Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Tom Harper, Netflix’s ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man‘ expands on the ‘Peaky Blinders‘ universe by pushing the timeline to the middle of World War II. With the streets of Birmingham being bombarded on a daily basis, life appears to have come to a standstill for everyone except the Peaky Blinders. Under Duke Shelby’s leadership, they take on a rowdy shape reminiscent of the 1920s, and it seems that death might come for them at any moment. Tommy, who now leads a quiet, isolated life away from the city, is forced back into this violent world by Kaulo, Zelda’s twin sister, Duke’s aunt, and perhaps most interestingly, a self-proclaimed psychic. While Tommy dismisses her claims early on, many events in this period crime drama movie force both him and us to reconsider what is real and what isn’t. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Kaulo Likely Read Tommy’s Novel in Advance to Predict His Darkest Secrets
Although Kaulo makes a compelling case for mind-reading and spirit-communicating abilities in ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man,’ several clues in the movie suggest she might be lying. To begin with, we know that she is a Gypsy matriarch who makes her living by seemingly communicating with the dead, and while there is an exploitative element to her job, we soon learn that it might not entirely be fictional. The fact that Kaulo is able to peek into the darkest recesses of Tommy’s mind and accurately recall the words he spoke at Arthur’s grave can be enough proof as is, but then she reveals the truth about Arthur’s death, which she simply couldn’t have known via conventional means.
While the movie leans into the supernatural when it comes to Kaulo’s foreknowledge of Arthur’s fate, there is a simple explanation for how she came to know about it. During her introductory sequence, we see that Kaulo was reading Tommy’s manuscripts before he stormed into the room, and given that his novel is a confessionary work by default, it makes sense why she knew such intimate details. This also explains why her description of what happened wasn’t exactly accurate either, as she probably read the book, written unreliably by Tommy, and surmised that he only accidentally killed his brother. The reality of that night is only revealed to us later, when Tommy confesses to consciously killing Arthur, proving Kaulo’s psychic recollections wrong.
The fact that Tommy keeps the truth about Arthur’s death a secret from Kaulo foreshadows how he has known her real plan all along. It is possible that he never bought into her act in the first place, but simply played along to learn more about the way of things. While she may not be able to literally take the form of her dead twin sister, Kaulo evidently spent a long time with Zelda and manages to imitate her mannerisms perfectly. And although Tommy’s guard is indeed let down in that moment, the real plan surrounding him and Duke likely never slips out of his mind.
Kaulo’s Vision of Tommy’s Future Comes From a Psychological Rather Than Magical Perspective
Unlike Kaulo’s ability to read the past, which seems almost entirely fabricated, her supposed clairvoyance has a distinct symbolic purpose in ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.’ Specifically, it’s not that she is able to literally see into the future, but rather, she understands how generational cycles work and where they eventually lead. The movie delves much deeper into this by essentially framing her as a harbinger of death, not necessarily because of causality, but as a proactive, conscious agent who merely nudges Tommy in the one direction that can put the Shelby curse to rest. While Kaulo may not be a psychic per se, she nonetheless has a keen understanding of the human mind, which is what makes her current position as the co-leader of the Peaky Blinders so unpredictable.
Although most of Kaulo’s mind tricks can be readily explained as either her reading Tommy’s book or simply making an educated guess, her recollection of the exact phrase he said at Arthur’s grave remains a mystery. This is not the first time the series has dabbled in supernatural realms without a proper realist explanation. In this movie alone, he sees Ada’s spirit the moment she dies, which shouldn’t be possible as they are miles apart. While this can be interpreted as a creative visualization on the creators’ part, an equally probable reading is that the story is sincerely in tune with its spiritual aspects, as we see that with Polly Gray, who once claimed that she came from a family of Gypsy royalty. Given the similar symbolism surrounding Kaulo, it is possible that the franchise plans to let her blur the line between reality and illusion.
Read More: Peaky Blinders The Immortal Man Ending Explained: Is Tommy Dead? Why Does Duke Kill Him?
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