Peaky Blinders (Season 4)

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⭐ 9/10

Well well well, what do we have here. This show is actually good now?? I thought this season was a massive step up in every aspect. We have a new big bad villain again, but now its Adrian Brody! The stakes this season felt way higher, and they actually killed a family member! I've been begging for them to do this, and even though its the inconsequential brother it still felt like a dramatic shift for the show.

Sometimes I feel like the show has plot arcs that never really lead to everything, but here everything felt connected to the families survival. The fallout from last season helped, and while everything was patched up kind of quickly I felt like the damage that was done persisted. The characters all feel changed from that moment on, and especially early, seeing Polly going through a religious psychosis and Arthur failing to adapt to peaceful living, it was just very effective.

I do think the season had two golden opportunities and fumbled them both. One is in a traitorous turn that, psych, wasn't real! And the second was a massive death in the finale that I have been dying for and again, psych, not real! I don't like shows that actively mislead in this way, especially when the alternative would have been so much sweeter. Maybe I am the only one who feels this way, but I don't like how almost every season ends with the family all happy together. Last season didn't but again, they patched that up quickly. These two instances would have been incredible character moments, both times I was imagining my 10/10 review I was going to have to write, and instead they let me down.

We have the introduction of another strong woman this season, and surprise surprise Tommy gets to sleep with her! This was the most unbelievable on of them all, I cannot explain why they decide to do this every season. The show also just takes itself so seriously. Hardly an ounce of humour, its always using these ultra-slow shots with moody music and violence in a way I would have thought was cool 20 years ago. Speaking of the music I have never loved the theme song, and they have found a million ways to slow it down or remix it, always in these epic moments, and it makes me roll my eyes. Basically the modern movie trailer problem but with the same song every time, its so lame.

Okay that's a lot of bad. I thought this season had very exciting action, again because I felt like people were actually at risk! Aiden Gillen turns up in the first role I have seen him in since Littlefinger, and his silly accent brought me right back to those times, so that was fun. Oh, Polly gets to sleep with him, she's the same as Shelby, any time a new older guy shows up you just know he's for her. Adrian Brody is quite good, although he sounds like he's doing a Don Corleone impression. Do Sicilians actually talk like that? And once again I thought it nailed the finale, something I think the show deserves a lot of credit for, I love how time passes and characters change and I get excited at the prospect of another season.

I keep slipping back into negatives and I think that's out of frustration. The show has found a rhythm, and its setting itself apart from my earlier Boardwalk Empire or Sopranos comparisons, so now I expect it to be incredible because of the great acting and production value. But it can't help but repeat itself in so many areas. Even still I thought this was an excellent season, and I will be back in 2 weeks with my season 5 review.

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