My Top 20 Shows of 2019

20: GameFace (Channel 4)

Roisin Conaghty returns for a second series as Marcella and while her character might be falling apart at the seams, Roisin herself has raised the game with this improvement on the first run. Marcella’s family are still weird, her love life is still a mess and to make matters worse her crap therapist has a crappy sidekick. It’s still quirky and potty mouthed, just more so. However, the ending might mean GameFace has reached its endgame.

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19: Taskmaster – Series 9 (Dave)

After an iffy eighth installment at the start of the year when the contestants didn’t seem to gel and the tasks weren’t up to scratch, Taskmaster came back firing on all cylinders. Everyone was brilliant. Ed Gamble’s competitiveness made up for Jo Brand’s lack of interest and David Baddiels general confusion. It was all brilliant and hopefully the move to Channel 4 won’t mess with a winning formula.

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18: Dead To Me (Netflix)

A farcical comedy with a dark heart. Jen has recently lost her husband in a tragic accident and soon meets Judy at a support group. Her world is about to be flipped over again as the two become close friends with a lack of trust as the unspoken third wheel in the relationship. Dead To Me is a sensitively played out story with plenty of laughs and emotional pathos.

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17: Catastrophe (Channel 4)

Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney’s potentially final installment as a bickering, troubled couple offered plenty of the gross out moments and arguments we’ve come to love over the years but there was an even sharper edge this time round. We loved Sharon and Rob through some very questionable behaviour over he years nd that is a credit to the writers . Sharon and Rob. If this is goodbye then let’s at least end on good terms.

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16: Brexit: The Uncivil War (Channel 4)

A riveting take on a very British storm. In parts factual and in parts exaggerated, The Uncivil War was a comical spoof which summed up the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Let’s face it, facts aren’t important these days anyway. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Dominic Cummings, the man behind the madness as we see see his methods behind the political revolution. It’s a fun, engaging thrill ride which can’t be said of Brexit itself.

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15: Sex Education (Netflix)

A bright, bold tale of teenage sexuality told through the eyes of Otis who ends up giving advice to fellow students despite having no direct life experience himself. Sex, drugs, body image and bullying are just some of the topics handled in a direct and funny manner. It pulls no punches with the headstrong storytelling. The setting is actually the main thing that causes unease because its British students dressed as American students in a British school which looks like an American school. It’s very discombulating indeed.

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14: The End Of The F***ing World (Channel 4 / Netflix)

The teenage tearaways Alyssa and James don’t get things any easier when a woman named Bonnie who is set on revenge comes into their lives. Still artfully shot and masterfully told, the story surprises in the direction it takes. The End Of The F***ing World is lo-fi Tarrantino set in Britain and it’s still f***ING brilliant.

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13: Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix)

The gruesome foursome of Shiela, Joel, Abby and Eric continue their take on surreal suburbia. The show with all its gore and lunacy has impressed with every series. There’s not much new on the plate here but to stay urgent and hilarious despite that is credit to the performances from a pitch perfect cast. Netflix, like Sheila with her victims has cruelly cut Santa Clarita Diet off in its prime. We left things on a cliffhanger that could have taken the show to new realms. It’s sad to say goodbye.

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12: The Capture (BBC1)

Holiday Grainger plays D.I Rachel Carey who gets caught up in a world of make believe that takes her straight to the heart of conspiracy and law. Shaun Emery, a recently cleared British soldier is the man at the centre of it all and how can he prove his innocence when the evidence shows otherwise? The Capture is a thrilling emotional rollercoaster with twists that’ll mess with your head. There is style, substance and almost certainly a second series in the offing. When do we start?

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11: Year Of The Rabbit (Channel 4)

Think Ripper Street visiting Garth Merenghi’s Dark place hospital in Victorian times. Got it? Weird isn’t it? Matt Berry plays Inspector Rabbit and yes, he’s being very Matt Berry here but it suits the madness. Rabbit teams up with Mabel and Wilbur to solve crimes in ways only they can – badly. Quick-fire jokes, great visual gags and complete nonsense are the order of the day and it’s an absolute riot.

