Does Peaky Blinders have a Style-Creep problem?

Peaky Blinders always had those slomo music video like parts that just looked badass. They always had those greatly lit shots of well suited people drinking and smoking. They always had style.

Peaky Blinders had substance too though. The dialogue was witty, tense and always had something behind it. The characters had motives and acted accordingly.

This style and substance mixture was well balanced and the coolness felt earned and justified because characters actually were badass, were in control, were smart and were real people inside their suits.

Edit: Season 1-5 Spoilers ahead!

Now it seems to me like the show has entered a style-creep. Like animes are typical for having a power-creep, where they always have to come up with more overpowered antagonists so that the heroes need to level up once more before they can defeat them. In the fourth and fith season of Peaky Blinders I got the impression that they knew they had established a style and built a fanbase that expected that said style. And I am part of this community, because I too love the style of the show.

But with Changretta and Mosely they created antagonists that aim to be intimidating by controlling the conversation with a calm voice, eloquent words and a stone cold face, knowing everything and being two steps ahead. But thats already Tommys thing. And, yes, therefore its the shows' thing. Yet with Tommy we know whats behind that mask and we know how the power came to be and what is behind his words. With those suddenly appearing antagonists we dont know that. They are just meant to do this Peaky thing and look stylish and intimidating.

Dont get me wrong, the acting still is superb and the tension is everywhere in those scenes. But why copy the Tommy type of dangerous if you could challenge him on so many other levels and ways.

The priest is my favorite antagonist because he was the first to challenge Tommy in his own strengths and actually defeated him. He controlled the conversation, had the crucial information and the charisma to beat out Tommy in a meeting with the russians all while leading the publicity into thinking he is just a well meaning priest. We saw the two of them battle it out with moves and counters over the season.

Did you feel like Changretta actually had a functioning mafia mob behind him? Did you feel like Mosely could do anything besides smiling first and screaming later? We saw the priest in meetings with the russians, with Tommy alone, amongst his community, that he had men who could fight and we knew he had connections. Changretta and Mosely just showed up once in a while and we are expected to be intimidated and assume they are dangerous.

In season five more than half of the episodes felt like build up and introduction. Tommys plan was so flat and stupid. Yet Mosely didnt counter act at all and would have died if Tommy hadnt been betrayed. There were only a few more plays between Changretta and Tommy which werent subtle or smart at all and just revolved around shooting each other, which actually is fine for one season, or at least would be fine if we had to really fear for anyone of the Shelby family.

And during all that the Shelbys still walk in slowmo to badass music while smoking. The directors still wanted to make us feel like Tommy is smart and intimidating and in control, while he didnt do anything in this season but to listen to Mosely, listen to Michael, listen to the Billy Boys and listen to Linda with his stone-cold-face mask. At the same time they wanted us to feel like he is loosing it with all those visions, the drugs and more outbursts than we have ever seen from him. But that doesnt work if you still make him wear those suits, smoke under dimmed lights, walk in slowmo to badass music and frame him like he is god amongst men. Polly too still got her dramatic presence but she plays no role for the plot. She doesnt make decisions and not even her relationship to Michael is explored.

TL;DR

All the style didnt feel earned this time around because it lacked the substance. It seemed like they wanted to recreate those intense, dangerous dialouges, that the series is known for, so desperately that they needed a Tommy-like antagonist, who is equal to him, so badly that they just pulled one out of nowhere without establishing their power or why they can be dangerous. Thats why I am looking forward to seeing Michael be an antagonist, because he is someone we know, which makes it way more personal and opens very interesting questions about loyalty amongst the various family members.

I still like the show and will rewatch it soon so maybe I realize that I was wrong. I would love to hear your opinions.

Thanks for reading!