Peaky Blinders Season 4 Episode 2 Recap – Heathens

[00:01:00] Tommy stood naked inside Charlie’s room as he remembered the day John had died. Esme rushed to John’s lifeless body as Michael struggled to get up. Tommy and Polly rushed Michael to the hospital. Polly cried out for help as they pushed Michael inside a room full of nurses and doctors. Tommy was with two teens who were Peaky Blinders. Polly didn’t want kids guarding Michael; she wanted men who had served in the war; she wanted soldiers standing guard at the door. Tommy told the teens to leave as he convinced Polly that Michael was in good hands. Polly called out to God, begging him not to take his son away. Polly told Tommy to make the Italians pay. Tommy left to find soldiers.

[00:03:30] Tommy went to the morgue and found Arthur sitting on the floor. He confirmed that John had died on his own doorstep. Tommy and Arthur approached John’s body while ordering everyone out of the morgue. Arthur couldn’t control his emotions, so he let his anger loose on a washing bowl. Tommy uttered the words “In the bleak midwinter,” but Arthur couldn’t look at John’s lifeless body. Tommy reminded Arthur of their promise and made him recite the words while looking at John’s body. Suddenly, Esme charged into the morgue. She cursed Tommy over and over, but he just hugged her as tight as he could. Esme demanded to be alone with John. Tommy obliged, and Arthur left with him. As they were leaving, Esme told them that they would never have peace.

[00:06:00] Tommy was still standing inside Charlie’s room while staring out the window. He continued to remember the moments after John’s death. Esme removed all of John’s jewelry and told him that his things would stay with them. Esme no longer wanted any connection with the Shelby’s, and she vowed to take their children away from them. Tommy finally decided to get inside his bath when he heard a knock on the door. The man outside told Tommy that everyone was gathered; Tommy got dressed and went down to face his family. He told them about the situation and how things had escalated. They had killed Vincent Changretta, and, in return, his son Luca was out for revenge. Tommy told them that he was seeking the help of Aberama Gold and his men. Johnny Dogs objected to Tommy’s decision. He wanted to get 50 Lee clan men instead, but Tommy had already made his decision.

[00:10:00] Tommy knew that Luca wouldn’t stop until all of them were dead, so he called for a family vote for peace. Tommy got five votes of peace from Arthur, Ada, Lizzie, Finn, and himself. Polly spoke on behalf of Michael and voted for truce while Linda stayed silent. With five votes for peace it was time for war. Arthur was hell-bent on killing Luca himself as he had already written his name on a bullet. As the older brother, he wanted the honor of killing Luca and getting revenge for John. After the meeting, Johnny Dogs gathered weapons and ammunition for Tommy’s army. They gathered as many men as they could at Charlie’s scrapyard and armed them. Tommy and Arthur gave John a gypsy’s burial. They loaded him into a Romani wagon along with all of his stuff.

[00:16:00] Tommy told everyone that they had all died once before. Arthur, John, Jeremiah, Freddie Thorne, Danny Whizz-Bang, and himself, they were sitting ducks in the war waiting for their deaths, but the enemy didn’t arrive. They all swore that their lives were a gift. Polly pointed out that Tommy had wasted God’s gift. During that time, they all sang “In the bleak midwinter.” While they set the wagon on fire, two men approached the funeral and took aim at them. One of the men stood guard as the other setup a sniper rifle. They were about to kill Tommy when Aberama showed up. He stabbed the guard to death and shot the sniper. Everyone at the funeral were alarmed by the sound of gunfire. Tommy told them to stand down and not return fire.

[00:18:30] Polly realized that Tommy had used John’s own funeral to lure out their enemies. Arthur and Tommy had spread the word about the funeral in order to lure out the enemies that were dumb enough to believe that they could kill Tommy easily. Aberama collected the bodies and gave them to Tommy. Polly didn’t want any part of their savagery, and neither did Linda. Arthur ordered him to go home to the house in Small Heath, but she didn’t listen. Ada followed Linda and told her that she would be taken hostage along with her kids if she decided to leave. Linda took the key from Ada and went home.

[00:22:00] After the funeral, Polly went to visit Michael. The guards on duty were already asleep, so Polly woke them up and ordered them to sober up. Polly visited Michael to tell him about her plan to leave for Australia. Michael didn’t want to hear about her plan; he wanted to fight. He told Polly that she needed to get her head straight and help Tommy win the war. Michael promised to come with her to Australia if she helped Tommy. Meanwhile, Aberama walked around Charlie’s scrapyard and wanted to buy it, but Charlie told him it was not for sale. Aberama tried to intimidate Tommy into including the yard as part of their agreement. Tommy called Charlie out and told him about his plan. They were going to toss a coin for Charlie’s yard.

[00:27:00] Heads, Aberama took the yard for free with Tommy’s blessing. Tails, Tommy got Aberama’s eldest daughter, Esmeralda. Tommy tossed a coin to Aberama and told him to flip it. He thought Tommy was joking, but he and Arthur responded that the toin coss was sacred to gypsy’s. Aberama thought about tossing the coin, but he took the wager back. He kept the coin and promised Tommy that he would use it to buy flowers for his grave. Tommy responded that until his death, Aberama would not disrespect any of his family or their valued property. They agreed and decided to spend Christmas at the yard. Everyone gathered by a table; Arthur proposed a toast for John. Johnny Dogs and Charlie were in charge of cooking geese.

