The Ruthless Nature Of Thomas Shelby - Character Analysis (Part 1)
WARNING!
*This video may contain spoilers of Peaky Blinders Season 1 - 5.*
In this video I talk about a couple of observations I've made throughout the show that I humanizes the often larger-than-life persona we tend to associate with our beloved Thomas Shelby.
Thomas Shelby is the protagonist in the TV-series Peaky Blinders that aired on BBC the summer of 2013. He's one of my favourite characthers to ever grace the TV screen and his charisma is out of this world. I've already made a video about what makes him so attractive to other people, so today I decided to switch it up.
I mean, we all can see that the actor Cillian Murphy is blessed with good looks, a deep voice and a well defined jawline that certainly helps, but I believe that there more to than meets the eye.
So going into the TV-show a second, and a third time with the mindset of looking for clues. I've managed to dig-out a couple of moments in the show that I believe a lot of people tend to gloss over, but that are intresting to adress and discuss.
So if you're new to this channel or have no idea what this video may contain I hope I've been able to shed some light regarding what it is that I'll talk about in this video..
If you have any questions, thoughts, ideas or suggestions. Feel free to send me and email or comment down below and let's have discussion about it.
Instagram: / thexlearningxcurve
This man deserves major awards for playing thomas shelby...BY ORDER OF THE PEAKY BLINDERS 😡
He already has with-in the national film awards show in his home country Ireland, but he sure does deserve more recognition than that!
The "He looked at me the wrong way" part is not because of his mental instability, it's because he wanted to hide from grace that someone poisoned or "cursed" his horse.
War is very bad for mental health.No one should be forced to kill other people just because their leaders told them to. PTSD is very sad to see in people
Yeah, it truly is sad.. I've got another video coming out soon that will touch on the subject of shame (and following orders). Thank you for the support my friend!
The Learning Curve I’m thinking 🤔 500 subs by Christmas 😎👍
Hopefully! You've been with me from the start, I appreciate that 👍 @@wattsnottaken1
Usually ptsd doesn't change you like it did tommy. Obviously he's a bit of a sociopath/psychopath along with the ptsd
Bro, analysis on alfie solomons and the joker from dark knight would be useful to character understanding like the rest of your videos.
Thank you for dropping another comment! I'll take Alfie into consideration but I can tell you that a Joker analysis will definitely be done in the near future (and it will probably be quite long!) Stay safe brother!
I love his voice
Male or female, I can assure you, you're not the only one! ;)
That's just fabulous content! 😇
Dope video, keep it up!
Thank you for the support Tony, I appreciate you a lot!
Good Job! Great Work Bro!!!!!!
Thank you for the support my friend!
Infact I'm impressed by your content and Video Quality.
Your channel deserves more fame
Maybe some day in the future, I appreciate the support! 💯
Keep posting about Tommy I'll watch it everytime 😍
Awesome! There are a couple of more on the way, thank you for your support!
Ya I’d watch more Thomas Shelby videos
I have another on the way!
@@TheLearningCurveX you can also do of Bobby Axelrod from the show billions
Thanks for subtitles
Thank you for watching!
The ultimate romantic and caring bad boy. He cant not b
- Tommy uses his family as pawns, yes. To his own ends? Yes, but not like you're implying here. It's not like Tommy is a selfish bastard, "his ends" aim to benefit the whole family. It's a constant in the series the fact his family does not listen to him. When they do, they do it reluctantly but succeed in the end nevertheless. When they don't they fail miserably. In the specific scene you chose, John refuses to kill his teacher. In the end, John ends up killed because he refused to do it, and because he chose to stay by himself (against what Tommy told him to do). - Luca's wife does not show up, yes. Because she's comfortably in NYC while he's in England working at his vendetta. If she was there, she would probably end up killed too. Why would somebody bring his wife to the middle of a gang war? Women don't go in Mafia family business, this is clearly depicted in the Godfather, for example. - Yes, Tommy is ruthless. He's supposed to be. How do you earn respect among top gangsters without being ruthless? Every single one in the Shelby family is ruthless, even Finn. Even Polly. They are criminals. It's a crime series. This is not Chicago Med. The whole point of the series is for you to love them for being criminals, not despite of it. - isn't it ironic that you say the "villains" don't have cute moments and afterwards you say that the point is for us to see even evil people have a good side? Well, then why the villains don't have a good side too? If this was the case, making everyone have good sides would make this idea clearer in the minds of the viewers. But this is not what we see. You're arguing against yourself here. You're trying to "unveil" some script decisions but you're failing to understand what is clearly scripted.
