"Episode 1.6" is the finale of Series 1 of Peaky Blinders and the sixth episode overall. It aired October 17th, 2013.
Summary
Inspector Campbell visits Mr. Zhang’s brothel. Thomas Shelby informs every member of the Peaky Blinders that today is Black Star Day.
Grace Burgess visits the museum looking for Campbell, only to find Sergeant Moss there instead. Moss hands her a paper with a letter from Campbell and calls her a whore. The letter states that Campbell knows Grace slept with Thomas.
Thomas discovers that Campbell is at the brothel. He goes to speak to Campbell, who tells him that his heart will be broken by the time the day is over.
Polly Shelby tells Ada Shelby about her children, and how the police took them away from her. She tells Ada to forgive Thomas because he is the one who brought strength and power to the Shelby family, and will make sure the same thing won’t happen to Ada. She tells Ada that Freddie will be getting out of jail.
Campbell talking to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill praises Inspector Campbell for his good work, and Campbell tells him that Grace Burgess was instrumental to the success of the case. He tells Churchill that he has a plan for the Peaky Blinders so that they don’t go free.
Ada and her son, Karl
Thomas leads the Peaky Blinders meeting to inform them of the plan for Black Star Day, in which the Shelbys and the Lees going against Kimber’s men at the Worcester Races. Polly brings Ada and her son Karl to the meeting. She tells Thomas that he is forgiven if Freddie Thorne really is being freed from jail.
Danny Whizz-Bang greeting Freddie Thorne
The Peaky Blinders free Freddie, and he expresses his surprise at seeing Danny Whizz-Bang, who he thought was dead.
At The Garrison Pub, Grace and Thomas serve drinks to the Peaky Blinders gang. He tells her that he will make sure Grace will be at the next family meeting. Grace tells Thomas that when he comes back from the races, she won’t be here. She tries to tell him of her betrayal to him, but gets interrupted when Thomas finds out that Billy Kimber's men are on their way.
Thomas tells Ada to get to safety because Kimber’s men knew about the Black Star Day plan. Polly tells him that the Peaky Blinders can handle them but Thomas explains that the Lee Family are already on their way to the racetrack, and that without the Lees the Peaky Blinders gang will be outnumbered against Kimber’s men. Polly and Thomas realize that Grace betrayed them.
Grace pointing a gun at Polly Shelby
Polly visits Grace at The Garrison Pub just before she is about to leave. They share drinks and Polly tells Grace that though Thomas might accept Grace into the family, Polly herself never will. She tells Grace that if she sets eyes on her again she’ll kill her.
Inspector Campbell ensures that certain areas will be free of policemen so the two gangs aren't interrupted and can kill each other off. The Peaky Blinders and Billy Kimber's gang face off on Garrison Lane, but before they can begin fighting Ada Shelby arrives with her infant son Karl and stands directly between the opposing gangs. She tries to convince them not to fight, urging all the men to think of their own wives and children that they'd be leaving behind if they were to die over this feud. Billy Kimber appears to back down, but suddenly draws his gun and shoots Thomas. Danny leaps forward to defend him, and Kimber shoots him too, killing him. Thomas shoots Kimber in the head and declares that the fight is over, ordering Kimber's men to leave. They take Billy Kimber's body and go.
Jeremiah Jesus takes the bullet out of Thomas's shoulder while Arthur Shelby cleans him up. Over Danny Whizz-Bang's body, the Peaky Blinders bid him farewell and share a drink, then go to celebrate the win against Kimber.
Moss tells Inspector Campbell that they found Billy Kimber's body, but as there were no police in the area (as per Campbell's orders) there were no witnesses. He also says that because there were no police on the roads Freddie Throne was able to escape police custody.
Billy Kimber and his gang walking down Garrison Lane
At The Garrison Pub, Thomas reveals to Polly that because all Kimber's men were busy fighting the Peaky Blinders at Garrison Lane, the Lee family were easily able to take all the pitches at the Worcester Races. Thomas says that the Shelby Brother Limited is the third largest legal racetrack operation in the country, and that only Darby Sabini and Alfred Solomons are bigger than them, hinting at the next series's antagonists.
Black Star Day: Billy Kimber and his gang vs. the Peaky Blinders
Thomas writes a letter to Grace telling her he will give her his decision within three days. The ending scene shows Inspector Campbell interrupting Grace at the train station and pointing a gun at her, the sound of a gunshot is audible as the screen cuts to black.
Music
"Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
"The Prowl" by Dan Auerbach (Freddie realizing he's getting saved by the Peaky Blinders)
"Love Is Blindness” by Jack White (Thomas writing his letter to Grace)
Quotes
“This is the day we replace Billy Kimber. This is the day we become respectable. The day we join the official National Association of Race Course Bookmakers. But first, we do the dirty work.”—Thomas to the Peaky Blinders
Freddie: “Holy shit. Danny, you’re dead.”
Danny: “Nah, I’ve been living in London. Same thing.”
“Oh, is this how it’s going to be, eh? You waiting at home for me, saying, ‘What time do you call this?’”—Thomas to Grace
Polly: “What’s going on?”
Thomas: “We’ve been fucking betrayed.”
“There’s only one thing can blind a man as smart as you, Tommy. Love. It was that barmaid. I’ll deal with Grace. If you set eyes on her again, you might kill her.”—Polly to Thomas
Thomas: “The past is not my concern. The future is no longer my concern, either.”
Henry: “What is your concern, Tommy?”
Thomas: “The one minute. The soldier’s minute. In a battle, that’s all you get. One minute of everything at once. And anything before is nothing. Everything after, nothing. Nothing compared to that one minute.”
Henry: “Didn’t you get enough minutes over there?”
Thomas: “Seems not, doesn’t it?”
“I feel sorry for you. Slip of a thing. Thought you’d come in here and stitch us all up. I mean, we’ve had some coppers narks in here but you? You’re the queen of them all.”—Polly to Grace
Polly: “There’ll be others.”
Thomas: “To the others. All of them.”
“Without a secretary, I write my own letters, and I write without malice. I learnt long ago to hate my enemies. But I’ve never loved one before.”—Thomas in his letter to Grace
“Before the war, when I had an important decision to make, I used to flip a coin. Perhaps that is what I will do again. Polly tells me you fell in love for real, and Polly is never wrong about matters of the heart. I will give you my decision within three days. All my love. Thomas Shelby.”—Thomas in his letter to Grace