Peaky Blinders Viewers Gobsmacked At Tommy Shelby's New Way Of Life In First Episode

*WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS*

At long last, Peaky Blinders has returned to our screens - but not as we know it.

After briefly picking up where series five left off, the final series of the hit show whisked us four years on, where viewers were reacquainted with a much-changed Tommy Shelby.

We find the main man in the island of Miquelon, off the east coast of Canada, and just hearing the Brummie speak French is odd enough.

But the biggest shock was yet to come when Tommy propped himself up on a stool at a bar and ordered a glass of water.

Over the course of the show, we've become accustomed to watching the troubled protagonist guzzle buckets of whiskey at The Garrison, so to see him as a French-speaking teetotaller came as quite the shock to viewers.

One person tweeted: "TOMMY SAID NO TO A DRINK AND WANTS WATER??? #PeakyBlinders."

Another said: "Tommy Shelby asking for water? WHO IS THIS GUY?! #PeakyBlinders."

A third added: "Glass of water??? omg #PeakyBlinders."

A glass of water? #PeakyBlinders

— Rebecca Acock (@AcockRebecca) February 27, 2022

Did I heard it right? Thomas Shelby asking for a glass of water 🤨 #PeakyBlinders

— Sara (peaky spoilers) (@romvlova) February 27, 2022

Tommy Shelby drinking water does not sit well with me #PeakyBlinders

— Robert Whitehead (@Rob_Whitehead_) February 27, 2022

THE FRENCH. I am loving it. but also tommy, asking for water? #PeakyBlinders

— Cass🥀💣 (@shining_shadows) February 27, 2022

It turns out that Tommy has been sober for the entirety of the four years since the conclusion of series five.

Explaining why he decided to call last orders on his heavy drinking, Tommy said: "I have become a better man. I now realise that whiskey is just fuel for the loud engines inside your head."

Indeed, he's clearly totally committed to his sober way of life, as he had to refuse multiple whiskeys under some extremely aggressive peer pressuring.

For many of us, all it takes is the simple suggestion, 'Fancy a pint?', for us to immediately abandon our self-imposed sobriety, but Tommy stuck to his guns in the face of provocation.

And while his lifestyle may have changed, he proved the brutality he built his reputation upon is not confined to his past.

After resorting to some classic Tommy face-slashing, he warned drinkers in Hotel Robert: "Since I foreswore alcohol, I've become a calmer and more peaceful person.

"Sometimes, in moments of personal conflict, I can resort to my old ways. If this were to happen now it would indeed be a black day in Miquelon."

Whether Tommy manages to go whiskey-free for the entirety of the final series remains to be seen. My money's on him dramatically necking a glass before going on a classic Tommy rampage. Here's hoping, anyway.