Arthur Peaky Blinders : Through the course of the series it’s become clear that Arthur is seeking more out of his life than the Peaky Blinders afforded him, but he couldn’t figure out what that “extra item was. At times Arthur was seeking comfort in his religion and in his spouse, Linda, and in other instances, he longed for the respect and power Tommy was able to enjoy, believing that the same respect he was due being the oldest brother. However, there was always the comfort of knowing his place in the Shelby Company Ltd. Shelby Company Ltd, and their less-than-legal activities, and which is why it was a matter of keeping his place.
He was also the most easily accessible one of them. If you were looking to gain access to know Tommy the most effective method to achieve that was to convince Arthur to be a fan of yours. Arthur was the friendliest to Finn while he was being pushed to join the family business and continued to be so until Duke Shelby (Conrad Khan) Tommy’s secret son was was discovered without warning in the sixth season. Because of his transgressions, Arthur has proven to be a great judge of character and an individual who is willing to help others when Tommy does not.
However, by the end of season 5 the character began losing his grasp on reality and his violent tendencies that led to him hurting others who weren’t worthy of it, Linda leaving him, and escaping into the drug of opium.
In the four-year span in between the seasons 5 and 6 Arthur was a complete opioid addict who was unable to get up and walk straight enough to put on an Santa dress for the Shelby families children.
Season six Let Arthur down very badly. The addiction of his character was a good excuse to cut down on his time on the screen to give way to further depressive thoughts of Tommy and a myriad of plots took time to merge into one.
When Arthur was in need to be there, he was in an unrestricted spell but when it wasn’t, he was just a thought. Addiction can do that to people it’s a fact and the methods of using opium in that period were seen as a form of medication instead of an addiction drug. Even Tommy admitted that parents would give it to their children after the opium store which Arthur frequented for so long.
However, in the context of the series at this point it appears that they didn’t know which direction to take with Arthur. Arthur isn’t the only Shelby to suffer this fate, as Finn (Harry Kirton) getting no appearances in the last two episodes.
He was a part of scenes where he didn’t have to be. For instance, when he was a part of Isiah along with a bunch of ad-hoc young Peaky Blinders gang members to visit the Liverpool docks and then collapsed when he met Hayden Stagg (Stephen Graham). We witnessed Arthur totally collapse before being taken care of by Tommy who offered him a an inspirational heart-to-heart message to encourage him to clean up.
It turned out that this was the only thing he needed and when the show ended, the character was not just returning to his violent and hoodlum, He proudly announced that he’s completely clean, and “the dragon is gone” and that he’s beat his addiction. While you’ll never get to see them in a scene together, it’s suggested that he’s reconnected with Linda who was shot by him in season 5 and went missing after leaving her.
Linda appeared in only a few scenes from season six, always alongside Tommy and revealing that she’s serving as a missionary with the church. In the final episode she was back with the group only a few weeks later that she was at Tommy’s final dinner to say goodbye to his family while he is preparing for his demise.
Who wasn’t there in the dinner at farewell? Arthur. One of the few people he was honest with about his tuberculoma diagnosis. It later turned into a ruse by Mosley but in the sense that Arthur as well as Tommy are concerned, at their time at the celebration the story was true. The dinner was the last chance the two brothers would ever meet.
It’s not the first time shows have used this type of plot device to excuse the absence of a character. However, it’s really sad the fact that Arthur and Tommy’s relationship and brotherhood that served as an emotional point of reference for the seemingly unshakeable men through the loss of their families and the development of a company and the onset of war, was not given the proper closure that it deserves.
The Blinders film is currently in the process of being released and the couple could be brought back together in the event that Tommy decide to rejoin the family unit. However, if they do, we’d like to see Arthur receives the end he deserves – which , according to us could be either getting some peace or leaving with the sound of guns.