Peaky Blinders: Every Member Of The Shelby Family, Ranked By Likability

BBC’s Peaky Blinders is all about the dealings of the Shelby family, organized criminals in England. Each member has their strengths as characters.

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There are a couple of differences between the events in Peaky Blinders and those that occurred in history. The Peaky Blinders gang in the series is active in the ’20s and ’30s while the real-life gang mainly operated in the 1890s. And while the Peaky Blinders gang did actually exist, the powerful Shelby family that’s behind it in the series didn’t.

The fictional organized crime family oversees all operations of the Peaky Blinders in this critically-acclaimed BBC series. To appear legitimate, the family also owns the Shelby Company Limited. But while the Shelby family tree is large and still growing, not every member appeals to fans.

12 Michael Gray

Michael is is a Shelby cousin. Though not being an immediate member of the family, this doesn’t prevent him from rising up the ranks quickly. He has a stint as Chief Accountant of Shelby Company Limited before moving to New York where he becomes the head of the family’s operations in America.

As ambitious as Michael is, he isn’t as sensible as his mother, Polly. He exhibits insubordination a couple of times, like when he fails to carry out Thomas Shelby’s orders to sell the company shares before the Wall Street crash of 1929. Shelby Company Limited thus deals with a huge loss. Michael proves to have no honor either, as he tries staging a coup-de-tat against Thomas upon returning to England. This erodes all the respect his colleagues and family members had for him.

11 Esme Shelby

Having been labeled “too wild,” Esme is paired with John, who has been described as incapable of spending time with his own children. Despite theirs not being a marriage built out of love, the pair gets along well.

Moments of greed are seen when Esme steals family money to fund her vices. She then sets in motion an unrealistic and divisive push for change by urging John to quit crime and move to the countryside. Her frequent acts of dismissiveness also prove costly. When Michael comes to warn them about an impending attack, she asks him to leave. As a result, John is killed.

10 Linda Shelby

Arthur’s ex-wife is the ultimate low-key villain. During their marriage, Arthur appears happy but everyone else sees problems, including Linda herself. The rest of the Blinders are bothered by the excessive influence she has over Arthur.

Linda shows a lack of support for Arthur’s work, banning him from working at night even though the prime hours of the underworld begin when the sun sets. Furthermore, instead of solving marital issues amicably, she attempts to kill Arthur.

9 Arthur Shelby

The eldest of the Shelby siblings has been a reliable right-hand man for Thomas. As someone who is more brains than brawn, he has been more than glad to lend his muscle to the Shelby Company Limited and the ICA.

Though he isn’t evil, Arthur is too careless, with a tendency of failing to spot danger. His decision to attend a movie screening without proper protection makes him the first victim of Chief Inspector Campbell when the lawman begins his hunt for the Blinders. It also takes Arthur a long time to also notice that his wife is plotting against him.

8 John Shelby

From the moment he is introduced, John establishes himself as one of the show’s best killing machines. It all stems from his time as a soldier of the Warwickshire Yeomanry; sending enemies to the afterlife is a daily deed for him.

Sadly, John tends to get carried away to the point of being reckless. His bloodthirsty attitude translates to him enjoying being a gangster a little more than he should. His willingness to take lives is not only sad but also attracts a lot of enemies. His luck eventually runs out when Changretta mobsters thus ambush him with automatic weapons and kill him.

7 Finn Shelby

The youngest among the Shelby siblings hasn’t seen much action because his brothers keep shielding him from the violent aspects of the business. Even as he morphs into a young adult, Finn is rarely thrust into the center of the action.

As a result of his non-involvement, Finn sits at the mid-point of the love-hate axis. Of the few things he has done, some are great while others are annoying. For example, he has helped Arthur get over his addiction and anger issues. But on the other hand, Finn’s inexperience has proven costly at times, like when he jeopardizes the assassination attempt on Oswald Mosley.

6 Lizzie Shelby

Lizzie’s character development is brilliant. Starting out as a Birmingham escort, she finds herself romantically involved with two Shelby brothers. John seeks to marry her only to find out that Thomas is her regular customer.

Her friendly nature is evident throughout the series. Even when John calls of the wedding, she remains his friend and makes him understand that she was just doing her job. She has a moment of career growth when Thomas employs her as a secretary. Through this job, her hardworking nature is seen. Lizzie is a loving wife, too, often standing by Thomas even though he is still obsessed with his dead wife.

5 Charlie Strong

As an uncle of the Shelby siblings, Charlie helps them whenever he can. He is seen in select episodes, like when he loads boats with weapons and supplies for the Camden Town trip. He is an important part of the Shelby cargo business too, as he often loads bottles of scotch whisky to be exported overseas.

Charlie isn’t all about being a worker. He offers advice whenever needed and calls out the Shelby brothers whenever they make mistakes. This is best seen when he calls Thomas out for choosing to keep the government guns.

4 Grace Shelby

Grace’s story develops beautifully. Having seen her father die at the hands of criminals, she becomes an undercover agent, taking up a job at The Garrison Pub where she aims to bring the Blinders down.

Being an undercover agent requires a lot of courage and when its revealed in the pilot episode that Grace is working for the Birmingham Police, viewers develop respect for her. She then becomes part of the show’s best love story when she falls in love with Thomas Shelby, the giant she is supposed to kill.

3 Ada Shelby

Ada’s story starts with love to a union leader. She later takes up a leadership position as the Head of Property and Acquisitions at the United States branch of Shelby Company Limited.

Ada knows better than to engage in violence despite being in a family full of gangsters. Even in her leadership role, she only deals only with legal acquisitions, not body disposals. In addition to that, Ada is portrayed as a very good mother to Karl.

2 Aunt Polly

The matriarch of the Shelby Family isn’t your average criminal. She is a certified accountant and as such, she has served as the treasurer of Shelby Company Limited. Her contribution to the family is immense. She managed the Blinders when the Shelby boys were fighting in the Great War.

Though the boys are not the type to be told what to do, they always listen to Aunt Polly because her advice is golden. Were it not for her decision to look after her nephews Arthur Jr., John, Finn, and Thomas as well as niece Ada when their father walked out on them, the Blinders wouldn’t exist as they do in the series.

1 Thomas Shelby

Thomas Shelby proves that a mixture of brains and ambition pays. He charts the uncommon path, moving from gang leader to a socialist leader and a Member of Parliament.

Charismatic and fearless, there is little to hate about the antihero. He is firm in his decision-making, as seen when he decides to hold on to the cache of government weapons even when everyone advises him otherwise. He is also quick to notice when family members and colleagues are falling apart. He thus comes up with remedies in an instant.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/peaky-blinders-shelby-family-members-ranked-least-most-likable/