby family. One of which is Aberama Gold, a popular character who many fans think is a solid part of the show.
Redditor u/aevans16 simply states, "Aberama gold is the best character." There is no doubt Aberama is great and has some awesome scenes during his time on the show. However, it will be a hard task to find many people who believe Aberama is the very best the show has to offer.
The Show Is Not Very Good
With an 8.8 on IMDb, a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, a fanbase who love the show, BAFTA award wins, and a lot of acclaim for it, Peaky Blinders is widely viewed as one of the better shows out there right now. It is everywhere.
A deleted Redditor claims that "Peaky Blinders is overrated and not very good." They go on to talk about how the characters are not interesting, the show romanticizes criminals, and the political commentary is forced. There are valid criticisms for the show and its writing, at times, but to say it is not very good is something a lot of audiences and fans will strongly disagree with.
Rooting For Michael Gray In Season 5
Michael Gray switched roles in season 5 to become an antagonist of the show, and it looks like this will continue until he bursts out as the main opposition to Tommy. So many fans hated Michael throughout the season.
But not Redditor u/Accellerator46, who says they were "actually rooting for him the whole duration of season 5." Michael's newfound arrogance and confidence is obviously coming from Gina and his ties for America, and it does not look like that will become any more likable for fans anytime soon.
Liking Linda Shelby
Long before Gina was a part of Peaky Blinders, and before Michael was the hatable character he became, Linda Shelby was arguably the most hated character on the show.
Redditor u/AlbionsSeed states simply, "I like Linda Shelby." While Linda definitely has traits to respect or even enjoy, there is no doubt that she remains one of the show's most hated characters, with fans finding her unbearably annoying and just quite entitled and intolerable.
Not Liking Alfie Solomons & Tom Hardy's Portrayal
On the opposite side of that is Alfie Solomons, a character rife with comic relief and delivered brilliantly by the always exceptional Tom Hardy. He is loved by audiences, even with his repetitive story at times, and arguably the best character to debut after season 1.
Redditor u/Mel__899, though, does not like the character and feels like "he is way too overacted by Tom Hardy." There is no doubt Alfie is over the top at times. But that seems to be a part of the character, who rivals the likes of Tommy in terms of popularity and acted well by a performer who delivers consistently great performances.
All The Female Characters Are Great & Well Written
If there is one aspect of Peaky Blinders that can leave something to be desired, it is in the writing. This can be in some of the storylines, but a lot of the weaker writing is also put into characters, specifically and unfortunately, female characters.
Redditor u/gvaudoin disagrees with this criticism though, stating, "All the female characters are great. None of them are poorly written." But many other fans disagree and feel that much of the writing for females is formulaic and dull. Look at Jesse Eden, for example, or Polly, whose arc is so up and down. The show can make enjoyable female characters, but oftentimes the writing fails the women of Peaky Blinders.