Peaky Blinders (Season 2)

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⭐ 7/10

If I had written this review a day ago it would have seemed really well timed, my praise of Sam Neill, but now it just seems like I am trying to get clicks off his death! But he is easily the best part of this season, going full villain after his heart being broken to end last season. I think he is really incredible as a villain, and it bothers me that he was only really a side character here, where my worst fears of just running back season one with a new mob boss villain came true. Actually, there are two bad mob bosses now, a Jewish one and an Italian one!

Season one at least felt like it had some interesting story moments, this just felt like running it back. Grace and Inspector Campbell end last season with the sound of a gun and a cut to black. It looks like he killed her, but actually she shot him! But he's fine, just walks with a cane now. Super lame, especially because Grace does almost nothing this season. She's happy with a nice guy in New York, but then she comes back late in the season to fall back in love with Tommy. What??

Joe's review talked about women just falling in love with Tommy for now reason, and I thought well, that happens to Tony Soprano too, women fall at his feet for the money and the power and he disposes of all of them. But in that show it feels like that the relationship roles are clear, broken women finding this monster, where as here these intelligent and successful women actually seem to love him. He meets a mega wealthy horse trainer who professes her love essentially later that day, and I am not quite sure what she saw other than a smooth talking criminal. And I already mentioned Grace, a character I think they should have killed to fuel Tommy's descent, but instead they bring her back just as the one that got away, until she didn't. I did start season 3, which begins with their wedding, and I am happy to see a time jump and some different settings, seems like a reset. So I am optimistic.

Back to Neill, there is a scene with him and Aunt Polly that was super dark and I thought the best moment of the season, a twisted back and forth that leaves both people scarred. Polly is another character that has bothered me this season, in that she is obsessed with her newly found son. That's fair, the backstory there is good, its just so incredibly one-note. It does lead to the scene I mentioned, it just seems out of character. A bit like Carmilla in Sopranos, I like how she's part of the family but kind of ashamed by the family business, turns a blind eye since it makes her rich and here ends up with her finding her son. She's was a nuanced character in that way, but now she's constantly just screaming at her son to get away. She gets to hand Neill his last moment, which I thought was very anti-climactic and not satisfying at all. She gets revenge for how she has debased herself, and he gets nothing, despite locking horns with Tommy for two straight seasons. A great character completely wasted.

This is way more words than I anticipated writing here, and mostly just a list of nits. The production and everything is still good, and so is the acting, I just felt the story here was really dry. Again, I have hope for season three, but I can't imagine this show ever gets above an 8.5 for me. It's not really subverting anything, kind of just another Don Draper or Tony Soprano, but all stoicism and no wit or humour.

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