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Finn Shelby is a major character-turned-final antagonist of Peaky Blinders, serving as a supporting character in Season 1 and Season 2, a major character in Season 3, Season 4, Season 5 and the majority of Season 6, before becoming the final antagonist of the season. He is the youngest member of the Peaky Blinders, a son of Arthur Shelby Sr. and Mrs. Shelby and the youngest brother of Arthur, Thomas, John, and Ada Shelby. He is later married to Mary Shelby.

Finn's role in the beginning is minor due to his young age (11 at the beginning of the first season), however, he gets himself into quite a few complicated situations causing trouble to the rest of his family. As the story progresses, Finn grows up and becomes a brighter figure in the gangster world.

Character History[]

Background[]

Finn was born in 1908, making him the only Shelby brother not to have fought in the First World War due to his age. Though he is a Peaky Blinder, his brothers often watch out for him as he learns the trade and grows into the role. His Aunt Polly is the only mother he has ever really known.

Series 1 · 1919[]

In 1919, Finn is ten years old, soon to be eleven in a couple days, and only has a minor role in the family business, with no real power. His Aunt Polly often tries to shield him from the worst excesses of the Peaky Blinders. He is closely guarded by older brother and leader of the Peaky Blinders, Thomas Shelby.

In Episode_1.4 Finn decides to pretend to be Thomas by climbing into his car and barely escapes death from a hand grenade being saved by Thomas.

Series 2 · 1921[]

Finn

Finn Shelby meeting his father Arthur Shelby Sr.

Finn is now thirteen years old, and his while he is older, his family still tries to keep him from the violence of the Peaky Blinders. However, he's already using cocaine. At the day of the grand re-opening of the Garrison Pub, Thomas tells Finn to go get his brother Arthur to come to the event. After seeing Arthur's violent episodes many times, and with the suggestion from his brother Thomas, Finn introduces Arthur to a drug called "Tokyo," slang for cocaine, and tells him to only use it on race days and special occasions.

They take Finn with them to the Epsom races, where Arthur, John, and the gang hold up their rival Sabini’s bookmakers and burn their licenses. However, Finn is only allowed to act as lookout.

Series 3 · 1924[]

Finn is sixteen years old now, but still kept away from a lot of the business by Arthur and John. However, he is allowed to be present in the meeting with Vicente Changretta, and accompanies Arthur, John, and Isaiah. He also witnesses the murder of his sister-in-law Grace Shelby, and along with his brothers, seeks revenge for her death and they kill her murderer.

Series 4 • 1926[]

Since John's death, Finn is taking his first big steps in the family business. He becomes a full-fledged member of the Peaky Blinders. He loses his virginity to a low-cost prostitute, despite his political standing as a member of the Peaky Blinders. Finn blinds one of Changretta's men that attacked Arthur Shelby during the fight between Bonnie and Goliath.

Series 5 • 1929[]

During an excursion to the Limehouse in Chinatown, Finn, despite Tommy's orders to stay put, gets shot in the arm by a pimp; Aberama Gold later removes the bullet in Ada's house, where she tells Finn that he has nothing to prove.

Finn's haplessness proves to be a liability when Li, a Chinese assassin disguised as a sex worker, traps Finn. She holds him at gunpoint with his pants down, enabling Brilliant Chang to demand a meeting with Thomas about his pure refined opium.

Finn is in charge of watching bookmaker Billy Grade conduct football betting business and the two became fast friends. Finn and Billy fall into sloppy habits while running the betting shop. They do cocaine and drink regularly while on the job. While the other Shelbys recognize Billy as an informant, Finn does not and trusts him too much. Finn reveals Thomas' plans to Billy moments before their execution, jeopardizing the assassination, and allowing Oswald Mosley to escape.

Series 6 · 1934[]

Finn brings the problem of the bribe-resistant football referee to Arthur. This only serves to once again demonstrate that someone else has to take responsibility, and that Finn is a bystander and not a problem-solver.

Finn marries his sweetheart, Mary Bone, who is very much disliked by the family. The announcement of their marriage is met with widespread indifference by the Shelbys and the Peaky Blinders. Mary is clearly in charge in the relationship. She orders Finn not to drink until after six pm. Thomas disapproves of this and further excludes Finn. He purposely talks in Romani; a language Finn barely understands.

