Tommy Shelby pulled off the biggest gamble with Arthur's death in Peaky Blinders Season 4 (eliminating one of his biggest enemies)

In addition to Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby, Paul Anderson's Arthur Shelby is one of the biggest additions to the Peaky Blinders ensemble, and the duo pulled off the biggest gamble in season 4 by staging Arthur's death and eliminating Adrien Brody's Luca Changretta.

After he killed Luca's father, Vincente Changretta, in season 3, Arthur was the prime target for the Italian mafia family, with Luca announcing a vendetta against the Shelbys, even eliminating John Shelby in the season 4 premiere.

Arthur, who already struggled with war-induced PTSD and was even on the verge of committing su*cide in many instances, was driven to the edge by John's death.

Since Luca had already done enough damage to the Shelbys, Tommy Shelby hatched a plan and staged Arthur's fake death in Peaky Blinders Season 4. When Luca believed that he had won and had eliminated Arthur, he resurrected and killed Luca in the season 4 finale.

More on this in our story.

Arthur's fake death was the biggest plot twist orchestrated by Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders Season 4

Arthur Shelby is one of the most favorite characters in Peaky Blinders, and his fans were naturally shocked when he appeared to be mortally wounded in season 4 by one of Luca Changretta's men.

Since the eldest Shelby brother was close to his baby brother John, he was deeply affected by John's death and vowed to exact revenge on Luca by killing him. However, Tommy wanted contract killers to take out Luca, which created a temporary argument between the brothers in Peaky Blinders Season 4.

As it turns out, this was all a ruse, and Tommy Shelby was staging one of the biggest gambles of his life by staging Arthur's death. After he was captured by Luca's men during the important boxing match in Season 4, it seemed like Arthur Shelby had died in Peaky Blinders.

Tommy Shelby took this time to expand relations with other American mafia families, including Alphonse Capone. While none of these families initially wanted to interfere with the Italian mafia, they eventually agreed to occupy Luca's territory if he were defeated fairly by the Shelbies.

After Capone took out the majority of Luca's blood-related members, it was over for the Italian mafia. However, Tommy still had one ace up his sleeve- Arthur Shelby's resurrection. Just when Luca attacked Tommy, Arthur miraculously arrived and took a fatal shot at Luca, thus avenging John's death.

Despite surviving, Arthur Shelby was almost dead in Peaky Blinders Season 6

While Arthur survived and was not dead in Peaky Blinders Season 4, his character took a downward trajectory from there on.

John's death, his recurring PTSD, Linda's overbearing presence in his life, which resulted in their failed marriage and eventually Aunt Polly's death in the season 6 premiere, all resulted in Arthur Shelby's downfall.

After he discovered Tommy Shelby's tuberculoma diagnosis, it was the last straw for Arthur, following which he went into a downward spiral. He was at the pinnacle of his opium addiction in the season 6 premiere. While he eventually got clean and it was hinted that he got back with Linda, he was too depressed to even attend his brother's final dinner party.

The last time we saw Arthur Shelby in Peaky Blinders Season 6, he was sitting by a lake and observing fish, hinting at a dire future for him. With Paul Anderson still not confirmed for The Immortal Man, many fans are speculating that Arthur Shelby will be shown dead in the upcoming movie, having committed s*ic*de off-screen after season 6.

Given Arthur's harrowing mental health, this theory seems highly plausible, but it would be disheartening for Anderson's fans and his remaining Shelby brothers.

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