"The aim is to benefit his whole family". Yes that is clear to all of us watching. But what I'm suggesting is that when dealing with grown adults, an act or a service is usually deemed to be beneficial if it is in-line with what the person you're trying to help deem to be a preferable outcome. Not once have Tommy sat Arthur or Polly down and honestly asked them what they want to do with their lives. Even when Polly or Arthur expresses a wish to do something else, it usually ends up with what Tommy deems to be best for them (and the family) that is where the using of his family as pawns come in. Of course due to the writing of the character, Tommy is usually more right than wrong. So his demands are usually justified in the end. But the point is that a lot of people want to emulate this behavior in their own day to day lives and also believe that this would work well in real life relationships. When in fact, one of the biggest causes of failed professional and intrapersonal relationships is lack of communication and micromanaging. "Luca's wife doesn't show up" Again, you misinterpreted what I said. I didn't mean that Luca Changrettas wife was supposed to take part in the war.. that would be foolish. What I said was that we can more easily justify Tommy's ruthlessness due to the fact that we also get to see different sides of Tommy that makes him more relatable. Everyone might not relate to Tommy's gangsterisms but we atleast get the opportunity to find other qualities with-in him such as his soft-spokeness, intellectual capabilities, leadership skills and the way he treats his women that makes him more likeable and thus easier to forgive and forget his wrong doings. The reason why I highlighted Luca Changretta and later on, his wife. Is that he is in many ways just like Tommy, his intelligent, family oriented, soft-spoken etc. But as an example, we never get to see other more relatable scenes with Luca like how he treats his wife that would allow us to make a more personal connection to him as a contrarian and root for him the same way we root for Tommy. But we don't get that opportunity due to the characters writing of the show. And to that you might say "That's the point with a main character and their adversaries" - and too that i would say sure, but I wasnt trying to make grand point, I was simply highlighting an aspect that most casual viewers might not think of when watching the show. I'm not trying to "unveil" anything new, that statement sounds more like a reflection of your projection and anticipation of the video. I'm simply highlighting aspects that many people might see, but maybe not fully comprehend when they watch the show. Why you might ask? For the same reason a lot of people go and watch a tv-show multiple times (and enjoy it even more the second or third time around). It's not about a big "unveiling" for the person who's watching. The viewer already know what to expect. But as you watch a show for the first time you are bombarded with a lot explicit and implicit information. Some that you can take in and some that might fall to the wayside. But when you watch it again you can highlight certain aspects that one might not have grasped at the first time and thus increase (or decrease) the appreciation for the show.
@@TheLearningCurveX your point starts to get very confusing for you if you take into consideration "oh this is because of the writing". Well, of course it is. It's a fiction show. If it wasn't for the writing, there would be no characters to begin with. "This is because of the writing" is a pointless argument. Everything is because of the writing. I'm assuming the story exists as it is, without questioning it. Because an argument about it would not make sense otherwise. Tommy ends up being right because he's smarter. And smart people can predict other people's actions around them and predict how situations will unfold. He sees further (remember season 5 when he's talking to Ada at the House of Commons about people circling him, wanting his throne). This happens in everyday life as well. And not because of writers. It works well in real life? Well, it depends on your definition for "work well". It can work as well as in the show. To me, saying they work out in the show is a stretch; so far the guy lost a brother and the woman he loved, paying a huge mental price. I suggest you read the 48 laws of power, it seems like the writers tried to apply at least some of the laws on Tom. And people as smart as Tom are very rare in real life, just as they are in the show. Also, there's no lack of communication (although the writers seem to lead the audience in that way, for a couple reasons) or micromanaging. For example, he never said how John should kill his teacher. But he did say why. Very clearly. Telling people what to do is not micromanaging, is just managing. Telling people exactly how they'll do it is, specially if they know the task very well and any way they did it would end in the same results (because sometimes how you do something impacts on the result, most times it doesn't). The writers want you to be surprised by the plot twists. When he sent Michael to America, Michael didn't knew it because he wanted Michael