Peaky Blinders Season 5 Episode 4 Recap – The Loop

[00:01:00] Tommy met with Jimmy McCavern to arrange a temporary truce. Both he and Tommy held up the white flag. Tommy gave him his proposal and called Isaiah off his rifle. Tommy gave Jimmy a suite at the Midland Hotel so that he could enjoy the city of Birmingham. Tommy threatened to kill him should he break the agreement of the white flag.

[00:04:00] Arthur met with Billy Grade to talk about their football match-fixing. After his talk, Arthur went back to the Garrison Pub to meet with Tommy, who was talking with their constituents. Mrs. Connor complained to Tommy about her husband, who had killed her children. Arthur really thought that the man had killed their kids, but Mrs. Connor was referring to three Goldfinches. Tommy promised her that they would talk to her husband while Arthur bought her three new finches to replace the dead ones. Mrs. Connor thanked them and promised to name the new birds after Tommy, Arthur, and Finn.

[00:09:00] After their talk with Mrs. Connor, the bartender informed them that the next person in line was Chinese and wanted to speak with both of them. The two of them prepared themselves. A Chinese woman also arrived at Finn’s office at the same time. The man introduced himself to Tommy as Brilliant Chang. Arthur pointed out that Brilliant was dead, but he had managed to survive. Finn fell for the trap as the Chinese woman pulled out a pistol and pointed it at his throat. The pub received a call, and Brilliant told them to answer it. Arthur picked up the phone and heard Finn’s distressed voice. Arthur immediately pulled out his gun on Brilliant as he confessed that he had sent a Chinese woman with a gun to Finn’s office. Brilliant asked for a light for his cigarette while Arthur cocked his gun and threatened him.

[00:12:00] Tommy picked up his lighter to light Brilliant’s cigarette. Tommy asked Brilliant to tell his associate to release Finn. They suddenly heard a gunshot from the receiver; Tommy told Arthur to hold his fire. Finn confirmed that he was okay, so Arthur ended the call and put his gun away. Brilliant had come to Tommy to talk business; he pulled out a piece of paper that was folded into a sachet. He poured the contents on the table and took a dab of crystals to his mouth. He told Tommy that it was the purest opium to ever arrive in Europe. Tommy had known about the product and when it had hit the docks. He even had an estimate of the total cost of the product when seven tons of it was unloaded. Brilliant applauded Tommy for keeping his eyes and ears open for opportunities.

[00:15:30] Meanwhile, Finn came running to the Garrison pub, hoping to shoot Brilliant. He stormed the pub and went straight into the saloon. Arthur caught Finn just as he squeezed the trigger, and the bullet hit the ceiling. Tommy checked to see if Finn had pissed his pants, but he hadn’t. Arthur and Tommy congratulated Finn and sent him away. Brilliant gave the sachet of opium to Tommy as a parting gift. Tommy accepted the sachet and told Brilliant that he would ship the opium through the canals. They met at Charlie’s yard shortly after to discuss the terms of the deal. Arthur and Polly asked Tommy what the deal was. It was four days using four boats to take the opium to Charlie’s yard and keep it there until the ship that would bring it to San Francisco was ready to set sail.

[00:18:30] Polly took a vote against it, and so did Arthur. The payment for their services was 250 grand. It was equivalent to half of what Michael had lost. Tommy told Polly that he would reinstate Michael in exchange for her agreement. Hearing Tommy’s offer made Polly change her mind. With a vote of 2 to 1, Tommy ordered Arthur to find Charlie and have the four boats ready. Arthur was mad, but he couldn’t do anything. Polly told Arthur that the man he had cut had gone to the police, but everything had already been taken care of. Arthur wanted to know if Linda was with the man, but she wasn’t. Polly told Arthur that it was time to give up on Linda and find someone else, but he couldn’t.

[00:21:00] Tommy met Aberama at the House of Commons. He told him not to kill Jimmy for the meantime because he needed to do business with him. Aberama couldn’t agree because he had everything ready to kill Jimmy. Tommy told him about their truce and made him an offer he couldn’t resist. Tommy told Aberama that he could kill Jimmy once their business was done, and then he could marry Polly. Aberama was confused as to why Tommy was offering Polly like some maiden gypsy bride. Tommy told him that she would agree to marry him as long as he didn’t kill Jimmy. Tommy invited Aberama to a party where Polly wanted him to propose properly. If he attended and proposed, she would give him the terms of their marriage. Aberama agreed as he picked up the bullet that had Jimmy’s name on it and hid it in his pocket.

[00:24:00] Tommy and Aberama shook their hands to seal the deal. Tommy resumed his daily duties in the House of Commons while Oswald continued to listen to his speeches. Oswald went by Tommy’s office after his speech and asked him how he could make a whole ballet company give him a private show. Tommy responded that the ballet company wanted to bring ballet to the people, and he had paid them a boatload of money. Oswald wanted no secrets between him and Tommy, so he opened up about the research he had done on Lizzie. Oswald told Tommy that he might have encountered Lizzie back when he was a prostitute. On the other hand, Tommy had done his research on Oswald as well, and he knew Oswald was sleeping with everyone in his family, including his wife, sister, and stepmother.

