‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 6: The Gray Man and the Green-Eyed Man Explained

Spoilers for the end of ‘Peaky Blinders’ below.

It was the big question that hung over the last season of ‘Peaky Blinders’: who was the gray man / the man with green eyes?

Well, while there have certainly been a number of things that we still don’t know the answers for, the last five minutes of the series finale could at least give us this answer. While it may not have been expressly said out loud, the truth finally came out about this mysterious man who may or may not have been spiritual in nature.

‘The Gray Man’ and ‘The Man with Green Eyes’ appeared in premonitions throughout the sixth season, beginning with the frankly horrible drawings of the young Ruby when she began to fall ill. She imagined that The Gray Man would come to her for her, naming her the Man with Green Eyes whom he was drawing.

Unfortunately, Tommy and Lizzie couldn’t discover the truth in time and she died when she was only seven years old.; her death was determined to be related to a cursed sapphire that claimed the life of another girl years earlier.

But, after being diagnosed with tuberculosis and deciding to commit suicide rather than face the consequences of the disease, Tommy’s daughter’s ghost came back to him to warn him that he wasn’t sick at all.

The Green-Eyed Man and the Gray Man, despite our suspicions, were the same person: it was Dr. Holforda guy we had all probably written off, and the person who had given Tommy the deadly diagnosis.

We had only seen Dr. Holford a few times, due to his work at the hospital. His most memorable scene was his appearance at Tommy’s farm, at which point he gives him the diagnosis of tuberculosis and tells Tommy that he only had 18 months to live, tops. He even asked other doctors to back up his claim in case Tommy wanted a second opinion. The reason behind this: fascism. Dr. Holford had been Tommy’s doctor for three years, but he had a bitter hatred of gypsies.and the leader of the Peaky Blinders is proud of his heritage.

Recruited by the fascist party led by Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin), Dr. Holford was instructed to give Tommy the diagnosis. Tuberculosis, an accumulation of growths at the base of the brain, would have ultimately proved fatal, and Tommy would have died without knowing it was a lie had he not discovered this conspiracy.

The green-eyed Dr. Holford was a willing accommodator to his new fascist friends and was always seen in a gray suit. She was someone who hid in plain sight, able to slip in and out of Tommy’s life in such a way as to avoid suspicion, while also being someone whose judgment Tommy wouldn’t question.

However, the truth came to light thanks to a news item in the newspaper containing a photograph of Oswald Mosley’s wedding to Diana Mitford. Dr. Holford was invited to the Berlin ceremony, where Hitler himself acted as best man..

Guided by Ruby’s spirit, Tommy picked up the newspaper after living for a month on a wagon in solitude, intending to use it as fuel for the fire. Instead, he found a new lease on life. The green eyes were only revealed in a few scenes, but most notably when Tommy confronted the doctor by putting a gun to his head. We were finally able to get a clear picture of his eyes and the gray suit…finally bringing the truth to light.

As always, the Shelbys don’t have to fear the supernatural: it is the reality that really holds the real threats.