A day at the races proves dangerous for Grace!

Episode three of, Peaky Blinders sees the crime drama focusing on the upcoming event of Cheltenham and the extraordinary story of Thomas Shelby and his dodgy team amongst his “hidden” love for barmaid Grace – who happens to be working as a spy for Chief Inspector Campbell in the streets of 1919 Birmingham.

The episode opens with Tommy walking into the Garrison to meet two men who have questions for Shelby himself. They confess that they members of the IRA and are looking for the stolen guns (the same as everyone else). Tommy continues to keep his cool, which leads to one of the men singing as awful song about being in the IRA. The other man drags him out whilst Tommy reassures them that he will keep in touch if he hears anything else.

Meanwhile, Grace follows one of the IRA men, and accidently kills him. But what she doesn’t know is that someone watched her commit the crime. But who? As if things couldn’t get any worse, Aunt Polly tells Tommy that Ada and Freddy have got married and much to his anger, he tells Aunt Polly to make them leave Birmingham forever and never to return! So, Aunt Polly offers them both 200 pounds, and a ticket from Liverpool to New York. However, Freddy tells her that they will think about it and will make the decision when they are ready.

Danny returns from London and awakens Tommy from one of his nightmares he was having about the war and discusses that he there are rumours in London that the Peaky Blinders were involved in the death of the IRA man who was accidently shot by Grace. Tommy implores Danny to tell them that they had no part in it whatsoever. As they continue to sit down and talk, Tommy starts to open up about his feelings towards the war and admits that he’s finding it hard some days.

The following day Freddy and Tommy have a gun to gun stand-off, which Freddy happily ends by giving back the 200 pounds and train tickets and tells Tommy that he and Ada are staying whether he likes it or not. Tommy admits that Freddy is out of order for “planting a bastard” into his sister, which then Freddy admits that his love for Ada will never die.

Tommy and Grace go to the Cheltenham races where Arthur and the rest of the Peaky Blinders stage a fake robbery in order to make a deal with the slime-ball Billy Kimber. Tommy gives Billy all the money back and tells him that he needs better protection and agrees that the Peaky Blinders will help him out. However, Billy Kimber is more interested in Grace and tells Tommy that he will only make the deal if he gets to spend a couple of hours with Grace. As Tommy has no choice he tells Grace to go with him, however she makes it clear to him that she isn’t a whore. He states that if she wants to be in with the team, then she has to make sacrifices when it comes down this. However, shortly after Tommy realises that it was a mistake and rushes back to Billy’s house when he saves her from being raped and lies saying she has the “clap” (Sexually transmitted disease) apologising for messing him about saying he wanted Billy to be safe. As they both make their way home from Billy’s house, Grace asks Tommy why he came back for her, but he doesn’t reply and simply carries on driving.

I’m starting to get annoyed with the character of, Billy Kimber. I still struggle to understand where his accent is from! I’m hoping he finally meets his match in the next couple of episodes and gets bumped off by Tommy or Grace! For me, the whole love story between Tommy and Grace is getting so much more interesting as the episodes continue. You can tell that Tommy is falling in love with her… Or is he? He isn’t really the man to do that sort of thing. How will he react and feel when he discovers the truth about her being a spy?

The most powerful thing about this episode of the series is that the women are becoming stronger characters in the story; Grace defends herself and Ada steps up to Polly and Tommy, telling them that she is staying put in Birmingham with her new husband Freddy. Of course back in them days, women were treated poorly. So to give the female characters a bit more strength and power is looking good and is well written into the series!