As the Peaky Blinders‘ sphere of influence rapidly expands, Thomas Shelby doggedly pursues his territorial and economic vision in the tumultuous 1920s British underworld. Though the Shelbys have consolidated power over Birmingham by 1924, their nascent empire remains fragile against intensifying external threats and internal dysfunction.
The second season of the hit show presents varying crises – reprisal attacks, police oppression, broken alliances, personal entanglements – which Tommy confronts with equal parts strategic brilliance and brutal retaliation to keep business on track above all else. Enemies and allies alike continue underestimating his patience. What some may interpret as a preoccupation with petty gang vengeance often serves Tommy’s greater priorities: expanding the Peaky Blinders‘ legitimate and criminal enterprises despite the heightened adversity facing the organization.
Decimation of Garrison Hub Exposes Business Vulnerabilities
The season opens with Tommy and the Blinders mourning the loss of childhood friend Freddie Thorne, though flashbacks suggest Tommy’s grief may be less about loyalty and more from missing Thorne‘s fundraising connections. While the gang attends the funeral, their main business headquarters and pub The Garrison is bombed.
This brazen attack, ordered by vengeful London mob boss Darby Sabini, levels their power base built over several years unifying Birmingham‘s fractured street gangs. The bombing also exposes vulnerabilities in the Peaky Blinders’ centralized operations; Tommy will spend the next months decentralizing and diversifying to hedge risk.
The Garrison Pub’s Value as Strategic Hub of Peaky Blinders Operations
| Illegal Business Functions | Legal Business Functions |
|---|---|
| Underground gambling den | Public house generating legal liquor sales |
| Weapons smuggling | Front for money laundering |
| Cocaine distribution hub | Hosts legitimate bookmaker Billy Kimber’s offices |
| Headquarters for gang underlings | Venue for business discussions |
| Basement distillery for adulterating whiskey | Event space for community engagement |
Losing this nerve center, even temporarily, lets rival gangs see cracks in the Peaky Blinders edifice. With his anchor pub destroyed, Tommy will now retool operations around more outsourced warehouses and covert distilleries.
Arthur‘s Instability Threatens Critical Operations
The bombing also immediately exacerbates tensions within the close-knit family. Tommy’s brother Arthur – the Garrison’s manager – relies increasingly on cocaine to manage his wartime PTSD. He proves unable to reliably perform his duties as Tommy’s second-in-command in this crisis moment.
With Arthur emotionally and mentally absent, Tommy leans more on his headstrong sister Ada Shelby for counsel. Ada will gradually take on a more vocal role heading various business functions as Arthur further spirals. Investors have already expressed concerns about Arthur’s erratic behavior; Tommy will soon need to remove Arthur from visible operations entirely before stakeholder confidence is eroded.
Sabini‘s Violent Retaliation Disrupts Business Plans
Hellbent on complicating Tommy’s ambitions, Sabini orders a brutal attack on Tommy and his sister Ada. This prompts Major Chester Campbell – a corrupt cop with mysterious motives – to impose martial law in Small Heath. Now Blinders’ businesses must operate under police occupation, while Campbell plots to imprison Tommy.
Estimating Profit Losses Under Martial Law
With the police confiscating assets and disrupting operations daily, we can conservatively estimate the Shelby Company profits affected:
| Business | Est. Weekly Revenue | Est Weekly Loss |
|---|---|---|
| Illegal bookmaking | £8,000 | £6,000 |
| The Garrison | £2,500 | £2,000 |
| Licor Distribution | £1,500 | £1,200 |
| Shelby Betting Shops | £1,800 | £900 |
| Total | £13,800 | £10,100 |
This translates to a £10,100/week profit deficit across legitimate and criminal enterprises, stifling the Peaky Blinders’ rapid growth.
Tommy Pursues Back-Up Opportunities
Ever the resilient strategist, Tommy remains fixed on his latest venture despite sabotage and oppression: legally exporting mass-adulaterated liquor to exploit American prohibition loopholes. He secretly builds underground distilleries and wins over key political allies like Lord Clifton to guarantee safe passage.
By diversifying his illegal revenue streams overseas, Tommy displays the patience and vision to endure present adversity for higher future profits. His perseverance pays off when he brokers an enormously lucrative export partnership in Boston. Even as Campbell’s occupation suffocates Small Heath, Tommy subtly mobilizes assets towards this backup plan.
Alfie Solomons’ Betrayal Forces Critical Realignment
Central to Tommy’s transatlantic pipeline is tactical ally Alfie Solomons, de facto leader of London’s Jewish gangs. The alignment promises to resolve simmering tensions between the groups. However, unbeknownst to Tommy, Alfie secretly resents the Peaky Blinders’ ascendancy, feeling Tommy lacks respect for his senior status.
This animosity reaches an explosive tipping point at Passover when Alfie massacres a group of Blinders’ men, including Arthur, during a false sit-down. Alfie further manipulates justice systems to condemn Arthur to death by hanging.
With his brother and projected distillery manager imprisoned, Tommy faces critical business disruptions. The Shelby family urgently closed ranks while covertly seeking external support to handle this threat.
