SPOILERS FOR THE IMMORTAL MAN BELOW!!
i have a lot of thoughts on the immortal man.
overall, i’d say it’s good — like a solid 7 — but not more than that. it honestly felt like a storyline that should’ve been another season rather than a single movie. two hours wasn’t nearly enough to properly wrap up tommy’s story.
the biggest issue for me was the disconnect from the first six seasons. time has passed, the war has started, tommy is isolated — all fine in theory — but he doesn’t feel like tommy anymore. at times it genuinely felt like peaky blinders fanfiction rather than a real continuation.
what absolutely destroyed me, though, were ada and arthur.
i genuinely can’t even put into words how heartbroken i was over ada. i had literal heart palpitations when duke followed her down that street. deep down i knew something was coming — the movie clearly wanted that shock moment — but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
she’s always been my favorite, and seeing her die like that, so brutally, with barely any screen time… it just felt unfair. and the fact that it happens right in front of karl?? that he sees his mother get her brains blown out in broad daylight and his screaming... jesus christ. that made it even worse.
to me, ada was the shelby who would’ve made it. the only one i could actually picture growing old, surrounded by her children and grandchildren, because she wanted that life. she felt like a pillar of the whole show probably because she was the most level-headed out of all of them.
it’s genuinely one of the most violent and devastating deaths in the series, up there with john (and bonnie, if we’re counting beyond the shelbys). the suddenness of it hits you like a punch. i just hate that it ended up feeling like shock value, because i would’ve gladly watched two hours of just ada instead of duke and whatever kaulo was yapping about.
i don’t even know where to begin with arthur. i knew something was coming, especially considering paul anderson’s situation, but that? no. absolutely not. it makes no sense to me that arthur would steal money from tommy, especially after everything — after being clean at the end of season 6 where he literally says “i’m clean, man. the dragon’s gone. thanks to you” and tommy killing him drunk, out of anger, just feels so out of character for both of them.
if they really wanted that fratricide angle, it would’ve made so much more sense for arthur to ask for it. for it to be an act of mercy. tie it back to tommy’s whole “i’m a horse” line, to the idea that “sometimes killing is a kindness.” when tommy kills his horse in s6. that would’ve made for some really good foreshadowing (at least to make it seem like the movie wasn't obviously a cash grab and was being planned beforehand). and most importantly it would've closed arthur's arc with dignity, closure, something meaningful instead of whatever that was.
also finn just… gone? not even a mention?? same with charlie basically being absent. tommy finds out his own son went to war and has no reaction?? there was so much potential there, especially with the parallel of father and son both shaped by war, and they just… did nothing with it.
regarding duke: i’m sorry, i just don’t care. i really don’t like how the narrative keeps pushing him as tommy’s “main” son when charles (who we've watched grow) is literally right there.
plus no lizzie, no linda, no alfie, no mosley, no proper closure for any of those arcs?? i would’ve much rather had even a small mention of grace than focus on some girl tommy slept with once years ago.
also barely any mention of john (aside from a few visuals), and then they throw in that one line comparing kaulo to polly?? absolutely not. kaulo isn’t even close to polly’s level. not even her toenail.
what i did like were the smaller moments. karl and elizabeth especially: karl growing out of that hateful mindset and becoming a proper older brother was nice to see. i wish we’d seen more of elizabeth. johnny dogs was genuinely one of the highlights, and i loved that his loyalty carries over to duke.
in the end i'd say it was decent. emotional, definitely. tommy’s death didn’t surprise me, it’s kind of how i always expected the story to end. and there is something bittersweet about the idea that the shelbys are all together again, the way they probably should’ve been all along.
