Colin Farrell as Goose Cobb in HBO’s The Penguin
HBO
The finale of HBO’s The Penguin ended on a disturbing note, as the titular villain showed his true colors and completed his ascension to the criminal throne of Gotham.
Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti give stunning performances as Oz Cobb and Sofia Gigante, cunning rivals trying to take control of Gotham’s dark underbelly, leading into the sequel to Matt Reeves’ upcoming film, The Batman Part 2.
What happened in the eighth episode of the series “Penguin”?
Once again, Oz finds himself bound and helpless, enduring Sofia’s mind games. After discovering that Oz’s mother, Frances (Deirdre O’Connell), knew that Oz killed his brothers, Sofia tried to force Oz to confess to Frances.
Remarkably, Oz absolutely refuses to admit the truth, even when Sofia threatens to cut off his mother’s pinky, proving that Oz doesn’t care about his mother as much as he claims.
For Oz, his reputation always comes first.
But the psychological breakthrough Sofia had been hoping for finally arrives, as Frances tells Oz that she always knew, and that she almost killed him to get revenge on the boys.
In an ironic twist, it was Rex Calabrese who was willing to kill young Oz, as Rex was the respected gangster who Oz spent the entire show remembering and trying to emulate.
Oz’s life is a terrible, self-inflicted tragedy, as a man craves respect from those who look down on him, and ignores the affections of those who truly care about him.
After the truth finally comes out, Francis stabs Oz in the stomach with a broken bottle before collapsing, causing Oz to escape with brute force, carrying his mother on his back. Oz survives and manages to take his mother to the hospital, but faces defeat; The gangs he mobilized against Sofia Gigante turn against him, influenced by Sofia’s better offer.
Worse still, Oz now realizes that his mother does not respect him, in fact, she hates him. But his young protégé Victor (Renzi Velez) is there for him with another narrative, reassuring Oz that he is a man of the people, the man who restored power to Crown Point and organized an uprising for the less crime families.
Oz then realizes that there is a way to defeat Sofia and the rival gangs, and that each gang leader has a second-in-command who is tired of being pressured.
Thanks to Link, Zhao’s right-hand man, Oz has a way in and a way out of the trouble he’s gotten himself into with Sofia.
Oz understands how Link and the rest of the followers are feeling, having spent his life playing the same role, and convinces them all to participate in a coup, slaughtering their bosses and restructuring Gotham’s criminal landscape.
Oz also has a story for Councilman Hadi, offering him Sofia as a scapegoat for all the gang violence his machinations have caused.
Hadi is a con man just like Oz, and happily takes credit for Sofia’s capture, with the long-suffering Matriarch Gigante back behind bars.
How does the movie “Penguin” end?
Oz has succeeded in rising to the top of Gotham’s criminal underworld; We even see him in one scene wearing his signature hat and suit.
When Oz and Vic discussed their victory, Vic made the mistake of opening up to Oz, admitting that he felt like the two were family.
Oz then carries out the series’ most brutal murder, strangling Vic to death, before throwing his ID into the river. In a very entertaining final touch, Oz steals Vic’s wallet.
Oz realizes that being Gotham’s crime boss is not for the faint of heart, and sees Vic’s affection as a weakness, an emotional connection that could strengthen his enemies and complicate future business.
Oz is simply not interested in sharing power with his surrogate son, just as he refused to share his mother’s love with his brothers.
While Oz seemed to genuinely care about Vic throughout the series, in reality, he viewed Vic as a helpful follower, an admirer, and someone who provided Oz with the respect he so desperately craved.
Vic’s story is the real tragedy here – the kid saw his family killed by the Riddler’s floods, then rejected the chance to flee Gotham with his girlfriend, choosing to pursue his doomed partnership with Oz.
Vick trusted Oz’s humanity, failing to see the monster within him.
As for Sofia, it looks like she’ll be out of prison faster than one would expect, as the final scene sees her opening a letter from Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), who is her half-sister.
We expect to see Sofia again in Batman Part 2.
Oz concludes his story in the luxury apartment he always wanted, with his mother trapped inside. Francis has suffered a terrible stroke, and is now unable to tell Oz how she really feels about him – she has turned into his pet, like a caged bird.
For Oz, this may be the pinnacle of their relationship.
In addition, Oz still has a girlfriend, sex worker Eve, who deliberately dresses in his mother’s clothes and gives him the maternal praise he craves.
The series ends with the Bat-Signal lighting up in the skies of Gotham, signifying that the Dark Knight is finally ready to confront the Penguin.
The series has shown great restraint in keeping Batman out of the Oz story, but now that the man has shown his worst, viewers are surely ready to see him take on Batman’s armored fist.
Will there be a second season for The Penguin?
It’s a possibility, but not the original intention.
Farrell and Milioti are confirmed to appear in The Batman Part 2, but Season 2 of The Penguin would have to take place between the sequel and the third film in The Batman trilogy, which could be a bit complicated.
Matt Reeves, director of The Batman, has expressed interest in exploring more of Gotham’s villains through another show, so we may see a character like Scarecrow, Two-Face, or even the Joker fleshed out in their own HBO series, and perhaps Oz Cobb might well make an appearance.
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