History Series / PeakyBlinders

* DarkerAndEdgier: The series progressively becomes this with each season and more psychological thriller aspects get thrown in revolving Tommy and his mental state.

* RuleofThree: Appears when Tommy is seeking opinions on his gin recipe in season 4. In the first episode, May (a gin drinker) deems it "too sweet" whilst Alfie (a distiller) opines that "Americans want it sweeter". In the next episode, Jessie Eden states that she doesn't really drink gin, but "It's okay".

** In 5.06, Tommy counts to 1 from 10, as Barney readies his sniper [[spoiler:to kill Mosley, but soon he's shot dead, and Aberama is knifed by an assailant, totally turning Tommy's plan.]]

** Season Five has a pretty significant one in [[spoiler: Tommy hallucinating Grace's ghost, who lures him into suicide. We see him stick a gun to his head and hear a gunshot, but the screen goes to black. Season Six in turn quickly reveals that a wary Arthur had discretely unloaded the gun.]]

** Season Five has a pretty significant one in [[spoiler: Tommy hallucinating Grace's ghost, who lures him into suicide. We see him stick a gun to his head and hear a gunshot, but the screen goes to black.]]

* BlackSheep[=/=]WhiteSheep: What Ada Shelby has become in season two, as she wants to stay in London and be "free" from the notoriety of being a Shelby. Unfortunately, it doesn't stick, as she ends up becoming an official member of Shelby Company Ltd in Season 3 and one of the board of directors with Tommy, Michael, and Polly in season four.

** In 6.06, [[spoiler: Tommy correctly assumes that he Boston gang will plant a bomb in his car. He has Johnny Dogs switch the bomb to their car, blowing them all up.]] [[spoiler: Also, he knows Billy Grade is the traitor, so has Billy set up with knowledge that Arthur will be at the garrison only with his wife. There is no wife, but there is Arthur, Charlie, Jeremiah and a second preacher to deal with Captain Swing and the IRA.]]

* MassiveMultiplayerScam: In the GrandFinale, Tommy is informed by his longtime doctor Holford that he has a [[TerminallyIllCriminal brain tumor]] and only a year to live. After a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the family enemies, Tommy clears up his affairs and heads to a cabin to kill himself. But a vision of his late daughter and a glimpse at a newspaper have Tommy confronting Holford on how he was not only best friends with Tommy's enemy Oswald, but also the doctor who gave the second opinion "confirming" Tommy's tumor. Tommy realizes he's perfectly fine and this whole thing was cooked up to trick him into killing himself and is ready to fight back.

* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: Alfie Solomons runs a "bakery", and everyone loves his "bread".

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Lizzie Stark, who's taking a typing class and has a sweet relationship with Tommy in season two, despite the previous issues with and regarding John. [[spoiler: She later ends up marrying Tommy/.]]

** Johnny Dogs, the Lees and the Romani matriarch speak Romanian.

** Michael keeps taking one per season. In season two, he starts off as a curious and slightly naive kid new to the world of organized crime. In season three, he's a green, but competent [[TheConsigliere consigliere]] to Tommy, but he's becoming more impulsive and angry, eventually [[KickTheSonOfABitch killing Father Hughes]] for his crimes. In season four, he's an AddledAddict, haunted by his near-death experiences and lashing out at everyone. In season five, he's become TheStarscream to Tommy, actively plotting a hostile takeover of the business. In season six, he has officially broken with the Shelby family and joined Jack Nelson's pro-Fascist outfit.

* ShooOutTheClowns: The events of the Season 3 finale were bleak, but in the in Season 4 the killing of [[spoiler: John, usually the first to make a joke and least openly addled from France,]] took things up notch.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: In the final episode [[spoiler:Finn is subjected to one, when he's ordered to kill Billy Grade but turns the gun on Duke and Isiah. When he opens fire, it turns out the first two chambers were empty, per Uncle Charlie's instructions. As a result, he's banished from the family.]]

** Tommy (opium), John (opium), Arthur (cocaine and later opium), Esme (cocaine), Linda (cocaine). Also, everyone drinks like a fish.

** Season Five has [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Oswald Mosley]], [[spoiler:and possibly Season 6 as well]].

** All Tommy's dealings with Ada and Freddie. The culmination of which is his allowing Freddie free reign in to be with her when she is giving birth: Freddie is promptly arrested and ''everyone'' believes it was Tommy who shopped him to the police. This leaves Grace as his only confidant, so he tells her the date he plans to move on Kimber, which almost leads to a massacre.

** All Tommy's dealings with Ada and Freddie. He discourages Ada in continuing with her pregnancy, but eventually contacts Freddie before she can get an abortion, allowing him the chance to propose, so long as they leave the city to keep them out of Campbell's crosshairs. This only serves to alienate both of them in the long run. Taken even further when Ada is giving birth and he allows Freddie free reign in Small Heath to be with her: Freddie is promptly arrested and ''everyone'' believes it was Tommy who shopped him to the police. This leaves Grace as the only confidant he has left, so he tells her the date he plans to move on Kimber, which almost leads to a massacre.

* MurdertheHypotenuse: Grace's husband apparently[[KilledOffscreen killed himself]] some time before Season 3, avoiding onscreen conflict regarding Charles' parenthood.

* LooseLips: Tommy and Arthur are not happy when they discover that they and other members of the family have been talking too openly in front of [[spoiler: their favourite bartender Mickey. The guy has been listening very closely and selling the info to anyone who would pay.]]

* EasilyForgiven: While a lot of it can be chalked up to the opporunistic nature of all of the involved factions, several characters seemingly have their previous murder attempts/power plays handwaved away at the slightest hint of advantage. [[spoiler: Particularly Inspector Campbell, who seemingly rotates between genuine understanding and erratic threats, and Alfie Solomons, who betrays the Peaky Blinders/Tommy no less than three times.]]

** Polly, we realize that you're feeling incredible guilt over your criminal lifestyle, but you've just [[spoiler: confessed to murdering a policeman, as well as to planning the murder of a priest, to an ally of one of the most dangerous conspiracies that is headed by the same priest you're about to kill]]. To be fair, Polly has no idea how far the Economic League's reach is, and as a Catholic, she believes the confessional is a sacred, inviolate space. [[spoiler: Tommy getting [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown his skull cracked]] was the direct result of Polly's drunken, guilt-ridden confession.

** Polly, we realize that you're feeling incredible guilt over your criminal lifestyle, but you've just [[spoiler: confessed to murdering a policeman, as well as to planning the murder of a priest, to an ally of one of the most dangerous conspiracies that is headed by the same priest you're about to kill]]. To be fair, Polly has no idea how far the Economic League's reach is, and as a Catholic, she believes the confessional is a sacred, inviolate space.