Tommy Shelby was given a terminal diagnosis in last week’s , but some fans think there could be way more to the story than first thought.
Peaky Blinders viewers saw Tommy Shelby () have quite a rollercoaster of an episode on Sunday night.
He went to mourn the death of his daughter Ruby (Orla McDonagh) before being told he was father to an illegitimate .
To make matters worse, he was informed at the end of the instalment saw the gangster learn that h, a growth caused by the same bacteria as tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis was the illness his daughter died from, which was likely to have caused the tumour, according to his personal doctor.
The doctor told him he had up to 18 months to live and was going to need the help and support of those who ‘love him very, very much’ as his condition deteriorates.
With fans now sure he is set to die before the series comes to an end, a couple of eagle-eyed viewers aren’t so sure.
explained their theory, which puts his deadly diagnosis into doubt.
They wrote: ‘So credit to u/Rmendoza90 for this idea – they put a comment describing how they did not believe the supposed diagnosis Tommy was given.
‘Got me thinking, none of Tommy’s enemies could ever overpower him, so perhaps Jack [Nelson] has used to his advantage the death of Ruby to orchestrate a fake diagnosis as a way to put Tommy and the family under immense pressure.’
They went on to add: ‘I imagine Jack’s eager to see how the entire system falls apart for the Peaky Blinders since Tommy plays such an instrumental role and there’s no suitable replacement (considering Ada’s (Sophie Rundle) avoidance and Arthur (Paul Anderson) off his face).
‘I get how the doctor that visited him was Tommy’s personal doctor, but it seemed a bit much seeing how deterministic he was, and how he was stating that he had already call surgeons etc.’
Fans saw Tommy’s doctor reveal he had already called three top surgeons, who all reportedly refused to operate on the tumour.
Another user had previously shared: ‘Tin foil hat: I’m calling foul play on the Dr and his diagnosis. I have a feeling the IRA or Mosley is behind it to throw Tommy further down into his mental rutt…’
He’s been struggling with PTSD, which has only increased with the death of his wife Grace (Annabelle Wallis), Aunt Polly (Helen McCrory) and surely his daughter’s devastating loss of life.
Someone else weighed in: ‘The thing that made me a little suspicious is the fact the doctor gave Tommy a ‘second opinion’ from another doctor without Tommy even asking, like he kinda shut the door on any need for Tommy to get an opinion from any other doctor.
‘It may be nothing as it’s so close to the end, but I did feel a little suspicious.’
Many others rubbished the theories, believing everything lined up – particularly after Ruby’s tragic death.
But with Tommy also having just discovered he has a secret son, could there be more to the story than meets the eye?
Peaky Blinders continues on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.
