Summary
There are only a few more episodes ofThe Penguinleft, and things will ramp up before it’s all said and done. One of the most interesting things about this series is that going in, it’s likely that most people in the audience thought the HBO Max series would focus on the rise of Oz Cobb and show how he became the undisputed mob boss of Gotham City. As of now, at the very least, that’s not coming to be.
While Oz is holding his own and has even set up a business that is helping him become one of the city’s powers,The Penguinis showing that he’s got some formidable foes, even if he thought he was clearing the board with a couple of well-placed moves. What’s more, it doesn’t look like it will be easy toknock Sofia Falcone offher throne at the moment. With just three episodes left in the season, it feels like some pretty drastic things are going to need to happen, either in the season finale or inThe Batman 2.
The Enemy Of My Enemy Is The Penguin
With Sofia Falcon nee Giganteteaming up with the Maronisin order to take downThe Penguin, Oz Cobb is going to need some of his own allies. It’s been made very clear that any sort of avenue to do that with the families that are left in the city as no one trusts him any farther than they can throw him.
Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, and Rhenzy Feliz
8
Streaming On
HBO Max
Certainly he’s got a partner in crime andsomeone he can teach the reignswith Vic, but the teenager who lost his family inThe Batmanand has turned to a life of crime doesn’t have the connections needed to fight a mob war. Oz is also putting together a small army of people who feel like they were being mistreated or ignored with whatever family they served beforehand. They also don’t have the kind of firepower that can take down an alliance of the Falcones and the Maronis.
There is one person left in Gotham (at least that we’ve met) who could have the juice to team up with Oz. What’s more, it seems like the twostruck up the kind ofrelationship inThe Batmanwhere they could end up being allies. Obviously they aren’t going to be friends, they don’t trust each other. But there was some chemistry in the way the two talked to each other. The Penguin wasn’t really aggressive or demeaning towardsThe Batmanand in turn, once he was cleared of the murders that were being committed, he was someone Bruce Wayne didn’t seem to really see as a threat anymore.
There is also the possibility that Bruce Wayne, assuming his alter ego isactually still in GothamCity, will not like what Sofia is doing.
There is also the possibility that Bruce Wayne, assuming his alter ego isactually still in GothamCity, will not like what Sofia is doing. Publicly killing her entire family isn’t something he can stand by and just watch. If he isn’t in town, it’s possible that Oz could get word to him about what Sofia did. He almost certainly knows it’s something the Dark Knight would have something to say about it. And while Oz has done his own share of killing, it hasn’t been nearly as public or grandiose.
In a city like Gotham, and at the beginning of Bruce Wayne’s career as a crime fighter, it makes sense that he might even be a bit more pliable, and the idea of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is more digestible. Moreover, it feels like theshow’s direction is pushingthe two characters to understand that Sofia has become too dangerous.
Batman 2 Could See A Mob War Realized
The degree of difficulty with this theory is that Matt Reeves and Lauren LeFranc have both said thatRobert Pattinson’s character will notappear inThe Penguin. They could, of course be lying. That would certainly make his return have a little more punch if he shows up in the finale. But it certainly seems as though the showrunners were telling the truth so far.
The other degree of difficulty is there hasn’t been anymention of The Batman. At all. Oz hasn’t made any comment about “I need to go see someone,” or “I wonder what he would think about this.” If an alliance is in the cards, it would make more sense to at least mention him. Not that it can’t be fixed in the very next episode.
A teammup without The Batman appearing would be difficult but not impossible.
So if Batman isn’t going to be around inThe Penguinat all, what if this season sets up something that will carry over into The Batman 2. Perhaps Vic and Oz are discussing what their next move is after Sofia has seemingly won the war and is now the big boss of Gotham. It’s not hard to see the series end with something like “I know who we can talk to,” followed by a pan out to Wayne Manor. A partnership seems the most likely outcome of everything that is going on during this season.
The Penguin
Cast
Created by Lauren LeFranc and starring Colin Farrell, The Penguin builds on 2022’s The Batman. The Max series chronicles the eponymous villain’s attempt to reach Gotham’s criminal peak, rising through the underworld in the middle of a power struggle.
