Abhiroop Das
With Tom Harper at the director’s chair, Netflix’s ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man expands on the world of the ‘Peaky Blinders’ series, taking place five years after Tommy left the game behind and turned into a recluse writer. In his absence, his son, Duke Shelby, rules the streets, wreaking havoc and stirring chaos as if everything were back in the pre-1920s. That cannot be farther from the truth, however, as the city of Birmingham finds itself bombarded on a daily basis with political powers from both the inside and outside, hoping to lay siege and start a new cycle of power. Duke wants to be in on the system, and his reckless attempts leave Ada, the city’s MP, in a state of anguish. Her conversation with Tommy gets the period crime drama movie into gear, and ultimately, it is what decides the story’s fate. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ada Dies While Desperately Trying to Hold the Shelby Family Together
Ada’s death at the hands of John Beckett comes as one of the most heart-wrenching twists in ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man,’ especially because of the tragedy baked into its buildup. Her last conversation with Tommy is centered around Duke’s impending doom and how it risks not just the Peaky Blinders’ future but that of all of Birmingham. Throughout this exchange, however, Tommy never asks about his sister’s well-being once and then forces her to return home right from his gate. Ada’s final conversation with Duke follows this pattern, and there is a palpable irony in her statement that he will die alone. Ultimately, she is killed simply for her desire to return to a state of balance, and by the time Tommy makes it to the scene, it is already too late.
In many ways, Ada’s death marks the turning point in Tommy’s journey, where his mission goes from cleaning things up to seeking complete retribution. While that makes for the climactic action sequences of the movie, there is also an undeniable element of sadness to it. Throughout the series, Ada serves as an anchor for the Shelbys, often reining in Tommy before he lets loose and makes a mistake he cannot recover from. Although she tries to do something similar with Duke, things ultimately lead to her own demise, which occurs in front of her son. One of the most powerful moments in the movie takes place after her death, when Tommy faces her dead body and makes his biggest confession yet. The one mistake Ada couldn’t stop from happening is what haunts him the most and forces him to reconsider his path, all in her memory.
Sophie Rundle’s Journey With the World of Peaky Blinders Has Likely Come to an End
Although Sophie Rundle gives one of her most memorable performances as Ada in ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man,’ her character’s death means that she will most likely not appear in future entries of the franchise. From what we know, two seasons of a ‘Peaky Blinders’ spinoff cum sequel are supposed to take the story into the 1950s, and the gap left behind by Ada’s demise will most likely be a major topic of discussion in the show. While this means that Sophie can still potentially make an appearance through flashbacks or hallucinatory sequences, the chances of that are unlikely. The series’ primary engine for dream-like sequences was none other than Tommy himself, and with him out of the picture, integrating such sequences into the mix can prove to be a challenge in and of itself.
Fittingly enough, Sophie’s last on-screen appearance as Ada is itself in the form of hallucinations conjured up by Tommy, first right after her death, and later, when he imagines her with bloody eyes. The idea here is likely to remind him of his guilt, not because he caused her death, but because he was not there to comfort her. However, given how the movie ultimately plays out, the chances of Cillian and Sophie sharing the screen as brother and sister once again are slim to none.
While Rundle has not discussed her departure from the series as of writing, she detailed her time with the show in a conversation with Radio Times. “It feels like it’s been forever that I’ve been part of it (‘Peaky Blinders,’)” the actor expressed, before adding, “I was such a kid when I started, and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing – and I still don’t!” Rundle likened her personal transformation as a creative artist to Ada’s arc of becoming one of the most impactful characters of the series, which is what makes her swan song appearance in the movie special in its own right.
Read More: Peaky Blinders The Immortal Man Ending Explained: Is Tommy Dead? Why Does Duke Kill Him?
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