to feel punished. But Ada and Polly did know the plan unveiled to the audience in Luca's death scene. About Luca's wife, you misunderstood what I said. Of course put Luca's wife there would be foolish, but that's your point, not mine. How could the writers show Luca kissing his wife is she's not there? Why would she be there? How Luca kissing his wife is relevant to the story? This is your point. I'm fine with the fact the only family Luca took to England were men ready to do violence. We don't need to see Luca being a family man because the show is not about Luca or the Mafia. The show is called "Peaky Blinders". We don't know how Mrs Changretta got to NYC. We don't know how they organized the vendetta. We don't know his side of the story because he plays a supporting role in the narrative. The writers have no need to justify Tommy's ruthlessness, that's my point. He's ruthless because he has to. He's a gang boss. He's a criminal. Of course he's ruthless. What do you expect? Like I said, this is a crime show. Characters are ruthless. Just like in comedies characters are funny. That's all the justification you need. "Everyone might not relate to Tommy's gangsterisms" well, in the video you argue the opposite point. So, I'm a little at lost here. Although you can write a story trying to put the audience on the hero's shoes, this is not a rule. Maybe you're just telling the story. I don't think what I would I do if I were him. I just watch the story unfold. And that's very entertaining already, let me tell ya. I don't think we have enough elements to be sure what direction the writers took. And no, you're not "highlighting aspects". You're telling your opinion about the show and about the writing. As you may have noticed, I've watched the show very differently. In my point of view, most of the "aspects" you're highlighting are not even there.
kzhead.info/sun/q76ugbicbGmEi58/bejne.html
Amazing Video.
Thank you for the support my friend!
Good job! Keep on making these type of videos
Thank you for the encouragement and the support my friend!
The Learning Curve Can’t wait for the next season ? I can’t. I want to see a flashback of Tommy’s mother I want to know more about her. And I also wanna see flashbacks of what happened to John and Arthur when they were in France 🇫🇷 (new sub here I love your content!)
@@wattsnottaken1 I'm also very excited to see what comes next, and I'm humbled that you enjoy my content. Thank you for the continued support my friend!
My wife says I walk like Tommy (6:26) when I'm actively looking for something within the house. She named it "the pigeon walk". Imagine the sight she sees when I'm wandering arms spread out from one room to the other xD
Lol I laughed when I read this, thanks.
It seems really unfair how good your videos are but how little subs you have
This means a lot, I appreciate your support!
You can also make analysis on John Wick, Hitman, and also Captain Jack Sparrow. Also great job done about Tommy Shelby, he's a legend... Love ur work❤️
I can't thank you enough for the continued support my friend! I've got a couple of other videos lined up atm, but I always appreciate new suggestions.
He's a god
More or less, yeah!
Not yet
His son disagrees
Cillian Murphy is the baddest and coolest actors we hve ever seen
Aww you appreciate your subscribers even if it's only 1-200
I have just one critic about the other thomas shelby video... Even tho your analisys are the best I've ever seen. You didn't answer why thomas shelby is irresistible. If you ask something you have to answer in the video
Thanks for the praise my friend! It really makes me happy that you find joy in watching my content. Regarding your feedback, I understand where you're coming from. But my goal was never to give a simple answer to such a diverse and multifaceted question. This whole channel is all about what you just did, sparking a conversation, engaging in (hopefully) intellectually stimulating dialogs and grow together. The truth is, there aren't any hard-written reasons for why other people find Thomas Shelby so irresistible. There may be some personality traits that people collectively may or may not agree on to a larger extent, but for the most part they are different for each an every Thomas Shelby fan. My video was only meant to highlight a couple of them, elaborate on why I thought they were interesting/important and allow you and everyone else in this tribe to chip in and carry the conversation forward. I hope this sheds some light to you (and everyone else who maybe wondering the same thing). Thanks again for the support! 👍
Thomas likes to play peeky boo with his enemies
I don’t know. We see Changretta senior with his wife and he seems remorseful and tommy is about to torture him to death before Arthur shoots him in the head. But we still love him ... just one little hole in the the theory but I get your point
Fair enough, you made a good observation! But I still think a lot of people despised Tommy in that particular scene just because we were made aware of the emotional connection between John, Arthur and Tommy and Ms. Changretta! Either way! Good on you for having your thinking cap on.. that observation initially slipped my mind!
