Liam Hoofe reviews the second episode of Peaky Blinders series 4…
Peaky Blinders returned to our screens last week with what I consider to be one of the best episodes of television in 2017. The episode was full of awesome moments and it shocked us all with its devastating ending.
This series’ second episode, ‘Heathens’ picked up where last week’s episode left off, focusing on the aftermath of John and Michael’s shooting. As the episode progressed we discovered that Michael survived, catching ricochets of bullets from John. John, though, was not that lucky, and we discover pretty quickly that The Blinders are going to be one man down from now on.
John’s funeral scene was an excellent sequence, one that really captured everything that is great about the show. No show on TV could make a funeral look as cool as this, with the Blinders gathered around paying their respects to John as he was burned in the back of a gypsy wagon, while a bunch of hired Irish hitmen dealt with some Italian assassins planning to stage an ambush, and this was somehow not the most exciting sequence of the episode.
It turns out the Shelbys won’t have much time for mourning, as it looks like the Mafia are not the only problem they are going to have to contend with this season. Tommy’s workers are off out on strike, Ada, who only returned last week, is being hunted for connections with communism, and worst of all, the group still seem to be in the midst of a civil war. Tommy and Polly’s relationship has always been one of the best things about the show, and seeing them go toe to toe at John’s funeral was just as much of a treat as it always is. Arthur, who looked as though he had finally dealt with his issues, now has to worry about protecting his own family against a threat he has helped create.
Tommy also looks to have done a deal with the devil in exchange for some help with protection against the Mafia. This episode we were introduced to Aberama Gold, the aforementioned Irish hitman played superbly here by Aiden Gillen. It seemed inevitable that Gillen was going to show up in this show at some point, the two things just seem like such a natural fit, and the actor excelled in the role. The confrontation scene between him and Tommy was an excellent piece of television and Gold is certainly not a character we can trust going forward. You can definitely bank on the Blinder trying to manipulate his son against him as the season progresses, and his threat to Tommy earlier in the episode is not likely to sit well once the Italians have been dealt with.
Another big character who we got to see more of this episode was Luca Changretta, played by Adrien Brody. Changretta managed to get into Tommy’s office at the end of the episode, having a confrontation with him and declaring his intentions to kill the Blinders one by one, forcing Tommy to watch his friends and family die before he can finally be put out of his misery. It was an excellent scene and Brody is clearly having a blast playing the character, channelling his inner Brando and hamming it up to the max. I look forward to further confrontations between the pair.
Last week’s episode of Peaky Blinders took us back to the streets of Birmingham with a bang, while this week’s episode began moving all the season’s key chess pieces and lining everything up for the coming weeks. The Shelbys have a lot to contend with in the next four episodes, and I’ve no doubt that they’ll do it as stylishly and as entertainingly as they always do.
What did you think of ‘Heathens’? Let us know in the comments below, and let Liam know on Twitter @liamhoofe
Originally published November 23, 2017. Updated April 19, 2018.