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10: Guilt (BBC Scotland)

Max and Jake are brothers for better or worse and in Guilt, mostly worse. Late one night they drunkenly kill an old man with their car and what follows is a tale of cover ups and repercussions. Through it all they meet Angie, an American with her own secrets. Guilt is a steadily paced farce that questions whether family is really stronger together.

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9: Dead Pixels (Channel 4)

Meet Meg a gamer who has a mind murkier than some of the darkest frogs of the internet and her curious gaming friends. They don’t want to live in the real world but their fantasy lives within the game blur into every aspect of their day to day. Dead Pixels is fun, rude and genuinely funny as fuck. Meg and Nicky are completely awful people but just like them we can’t keep our eyes from the screen. The mashup of in game play and standard settings is a visual treat.

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8: Giri / Haji (BBC2)

The English translation of the title is Duty / Shame. Kenzo is carrying out his duty, Yuko is his shame. Giri / Haji is set in Tokyo and London and the beautiful cinematography perfectly captures both cities. The direction throughout is crafted with an exception eye for detail. Kenzo is a detective sent to London to find his missing brother, who’s been involved with the Yakuza and accused of murder but the ramifications are the heart of the matter here. Giri / Haji is brooding, intelligent drama with plenty of revelations.

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7: Line Of Duty (BBC1)

Line Of Duty was almost back to its best after a disappointing fourth series. Steven Graham as the main antagonist was a big reason for this but throwing Ted Hastings in at the deep end was the real masterstroke, taking AC-12 into uncharted territory. Our little hearts couldn’t take Ted being corrupt and the way writer Jed Mercurio weaves in so much from the show’s history means the viewer can never relax. The levels of complex storytelling are unparalleled. This run was short on the long interrogation scenes, maybe as a way of not turning into a spoof of itself. The ninety minute finale was tense event telly at it’s very best. Is the strange ‘H’ reveal at the very end a double bluff?

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6: Ghosts (BBC1)

Horrible Histories goes ghastly ghouls on our asses and comedy is a better place as a result. There’s still that brand of humour from them we love but with a slightly more adult twist. Alison and Mike get the keys to a rundown country house but the dead inhabitants don’t taken kindly to their new housemates. They’re all larger than life characters but Lolly Adefope’s Kitty might be the standout. What follows is a madcap twist on the genre. Ghosts is odd, charming and already commissioned for two more series.

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5: Peaky Blinders (BBC1)

Peaky Blinders took a change in direction this year and it wasn’t to everyone’s taste. This was a study of Tommy’s personal demons. Read all my reviews of series five here and cast interviews here:

https://yekimmikey.wordpress.com/category/peaky-blinders-series-5/

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4: Brassic (Sky Atlantic)

From the mind of Joe Gilgun and starring the man himself, Brassic offers a working class way of life not often given airtime on television. Brassic is Vinnie’s fight against depression but told through the medium of stealing ponies, bum exposing wrestles snd getting stuck in sewers. His gang of friends, with Dylan his closest buddy pulling away from him, get themselves in all sorts of scrapes with diminishing returns. The opening monologue of episode one is a northern take on the famous ‘Choose Life’ diatribe in Trainspotting and sums up Brassic’s mantra from the off. Though however bizarre things may get Gilgun and fellow writer Danny Brocklehurst manage to keep it grounded. Crude and sincere in equal measure, series two follows in 2020.

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3: Pure (Channel 4)

Newcomer Charly Clive excels as Marnie, a 24 year old sufferer of ‘Pure O’, an extreme form of OCD that involves near constant violent, sexual and taboo thoughts. She runs off to London but can’t escape her own mind and Pure is the engrossing tale of her adjusting to her new life and getting to grips with her illness. There’s awkward thumbles, workplace terrors and difficult friendships aplenty but her brain is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Pure is a realistic, heartfelt and refreshingly honest work.

