In Peaky Blinders,
"Episode 2.2" is the second episode of second series of Peaky Blinders and the eighth episode overall. It aired on October 9, 2014.
Chester Campbell
Yet the worst act he has ever committed is forcing Polly to sleep with him to keep her son from spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Her murder, which happened off-screen, was punishment for his machinations and meant to bring him to heel. Polly is given a Gypsy funeral, her caravan being set on fire with her body inside, and Michael swears to avenge her, blaming Tommy for her death.
Tommy's aunt, who ran the business when the men went away to war, and who now operates as his consigliere.
Elizabeth Pollyanna "Polly" Gray (née Shelby) was the mother of Michael and Anna Gray, aunt of Arthur, Thomas, John, Ada and Finn Shelby, as well as being the matriarch of the Shelby Family.
So her absence would be felt no matter what decision was made, but ultimately, Knight shared, “the idea that Polly's alive but she's gone to America or something wasn't right.” Instead, the creator decided that killing her off was the more honorable thing to do and the death is revealed early on in the new season.
Arthur Shelby Sr.
Turns out the elder Arthur had walked out on his family years before the start of the show, and the brothers were essentially raised by their Aunt Polly, since their mother was also long deceased. The absence of their father affected Tommy and his brothers in different ways.
John Shelby (Joe Cole) was killed in the vendetta, earning the family a Romany curse from his widow Esme. Polly's son Michael betrayed Tommy (or thought he had) and was sent away to America.
But where a man might have resorted to violence, in Polly's words, “we women have more sense.” The two share a civilized drink, and even a laugh or two, before Polly lays out the facts. She knows what Grace has done, and she will never, ever forgive her — even if Tommy eventually does.
She wanted him to be himself again and she worked hard for it. It was her love for the boy that made her do it all to bring back his happiness. Q.
Handsome, charming and well educated, Ruben is a beguiling portrait painter who is immediately attracted to Polly.
After the others leave, Aunt Polly expresses genuine and deep love for Tom as she mourns him. Her love and sadness ring so true that she even brings Tom to tears.
During the act he tells her to shut up because he couldn't stand the noises she was making, clearly viewing her as there only for his pleasure. He extorts Polly into having sex with him in exchange for releasing Michael from prison.
He pursues and seduces her until things begin to develop between them. Finally, Polly decides to come to him at night and sleeps with him.
Michael Gray, was the son of Polly Gray and the cousin of the Shelby siblings. He becomes part of the Shelby family and the Peaky Blinders, starting out on the respectable and legal side of the family business, Shelby Company Limited.
The Season 6 premiere reveals that Aunt Polly was killed off-screen by the Irish Republican Army during the attempted assassination of Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) in the Season 5 finale.
Shelby is the mother of Thomas, Arthur Jr., John, Ada and Finn Shelby, and sister of Polly. Her husband was Arthur Snr.
In the end, the decision was made to kill off the character and this was done at the season's premiere. Aunt Polly was collateral damage from Tommy Shelby's attempted assassination of Sir Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) which was thwarted by the IRA.
Tommy Shelby and his kin are Irish-Romani (sometimes spelled Romany) Gypsies, a unique cultural and ethnic group present in Britain since the 1500s. The award-winning Peaky Blinders is directed by Steven Knight and has run for 6 seasons, the most recent hitting U.S. Netflix in June 2022.
The phrase “tickna mora o'beng” is in Romani (also spelled “Romany”), an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Romanichal Travellers in England as well as several other countries. In an interview with Digital Spy, series creator Steven Knight explained the meaning.
Thomas is Ada's older brother and the relationship between the two is one of the strongest out of the two.
Negative reactions from fans regarding Peaky Blinders season 6 is that it's slow, purely because there isn't yet all-out warfare between Tommy and a big enemy. Fans crave the violence and gore that was so prevalent in early seasons, but that was the doing of a younger Tommy, not the one audiences know now.
Read our spoiler-filled episode one review here. – The Romani gypsy words spoken by Ruby in her fevered state appear to be “Tikno mora o beng o beng”. In this English/Romani dictionary, 'tikno' means child or small, 'mora' or 'maura' means to slay or kill, and 'o beng' means 'the devil'.
Goodbye Lizzie
Despite Tommy's hopes Lizzie would understand his actions because he just "had to go" to Canada, Lizzie walked away from the life she shared with Tommy and it came as no surprise that her stepson Charlie wanted to go with her.