I'm convinced Linda Shelby is the most evil Peaky Blinders character (& Kate Phillips' portrayal made me hate her even more)

While Peaky Blinders has faced many enemies over six seasons of the BBC crime drama series, none was as evil as Kate Phillips' Linda Shelby.

A Quaker woman (and thus religious), Linda debuted in Season 3, where she helped Arthur with his best man speech at Tommy and Grace's wedding. From her first appearance, it is clear that Linda is a manipulative woman, which is why she also garnered Tommy's attention.

While I initially believed that she genuinely loved Arthur and wanted him to separate from Tommy and the illegal Peaky life like any other wife, she revealed her hypocritical nature as the show progressed.

Phillips was downright perfect in bringing all of Linda's arrogance and superiority on-screen and after a point, it looked like she wanted full control over Arthur.

I firmly believe that her efforts to 'reform' Arthur and help him with his addiction did not stem from her love towards him. She just wanted to ascertain her superiority over Tommy by proving that she can dominate his brother and overrule him.

More on Linda in Peaky Blinders in our story.

*Disclaimer- This article is based on the author's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.*

Linda Shelby was a manipulative wife to Arthur in Peaky Blinders

While I cannot make a case for the Peaky Blinders, as they were morally grey characters who resorted to violence to achieve their goals, Tommy and the Shelbys were at least aware of their moral wrongdoings.

On many occasions, Tommy and even Arthur have accepted that they are flawed human beings and there is no way out for them. On the contrary, Linda was downright evil because she married Arthur despite knowing his line of work, and then manipulated him to keep him out of it.

Arthur was a gullible character in Peaky Blinders, and even Tommy has agreed that Linda was a smart woman. However, I believe that she was also an opportunist who saw Arthur as a means to achieve social mobility. Shelby's power and influence were no secret in Small Heath, and Linda married him despite their reputation.

Throughout Peaky Blinders Season 3, Linda hides behind her garb of religion and emotionally manipulates her husband not to follow his brothers into a life of violence (as she bars him from going outside at night to do business).

However, she was totally on board in using the harvest of that illegal toil, as we see her accept the lavish Shelby lifestyle in Season 4, where she is on the pinnacle of her cocaine addiction.

And while one might understand that a toxic marriage can take such a negative toll on a woman, she even dismissed Arthur's efforts to open a garage and move away from the Shelby Limited. Moving away from Tommy and the peaky life would mean an end to her affluent lifestyle. Therefore, she never really let Arthur escape and pinned him down to it while pretending to help him.

Kate Phillips will not return as Linda in the Peaky Blinders film

While Linda attempted to murder Arthur and left him in Peaky Blinders Season 5, she was present at Tommy's farewell dinner in the series' finale. Many fans have since speculated whether she will return in the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie.

And while Phillips has expressed her wish to reprise her character and there were even discussions about bringing her character back, she will not appear in the movie, as she revealed to Radio Times:

"I'm not [returning] There were discussions and then it didn't pan out."

She added:

"The life of an actor is, you’re sort of always at the behest of other people's visions, and sometimes it's very much a wait and see kind of game. But I'm excited to see the film. I have read it, and I'm excited to see how it turns out on the big screen. I'm sure it will be amazing."

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Also Read: Top 5 Peaky Blinders villains

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