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2: Years And Years (BBC1)

Russell T. Davies covers fifteen years through the eyes of a family that sees a rapid, frightening shift of the world’s axis. Back near the start of the year it already felt like an uncomfortable watch as what should be sci-fi was almost mimicking our daily news. A few months down the line and the show’s themes are even more relevant. Covering so many big political and technological moments in a domestic setting is the biggest achievement of many that Years And Years achieved. Read my reviews of all the episodes here:

https://yekimmikey.wordpress.com/category/years-and-years/

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1: Stranger Things 3 (Netflix)

Stranger Things 3 is the brightest, boldest and funniest series yet. There wasn’t just a tone change but more urgency and a different sort of peril. If series two felt like a rehash of the original run then this subverted expectations. There’s so much to love from Steve and Dustin’s bromance reaching new levels, the introduction of Robin, the cynical heroics of Hopper and so much more. Using the mall as a centrepiece was another masterstroke as well because we needed to see more of Hawkins, we needed to see these great characters in different settings and different situations. It’s rare for a show to improve as it goes on but Stranger Things has done so in style. The gut wrenching ending pulled the rug from under our feet and it looks like we won’t be seeing anymore of Hawkins at all from now on.

Peaky Blinders Series 5 Interview: Harry Kirton

It’s sweltering in London town today. The heatwave has reached thirty five degrees and it might be getting a bit to Harry.

How’s Finn settling into life as an adult Peaky Blinder?

“You know when you’re in hot weather and you have a jacket on and you get a bit dewy and frustrated? You probably need the toilet as well so you just want to get home. I think in Finn’s mind all he’s wanted is to do missions on his own, have that freedom to see what’s on the other side. When you finally get home, to go with this analogy or whatever it is I’m saying, you finally take the jacket off and you feel that freshness. I’m doing what I wanted to do. Season five definitely provides Finn with opportunities to express his inner Shelby that eagerly wants to come out. It foolishly leads him into circumstances. He’s too big for his boots”

Is he trying to fill John’s shoes at all?

“Death is a weird thing. None of the Peaky Blinders are unfamiliar with it but I’d say Finn is the most unfamiliar and when it’s someone so close…

All the other brothers went to war and though that (John’s murder) was caused by gang violence it provides the opportunity for Finn to express his anger in a world he probably hates at this point. He has some very interesting antics”

Now Finn is full of confidence, does he find a lady that doesn’t have to be paid for?!

“Less so lady, more so ladies. Finn has a heart, he really does. There’s a gentleman in him but he also has the family name to live up to. You’d expect the puppy to match that of the pack”

So, in both senses, he gets more action?

He’s enjoying the snow, the whiskey, the girls, the violence and just like any dangerous animal they’re already threatening when they’re a puppy but now he’s full blown it’s a pretty scary beast. You don’t want to get in front of him this season. He’s got street smarts but not enough.

The younger generation are learning and getting Finn and Isaiah together is always going to cause straight up antics! He has his own small gang and whatever we do we do with a heavy hand. You see it on his skin. Anthony (Byrne, the director) wanted my face paler and to have more scars”

Harry certainly has a boyish charm about him that clearly helps his character but thankfully he has a much better haircut in real life. Every question he ponders over studiously and he answers with hand gestures and a willingness to say the right thing, like a student keen to show his workings.

What’s it like to work with such an impressive ensemble cast?

“It’s an honour. I’m passionate about this career I have and seeing so many different backgrounds, energies and ages on set gives me a decent stage and a decent arsenal to mimic and learn from while going forward with this season’s bigger script.

