Why Peaky Blinders' Paul Anderson Thought Arthur Was Going To Die In Season 2
This post contains spoilers for "Peaky Blinders."
Most of us are aware that the Peaky Blinders were a real gang that operated in the late 1800s in Birmingham, England, but Steven Knight's "Peaky Blinders" takes this real-life aspect and imbues it with extraordinarily intriguing drama, sprinkled with exaggerated historical events. As a result, the series makes for unforgettable television, especially due to the intricate, colorful characters that inhabit a world on the verge of change, forever plunged into chaos. While Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) is well-loved for his complex characterization and general badassery, there is another member of the Shelby family who is as conflicted and has proven to be a compelling deuteragonist in the BBC series. Arthur Shelby, played by Paul Anderson, might not be anyone's favorite Shelby, but he sure is a force to be reckoned with.
Aggressive and impulsive to the point of stupidity, Arthur wrestles with his incandescent rage, especially when Tommy takes over the family business early on in the show. Desperate to prove his worth, Arthur often falls prey to manipulations by those around him, especially his father, who uses him as a pawn to further his motivations. These emotional betrayals take a toll on Arthur as the seasons progress, revealing rare instances of vulnerability nestled deep within a man who grew up thinking that being tough and ruthless is the only way to survive in a world that rewards aggressive masculinity.
Arthur underwent intense trials in season 2, which prompted actor Paul Anderson to think that his character would die in that same season. While this does not come to pass, there are strong reasons behind this assumption, as Arthur is a rather complicated character to parse, who is burdened by the guilt of wreaking havoc for others around him.
Even death eludes Arthur Shelby
During one of his boxing matches in season 2 of the show, Arthur beats a young man to death and burns down a pub after being seized by uncontrollable anger. Later on, there is a moment of remorse, but it is extremely fleeting, as he inevitably finds himself lured back into a life of indiscriminate crimes. While none of the Shelbys are saints, Arthur's inability to reckon with the destruction he causes proved to be a liability time and again, and it wouldn't have been too shocking if he was killed off due to this volatile aspect of his personality.
Speaking to Interview Magazine, Anderson talked about the anxiety of expected comeuppance that he thought his character would have gotten in season 2, and how it was subverted by Knight when John Shelby (Joe Cole) got killed off instead to introduce a legitimate dramatic climax in the show:
"On our journeys to Liverpool, Birmingham, or Manchester where we shoot, Joe Cole and I have this conversation about who's going to die. We're convinced that it's either me or him. We go through the cast and it always comes back to that it's probably going to be me, and he goes, 'No, no. It will be John.' It's quite nice actually because we have no idea what Steven's going to do... I was actually convinced that Arthur was going to get killed in Season Two because he'd left such a trail of destruction behind him."
Although Arthur was briefly believed to be dead in season 4, this was a deliberate fake-out amidst his self-destructive tendencies and unhealthy coping mechanisms to keep his inner demons at bay. While Arthur makes it to the end, it might have come at a very dear cost.