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Peaky Blinders reached its stunning conclusion in season 6. The new season brought back Alfie Solomons, a fan-favorite character who Tommy attempted to kill once before. Alfie doesn’t have a huge role in season 6. There’s an interesting fan theory circulating about this character in the final season.

[Spoiler alert: Peaky Blinders Season 6 spoilers ahead.]

Peaky Blinders Season 6 actor Tom Hardy poses for a photo wearing jeans, button-down shirt, and a suit jacket.
Tom Hardy | David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Audi

A fan theory suggests that Alfie is dead in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6

Alfie Solomons and Thomas Shelby have had an interesting relationship throughout Peaky Blinders. Despite the fact that they have both tried to kill each other, Tommy and Alfie have a great deal of respect for each other. In season 4, after Alfie betrays him, Tommy shoots Alfie in the head. However, a scene in the season 5 finale reveals that Alfie survived the encounter.

Before Tommy shoots him, however, Alfie reveals to Tommy that he has terminal cancer. After Alfie is revealed to be alive, however, the cancer is not mentioned again. One Reddit user proposed a theory that in Peaky Blinders Season 6, Alfie is dead and one of Tommy’s hallucinations.

“I fall into the dead camp. For many reasons, but I’d like to share one reason, that is easy to show. Adjust your sets to 27:34 on the BBC iPlayer, S6E2 obviously, and watch this moment in their conversation. They both fall silent, we get a wide shot and then… notice anything? They mirror each other, exactly. I love me some negative space,” the fan wrote.

Could Tommy be hallucinating Alfie in season 6?

The idea that Alfie is a hallucination in Peaky Blinders Season 6 isn’t as far-fetched as it may seem. In episode 4, a doctor pays Tommy a visit. He tells Tommy that he has tuberculoma, a tubercular growth at the base of his skull. The doctor informs Tommy that the lesion is inoperable and will result in his inability to function and eventual death, likely within 18 months.

The doctor then asks Tommy if he has been experiencing any of the following symptoms: seizures, bought of weakness, disassociation, or hallucinations. Tommy seems to think this sounds familiar. While the final moments of Peaky Blinders Season 6 reveal that Tommy’s tuberculoma wasn’t real, hallucinations seem to have been a part of his life for a while now. Tommy sees visions of Grace and hears Polly’s voice after their deaths. He also hallucinates a vision of Ruby in the series finale.

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When Alfie tells Tommy that he has skin cancer in season 4, the year is roughly 1926. By Peaky Blinders Season 6, it is 1933. It seems highly unlikely that Alfie would survive with terminal cancer for so long. Therefore, he may have died sometime after season 5. This could be why Alfie only appears alone with Tommy in season 6. Notably, Alfie also tells Tommy he has been “dead for years,” though of course, this could just be a reference to when Tommy shot him in the head.

Steven Knight didn’t always plan on Alfie appearing in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6

Tom Hardy himself appears to be a big fan of his own Peaky Blinders character. During an interview with Metro.co.uk, creator Steven Knight revealed that Hardy had input in Alfie returning for the show’s final season.

Knight was asked whether the plan was “always” for Alfie to be in season 6. “The plan changed, let me put it that way – because Tom does love this character,” Knight replied. Needless to say, fans were happy to see Alfie return in the final season, if only for a few scenes.

All episodes of Peaky Blinders are currently streaming on Netflix.

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