And these men had realised they had an ideal opportunity to snuff out a rival. Instead, this humble “Birmingham bookmaker” had reached out to even more powerful US mob bosses than Luca, including one Al Capone. Luca is not the first man to under-estimate Tommy (Photo: BBC) But this was a cleverer, more unexpected reveal. Some might have been expecting Tommy to use his influence with the army. Luca literally had him on his knees in a dingy basement ordering him to sign over his businesses to spare the Shelbys’ lives (though who’s to say he would not simply have murdered them afterwards, regardless?).īut Tommy had, once again, hatched a smart plan. Tommy, it seemed, was close to losing everything. In the end, however, it was Arthur who got to perform the coup de grace on Luca, after a sudden shift in the balance of power that was genuinely inspired. It would have underlined just how malevolent and relentless a threat Luca Changretta has been too. Leaving him dead would have had more emotional impact, and brought a fitting, if brutally sudden end, to his arc. We even got a fake-out funeral, for added drama (Photo: BBC)

The past two series have seen him claw so closely at redemption – only to re-embrace his darker side.

And snuffed out what would have been a meaningful loss for the Shelbys.Īrthur’s journey has been a rollercoaster ride of trauma, violence and guilt. On the flip-side, the reveal that Arthur was not dead after all seemed a little too convenient. It’s gutting to see such a tremendous character leave the series.

He just wanted a few short days of peace, but he knew – as did we – it was inevitable that Tommy would track him down. His world-weary speech in the opening scene confirmed his betrayal after all. It was a short-lived retirement for Alfie (Photo: BBC) So he abandoned his business to the Italians after insulting them at every turn (leaving a grenade trap as a parting gift, of course), and even made one last effort to beat Tommy to the draw on Margate beach.

Peaky blinders season 4 ep 1