PEAKY BLINDERS Season 2 Episodes 2x1, 2x2, & 2x3 Reaction! | First Time Watch! | Cillian Murphy

Tommy's strategy to establish the Peaky Blinders in London involves a brazen, violent entry into rival gang territory, particularly Sabini's. The hosts emphasize that while Tommy is clever in Birmingham, his approach to London is naive, underestimating the established power structures and the sheer brutality of the capital's criminal underworld. This leads to immediate, severe repercussions, including Tommy being brutally beaten.

Tommy and his brothers directly confront Sabini's gang in a London club, initiating a violent brawl. Later, Tommy is ambushed and severely beaten, highlighting his misjudgment of London's dynamics. The hosts repeatedly state, 'You don't really know how London works. You know how Birmingham works, but not London.'

Major Campbell returns in a more powerful role, now working directly with Winston Churchill on a 'Secret Service' Irish desk. He blackmails Tommy, leveraging Tommy's past actions (the murder of Mr. Duncan) to force him into carrying out an assassination for the Crown. Campbell's ruthlessness and corruption are amplified, as he openly discusses using and then disposing of Tommy.

Campbell reveals he has evidence of Tommy's past murder and uses it to coerce Tommy into an assassination plot. He tells Churchill, 'He will be consigned to history in exactly the same way as his predecessor,' referring to killing Tommy after the mission. The hosts describe Campbell as 'so corrupt' and 'so freaking evil.'

Polly embarks on a deeply personal quest to find her two children, who were taken from her years ago. She consults a medium, and while her daughter is confirmed dead, Tommy uses his connections to locate her son, Michael. The reunion is fraught with emotion, and Michael's immediate eagerness to join the Shelby family business raises host suspicions about his true intentions and character.

Polly visits a medium to contact her children, learning her daughter died in Australia. Tommy later reveals Michael's location and facilitates their reunion. Michael, initially hesitant, quickly expresses a desire to participate in the family's criminal activities. The hosts express concern, 'I don't know if I really trust Michael right now. There's something about him.'

Arthur's post-war trauma manifests in extreme violence and emotional instability. He struggles with his 'mad dog' persona, and his reliance on opium and bromide ('Tokyo') is introduced as a coping mechanism. Tommy, while needing Arthur's aggression for the business, also struggles to manage his brother's volatile mental health, leading to a poignant confrontation.

Arthur brutally beats an apprentice and later violently attacks a rival gang member, even biting him. He admits to Tommy, 'I can feel it slipping... my head is like this bad.' Finn introduces Arthur to 'Tokyo' as a 'fuel for races.' The hosts note, 'He's exactly the wrong type of person to get cooked up.'

The hosts highlight the stark visual and cultural contrast between the Shelbys' familiar Birmingham and the chaotic, vibrant, and more dangerous London. Birmingham is depicted as grayer and more contained, while London is a 'different playing field' with diverse gangs, flapper-era decadence, and a higher level of corruption and violence, making the Shelbys 'out of place.'

The hosts describe London as 'just smoke and trouble,' 'more like wars between armies,' with 'foreigners of every description' and widespread use of bombs. They note the 'lack of color' in Birmingham versus 'color everywhere' in London, signifying cultural and societal differences. Tommy's initial London foray results in a brutal beating, underscoring the city's unforgiving nature.