Tommy Shelby‘s Risk Management Matrix After Arthur Imprisonment
| Impact | Likelihood | Response Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liquor distribution halts | Extreme | High | Negotiate with Sabini for exports |
| Race betting operations slowed | High | Moderate | Transfer responsibilities to Ada |
| Staff morale plummets | Moderate | High | Incentivize informants against Alfie |
| Campbell cronies empowered | Moderate | Moderate | Lobby politicians for favors |
| Revenge attacks by Alfie | Low | High | Build allied gang support |
By methodically assessing then addressing vulnerabilities, Tommy manages ongoing instability while probing options to rescue his brother.
Ruthless Pragmatism Saves Arthur
Once secured, Tommy refrigerates retaliation plans against Alfie to first stabilize dividends. Instead he parleys with past foes like Sabini for liquor distribution workarounds.
Tommy also exploits Parliament connections to reduce Arthur’s charges and prison term. His ability to compartmentalize fraternal devotion for pragmatic decision-making gives enemies continued fits. They assume Tommy will be distracted by family drama; but he keeps prioritizing ambitious expansion above all else.
Entanglements and Obligations
Apart from managing these external threats, Tommy must also navigate upheavals in his mercurial personal affairs. Lingering attraction to former undercover agent Grace ends with her executed by anti-royal radicals. Tommy also carries on a secret tryst with wealthy widow May Carleton.
This privileged entanglement earns social capital but distracts Tommy from Birmingham duties. Exposure of the affair forces Tommy into a rigged bare-knuckle brawl against tyrant Bonnie Gold to satisfy offended aristocrats. Sustaining serious injuries jeopardizes Tommy’s legitimate public bookmaking clout built on reputation and credibility.
However, in a stunning strategic pivot, he leverages losing the fixed fight to gain favor with boss Billy Kimber by setting up Gold’s murder. Though personally degrading, this flashy gambit wins access to hugely profitable Southern racing tracks otherwise off-limits to upstarts like him.
Risk-Reward Analysis of Tommy Shelby‘s Involvement With May Carleton
| Risk Factors | Potential Rewards |
|---|---|
| Jeopardized standing in working class communities | Romantic intimacy and relief from stress |
| Distraction from daily business management | Escapism and glamourization |
| Reputation damage from thrown fight | Inroads into upper class politics, investment circles |
| Billy Kimber refusing partnership | Foothold in legitimate monopoly business: casinos, tracks |
This shrewd maneuvering highlights Tommy’s discipline separating sensitive affairs from strategic priorities. Associates however may question his secrecy in dodging scrutiny and oversight into such ethically questionable decision making bleeding into company interests.
Mission at Epsom Derby Steals Lucrative Gambling Infrastructure
Despite destabilizing conflicts, Season 2 culminates with Peaky Blinders executing an intricately planned heist during the fabled Epsom Derby races while the country’s eyes fixate on the pageantry.
In broad daylight, PB associates stealthily steal and torch the racing licenses of bookmakers allied with Darby Sabini’s syndicate before disappearing without detection. This system sabotage neuters Sabini‘s monopoly over London tracks by removing his exclusive right to post betting odds and process wagers at Britain‘s highest stakes races.
Projected Profits From Epsom Derby Bookmaking Rights Acquisition
| Metric | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Attendance at Epsom Derby Festival | 500,000 spectators |
| Avg Spending per spectator | £10 |
| Total Epsom Derby Betting Market | £5,000,000 |
| Standard bookmaker profit margin | 5% |
| Est. Blinders Annual Income from Epsom | £250,000 |
Securing access to this enormously valuable turf literally overnight will provide Tommy unprecedented leverage as he tries legitimizing PB‘s gambling institutions. This will allow him to implement the next stages of interlinking PB assets into England‘s official administrative infrastructure.
By strategically removing criminal gatekeepers like Sabini, Tommy pursues his long vision of positioning Blinders at the center of the nation’s economy. What Campbell derides as minor gang squabbles actually represent calculated decisions by Tommy to systematically dominate legitimate British industries.
Despite constant adversity threatening Tennessee‘s fragile empire in 1924, his unrelenting focus on strategically growing assets and influence prompts both grudging respect and immense frustration from adversaries. Tommy constantly adapts to instability and uncertainty without ever broadcasting long-term motivations. His concealed intentions confuse rivals into underestimating his operations.
Only in rare unguarded moments does Tommy reveal the scale of his seemingly extravagant ambitions to permanently embed Peaky Blinders into the structural backbone British society. What others perceive as a volatile mix of petty crime, glorified hooliganism even midlife crisis belie his stone-cold prioritization of empire building by any means necessary using the business tools now available to him post-war.
Neither personal loss, family tragedy, nor sabotage by external forces can sway Tommy from expanding the Shelby Company’s legitimate and criminal reach. His capacity to rapidly alternate between cold pragmatism,visionary aspiration, and selective violence keeps associates and enemies forever reacting while his true motivations remain masked even as business assets balloon despite the heightened threats facing Peaky Blinders’ fragile dominion. Going into Season 3, Thomas Shelby remains fixed on diligently laying strategic foundations for the dynasty he plans on posthumously leaving behind.