Peaky Blinders: Why Polly's Kids Were Taken Away From Her Explained

Netflix's Peaky Blinders explored several interesting subplots throughout its six seasons, but one area of the show's narrative that often doesn't get the recognition it deserves is its treatment of Aunt Polly's character. The figure is one of the show's most enigmatic, with Helen McCrory's performance elevating her from a single-note side character into one of the story's most complex individuals. She's also one of the strongest members of Peaky Blinders' cast, and her character's backstory is surprisingly tragic.

From the very first episode of the show's first season, it's clear that Polly Gray has a troubling history from the way she behaves and interacts with her nephews. But the show's biggest strength is the patience with which it reveals details about her past: It doesn't give everything away at once but rather makes the audience truly care about her before explaining her children and their departure. Incidentally, the upcoming Peaky Blinders spinoff about Polly will likely reveal additional details about the character's past, suggesting there's more that we don't already know.

A Neighbor Reported That Polly Had Sheets Stolen From A Hotel; The Police Then Found A Gin Still In Her Home

Polly's Children Were Unjustly Taken From Her

Helen McCrory as Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders season 5

In the show's first season, the absence of Polly's children plays a huge role in her character development. It's used as the explanation for her maternal instincts towards Tommy (Cillian Murphy) and Arthur (Paul Anderson), as she never got to see her own son and daughter grow into adulthood. Instead, they were taken away from her by the parish authorities after a neighbor reported that Polly possessed stolen sheets from a hotel, and the authorities found a gin still in her home. This birthed rumors that she was an alcoholic and a criminal, making her unfit to look after children.

While the rumors about Polly's links to the criminal underworld were ultimately true, the fact that the police took her children away merely because of her gin still proves how eager they were to punish her in the first place. This is a narrative thread that runs throughout the show, as Polly is constantly shunned by society for her Romani heritage and remaining links to their community. The loss of her children is simply the most overt and painful example of this persistent ostracization.

The First Time Polly Talks About Her Kids In Peaky Blinders Is With Ada

The Character Has A Strong Bond With Her Niece Ada

Sophie Rundle seated as Ada Shelby Thorne in Peaky Blinders season 6.

Polly was one of Peaky Blinders' most irreplaceable characters, and she is undeniably the most interesting supporting character for the first few seasons. Her relationship with Tommy and Arthur is always fascinating to watch, as she wants to protect them from the dangers of their criminal empire while remaining under its tempting spell all the same. However, one of the character's more understated and emotional dynamics is with her niece Ada (Sophie Rundle). As the only prominent women in the Shelby family, these two figures understand each other on a level that Tommy and his brothers can't.

It's for that reason, as well as the birth of Ada's son, that Polly chooses to confide in Ada about the loss of her children. On the other hand, it’s Tommy who ultimately hunts Polly's son Michael (Finn Cole) down in the show’s second season. This causes some tension among the family and proves that Peaky Blinders is always at its best when dealing with the grounded drama of this dysfunctional family rather than the sprawling crime narratives that came to prominence in the later seasons.

How The Storyline With Polly's Children Illustrates The Themes Of Power In Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders Has Always Been About The Intoxicating Pursuit Of Power

The theme of power (more specifically, the shifting balance of power) is prominent in each of Peaky Blinders’ seasons, and Polly's character arc is one of the clearest examples of this. Before the show's narrative begins, she's almost completely powerless: The authorities have taken her children, Tommy is securely in charge of the company, and her husband is long dead. She represents the working-class victims who are abused and manipulated by those in power, and her ties with the Romani community highlight this even further.

Her power was viewed as a threat, and the parish authorities used their elevated status to bully her into submission.

However, as Peaky Blinders progresses, Aunt Polly becomes increasingly powerful by using the fact that everybody underestimates her to her advantage. Many of the best quotes in Peaky Blinderscome from Polly and speak to her status as a woman in a man's world, which is part of the reason why the men took her children in the first place. Her power was viewed as a threat, and the parish authorities used their elevated status to bully her into submission. This makes her rise to power and reunion with Michael so much more satisfying when it eventually comes.