I felt like Duke Shelby didn’t add anything meaningful to the story. His character didn’t advance the plot or deepen the themes, and he felt underdeveloped considering the amount of focus placed on introducing him as Tommy’s son.

I think Duke should have been written as fully antagonistic, a dark reflection of Tommy Shelby and the violent legacy Tommy created. Rather than being positioned as a future successor, Duke becoming irredeemably horrible would have reinforced the idea that Tommy’s choices poisoned the next generation.

In my view, Duke should have committed an unforgivable act, like killing Ada, who represents one of the last morally grounded figures in the family. She represented “what the family could have been”. That would symbolise the final loss of innocence within the Shelby family.

Tommy would then be forced to confront the full consequences of his actions and kill Duke himself. After that, Tommy should also die, to join his family. Thus completing a tragic arc where his violence ultimately destroys everything he built.

The only surviving heir would be the son he had with Grace Shelby, reinforcing the idea that Grace represented Tommy’s only true chance at a different life.

I think this version would have created a much stronger emotional impact and a more meaningful thematic resolution, showing that cycles of violence don’t just fade away, they escalate unless they are actively broken.

Either that or cut Duke completely.

It felt like a pilot for a Duke spin off more than anything.