Tommy Shelby's Peaky Blinders Season 6 Story Gave Sophie Rundle A Chance To Shine
It might be easy to think that "Peaky Blinders" is a rip-roaring gangster story, exploring the rise (and likely fall) of Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby as leader of the most fearsome collection of petty thieves and bloodthirsty criminals in early 1900s Birmingham. It certainly is that, to be sure, but that description doesn't quite manage to do justice to the collection of fascinating characters caught up in the wake of Tommy's ceaseless ambitions to grow his organization from the mud-soaked grime of horse racing to the upper echelons of political influence in Parliament. No, it'd probably be more accurate to call this popular (and recently concluded) show a family drama.
None know that better than Sophie Rundle, who has portrayed Tommy's sister Ada Thorne since the inaugural season. Initially wanting nothing to do with her brother's illegal activities or even the family name itself, Ada has since grown into a force to be reckoned with — even stepping up to run the show herself at certain points, with Tommy otherwise occupied and the family matriarch Aunt Polly (the sadly departed Helen McCrory) no longer in the picture. The sixth and final season of the show finally gave Ada some of her most dramatic material yet, partly as a result of the plot taking Tommy to America to deal with his rebellious half-brother Michael Gray (Finn Cole) and leaving Ada in charge back home.
To Rundle, this finally provided the opportunity to explore new dimensions of the character we've never seen before.
'They're not the typical ideal of women at that time'
If Tommy is the head of the Peaky Blinders and Aunt Polly was the heart, then Ada might very well represent the soul and moral conscience of the Shelby family. Never shy to push back against her far more reckless brother(s), the oft-overlooked Shelby sister has been responsible for many of the show's best moments over the years, alongside many of the women who make up the supporting cast. According to Sophie Rundle, the final season allowed Ada to show off completely new layers — in large part because of the dynamic between herself and Tommy's long-suffering wife, Lizzie (Natasha O'Keeffe).
In an interview with The Digital Fix published at the time of the season 6 premiere, Rundle went into detail about how this final stretch of episodes allowed Ada to really shine:
"It's such a joy because really seeing the dynamic of those two, Lizzie and Ada, because as you say, they're just f***ing left to steer the ship because they're women, you know. I love seeing those particular women in that position, because they're not the typical ideal of women at that time, and I think they're just as badass as the rest of the boys.
It is the time that they have to occupy as the women at home, but they're just steely, and it's always the women that are the toughest ones. Definitely the scariest ones, and I love that, and how much fun to see the inner workings of the domestic side of the Shelbies! It's great fun to do."
If season 6 was the last we saw of Ada, she went out on a high note ... but, thankfully, we'll see plenty more of the Shelby clan when the feature film spin-off arrives.