Does Tommy Shelby have the most obvious plot armor in Peaky Blinders? The Immortal Man might have the answer 

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man just dropped its very first trailer on December 24, 2025. Initially, there was quite a buzz about the 2026 film, which was amplified by the trailer. Fans are speculating about various aspects of the plot and narrative. All we know is that it has been set during the Second World War.

The setting hints at extremes and a quest for survival amidst the casualties. Well, if we think about the Peaky Blinders series, there cannot be a better 'Immortal Man' than Tommy Shelby.

It has become so obvious that many fans argue this is a classic case of “plot armor,” where the main character stays alive because the story demands it.

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Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders: Plot armor or just good writing?

We can see that Tommy Shelby survives wars, shootouts, betrayals, and political danger that would have ended most characters through 6 seasons. Even the trench warfare in World War I and bloody gang fights in Birmingham were not enough to end Tommy.

It has become so obvious that many fans argue this is a classic case of “plot armor,” where the main character stays alive because the story demands it. I mean, sure, Tommy is clever and a strong leader, but many of his escapes feel tied to narrative convenience rather than pure skill.

At this point, people are eagerly awaiting March 6, 2026 (Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man's release) to know what happens to him in the end, and the curiosity is justified.

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Instances where Tommy Shelby's story should have ended but did not

In Season 2 (2014), he survives an execution-style situation only because timely reinforcements show up and not because he plans a clever escape. So this had nothing to do with his survival strategies.

In season 4's finale episode, Bonnie Gold and Goliath, Changretta’s assassins, try to kill the Shelby family. But it turns out that Tommy had already made a pact with Al Capone and the New York mob and flipped the script.

Also, there were times when he tried to attempt suicide. Like in the season 5 finale, when he held a gun to his head after a failed assassination of a fascist leader. But Lizzie arrived right in time and saved him.

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Fan speculations about Thomas Shelby being a plot armor

The audience is conflicted about Thomas' survival tactics because in several scenes, we saw that he was rescued by others.

Reddit user, @more_like_5am justified the narrative by saying:

"Man, kings have so much plot armor. If only the king went into the battlefield and fought alongside his men he would die sooner. Then the kingdom would be remembered."

Another user, @Minder1 shared their opinion.

"Tommy should have died early on when Luca visited him at work, but instead he had to be a villain about it and kill him last. And he didn't even keep to that. Immediately afterwards, he goes to Polly for help on getting to tommy above anyone else. If they killed tommy at that time, they could have killed everyone else so easily and the vendetta would have been complete in episode 3."

On the other hand, another user, @corpus-luteum elaborated on how the plot armor is different from the one we have seen in Breaking Bad or The Godfather.

"One of the cornerstones of Tommy's personality is that he doesn't fear death because he already died. That gives him the freedom to act recklessly, in order to get the job done. Comparing him to Michael Corleone and Walter White is just pointless."

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Coming back to Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, people are confused about what it might actually mean. The film’s title itself raises questions, and we wonder if Tommy is truly “immortal,” or if “immortal” could mean his legend lasts forever, not that he literally escapes every threat. Fans have debated whether the title hints that this might finally be his end, giving him a fitting conclusion rather than endless survival.