A Personal Ranking of the Main Characters of Peaky Blinders
With Season 6 filming underway and hopefully wrapping up soon I thought it was the perfect time to list out my personal ranking of the main characters of the Peaky Blinders. This is by far my favorite series for a number of reasons ranging from the excellent writing to the unmatched casting down to the depth of each character. I think the fact that almost all of the characters deal with some sort of personal demon makes them entirely relatable despite their dramatic day-to-day activities. I recently rewatched the series and I just fell in love all over again with the dark grittiness of Birmingham, England in the early 20th Century.
For this ranking I will be looking at characters that are considered a part of the main cast (according to Wikipedia and IMDb) and have an ongoing role in the series. The personal ranking is based off how much I like the character and how their story has progressed throughout the 5 seasons. Unfortunately, season 5 addition Anya Taylor-Joy didn’t make the list but just know she is at the VERY bottom of all my lists.
10. Linda Shelby
Linda, Linda, Linda… While considering the violent nature of this crime family, it says a lot for Linda Shelby to be at the bottom of my list. In my opinion, there’s nothing to inherently like about her. She’s controlling, manipulative, and just plain annoying.
Despite how much Arthur loves her, Linda doesn’t even bring out the best in him rather, she drives conflicts between members of the Shelby family (on purpose). At the end of the day, she cares only about herself and I don’t think she is a good fit for Arthur or the Shelby family.
9. Finn Shelby
Finn…where to start with him. First, he is definitely the character that is in the most over his head. He’s impulsive, arrogant, WAY too confident, and makes some pretty stupid decisions (Season 5 finale for one). Including but not limited too, letting his pride get in the way to blowing strategic plans.
Treated like a child by most of the family (and with good reason), he is really kept at arms length by majority of the characters as they don’t want to get him too involved in the illegal business. This translates into him not having a strong connection with some of the main cast, thus he’s towards the bottom of my list.
8. Michael Gray
Michael Gray is infatuating, despite how manipulative and power-hungry he is. There is something charming and likable about him, even though he is trying to destroy Tommy and take over the entire family business.
Bored with the life he had with his foster family, Michael started off as a pretty brave and innocent kid but quickly moves up the ranks with the Shelby business. He is most like Tommy, which does create a complex relationship between the two and it has been fascinating to watch his resentment towards Tommy grow subtly season after season. With season 5 bringing him way down on my list.
7. Arthur Shelby
Oh, Arthur. He is either the worst character there is or one of the best the series has to offer. He certainly has flaws and we can see he is so desperate to be a good person but unfortunately his rage and uncontrollable outbursts make it very hard for him. Yet Arthur is as loyal and brave as they come and he has a huge heart.
He isn’t the best at making patient and good decisions, but his intentions are usually in the right place. He simply has no impulse control and for me that makes it very difficult to connect with his character.
6. John Shelby
The irresponsible younger brother of Tommy and Arthur, John is a mixture of both. He has Tommy’s common sense but sadly Arthur’s temper. John often bites off more than he can chew and he thinks he’s super smart and charming and tough. He often butts heads with Tommy for this reason, but this also proves that he can’t be trusted as a leader.
While his final moments on the series are super heroic and brave, I didn’t really have much of an attachment to John. The relationship between the three eldest brothers was always integral to the Peaky Blinders so that only amplified the sadness of his demise. Which puts him at number 6 on the list.
5. Grace Shelby
Grace is definitely one of those characters that most people like. She was bold, fierce, witty, intelligent, and just super kind and lovable. Grace always knew what to do, and while she was willing to make tough choices – she always had good intentions.
Grace’s strength will always be her best quality. She was also very unpredictable at times making it hard to know what she would do next but this just made her even more interesting during her time in the first 2ish seasons.
4. Lizzie Stark (Shelby)
Lizzie has had an interesting storyline throughout the series and honestly she deserves a medal for putting up with this entire family. From her intelligence to her sarcastic wit and her strong backbone, Lizzie is an extremely powerful woman.
She has gone through a lot of hardships and to watch her go through so much pain (including loving Tommy who can’t reciprocate in the same way) but still be strong and unbroken makes her a great character. There’s nothing really to not like about Lizzie, so that certainly is worthy of putting her this far up on the list.
3. Elizabeth “Polly” Gray
The matriarch of the Shelby family and closest advisor to Tommy, Aunt Polly is an uncompromising figure who easily takes control of any situation she is in. While she does make some pretty rash and emotional decisions, I think everyone can agree that she’s one of the best characters on the show.
Polly is often the glue that keeps the Shelby family together and she is really the only character that every member of the family is close to. She is loyal, fearless, fierce, smart, strong-willed and brave. There are so many redeeming qualities about her and she’s exceptionally wonderful because she doesn’t let these ‘strong’ men walk all over her just because she’s a woman. I genuinely admire Polly for her strength.
2. Ada Shelby (Thorne)
Some would say that Ada’s importance has varied from season to season, which might be true but she plays a vital role as a moral compass for her brothers. There is literally nothing to hate about Ada Shelby and she brings humor and grace to every scene she’s in. She definitely is on the outside when it comes to crime and her family, but that’s one thing that’s redeeming about her.
While Ada certainly can be a bit temperamental. she does everything out of kindness. She’s also incredibly witty and strong plus as the series has progressed she has matured into a more confident figure which makes her one of my top picks.
1. Thomas “Tommy” Shelby
I don’t think there could be another number one in my opinion. He is a fantastic central character and while there are certainly dark demons when it comes to Tommy, there is something so infatuating about him (Also note that Cillian Murphy brings Thomas Shelby to life with a sense of pained melancholy so brilliantly).
Yes, we all know he has many, many flaws but his strength, bravery, intelligence, and devotion are unmatched by any other character on the series. His experiences in the war (and there after) have left him haunted and as a result he is often riding the line of being a good man and a killer…for me this is a captivating struggle to watch unfold season after season. Without Tommy, none of it works – which makes him my all-time favorite character.
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