I was a lot more nervous with this one because there’s more to do so there’s more to go wrong. It’s a real pleasure that Steven’s progressed my character and I’ve progressed as an artist. As I say, the arsenal that is next to me is that much greater than what I would learn at college or university. Everybody is very experienced and I’m more comfortable on set. This season I’ve been given more opportunities to explore. The comfort the other cast members have given me has provided a sureness”

Just so you know, for the record, Harry wasn’t wearing a jacket for this interview.

Peaky Blinders: Mr Jones (Series 5, Episode 6 Review)

“THE GREEN SHOOTS OF ANOTHER WAR”

Tommy has been on his own personal mission to overthrow facism throughout series five but in a grand finale that chucks the rulebook onto the fire, conventions are also vanquished. He does not emerge victorious, more enemies surround him than ever before and, worse still for most viewers, there is no conclusion to the story by the time the credits roll. It had previously been stated by Steven Knight that series six will continue the story but most people won’t know this information and will undoubtedly feel perplexed, cheated even. The fact that this was different is a positive thing. The impending doom for next time is stronger, the threat more real. We knew Tommy would defeat Lucas Changretta last time out, now he’s defeating himself. It’s a bold move and one that pays off in sixty five minutes of television that should go down in razor gang based TV folklore. Hardly a crowded field admittedly.

‘Mr Jones’ is more in keeping with where the first two episodes seemed to be heading. It is by no means perfect but the end just about justifies the means. While the third, fourth and fifth episodes were rivetting they lacked a certain edge. Virtually every minute here though is engrossing as the tension slowly builds. From Tommy’s first face to face meeting with Winston Churchill (who looks suspiciously like Neil Maskell with Play-Doh as make up) to a tense four stage meeting in the Garrison which was literally extraordinary.

Michael and Gina issue their plans to take over the company only to be on the recieving end of Tommy’s glacial stare. These are the moments Peaky Blinders shines most. The tension is palpable and made worse by a rogue Barney making a rude interuption. Then the plan is revealed to a disbelieving audience. The tiredness and strain etched on Tommy’s face is clear to see. All the awards should go to Cillian Murphy who has inhabited Tommy for ten post war years and gets better with age. The serrated edges of his character have grown even sharper than his cheekbones. This is akin to watching an immersive play. You’re right there in the room with him. Just be glad you’re not or he’ll shoot you in the face like he did with poor Mickey the barman. A grass for sure but certainly not the dreaded black cat.

What follows is a moment fans have been waiting two years. When Tommy mumbles “I have to go to Margate” we all knew instantly didn’t we? Sure enough, a few seconds later the dulcet tones of Alfie Solomons call out and in mere minutes he makes his presence felt. “How soon did you know that I was not dead?” he asks. “You wrote me a letter, Alfie” Tommy sighs. He’s daan saaf to ask a favour of his old friend / nemesis which is odd because Alfie has continuously stabbed Tommy in the front which is why he got shot in the bleedin’ face. Was it precient that their shoot-out was off kilter? He cant be back from the dead it wasnt confirmed he had departed. Was his return just for the fans or integral to the plot? The truth is we won’t know until 2021.

As for Mosley, he’s been a bit quiet up until now but that peace is shattered at his rally by a double dose of Idles. In a perverse television mash up, Love Island gets mentioned at a fascist convention but things are set to get more mad as everything goes so spectacularly tits up it’s best described with Ron Burgundy’s “well, that escalated quickly” meme. As Alfie’s boys start rioting, Barney is shot dead, Aberama is knived 284 times and Arhur is nearly killed. Again. The scope and ambition is remarkable. The direction, music and performances unite to create visual and aural poetry.

Alas, the disappointments show through right at the end as unresolved arcs slap us in the face. Most should be continued in the next run but for a second time the war with the Billy Boys is reduced to nothing. They offer no threat here and when things kick off Jimmy McCavern just watches on. The biggest bugbear throughout the run has been the apparitions of Grace showing up left right and centre, willing him to suicide. We get it, we don’t need reminding. Don’t overkill the dead. We’re left with Alfie’s dream coming true. Tommy in a field with a horse nearby and a gun to his head, Grace being the metaphorical trigger. Was it real? A dream? A drug induced fantasy? Guess what? We won’t find out until 2021.

