Karl Thorne is the only son of Freddie and Ada Thorne, half-brother of Elizabeth Younger and nephew of Thomas Shelby, the leader of the violent criminal gang, Peaky Blinders. Karl first appeared in Episode 1.4 and has appeared in several more episodes, throughout the whole series.
Character History[]
Background[]
Karl Thorne was born in 1919, in Small Heath, to Freddie and Ada Thorne. Immediately after his birth, Freddie was arrested by local police, as a potential link to stolen guns in the area. He eventually escaped prison with the help of Ada’s older brother, Thomas Shelby, and returned home to his family. Freddie and Ada decided to name their son Karl, after Karl Marx, a famous philosopher and communist.
Series 1 • 1919[]
Karl was born on John and Esme Shelby’s wedding day. Later, he attended his first Shelby Family meeting, where the Shelby Company Limited presented their first legal racetrack pitch, during the events of Black Star Day.
Series 2 • 1921[]
Sometime in 1921, Freddie died due to Pestilence and Karl attended his funeral, along with the rest of the Shelby Family. Later in the series, Ada and Karl moved into a house in London, which was bought for them by Thomas.
Series 3 • 1924[]
In 1924, Karl attended the wedding of Thomas and Grace Shelby, along with his whole family. Karl was seen playing with Ada’s cousin, Michael Gray, before the ceremony took place. Karl was also present for the opening of the Grace Shelby Institute.
Series 4 · 1925-1926[]
In 1926, Karl attended the funeral of his uncle, Arthur Shelby. However, Arthur had faked his own death in order to gain power over Luca Changretta. This ordeal subsequently lead to Arthur killing Luca.
Series 5 · 1929[]
Karl played chess with Ada's male friend, Ben Younger. Karl tells Ben that the kids at his school say it's worse being black or a Jew, which Younger challenges with 'worse than what'. Karl then answers with ‘worse than anything’, then tells Younger that he'll never be his father because his real father is in heaven and he's of different skin colour. He also beats him in chess.
Series 6 • 1933[]
He attends Thomas' farewell meal on the grounds of the now demolished Arrow House.
Appearances[]
| Series 1 Appearances | |||||
| Episode 1.4 | Episode 1.5 | Episode 1.6 | |||
| Series 2 Appearances | |||||
| Episode 2.1 | Episode 2.2 | ||||
| Series 3 Appearances | |||||
| Episode 3.1 | Episode 3.3 | Episode 3.6 | |||
| Series 4 Appearances | |||||
| The Company | |||||
| Series 5 Appearances | |||||
| Strategy | Mr Jones | ||||
| Series 6 Appearances | |||||
| Black Day | Sapphire | Lock and Key | |||
Image Gallery[]