Upon finding out that Billy was the one who informed the IRA about the attempted assassination of Oswald Mosley, resulting in the operation being ruined, Isaiah and Duke beat him, ultimatedly tasking Finn with killing him. Finn betrays them, aiming the weapon at Isaiah instead of Billy. After Duke Shelby banishes Finn from the family and the Peaky Blinders, Finn says, "I will come for you." He angrily leaves in disgrace.

Personality[]

Finn has always been the odd one out among the Shelby siblings. He is significantly younger than the others, and thus he didn't fight in World War I. His brothers see him as weak, immature, and lacking experience. They believe he doesn't have the ruthlessness of a "true" Shelby. His haplessness proves to be a liability. As he gets older, Finn becomes someone only interested in having fun and partying. He regularly does cocaine, drinks, and womanizes. By foolishly blabbing Thomas' plans to Billy, Finn appears to have forgotten that some matters are strictly family business, an unforgivable sin in the Shelby family. Finn demonstrates that he is inept, unreliable, and not to be trusted. His ultimate sin in the eyes of the Peaky Blinders is choosing his friend, Billy Grade, over family.

Relationships[]

Arthur Shelby[]

Ep4 2 Arthur Finn

Finn and his oldest brother Arthur

Arthur Shelby is Finn's oldest brother and the one he is closest to out of the four. He and Aunt Polly raised Finn when his mother died and his father abandoned the Shelby family. Maybe this is the reason why Arthur tries so hard to keep Finn out of the illegitimate business. Arthur and Finn are first seen together in Season 2, at the day of the grand re-opening of the Garrison Pub. Arthur cries when Finn is finally made into an official Peaky Blinder and invited to sit at the table in a family meeting.

Thomas Shelby[]

Thomas Shelby is Finn's second oldest brother. Tommy rescued Finn from his car when he was younger after a hand grenade was put in it by the Lees. Finn tells Tommy he was just pretending to be him, but Thomas warns him after the booby trap explodes that that is exactly the reason why he should never pretend to be like him. When Finn is older, Thomas allows him to stay for a family business meeting, while normally he would never be included as Polly wanted to protect him from it. Finn admires his brother, aspiring to be like him and be a part of the Peaky Blinders.

Polly Gray[]

Polly Gray is Finn's paternal aunt. Due to the death of his mother, abandonment of his father, and his brothers going off to war, Aunt Polly has been the sole caretaker of Finn. Polly is very protective of the youngest Shelby, and this may be further exaggerated by the loss of her own children, Michael and Anna. Polly is very vocal about her disapproval of Finn's role within the Peaky Blinders and butts head with Tommy on this issue frequently.

John Shelby[]

John Shelby is Finn's third oldest brother. John is often seen giving Finn a hard time. Whether giving him a shove, cuffing him upside the head, or taking a drink from his hand, John likes to flex his older-brother privilege on the only brother he is able to. This might also be amplified by their closeness in age, as Finn is much further removed from Arthur and Thomas, who seems to act more paternally to their youngest sibling.

Appearances[]

Series 1 Appearances
Episode 1.1 Episode 1.2 Episode 1.3 Episode 1.4 Episode 1.5 Episode 1.6
Series 2 Appearances
Episode 2.1 Episode 2.2 Episode 2.3 Episode 2.4 Episode 2.5 Episode 2.6
Series 3 Appearances
Episode 3.1 Episode 3.2 Episode 3.3 Episode 3.4 Episode 3.5 Episode 3.6
Series 4 Appearances
The Noose Heathens Blackbird Dangerous The Duel The Company
Series 5 Appearances
Black Tuesday Black Cats Strategy The Loop The Shock Mr Jones
Series 6 Appearances
Black Day Black Shirt Gold Sapphire The Road to Hell Lock and Key

Quotes[]

"When did either of you two do a day's work?"

"When me and the boys are feeling blue, this is what we do: it's called Tokyo."


Image Gallery[]

Promotional Images[]

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