Peaky Blinders mark five has challenged itself to evolve and has done so with great success for the most part. If the plan is to take the Shelbys up to the second world war then it seems the seven series timeline is well behind schedule as we’ve only just been to 1929. Fuel your own film rumours if you wish. Whatever happens, now is the time to keep faith in Steven Knight and Tommy Shelby.

A LITTLE PEAK:

– Polly has lost Aberama on the eve of their wedding. Her vengeance on Tommy will be lethal.

– “I got shot in the face by some c**t” Alfie always has a way with words.

– Billy Grade’s sketchiness has a different perspective now.

– On that note: Finn! You had one job!

– Did Alfie betray Tommy again? Is he responsible for the killings at the rally? Common sense would say no as you’d think he’d want Mosley dead too.

– Arthur’s time always feels up. Will he get out alive and leave the gang?

– A big shout out for the editing of music in tonight’s show including when the maid turns the radio on and Idles kick in and the juxtaposition of ‘Land Of Hope And Glory” over the montage of everyone with opposing views. How very 2019.

Peaky Blinders: The Loop (Series 5, Episode 4 Review)

“For now, love must defeat revenge”

After the declaration of all out war last week, it’s a tad disappointing to see the Billy Boys greeted immediately with a peace pact. However, it’s handled exquisitely. “You left me a landmine” Tommy laments. “For which I apologise” McCavern sarcastically responds. This being Peaky Blinders, any peace is fractious. “Nothing here is stolen Mr McCavern, Charlie simply finds things before they’re lost”. This agreement comes as a result of their mutual “friend” Oswald Mosley. The big showdown will not be televised, this week anyway, and that’s reflected in an episode that feels like the calm before the storm.

Calm in Small Heath is a dubious notion because there’s still lots happening, most worryingly of all is the fate of Mrs Connors’ songbirds but it’s ok because Arthur will replace them with birds that have the “same colours and.. feathers”. Tommy’s constituency is of course at the Garrison and his next visitor ups the ante. Brilliant Chang offers a brilliant plan involving opium for Tommy to transport and it gives the Shelbys an opportunity to recover money lost in the crash.

In truth, Tommy has more on his mind than money. Grace keeps revisiting at inconvenient times and she’s no longer a friendly ghost. “It wasn’t the blue stone Tommy, it was you”. The visions may be getting a bit overcooked now. It clearly serves the purpose of showing Tommy’s descent into madness but if people haven’t got that by now they haven’t been paying attention. One thing that is notable about the scene was the use of (Graces?) heavy breaths. That combined with his own coughing fits and breathiness serve as a reminder that Tommy feels more mortal than ever. His weakness shows on the outside now and he was clearly rattled by Mosley.

The set piece of ‘The Loop’ is saved for the very end. A grand ballet is the setting for much intrigue, or as Oswald puts it “an evening with a tribe of gypsies” (incidentally, that’s a show which never got past the ITV Commissioners). Tommy is late due to performing his own bed based ballet much to the chagrin of Mosley. Worse still, the moody guest had previous entaglements with Lizzie back in the day but turns out his own performance was cancelled early due to champagne. AWKS. It’s Come Dine With Me but with drugs, sexual intrigue and murder. Yes, murder but we’ll get to that bit.

While the dancers swan about to Arthur’s snoring, Aberama whisks Polly away and proposes. It’s kind of sweet. “Let’s fuck before the swan dies” she insists. You definitely don’t get that on Come Dine With Me. Meanwhile Linda turns up on the doorstep with a vengeance. We think she’s shot her ex. We think Arthur is dead.. again, but out of nowhere Polly appears (the lovin’ clearly didn’t last long) to put a bullet into Linda . It’s a device that has been used too often for Arthur now but the whole thing was beautifully shot. So was Linda, as it goes.

