"Can't change what you want": When Tommy Shelby gets honest with Ada about the Peaky Blinders' change over the years 

Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby, the proud and ruthless leader of Peaky Blinders, is a master of one-liners, which often depict his character's and the gang's change over the years.

In Season 3 Episode 3, Tommy has just lost his wife, Grace, and is in a conversation with his sister, Ada. After Freddie's death, Ada rejoined the Shelby family. Though she claims to despise her brother's violent ways, Tommy realizes that she, too, is attracted to power and ambition—proving that she is a Shelby, after all.

This realization leads Tommy to give a befitting comment to his sister:

“You Can Change What You Do, But You Can’t Change What You Want.”

While this is true to Ada's character, it is also true to Tommy and the gang's change over the years.

More on Tommy's words and what they mean in Peaky Blinders in our story.

What do Tommy's words mean for Ada's character in Peaky Blinders?

While nobody dared question Tommy's autonomy and decisions in Peaky Blinders, not even his big brother Arthur, the ruthless gangster often received criticism and opposition from his sister, Ada Shelby.

Growing up with a powerful woman like Aunt Polly, Ada imbibed all of her fearless traits. While the world feared Tommy, she was constantly in conflict with her brother, often because of the path of violence he chose.

In addition to her love for communist Freddie Thorne, which was against Tommy's wishes, Ada is distanced from the Shelby family in Peaky Blinders Season 2. However, Tommy's marriage and Grace's tragic death again brought her close to her estranged family, which she seemed to enjoy.

In Season 3 Episode 3, during a conversation between Tommy and Ada, he observes that she is wearing lipstick again, a sign of materialistic want. While Ada claims to be better than her brothers and the Shelbies and preaches a communist lifestyle, Tommy realizes that she is also a Shelby, thus innately ambitious.

After Freddie's death and Ada's subsequent move to London, her life became very boring, as she agreed, and she felt the need to be in action. Tommy's wedding in Peaky Blinders Season 3 gave Ada the perfect opportunity to rejoin the Shelby family. His words reminded her that she is as much a Shelby as her brothers. Tommy then offered her a position at Shelby Company.

Tommy Shelby's words also echo his own ambition in Peaky Blinders

Tommy Shelby's words in Peaky Blinders Season 3 also echo a shift in him and the gang. Having just lost his wife, Tommy is determined to become a better man and legitimize the gang. While Arthur and John question his decision to go legal, he wants to become a better person for Grace and even spends the rest of the seasons making the gang's business legal.

But even after years of efforts and entering a world of politics, Tommy returns to his old ways in the end and kills Michael in the Season 6 finale. Tommy tries to change what he does many times, but in the end, he cannot change what he wants, i.e., immense power and ambition.

Tommy might have many qualities, but his self-awareness gives him an edge. Even while speaking these words to Ada, they really do apply to him and the gang.

After spending many years and seasons trying to be a better man and leaving his violent past behind, he realizes that he cannot change. In Peaky Blinders Season 6 Episode 5, he says this to Oswald Mosley:

"...For all I try to hide it, I'm just one of you. Could there be a sadder ending, eh?"

Tommy's innate need to be in control and take the Blinders to new heights did not let him change what he did, and his words neatly echoed that.

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Also Read: I firmly believe that Peaky Blinders glorifies the character Tommy Shelby more than exploring his dark side

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