Peaky Blinders – Series Quotes [Season 1]

Babies discarded with the fish bones and egg shells. Girls, 11 years old, pierced and punctured by old men for thrupence a time. Rutted upon like animals. Degradation. Fathers with their daughters, brothers and sisters sharing beds. Beggars and thieves left to run in the streets. And astride the whole stinking pile of wounds and rotting flesh... your masters! The men who you touch your cap to. The Peaky Blinders! The vicious, merciless gangs who blind those that see and cut out the tongues of those who talk. You are worse than them! Those of you who have taken their bribes these years since the war. Those of you who look the other way. You are worse than them! God damn you for soiling your uniforms!

— It's not the people around here that are disloyal to the King. It's the opposite. You see, we don't want our beloved king looking down and seeing the things that have been done to us. So we are taking down his pictures.
— But why are you burning them?
— We went through hell for our king. Walked through the flames of war. Write all this down! And now we're being attacked in our own homes. These new coppers over from Belfast, breaking into our homes and interfering with our women. We don't think our king would want to see that happening. So we are lighting fires to raise the alarm.
— May I ask you, in what capacity do you speak?
— No capacity. I'm an ordinary man. I won gallantry medals at the Somme. I want you to write in your paper what's going on here.

— You're not accustomed to not getting what you want, are you, Tommy? You wanted my pub, and you took it.
— You got a fair price.
— What I got was an ultimatum. Like you give to everybody. Do it, or else. And yet, it's funny, everybody around here, they want you to win this battle. I think what it is, you're bad men, but you're our bad men.

It's not a good idea to look at Tommy Shelby the wrong way.

Look, I know having four kids without a woman is hard, but my boot's harder.

— So am I right? Did you fall for Tommy?
— Yes, I did.
— Then I pity you.
— You think he'll try to kill me?
— That's too soft.
— Soft?
— Soft. You saved his life the night the coppers came. That's why we're drinking, not fighting. We owe you.
— What was he like? Before France?
— He laughed. A lot. He wanted to work with horses.
— He won medals?
— Threw them in the cut. Not a single man came back the same. You know, after all this is over, he might forgive you. He might take you in. Can never tell with men. They go for whoever their dicks point at and there's no changing their minds. But I should tell you something. I will never forgive you. Or accept you. Or take you in. And that's me who runs the business of the heart in this family. And as far as I'm concerned, you're a snitch from the parish.

Comrades, as you know, to even gather like this today is illegal. Chief Inspector Campbell has ordered that we are not allowed to assemble in groups of more than three people. So, to comply with the law, please now clump together in groups of three.

— You know, when... when you came here from Belfast I was overjoyed. I was sick of this force, and I was sick of all the corruption. When you made that speech about cleaning this place up, I gave a little cheer inside. You said it was the devil's work to look the other way.
— I am not looking the other way, Sergeant Moss. I am looking directly at the events of the day. And I like what I see.