5 Best Family Lessons from Peaky Blinders | What Thomas Shelby Teaches Us About Family

So my Peaky fans, there might be a person on Earth who is not aware of the famous, smart, focused, and clever character “Thomas Shelby” from Peaky Blinders. Almost all of us have watched the famous drama series aired on Netflix and BBC. This series is full of thrill, action, complex politics, and lifestyle. Some say it’s based on the true life events of Tommy Shelby (a famous gangster and military hero from World War I) in the 19th century.

A family of mixed Irish Immigrant and Romani origins living in Birmingham, England, is the focus of the crime drama Peaky Blinders, which begins in 1919, a few months after World War I ends. Tommy Shelby, the ambitious and crafty leader of the Peaky Blinders street gang, is the story’s main focus. Even though the show is fully based on gangster and political lifestyle, still there are many lessons we can learn from Peaky Blinders.
And if you’ve watched this show closely you might have noticed how much Tommy is concerned about the welfare and safety of his family.

Even in season 6 at the last moments of the show, Thomas Shelby speaks about the severity of family “Sometimes its a shelter from the storm and sometimes its a storm itself”. So, let’s have a look at the 5 Best Lessons for a Family from Peaky Blinders.

Stick Together through Thick and Thin

The value of unity is one of the most important lessons the Shelby family can teach us in Peaky Blinders. They always help one other out, no matter what. The entire family comes together to support one another when needed. When Tommy Shelby is in danger, his brothers and sister always come to his aid, showing the power of family unity. This demonstrates how crucial it is for families to remain united. Whatever happens or you’re having a really tough time in your life, your family always stands with you. Unity is strength.

Examples from the show

Throughout the show, Thomas (Cillian Murphy) has been looking over his family doesn’t matter what’s happening. But in season 1, we can see how Aunt Polly (Helen McCrory) and Tommy are helping their family to overcome their personal life issues. When Ada decides to give up her entire life only for her love for Freddie Thorne (Iddo Goldberg), Aunt Pol helps her choose the right path.

Even with Arthur (Paul Anderson) and John (Joe Cole) when they nearly gave up on their life after World World I, Thomas helped his brother through thick and thin and taught them life is beautiful, while on the other hand, he’s having nightmares of his own, still he helped his brother to live out their days happily with a purpose.

Communication is the key

In a family, it’s important to communicate with one another about your feelings and life’s events. Listening to one another and being honest about issues and plans are key components of effective communication. The Shelby family discusses their goals and problems during their regular family meetings. To ensure no surprises, Tommy makes sure everyone knows what is happening. This maintains the family’s unity and knowledge.

Examples from the show

One of my favorite dialogues of Thomas from Peaky Blinders is “Family Meeting at 0700 O’clock“. Although not every family meeting in Peaky Blinders was at 0700 O’clock that was just a reference. In the show, there are some plots when Thomas is dealing with critical matters on his own just like Irish business in season 2, and then the overall outcome is not good because of lack of communication which also leads Arthur to jail in 2nd season. Thomas made many mistakes in the show and continuously worked on them to overcome those issues.

Even at the beginning of the show, we can see Arthur complaining about the BSA Factory robbery and why he wasn’t informed what was happening. That’s where Thomas said, “I’m telling you know“. But later on, when Arthur is abducted by Major Campbell, Tommy realizes that Arthur and John should know about the robbery and he continues to communicate properly.

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Protect Each Other

Family members must always watch out for one another’s security. This involves shielding one another from harm and offering help to those in need. The entire Shelby family comes together to defend one of their brothers when he gets into trouble. They look out for him, proving that family is the most important thing and that they can rely on one another.

Examples from the show

Thomas Shelby is fierce and can cross every limit when it comes to the safety of his family. In season 3, when Tommy had a high reputation in Birmingham, especially in Small Heath. Italian gangs tried to confront John Shelby because he was getting too close to Lizzy (Thomas’s accountant later on became his wife in season 5). John attacks Angel Changretta which upsets Aunt Polly and Arthur, in return Thomas applauds his brother John and teaches Arthur that John is his brother as well then why is he not supporting him? That’s where Tommy said, “You’ve gone soft brother, save the Bible for Sundays, eh“.

Work Together

Families need to work as an integrated team. It means that everyone contributes to work and has a part to perform. Cooperation improves the enjoyment and ease of tasks. The Shelby family operates a company as a unit. Every member of the family works hard to make their business successful, and they each have a specific role to play. This demonstrates the value of cooperation and shared accountability.

Examples from the show

At the beginning of season 4, we can see all members of the Shelby family were separated due to Tommy’s involvement in Russian business. That’s where Luca Changretta came, a fierce character with blood filled with vengeance. Thomas didn’t even celebrate Christmas with his family but when he received a threat from Luca’s black hand Italian gang members, he immediately called a family meeting and gathered all Shelbys again in Small Heath. Even though no family member liked it, still he told them “If any of you want to see another Christmas then this is how it’s going to be“.

In my opinion, it is one of the biggest examples of working together in cinematic history where even though you are forced to live with people who despise you still you’re making yourself comfortable by living and protecting each other with all means.

Forgiveness

Families must be able to ignore one another’s mistakes. Anger or holding grudges can be destructive for the family. Everyone may stay close and move past the issue when forgiveness is provided. The Shelbys can forgive one another even in the face of arguments or mistakes. This keeps them strong and bonded, demonstrating the importance of love and forgiveness in a happy family.

Examples from the show

It truly breaks my heart how Grace (Annabelle Wallis) ended in season 1, it could have been an everlasting love story but as a matter of fact, nothing lasts. Still, Thomas is the one who believes in second chances and forgiveness. Later on, we can see Thomas and Grace marrying at the beginning of season 3.

And love is not Thomas’s weakness, he’s a smart man. He believes in certainty and action. In the show, Thomas is betrayed by many people in which most obvious character is Solomon Alfie (Tom Hardy). Even after so many betrayals, Thomas adopted a win-win approach and forgave Solomon and he played a special part in his last expedition in season 6 carrying out Michael and his associates.
This truly reveals how forgiveness can help build strong families and maintain better and healthy relationships.

Conclusion

As we see in Peaky Blinders, a family is made up of people who stick together, communicate effectively, look out for one another, work together, and are willing to forgive mistakes. We too may create loving, enduring families like the Shelbys by following these principles. So, always love your family and if you haven’t watched Peaky Blinders then you’ve missed a hidden gem of Cinematic World.
Make sure to watch this amazing show and always remember “Don’t mess with the Peaky Blinders”.