Peaky Blinders Season 6's Polly Tribute Was Even Better Than You Realize

Much of Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1, is focused on the passing of Polly Gray and Helen McCrory, but the end credits provide one more note.

Peaky Blinders Season 6's Polly Tribute Was Even Better Than You Realize

Warning: Contains spoilers for Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1.

At the end of Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1, in lieu of traditional end credits music, the ending is almost silent, with just the sounds of birds that serve as a perfect tribute to Polly Gray and the late Helen McCrory. Helen McCrory sadly passed away from cancer in 2021 at the age of 52. Polly Gray was a central and important figure for the show, and despite her death off-screen at the beginning of Peaky Blinders season 6, she will clearly still play an important role in the season 6 narrative.

At the end of Peaky Blinders season 5, Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) put into action his plan to assassinate the British fascist Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin) and to take out the threat from the Glasgow Billy Boys in one fell swoop. However, Tommy’s shooter, Barney Thompson (Cosmo Jarvis) and Polly’s fiancé, Aberama Gold (Aidan Gillen), were both killed before Mosley could be killed. In Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1, “Black Day,” it is revealed that they were killed by the IRA who wanted to keep Mosley alive, and they had also killed Polly Gray as part of “restructuring” the Shelby Corporation. The Shelby family and their allies then hold a traditional funeral for Polly in the woods.

The end credits to Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1, open with a title card that reads “Dedicated to the memory of Helen McCrory OBE ‘Polly Gray.’” For the full length of the credits, the only sounds are those of birdsong and occasional windchimes. Polly Gray had at times wanted to be free of all of the fighting and danger brought about by the Peaky Blinders and Tommy’s ambition, even hoping to leave for Australia with Michael at one point. In folklore, birds are a symbol of freedom, and this includes in gypsy folklore where wagtails in particular are seen as a sign of freedom. With the windchimes that are sometimes seen on the caravans in Peaky Blinders, all of this implies that Polly is out and traveling in her own way. While she might not have been able to get away from the Peaky Blinders and the Shelby family in life, in death she is finally free.

This bittersweet use of the birds to commemorate the passing of both Helen McCrory and Polly Gray might also serve as a portent for how Tommy Shelby’s own story might end. He has been on a quest for some form of redemption for a long time and is now seeking his own freedom as indicated by the fact that when he speaks to the spirit of Polly at the end of Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1, he tells her that they know he is trying to get out. It is possible that this means that Tommy’s own freedom and redemption will ultimately come in the form of his death as well.

The silent nature of the Peaky Blinders season 6, episode 1 end credits is particularly poetic as it serves to bookend the episode and shift focus back to Polly and Helen McCrory. During the funeral scene when they set fire to the caravan, all of the attendees are shown in detail and with the exception of Michael he speaks almost to himself, all are entirely silent. The only other sound in the scene is the fire and it all serves to represent the pain and anguish of those left behind. The Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 1 end credits by contrast focus on the woman who has left and is a fitting tribute to both Polly Gray and Helen McCrory.