Popular British gang drama, Peaky Blinders is no stranger to violence and heartbreak, and its gritty nature set in the aftermath of World War I has enraptured viewers since premiering in 2013.

Though a thrilling plot for a period drama, the show's backbone is its strong and complex characters, which is why fans were so shocked when John's death occurred in the first episode of Season 4.

Focusing mainly on the Shelby family, heads of the Peaky Blinders, one of the most powerful gangs in Britain, the four Shelby brothers have been main characters since the origins of the show.

There have been a few prominent character deaths, as to be expected with a show about gang activity in the 1920s, but until Season 4, the core members of the family had, by and large, gone unscathed.

The violence did not end there, however, as this sparked a long cycle of revenge between the Peaky Blinders and the Italians. In the first episode of Season Four

John receives a card marked with the Black Hand -- a promise of death -- from the Changretta family. In a series of frustrating miscommunications and inaction on John's part

Though traumatizing for audiences who had loved the brothers from the beginning, John's death firmly established the real threat of the Changretta family

Now, with a much anticipated sixth and final season on the horizon, fans must wait with bated breath for the fate of the rest of the Shelby family and the Peaky Blinders.