I don’t know about you guys, but can 2026 and Batman 2 get here any sooner? I’m dying to see the women of Gotham take down Oz Cobb.
Maybe the movie will give The Penguin writers a chance at redemption for all the crap they pulled, letting him worm his way out of the most impossible situations.
Honestly, I hated The Penguin Season 1 Episode 8 in so many ways, but I’ll admit — it was also one of the best episodes of the entire series. Weren’t they all, though?
This series felt too short, but in a way, it was the perfect setup for Batman 2. Brilliant, really.
Sofia was so close. And while it’s infuriating that she couldn’t take down the King of BS, there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing that Oz made a huge mistake by keeping her alive.
He might think he’s sending her to a living hell by throwing her back in Arkham, but he clearly hasn’t considered Selina Kyle — or the fact that Batman’s still out there.
Seeing Sofia receive that letter from Selina made me giddy. Plus, Dr. Rush is still at Arkham, which is another win for the Queen.
My first thought? Being back in Arkham might be the perfect setup for Sofia to meet more villains she could rally to finally finish off Oz.
But the way it’s turning out is even juicier.
Why? Because we know Selina Kyle — aka Catwoman — orks with Batman. And that final shot before the credits made it clear: Batman is back.
You’ve got to wonder if Selina has been keeping tabs on Gotham for him. There has to be a reason why she decided to contact Sofia — especially now.
Sure, we don’t know what the letter said, but it definitely put a smile on Sofia’s face. Did Selina confess that she wanted Carmine dead but that Batman stopped her?
There has to be more to it than just “I wanted Carmine gone and oh, I’m your sister.”
This could mean that Sofia won’t turn into a supervillain, like I thought she might.
I’d been toying with the idea that her Penguin-esque outfits hinted at her taking over Oz’s persona, but maybe this is even better.
Sofia doesn’t need to become some twisted villain. She can stay true to who she is and fight on the side of good.
Ever since her brother’s death, she’s made it clear she didn’t want to be a criminal — I’ve said it before. She was always going to leave that to Maroni.
What Sofia wanted was simple: revenge. Kill Oz and move on with her life. I honestly believe she planned to leave Gotham after taking him out at the airport.
But now she has a chance to take down Oz the right way — because let’s not forget, Batman didn’t let Selina kill Carmine. And I can see him, along with Selina, having that same influence on Sofia.
Sofia could channel her rage into something meaningful, creating a satisfying arc.
She could help put Oz away for good and focus her energy on making Gotham better, much like she did before Oz ratted her out to Carmine.
Of course, she has plenty of hurdles.
She blew up a big chunk of Crown Point in her attempt to kill Oz, taking innocent lives in the process.
And let’s not forget Bliss, the drug she introduced that’s wreaking havoc on Gotham, and the cause of all this mess.
While her rage may have been misguided, there’s still hope for redemption.
Batman is the last person to judge anyone, and while he serves justice from the shadows, Gotham owes him a massive debt.
Sofia could serve in her own way too, even if public redemption isn’t in the cards. It’s going to be a tough sell after everything, but maybe that makes her redemption even more powerful.
I also think it’ll help when the truth about Oz finally comes out.
This nutjob thinks he’s going to be Gotham’s savior, with the backing of his corrupt councilman friend and Gotham’s underworld. Especially Gotham’s underworld.
Let’s hope there’s no easy out for Oswald Cobb.
What did Sofia call him? “Oswald Cobb, the Man of the People”? It’s the delusional dream of one of the most delusional characters on TV.
And let’s not forget — he’s a f***ing rat, exposing himself as the classic mob snitch. A rat is a rat is a rat as the saying goes.
Like most rats in mob history, he’s lying and manipulating his way out of being held accountable for his own crimes.
And, naturally, his councilman buddy is using Penguin’s lies to prop himself up, selling the people of Gotham on his so-called commitment to justice.
Sofia, meanwhile, is just a stepping stone on his twisted yellow brick road to higher office.
