Peaky Blinders Creator Says The Immortal Man Gives Tommy Shelby The Ending He Actually Deserves [Exclusive]

Who knew that ending a popular series on its own terms could become its own double-edged sword? As much as the folks behind "Lost" or "Game of Thrones" would probably kill to be in that position, the reality is slightly different for "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight. Fans will forever have their own individual rankings for each season of the hit BBC series, but most would agree that the sixth and final one ultimately ended things on a high note. Having dispatched his last foe and barely avoided ending his own life, Tommy literally rides off on a white horse (in stark contrast to the black one he strolls into town on in the series premiere) to an uncertain fate as a man reborn. How do you top an ending like that?

According to Knight: by making an even better one in "The Immortal Man." Most mere mortals would've felt a certain amount of pressure to raise the bar even higher and craft a conclusion that surpasses what came before, but not him. I asked him this very question during a recent interview for /Film, which he politely brushed aside. In fact, it doesn't appear that it even entered his mind that fans would hold the ending of the original series in such high regard compared to the extended epilogue provided by the film. Still, he had his reasons why he felt Tommy's story needed to end differently from the show, as he explained:

"In retrospect, I can understand why people would think that, and it's good that people felt that the series ended in an appropriate way. But I didn't really want [Tommy] just riding off into the sunset as if he lived happily ever after, because [of] the baggage that he has already."

And, boy, what a load of baggage that Tommy Shelby brings into the beginning of "The Immortal Man." Although fans will remember from the "Peaky Blinders" series that he appears to have lightened his load considerably in the season 6 finale, watching as his old life burns away in a wagon that he meant as his own funeral pyre, those old ghosts of his past aren't easy to shake. Tommy has done some seriously bad things — most of which we saw in the original show, but some shocking ones that we learn about for the first time in the spin-off film. As screenwriter Steven Knight told us, this weighs heavily on Tommy's mind when we're reintroduced to him in "The Immortal Man," now living in self-imposed exile:

"[Rebecca Ferguson's character] Kaulo says, 'You live in a house haunted by people who died as a result of you.' But that wasn't enough to explain [Tommy's] exile, so I wanted him to have done something that he can't forgive himself for [...] So I wanted to add that to the mix and then to bring him back for one final act, which is, as he said, 'From this bad will come good.' He wants to do a good thing to save his son and also save his country."

Is his attempt at redemption in "The Immortal Man" enough to balance the scales? Viewers will ultimately have the final say on whether this ending or the one in "Peaky Blinders" is a more satisfying conclusion to Tommy's arc, but the debate is certain to be a fascinating one. "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man" is now streaming on Netflix.