I don't personally believe that this point negates his theory either, because the whole point of Tommy's actions between when he was issuing orders to kidnap Mr. Changretta and kill Mrs. Changretta up to the point where he is about to torture Mr. Changretta are to emphasize Tommy's mistakes and how he loses sight of his virtues in the midst of his own pain. In other words, the narrative is trying to establish that Tommy is in the wrong.
@@TheLearningCurveX and Luca even acknowledges that Tommy's ruthlessness was justified
The Learning Curve why did you stop uploading a year ago?
Make a video on Kira or L
PLEASE ALFIE SOLOMONS
"his ruthlessness was justified"
Please tell me anyone are there spoilers because I want to watch this video
Unfortunately yes, there are spoilers in this video!
@@TheLearningCurveX Well then I'll watch after completing the series thanks btw
In Italy please 🙏
In italy please
Ruthless doesn't really mean being cruel. It means being relentless. Example: Miss Jane Marple of St. Mary Mead is ruthless. Seriously. 😳🙂
Bro analyse ragnar lothbrok from vikings
Thank you for sharing your suggestion, I'll look into that!
kzhead.info/sun/q76ugbicbGmEi58/bejne.html
Bro you focused on his violence and nothing else, he's a complex character and you have to look at the reasoning behind the violence to truly understand their intent and if their genuinely a good person or not.
Tommy isn't a good person if you didn't know that already
Wow. This video is the best non analysis I've seen. Bullocks. It's not a flattering comment.
I was looking if there's a video that explains why Thomas is so unlikeable. But I guess a lot of people seem to like him, it's funny because most women I talked to agree with me, that they kinda stopped watching the show because he's just unlikeable and also too violent. I feel like he's charismatic and attractive to men, the mens idea of an alpha male they aspire to be, but he's not the type of man I'd like to date at all...Maybe there's a few women that have the "I can fix him" complex going on, but he gets nothing going in me other than the fact that he does look good. You know that all the women in the show like him because that's how the show is written. I bet in real life Thomas had a funnier personality that kinda made it easier to interact with the guy. I mean I'm kinda neutral on the show because the show is done well as a whole, but I also only watched it because my ex was really looking up to the guy and I was just sitting in the room playing video games trying to pretend like I enjoyed looking at him...
Wow! Very interesting perspective Cornelia, I'm sure there's a lot of guys out there who struggle with the idea of having to live up to this ideal so it can be reassuring to know that not all women find his mannerisms attractive, thank you for sharing!
@@TheLearningCurveX I'll tell you though, I don't think I'm an exception...I asked a few women and the best I got from them is a "I guess I'd screw him but no, that guy ain't it" response. At the end of the day this is still a character written to be attractive to women in a show where he is paired with good looking women. The actor is attractive, but Shelby's personality is not magnetic whatsoever... Man look at your comment section, who's responding here with the assumption that Shelby is attractive, men or women? I checked again, there is 1 comment I suspect is a woman, that is somewhat drooling over Shelby, and the other ones are most likely guys, straight guys I'm assuming. I'm assuming Thomas shelby, the real guy, probably had women around him because of status and because traumatized guys have a tendency to have an amazing sense of dark humour and an aura of dominance, because he doesn't give much of a crap about who he screws. Unattainable guys are somewhat attractive, especially for girls that aren't over their "bad boy" phase and really want to fix the poor broken man with love. It sure helps that Shelby looks like Cilian, if he was ugly, it'd be as if Christian Grey was ugly... No one wants to screw an ugly mental guy.
ruthlessness..... well.. The world needs some bad men to keep the other really bad men from the door.. defang the principled 'criminals', say, for example them that won't tolerate the abuse of women or God save us, children.. Lock them away and the monsters that act like "normal people" will take over... May have, already, in fact.. to look around.
Fix your Mic brother.
This is the most un detailed Analysis
Thank you for sharing!