Freddie Thorne dies off-screen due to “pestilence” (likely the Spanish Flu) between the first and second seasons of Peaky Blinders.
Freddie Thorne, played by Iddo Goldberg, is introduced as a former friend and comrade-in-arms of Thomas Shelby, the main character of the series. He is also the lover and later husband of Ada Shelby, Thomas’s sister. Freddie is a passionate communist, which puts him at odds with the capitalist and gangster lifestyle of the Peaky Blinders.
Throughout the first season, Freddie’s political activities and his relationship with Ada create tension within the Shelby family and with the authorities. Despite these challenges, Freddie and Ada have a son, named Karl after Karl Marx, and they eventually marry with the somewhat reluctant blessing of Tommy.
Between the first and second seasons, Freddie’s death is announced with little fanfare. It is mentioned that he died from “pestilence,” and given the historical context of the show, which is set just after World War I, it is widely believed that he succumbed to the Spanish Flu, which claimed millions of lives worldwide in the pandemic of 1918-1919. His death has a significant impact on Ada, who must navigate the subsequent seasons as a widow and single mother, and it also influences the dynamics within the Shelby family and their operations.
