Finn Shelby’s Absence from Peaky Blinders S6 Remains Unexplained

Peaky Blinders Season 6 saw numerous characters return to the show. While some were pleasant surprises, others didn’t create the intended impact. However, some characters were missing from the show, and I wondered why.

One of these characters is Finn Shelby. We’ve seen his entire journey from a small kid in Season 1 who wasn’t allowed to play with girls to a grown boy who started taking part in Thomas’ ploys in Season 5.

But despite all this, he was missing from Season 6, and his absence remains unexplained. So, why is Finn Shelby not in Peaky Blinders Season 6?

Finn Shelby is missing from Season 6, and the writers have not explained why. He is absent from The Garrison, the bookmaking office, and even Thomas’ home. We still don’t know what happens to his arc and how it might end by the show’s finale.

Finn was seen for a brief second in Season 6 Episode 1 at Aunt Polly’s funeral, after which we haven’t seen the character. In Season 5, Finn was starting to get closer to Thomas’ operations and businesses.

He was ordered to handle the bookmaking office and even corrupt the football betting business. He had also started getting closer to Arthur and made a friend in Billy, the bartender.

At the end of Season 5, he lets slip a critical piece of information to Billy, who then is shown picking up the phone.

Finn tells Billy that there will be an assassination, which was the last significant thing he did in the show. In Season 6, there’s no sign of him, and we don’t know why.

In fact, the actor playing Finn, Harry Kirton, had spoken to Digital Spy ahead of the premiere to tell how Finn is becoming his own man and how we’re seeing an emotional side to him. But none of this seems to be happening.

What makes me more curious is how characters such as Finn Shelby and Linda Shelby have been credited for episode 4 in Season 6 but haven’t appeared in them.

While I don’t have an explanation for this, I think there’s a probable cause for Finn’s absence from the show.

Season 6 was in the middle of production when the legendary actress Helen McRory passed away. Considering how her character Polly is essential for the show, a lot of the storyline would’ve surrounded her arc.

But Helen’s untimely demise would’ve led to the writers and the creator Steven Knight reshaping the story. This could be the actual reason behind Finn’s absence from the show.

In fact, you even see characters such as Jeremiah and Johnny Dogs pretty briefly. If I ponder over this further, I realize that Michael Gray was supposed to play a central role in the story but has been locked in prison since Episode 4.

We still don’t know if we’ll see more of these characters and if we’ll get closure for their arcs.

Considering there are only two more episodes to go and so much has to be depicted, the characters might not get the time and the closure they truly deserve.

About Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, England, the series follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family and their leader Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) in the direct aftermath of the First World War.

The fictional family is loosely based on a real urban youth gang of the same name, active in the city from the 1890s to the early 20th century. It stars Cillian Murphy, Sam Claflin, Aidan Gillen, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Finn Cole, and Tom Hardy

Netflix, under a deal with Weinstein Company and Endemol, acquired the rights to release the show in the United States and around the world. In January 2021, it was announced that the sixth series would be the last, followed by a spin-off film. The final series was broadcast in 2022.