A LITTLE PEAK:

– The best line was with Ada insisting Tommy throw away the opium. “How much of it have you got left?” she asks. The reply? “Seven tonnes”

– “FUCKING BALLET?!” We’re with you on this one, Michael.

– He may be back in the gang but is Tommy setting Michael up for a fall? Will the Chinese really hang for things if they go wrong?

– No talk of the black cat this week which adds to the feeling that it’s someone in the background. Esme or Frances maybe?

– Finn didn’t piss himself at gunpoint. We’re so proud.

– Did Arthur actually replace those birds in the end? We need to know. Poor old Mrs Connors.

Peaky Blinders: Strategy (Series 5, Episode 3 Review)

“IT’S WAR YOU WANT, IT’S WAR YOU SHALL HAVE”

Never has walking into an orphanage looked so cool. After the guitar riffing and hot stepping, Tommy and Polly have a sort of “moral off” with some nuns and for once the Shelbys come off better due to the fact they don’t beat up children. It should probably go down as a pyrrhic victory. “There is God and there are the Peaky Blinders” he warns as they withdraw their funding. Polly is in threatening mode too: “You listen for my footsteps”. There’s little chance of missing them to be honest. It’s a surprising opening scene but perfectly shows the conflict at Tommy’s core. A man that has many bad habits.

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Speaking of which, his sister doesn’t get much of an act bar being Gina’s taxi service. Ada feels very underused this series but this may be down to filming commitments elsewhere. Michael is indesposed by a meeting with “the devil himself”, Oswald Mosley. It’s as much to do with people politics than actual politics but we do learn that Mosley has connections to Jimmy McCavern and that he’s made the police investigation go away.

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The Tommy versus Michael saga continues at an intriguing pace. Our main main literally treating him like the shit on his shoes but keeping him close all the same. Michael does face up to his nemesis again to say “By the time that baby draws its first breath we will be done”. Is it a friendship beyond repair?

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With all this political manoeuvring it’s no surprise to see the return of Jessie Eden who is greeted by a tired, out of sorts Tommy. He’s literally a champagne socialist as he slurs his words and pops his cork. Jessie’s confused by his motives but then it’s not totally clear if Tommy knows what his own agenda is.

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In all, episode three has a more sedate pace than the rest of the series so far. The grand scale and atmospherics are toned down. Perhaps the show needed it but initially it feels slightly flat compared to what’s gone before. That said, there are two outstanding scenes that close it out..

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Arthur seeks out the refuge where Linda has been hiding and the man she’s had the audacity to talk to. In a cleverly shot contrast he punches the man repeatedly, beats him with a chair leg and knives him all while the camera stays still. It makes the violence even more uncomfortable. Arthur cries out “There is good in my heart but these hands belong to the Devil!” The second mention of the antichrist tonight. Make of that what you will.

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Even better is Aberama Gold’s head to head with the Billy Boys. He’s after Jimmy McCavern for who he has a bullet. He shows up at Border Control and gives them a taste of their own medicine (a broken arm) but pouring boiling tar over his victim is adding insult to injury.

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Never ones to make a quiet entrance, the Glaswegian gang are back for revenge of the revenge but they’re louder than Polly’s boots and Gold, with the help of Arthur, leaves them the present of a grenade. The glee on McCavern’s face at this declaration of war is glorious. It’s even better for us because we can watch it all unfold at home with a cup of tea and not be brutally maimed.

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A LITTLE PEAK

– Tommy agrees to be Mosley’s deputy leader in his new ‘British Union Of Fascists’ party but we soon find out it’s as an informant. Or is it?

– “I’ve decided to balance my heart against my head” The moment Lizzie compromises her head and body for the sake of her lifestyle.

– Johnny Dogs is a dirty dog. Who knew?

