Finn Shelby is the youngest of the Shelby siblings and a member of the Peaky Blinders.
As he is the youngest of the Shelby's, Finn's involvement within the Peaky Blinders is kept to a minimum, with his brothers Tommy, Arthur, and his Aunt Polly shielding him from the worst of their actions.
Character History
Background
Finn was born in 1908, making him the only Shelby brother to have not 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.
Series 1 · 1919
In 1919, Finn is eleven years old 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.
Series 2 · 1921
Although Finn is older now, his brothers still keep him from the violence of their life.
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 (cocaine), and tells him to only use it during race days and special occasions.
Finn Shelby, meeting his father Arthur Shelby Sr.
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 16 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 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 1929, Finn takes a more active role within the Peaky Blinders, becoming more violent and throwing parties in the Garrison. When he is confronted by Arthur and Tommy, he admits that he feels the Shelby family are ignoring their history as Peaky Blinders and drifting away from what they were — he feels as though someone needs to take action. Tommy warns him that they have people to do the bad things for them and no longer need to get their hands dirty. He is assigned to watch over Billy, who will give him information on fixing the football matches so that they can increase profits. Little does he know, he accidentally reveals to Billy the Shelby plans to assassinate Oswald Mosley. When Arthur 'dies' Finn finds the guilty and kills one of then with his head dress and beating him. Everyone in the Shelby clan knew that Arthur faked his own death but Finn so when Arthur comes and saves them from the lee's his reaction is nothing but stunned.
Relationships
Finn and his oldest brother Arthur
Arthur Shelby
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. He also kills two of the lee men who he was led to believe killed Arthur
when only injuring him direly.
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 Lee's. 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 meeting of business, 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.
Aunt Polly
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 3.6 | |
| Series 4 Appearances | |||||
| Heathens | Blackbird | Dangerous | The Duel | The Company | |
| Series 5 Appearances | |||||
| Black Tuesday | Black Cats | Strategy | The Loop | Mr Jones | |
Quotes
- "When did either of you two do a days work?"
'' When me and the boys are feeling blue this is what we do its called tokyo.''
Image Gallery
Promotional image
