Who Betrayed Tommy Shelby In Cliffhanger Peaky Blinders Finale?

The end of the fifth season of Peaky Blinders left fans in a state of shock. They watched on as Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) put together a carefully crafted plan to assassinate Oswald Mosley (Sam Clafin) and bring an end to his destructive plans for the country.

However, there was a twist in the tale, and Mosley was tipped off about the plan that the Shelby clan had pieced together, and that resulted in the plot failing spectacularly. Tommy’s old army comrade, Barney, was shot just as he was about to bring an end to Oswald’s Nazi-esque rally. Viewers were left bemused as to who pulled the trigger on Barney, while there was also a tragic end for Polly’s (Helen McCrory) fiancé, as Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen) was brutally murdered on the side of the stage by the Billy Boys.

The season ends when Tommy is back at his house in the countryside wondering how the plan has failed. Tommy runs into the field with a gun to his head, and then the credits roll. It’s incredibly unlikely that Tommy would have pulled the trigger, which means the next season will center around bringing down the person behind the plan failing. The next season will likely see Peaky Blinders win more accolades, like the ones that they picked up at the recent National Television Awards, but, who are the main culprits?

Billy Grade

One of the leading contenders could by Billy Grade (Emmet J. Scanlan). He was employed by the Peaky Blinders to fix football matches. However, the youngest Shelby brother- Finn (Harry Kirton) let slip to Billy in the closing scenes of the finale that there will be a shooting at the rally. He immediately reaches for the phone and picks up a wad of cash. It doesn’t look good for him, but he remains a red herring as he is evidently scared of the Peaky Blinders.

Michael & Gina Gray

Many fans immediately pointed the finger of blame at Michael (Finn Cole) and Gina (Anya Taylor-Joy), as they have been trying to make their move on the gang. Gina also teased a plan B during the finale, so it isn’t impossible to believe that the thwarting of the assassination could have been plan B. Michael and Tommy clashed throughout the season, and Polly even sensed that the end would be near for one of them in deleted scenes. However, it is too obvious. The plan B will likely centre around Michael and Gina enlisting help from their American friends, who we will likely meet in the next season.

Esme Shelby

This is a theory that actually holds a lot of weight, and Esme (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) has a reason to want to get back at Tommy. She still holds him responsible for the death of her husband and vowed vengeance on the gang. During season five, Aberama believed that Johnny Dogs was the person to tell the Billy Boys, where he and his son were living. Johnny is far too loyal to be involved, which means it must have been somebody close to Johnny to reveal the secret. We haven’t seen Esme in the most recent season, but she does know all the secrets. It would be a curveball.