It’s an almost perfect mirror of real-world organized crime: rats rat, and when a prosecutor scores a big conviction against a mob boss, they use it to boost their own careers.
Rudy Giuliani is just one example (and there are plenty more) of those who rode the backs of high-profile convictions, ones that may or may not have been just, purely to climb the power ladder.
And in the end, how often does it turn out that they’re as corrupt as the very people they locked up?
But I digress, because there’s so much more to Oz’s twisted story.
His whole “have and have nots” speech in The Penguin Season 1 Episode 7 was a prime example of people getting sucked into the delusions of a megalomaniac.
Idiots — And I mean stupid f***ing idiots — believing in something so blatantly absurd simply because they feel slighted or underrepresented.
They don’t realize until it’s way too late that they’ve chosen the wrong side, backed the wrong person, and invested in a cause that was going nowhere.
And what happens? It all comes crashing down, because they were so tangled up in a delusion that they didn’t notice the poison in the Kool-Aid they were drinking.
Vic never had the chance to wake up from that delusion, unfortunately, and it was painful watching him give Oz that absurd pep talk in the hospital, stroking his ego.
I still don’t understand how he couldn’t see what was right in front of him.
Maybe it’s the stupidity of youth? I don’t know, but he learned his lesson way too late — and Linc and the rest of Oz’s followers are on the same path.
Oz is basically the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz: a little man hiding behind the curtain, with nothing but an overblown ego to keep him convinced he’s powerful. Think about that for a minute.
At least Francis knew the real Oz, but shame on her for not handling it.
She didn’t have to let Rex kill him, but she could have stopped him through proper channels.
Instead, she created the monster — just like Sofia said. Stroking his ego, encouraging him, all while despising him.
Why did she do it? Because he was bringing her nice things? Yes. And that selfish thinking was detrimental to herself and everyone around her. What a hypocrite, right?
And what’s she getting out of it now? Nothing but a life sentence in her own mind.
She’ll spend the rest of her days in a hospital bed, a prisoner to Oz, because he’s not going to grant her final request to end her misery.
Why? Because he’s selfish, and she taught him that by never holding him accountable for what he did to her boys.
Usually, I don’t like blaming parents for their kids’ actions. But in this case, she fed the monster, and that is on her.
As for Eve — what the actual f**k is she thinking?
Dressing up like Oz’s mother and stroking his ego, giving him the twisted affection he always wanted from Francis?
That’s some seriously demented s*it. I get that she’s probably afraid of him, but seriously? You’re gonna stand up for your girls but you’re not gonna stand up for yourself? GTFOH poser.
Of course, maybe there’s a twist. Maybe she’s working with Batman or Selina. It was pretty clear she wasn’t exactly thrilled to be dancing with the nutjob, so I hope there’s a good reason behind her actions.
No matter how you feel about Oz, Sofia, or any of the other characters on The Penguin, you’ve got to give props to Matt Reeves and the entire cast and production team.
This was one hell of a series, and I’m genuinely sad to see it go.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Batman movie. It felt too long, too bleak, and leaned a bit too hard on Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy.
But this series? It had a different vibe entirely.
And I can only hope that the same tone and intensity carries over to Batman 2 (including the perfect use of Nirvana songs, like About a Girl — one of my favorite Nirvana songs of all time — when Sofia was burning down the Falcone mansion).
And of course, I want Sofia to win.
She’s hands-down one of the best new characters to come out of the 2024 TV season.
Dare I say it? Yes, I will. Because she absolutely did: Cristin Milioti outshined Colin Farrell in this series.
Over to you, TV Fanatics! What are your thoughts on the season finale of The Penguin and the series as a whole?
Are you looking forward to Batman 2? How do you think the storyline from the series will play out in the movie? Hit the comments and share your thoughts!
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The post The Penguin Season Finale Review: A Great or Little Thing appeared first on TV Fanatic.
Source: TV Fanatic
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