[00:28:00] Tommy invited Oswald to the party and told him he could bring anyone he chose from his family. Oswald told Tommy that he would attend the party on his own and left his office. Oswald left, and Tommy’s hallucinations of Grace became more intense despite the fact that he was no longer using drugs. He looked down at the river, where he saw a boat full of coal passing by. He saw Grace lying on the coal and saw himself as the captain of the boat. Later that night, Tommy banged on Ada’s door. Ben and Ada woke up, and she told Ben that Tommy’s car was outside. Ada ran to the door and opened it. Tommy gave his report to Ben and talked to Ada. He told her about his hallucinations, and Ada wanted him to give the doctors another try.

[00:34:00] Ada told Tommy to throw away his opium. She asked how much opium he had left, and Tommy responded that he had seven tons. Ada couldn’t believe how much opium Tommy had. Tommy asked Ada for a favor; he told her that once her new child was born, she must keep it away from him. The next day, Polly met with Michael and gave him the invitation to Tommy’s party. He wanted to know why he was being invited to such an event. Polly explained that Tommy wanted Michael to have a proper comeback into the company. Polly showed Michael his new contract and the proposal included in it. Michael looked at the contract that stated he was going to be the coal manager. He didn’t like the position, but Polly told him that there was more money in the position than all of their current businesses combined.

[00:36:00] Michael told Polly that he would consult Gina first. Polly scooped up lumps of coal and smushed it on Michael’s hands. She knew Gina wouldn’t allow Michael near her with all the coal on his hands. That night, Tommy met with Jimmy to discuss the terms and payment for the shipment of opium. After everything had been settled, Tommy poured a drink to seal the deal and celebrate. He shook Jimmy’s hand despite his disapproval.

[00:40:00] Oswald arrived at Tommy’s mansion and looked forward to a night with the gypsies. Michael and Gina attended the party as well, and he broke the news to her about Tommy’s offer. He told her the details, but Gina still didn’t approve. Michael told Gina that he was willing to come back to the company for a million pounds per year. Gina was worried about Michael getting caught, but he assured her that Tommy would take care of things for him. He convinced Gina with the luxuries they could acquire with a million pounds per year. They saw Oswald arrive as Michael was wondering where Tommy was. Tommy was busy with Lizzie in their cellar. Lizzie was worried about getting caught, but Tommy told her that it was his house, his wife, and his rules.

[00:44:00] In Tommy’s absence, Polly took the lead and introduced herself to Oswald. Polly offered Oswald refreshments in the form of opium, cocaine, and brandy. Oswald refused all three. Polly told him that the maids had name tags for the certain people who were staying the night. Oswald seemed to want Polly, so she told him that she was unavailable, just like the ballerinas. Tommy told Lizzie about Oswald. He asked if she could remember him. Tommy told Lizzie that if Oswald laid his hand on her, he would become meat for Johnny Dogs.

[00:47:00] Tommy met Oswald in his home office. He talked business and wanted Oswald to sign a check on behalf of Jimmy for payment on the gin distillery. Oswald didn’t want to sign the check as Tommy could use the proof against him. Tommy asked Oswald why he would need to move against him. Oswald told Tommy that he wanted to know his weakness. It wasn’t drugs or maids, but it was his willingness to trust people. Oswald signed the check and wanted Tommy to introduce him to Lizzie.

[00:50:00] Lizzie was outside talking to Polly. She asked her if she knew about Oswald. Polly responded that she did, but it was in the past. Lizzie saw Oswald with Tommy, and she instantly remembered him. Polly asked her if she had been with Oswald in the past, and she confirmed that she had. Tommy approached with Oswald and introduced him to Lizzie. Oswald told Tommy that it was champagne well spent as he remembered his time with Lizzie. Lizzie took out payment for the champagne and liquor that he had bought her that night and paid Oswald for it. She placed the coin inside his drink. The butler announced that the performance was about to begin. Lizzie and Polly celebrated their victory over Oswald. Tommy guided Oswald through the house and to the performance.

[00:52:00] As the performance went on, Aberama threw a rock in Polly’s lap. She saw the rock and looked behind her. She left the tent to join Aberama. Arthur slept through the whole performance while Oswald was eyeing Gina. Aberama took Polly to a secluded area lit only by a lamp and proposed to her. Polly took out her hand and allowed Aberama to put on a ring. Tommy noticed a car was arriving in the driveway. He wanted to send Arthur out, but he was fast asleep. Tommy signaled Michael to wake Arthur up. He did, and Arthur saw the approaching vehicle. Arthur went outside to check it out. He stopped the car before it reached the house, and Linda came out. Arthur apologized for what happened to her friend.

[00:55:00] Linda told Arthur that her friend’s name was Frederick. He was now without a face and as ugly on the outside as Arthur was on the inside. Linda took out her gun and was about to kill Arthur when Tommy and Lizzie came out. Linda cursed the Peaky Blinders. Tommy and Lizzie heard a gunshot and thought Linda had fired, but she fell to the ground instead. They all looked behind them to see that it was Polly who had shot Linda. Back at the tent, there was thunderous applause while everyone stood up as the ballet performance ended. The ballerina got up to end her performance while Linda lay in the dirt, never to see daylight again.