Warning: This article contains spoilers for Peaky Blinders season 6.
Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 2's has a foreboding ending with Tommy Shelby calling for Esme to come to his daughter's aid. The first 2 episodes of the hit period gangster show set up its characters like chess pieces for an epic confrontation by the end of the series. Peaky Blinders season 6 though is also fully embracing the show's previously hinted at supernatural elements involving Gyspy curses.
Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 2's ending sees Tommy Shelby’s daughter Ruby in a bad way. Her health is deteriorating, and she's having disturbing visions, drawing unsettling pictures of “the man with green eyes” and what appears to be the devil. She's also hearing voices of "the grey/gray man" saying that "he's coming for me. And he's coming for Daddy as well." Tommy Shelby’s not faring much better, having severe convulsions and hallucinations of fighting the first man he killed in World War I—a man with green eyes.
The tone of Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 2 is one of building dread for Tommy, with Ruby's fate at the center of it. The dire situation has Tommy Shelby reaching for the phone to call Esme Shelby-Lee, his estranged Romani sister-in-law that may be the only one who can help Tommy and his family. Here is why Tommy calls Esme, and how her return to the world of the Peaky Blinders may (or may not) save Ruby.
Why Tommy Rings Esme At The End Of Episode 2
Ruby's visions in Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 2 of "the man with green eyes," and the voice of "the grey/gray man" are clear warnings to Tommy Shelby. He calls for Esme, who he hasn't seen in the 8 years since the death of his brother/her husband John in Peaky Blinders season 4. Back then, Esme cursed the Shelby brothers for John’s death and took her children "to live with decent people" on the road. Given everything that's happened to Tommy since that fateful day, along with Ruby's visions and his seizures, it's understandable that Tommy believes his family is indeed cursed.
The reason for him to call Esme now is likely to ask her to lift the curse. Though he's befallen plenty of misfortune and suffered no rest since Esme’s curse in Peaky Blinders season 4, Tommy’s shouldered his burdens knowing his immediate family has been safe. Esme’s curse didn’t faze him as he doesn’t fear his own death. However, when he believes the curse is targeting his daughter, he doesn’t hesitate to Esme. If it transpires that Esme is not to blame for Ruby’s curse though, then she may still be of assistance in trying to lift it before it's too late.
What's Wrong With Ruby In Peaky Blinders Season 6
In Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 1 Ruby was taken ill after playing outside in the cold with Johnny Dogs' kids. She had a temperature of 101 degrees and was coughing, with the doctor first believing it to be flu. Tommy is terrified though when he learns Ruby is delirious, speaking Romina words, repeating the Tikna Mora O Beng." Loosely translated "Tikna" means little girl or daughter, and "beng" means supernatural being or devil. "Mora" can be interpreted as "friend, " or "death".
Though Ruby initially recovered, by the end of Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 2 she relapses, regaining her high temperature and this time coughing blood. Tommy Shelby’s upbringing around Romani mysticism led him to believe that Ruby’s illness is a curse, leading him to call Esme. Furthermore, he believes that her hearing voices and having visions is evidence of second sight—a gift that his Aunt Polly also shared. There is another real-world diagnosis though separate from a Gypsy curse, but no less dangerous to Tommy’s daughter. Ruby's real-world symptoms, and the doctor's advice that Tommy and Lizzie stay away from her, are indicative of tuberculosis (TB).
Will Ruby Survive Peaky Blinders?
It's unknown at this point whether Peaky Blinders season 6 will end in tragedy for Tommy with the death of Ruby. She may merely be a conduit for Esme’s curse and of Tommy's impending doom. While Esme's curse was born out of anger at the loss of her husband, if Ruby's illness is her doing, it's possible that upon seeing the child Esme’s maternal instinct would kick in and she’d stop Ruby's suffering.
Peaky Blinders season 6 has also made a point of keeping Polly's spirit alive in the show. In episode 1's ending Tommy calls out to Polly after learning of Ruby's condition. It’s unclear whether there is a vengeful aspect to Polly’s lingering presence, but her premonition at the end of Peaky Blinders season 5 was that either Michael or Tommy would die—though she didn’t know which. With Michael Gray having Tommy in his sights though, no one close to Tommy is safe. While Ruby may recover from her ailments, she might still be an unfortunate victim of the conflict, caught in the crosshairs of Michael and Tommy’s battle.
The most likely outcome though may well be the real-world scenario of TB taking Ruby's life. At the time Peaky Blinders season 6 is set, TB wasn't vaccinated against in the UK. Given Ruby's young age, it's unlikely that she'd recover from the deadly infection.
Ruby's Death Is Worse For Tommy Than Polly's
If Ruby does die in Peaky Blinders season 6 it will hit Tommy harder than anything he's previously faced. Polly's death had a profound effect on him, with him swearing off alcohol and (as he explains to Boston gangster Jack Nelson), the "death" of Tommy Shelby. The potential loss of his child though fills him with a fear that he hasn't felt since his time in the tunnels under no man's land. Tommy’s fear is also fuelled by the sense of dread that history will repeat itself with a death of a family member at the hands of a curse. That fear disarms the normally unflappable Tommy Shelby like nothing else. Tommy's wife Grace was shot and killed while wearing a supposedly cursed sapphire in Peaky Blinders season 3. It's somewhat telling that after arriving home to find he can’t get close to Ruby, the camera lingers on a portrait of Grace.
Tommy’s never gotten over the death of Grace, even trying to take his own life to be with her. Polly’s death was tragic, but it was undertaken by living, breathing adversaries that Tommy can plot against and take revenge on. Curses though are a whole different ball game and one that Tommy is less equipped to deal with on his own. Whatever Ruby’s fate is in Peaky Blinders season 6, for better or worse it will be intrinsically entwined with Tommy's.
New episodes of Peaky Blinders air every Sunday in the UK, with a Netflix date for the US to follow.