A Great or Little Thing
The Penguin completes his ascent to the top of Gotham’s underworld with the help of Vic. However, Oz losing the woman who he said “kept him good” leads to a wild chain of events as he moves beyond Sofia Gigante.
Oz’s Mother
The cold open reveals that Oz’s mother figured out that he killed his brothers. She recognizes he’s evil and talks to Rex Calabrese about what to do with her son. Rex suggests she either foster his talents or let Rex kill him. It’s a wild stretch, but Frances sees few other options. This leads to the scene in the penultimate episode where Frances takes Oz out dancing and tells him he has to take care of her.
At one point, she hints that she’s ready to have Rex “drive him home” which means kill him. However, she decides while dancing that he’ll do anything for her, so she decides to foster his evil nature. This calls back to Sofia’s perception in the past episode that Frances is responsible for the monster Oz becomes.
Photograph by Macall Polay/HBO
The Penguin Breaks Free
Back in the present, Oz has been captured by Sofia’s goons. sofia wants oz to admit to his mother he murdered his brothers, but he refuses. Sofia threatens to cut off frances' fingers, yet oz still doesn't even try to confess. Frances is angry at Oz for the situation and the deaths of her other sons. frances screams that oz never loved her. She stabs him with a broken bottle before collapsing. Oz uses the opportunity to break free and shoot the corrupt detective who captured him at the end of the previous episode. He rushes his mother to the hospital before escaping and sewing up the stab wound himself.
Photograph by Macall Polay/HBO
Vic was unable to get the army that Oz requested but Oz is proud of him. Oz and Vic leave the hospital so Oz can meet with the city councilor he framed to get the lights in Crown Point restored. He gives the councilor all the information he needs to frame Sofia Gigante for his criminal actions. Oz is going to present a clean, upstanding persona, but he walks out to find Link from the Triad waiting on him rather than Vic.
The Triad Turns on Sofia
While Oz has been setting Sofia up, she’s been preparing to leave Gotham. The last remaining member of the Falcone family burns the Falcone compound to the ground. She tells all the criminals of Gotham that whoever brings her Oz will inherit her empire. Unfortunately, it appears she underestimated the criminals.
The Triad has captured Oz and brings him to Sofia. However, she realizes something’s not right when Oz starts to smirk. One member of the Triad kills another and the criminals side with Oz, giving Oz and Vic weapons to kill Sofia’s men. Oz then takes Sofia to the river where she expects to be killed. Unfortunately for Sofia, that’s not Oz’s plan.
Photograph by Macall Polay/HBO
Sofia hears sirens and is arrested for all the crimes connected to the new drug Bliss and her relationship working with the Maroni Crime Family. The Hangman is going back to prison, this time for crimes she committed while once again being framed for others. She’s back where she started and it’s the worst possible outcome for her. It's a fate worse than death for someone who already spent time behind bars for crimes she didn't commit.
Oz Loses His Conscience
After completing his framing of Sofia, Oz rushes to the hospital to tell his mother everything he did. He has finally gotten the Cobbs out of the trenches. He wants the love from his mother that he’s craved since he was a boy. Unfortunately, the nurses come in and tell Oz that she suffered a stroke and will remain in a vegetative state until she dies. This pushes Oz over the edge.
Photograph by Macall Polay/HBO
The family grew up in a poor neighborhood. Oz had to work for notorious mobsters to move up through the criminal underworld. He’s murdered several people including Alberto Falcone. He revealed Sofia Falcone was talking to the press which had her committed the first time and now she’s being arrested for his crime. These are the things Oz did when his mother was around. He famously said “she keeps me good.” If that was him being good, what will happen without her?
Photograph by Macall Polay/HBO
That is revealed quickly during a conversation with Vic. The pair are talking about what they accomplished together. Vic, commenting on how he lost his family, says he now views Oz as family. That becomes a problem because Sofia used the one family he loved against him. Oz can’t have that weakness, so in an act of pure villainy, he strangles Vic with his bare hands. The young man who he mentored and helped him climb from the bottom of the barrel to the top of the criminal underworld is disposed of in a heartbeat… or lack thereof at this point.
Oz's future
the series ends oz living in a penthouse with his mother just like he always promised her. he grew up poor and promised to take her to a penthouse. unfortunately, she told him if she ever ended up in a vegetative state to let her go, and he's refused to do that. she's just staring at a spot on the wall, and you can tell she's sometimes lucid as a tear rolls down her cheek.
meanwhile, the penguin is joined by his favorite prostitute who is now dressed like his mother and telling him she loves him and is proud of him. since he didn't get what he wanted through traditional means, he's taking the hollow victory. he's got a fancy new car, new digs and fancy new clothes, but no honor which makes him an excellent villain with no redeeming qualities.
Rating
The Penguin has long been recognized as one of the four premier villains in the Batman universe. However, his representations have been hit or miss. Burgess Meredith played a campy, goofy villain; but it was on a campy, goofy television show. Danny Devito played a villain that looked exactly like a penguin in Batman Returns. It was a perfect fit for a Tim Burton movie, but it felt so out of place on rewatches in the greater Batman universe.
Robin Lord Taylor tried to portray the Penguin as a criminal mastermind who made it through the ranks to the Big Bad of Gotham, but he always felt like an underling. Colin Farrell finally plays the Penguin in a manner that feels like he is the premier villain. Oz Cobb is detestable in every way. From killing his brothers and not showing remorse to setting up the only likable member of the Falcone family twice turning her into a villain/anti-heroine to killing the one character viewers were supposed to support. Colin Farrell said when the series ended, no one would be rooting for Oz, and it’s clear he was right. That character is evil to the core.
Photograph by Macall Polay/HBO
This series was designed to link The Batman to the upcoming sequel, The Batman 2. It ended perfectly with the Penguin being a solid threat and his crimes getting the attention of The Batman. The Bat-signal illuminated as the series came to an end. It’s unclear if Batman knows the Penguin is responsible for everything that happened in Gotham during the events of this series, but he knows something’s up. colin farrell confirmed the penguin will appear in the batman 2 and is set up to be the main villain of the batman 3. I’m now super excited for The Batman 2 and everything else in this batman universe set up by matt reeves.
Check out The Penguin on HBO and Max.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2024
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