[00:31:00] Lizzie, Ada, and Polly arrived at the scrapyard to celebrate with the Peaky Blinders. Lizzie and Ada went straight to the table, but Polly stopped for a smoke. Tommy saw her and went over with some whisky. Polly realized that she had died the moment they had placed the noose around her neck. She had just been saved, and like Tommy, she considered her second life “extra.” Polly told Tommy that knowing you had already died was very relieving. She felt free. The majority of Tommy’s factories were in Small Heath, which will ensure the stability of income against the enemy. Polly told Tommy that she was helping him because Michael told her to. Polly gave Tommy a specific set of instructions for his whores and the factory workers. She added that his new friend, Aberama Gold, wanted something more than money. She told Tommy that he needed to ask Aberama what he truly wanted.

[00:34:00] Tommy did as told and brought a couple of beers to Aberama. He was with his son at the stables tending to their horses. Tommy admired Aberama’s horse, so he quickly responded that it was not for sale. Tommy didn’t beat around the bush; he asked Aberama what he truly wanted. Aberama asked Tommy what made him think that he wanted anything from him. Tommy responded that Polly was not only their accountant, but also their resident witch. Aberama told his son Bonnie to remove his shirt. Bonnie did as told and showed off a few punches in shadow boxing. Aberama wanted Tommy to help his son achieve his ambition.

[00:36:00] Inspector Moss came knocking at Tommy’s old apartment. Linda went down to answer the door. Moss was looking for Tommy, but he was at Charlie’s scrapyard. Moss gave Linda the message about some men looking for Ada Thorne. They thought she had returned to Birmingham to start a revolution. Linda told Moss that they were wrong; however, his hands were tied. Moss told Linda to convey the message to Tommy, and he’d understand. The next day, May arrived to pick up Tommy’s horse. She asked how Tommy was doing, so Curly told her everything about the mafia and the current situation. May looked worried for Tommy.

[00:40:00] Tommy arrived at one of his factories and told his manager to set up a boxing ring. Tommy went to find Billy Mills. He was a former heavyweight champion, but he now worked for Tommy. Billy complained that his wage wasn’t enough so Tommy gave him a wad of cash. Tommy introduced Billy to Bonnie. Bonnie wanted to fight Billy, but he refused. Billy pointed out that he was in the heavyweight class, and Bonnie was welterweight at best. Tommy didn’t care as Bonnie wanted to fight. Billy accepted and went to the boxing ring that they had set up in the factory. Arthur called all the factory workers to place their bets. The fight began, and Billy went to work on Bonnie. Bonnie dodged his punches as he danced with Billy around the ring.

[00:42:00] Arthur complained to Aberama that Bonnie still hadn’t landed a punch. Aberama told Arthur that he was just allowing the people to get their money’s worth of a fight. After a few more punches from Billy, Aberama ordered Bonnie to finish the fight. Bonnie hit Billy with a combo and knocked him out. Bonnie had stunned everyone, including Tommy and Arthur. Tommy knew that Bonnie would become a great fighter, so he talked to Arthur about accepting Bonnie as a Peaky Blinder. Aberama wanted to talk business, but Tommy told him to approach Polly instead. Tommy handed Bonnie a cap to officially welcome him as a Peaky Blinder. Arthur gave Aberama their share of the bets, and Tommy went to his office to see Jessie Eden.

[00:45:30] Jessie Eden was threatening a strike against Tommy’s company, but he didn’t care. Tommy believed that his workers couldn’t afford to go on strike, so he dared Jessie to just blow her whistle and be done with it. Jessie wanted to talk things over first to allow Tommy a chance to recuperate his losses, but still, he didn’t care. Tommy wanted a war, so Jessie blew her whistle. Tommy watched as all of his workers abandoned their posts to go on strike. Tommy’s manager told him that the strike would happen. He informed Tommy about his next meeting with a delegate from the European Council for Trade. The manager introduced Tommy to Monsieur Paz, who was none other than Luca Changretta.

[00:50:00] Tommy realized he was face to face with Luca, so he pulled out his pistol, but Luca was one step ahead of him. The gun was already empty, and he had all the bullets. Luca lined the bullets on the table, reciting a name to each bullet. He returned the bullet that was meant for John because they had already killed him. Luca came to Tommy because he wanted him to know that he was coming after them. He added that Tommy would be the last to die so that he could feel the pain of losing all of his family members. Luca also wanted them to fight their battles as civilized men. Tommy accepted the challenge and told Luca not to include civilians or children. Luca agreed as long as Tommy didn’t include the police.

[00:56:00] Tommy met with Arthur in an alley. Arthur couldn’t get over John’s death. Arthur was enjoying the smell of Birmingham and Small Heath as he remembered the good times they had had with John. Tommy felt empty, just like the time Grace had died. Tommy took out his pistols to fire a few rounds to let out his anger.