Peaky Blinders: Black Tuesday (Series 5, Episode 1 Review)

“EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION”

Cillian Murphy rides once more into the breach (on his one horse open slay). His return is grander than a canyon and it’s bloody spectacular. Tommy is a man full of his own importance and the cinematic opening sees him once more as the star of his own Hollywood tragedy. Television shouldn’t look this good, television shouldn’t feel this good, television shouldn’t sound this good and yet here we are in 1929 setting higher and higher bars for programme makers in 2019.

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While Murphy rocks every scene he’s in with a vibrant coldness, the malevolent world of Peaky Blinders is brought to life by every character, every set detail, every chord struck and every line said in the Brummy timbre. Quality runs through every pore of its sweating but very furrowed brow. The show knows how bloody good it is and even if the first ten minutes play out like a blockbuster film, it’s the subtlety in everything that follows which transcends it beyond just theatre – this is art.

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The central theme of series five looks set to be Tommy’s inner demons but this isn’t an overnight thing. This has been going for six years. Strands from previous series are always picked up on or referenced to. Nothing feels throwaway and even if Steven Knight did scrunch an idea up and throw it in the bin he must later save it from the recycling to take us by surprise.

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Maybe Michael will wish Knight had trashed the bit where he inadvertently loses a lot of money in the stock market crash because Tommy is furious with him. Actually, Tommy is furious with everyone. Lizzie, their son, and later on a journalist. “What do I have to do to make people fucking listen to me?!” he bellows. His family might zone out but the irony of Tommy being welcomed into the Garrison with open arms by an adoring public is strong. His reputation has changed with his role as an MP but with the inner turmoil rapidly escalating he should be feared more now than ever.

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With Tommy’s struggles as the centrepiece Peaky Blinders has evolved. It may not be the Arctic Monkeys blasting riot fuelled pubescent early days anymore but in middle age it is aging well. The storytelling is even better, the direction is more on point and the impending sense of doom is even more sinister. Anna Calvi’s score is perfectly in sync with Tommy’s despair. It’s a glorious marriage made in hell.

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Believe it or not there are softer moments too and Arthur’s attempts at holding a meeting are uncomfortably funny. Even when Finn got shot we were allowed to raise a smile. Sorry Finn While there has been many funny lines in the past it feels like a concerted effort has been made to make the lighter moments lighter. That may have something to do with the transition to BBC1. It’s not even a criticism because the comedy works and in every other way there’s no sense of compromise. Peaky Blinders is still unrelentingly dark and violent. Which is nice.

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It’s a wonder of script writing how Knight can focus on Tommy’s downfall and unite his venture into politics so harmoniously, yet alone everything else that’s going on. In parliament he isn’t much more corrupt than the fellow politicians and it’s delicious to see him let loose in this world of careerist vagabonds. Two standout scenes highlight this perfectly. The first when he knocks red wine onto the table and the second when he’s at loggerheads with a journalist by the name of Michael Levitt. Two people are simply talking in a darkened room but the tension is unbearable and broken up only slightly by Tommy’s insistence that he writes it all down. The closing scene is confirmation that with power comes great irresponsibility. Levitt Is shot down im a swarm of bullets. It’s graphic and shocking and would no doubt make Quentin Tarantino a little jealous.

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So our antagonist is making enemies out of his own family, has enemies in his own head and is making new enemies with each new scene. With friends like Tommy and all that..

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A LITTLE PEAK

– Ada is pregnant. In an incident packed episode this news felt small fry.

– The surprise appearance of Grace felt eerily out of place at first but in full context it does make sense.

– We see a little glimpse of Oswald Mosley and as hindsight has taught us, anyone with a ‘tashe like that shouldn’t be trusted.

– It’s good to see Aberama Gold still working for the gang. For the time being anyway.

– Lizzie has quite clearly had enough of Tommy’s shit. In fact all the women have. An uprising is in the offing.

– Michael is going to have quite the welcome back. Let’s just say the order on bunting has been cancelled.