Warning! This article contains spoilers for Episode 7 of The Penguin.
Summary
The Penguin’spenultimate episode set things up for a high-stakes finale between Oz Cobb and Sofia Gigante. The seventh episode, titled ‘Top Hat’, delivered on the HBO show’s promise to show more of the Penguin’s past and revealed what put the character on the trajectory that will make him the crime kingpin he is known as in DC comics.
Colin Farrell first appeared to portray the Penguin in Matt Reeves’The Batman, where he was shown to be the right-hand man of underworld crime boss, Carmine Falcone. Despite having the name, Oswald Cobb was not depicted as the infamous kingpin from Batman’s Rogues Gallery, butThe Penguinhas more than made up for that, providing both an in-depth backstory for Oz and a gripping crime drama set in the streets of Gotham City.The Penguin’smain adversary in the seriesis Sofia Gigante (nee Falcone), the daughter of the deceased Carmine Falcone, who hopes to rise through the ranks of her family and take over her father’s empire. However, what’s become more important to Sofia throughoutThe Penguin’sseason is getting revenge on Oz for betraying her.
8
Where to watch
HBO, Max
The Penguin’sseventh episode begins with a flashback to Oz’s childhood, where he lives with his mother, Francis, and his two brothers, Benny and Jack. Oz clearly dotes on his mother and is desperate to spend time with her, preferably alone, as he seemingly doesn’t get along too well with his brothers. Francis asks the boys to go out, where they run into a local gangster, Rex, who passes them some money.
Oz Causes His Brothers' Deaths
The brothers then spend the afternoon playing games in Gotham’s underground tunnels. However, Oz gets annoyed at his siblings when they climb down a narrow shaft to hide in the sewers, a place he cannot reach due to his leg. To get payback, Oz locks the door to the sewer and leaves Jack and Benny there. All the while, the rain is filling up the tunnels. Oz heads home to his mother and finally has her to himself. He lies and tells her his brothers went to watch a movie, so he and Francis settle in at home to watch a film of their own, one which features a tap dancing man in a top hat (possibly ina shout-out to the Penguin’s iconic top hat). Meanwhile, the rain pours outside and Jack and Benny are stuck in the tunnels as they flood.
Later in Episode 7, there is another flashback, following Oz and Francis after Jack and Benny’s deaths. Francis takes her son out dancing, where she makes him promise to look after her, which he vows. Having seen Rex’s wad of cash earlier, Oz sets his sights on the gangster life, dreaming that it will lead him to be able to provide for his mother.
Cobb vs Maroni
In the present, Oz returns to his apartment in Crown Point where Sofia has abducted Francis and knocked out Victor. Oz manages to wake Victor and get him out of the apartment beforeSal Maroni arrives with his goons. They beat him up and then phone Sofia to deliver the news they’ve apprehended Oz. Meanwhile, Sofia holds Francis captive and attempts to dig up dirt on Oz, but Francis remains loyal to her son and refuses to give up anything.
Sal forces Oz to reveal his hideout and takes him there to inform the Penguin’s workers that the Maronis and Gigantes are now in charge. Oz’s workers remain loyal to him, however, and enact a failsafe plan that cuts the power in the hideout and results in a shootout. Oz manages to get the edge over Sal in a fistfight and kills him, terminating another Gotham crime boss.
Sofia’s New Goal
Sofia’s interrogation of Francis is interrupted by the arrival of her confidante, Julian Rush, who informs her that her cousin Gia, the only surviving member ofthe night that Sofia gassed her whole family, claims to remember something. Sofia visits Gia at the children’s home where she’s been living, where Gia reveals she noticed a gas mask in Sofia’s bag, an incriminating piece of evidence. Sofia tries to convince Gia otherwise, but then checks herself. At home, shereveals to Rush she’s had a change of heart. She no longer wants to be the boss, instead, she wants to finally be free of her father’s game. That and she wants revenge on Oz.
Sofia no longer wants to be the boss, instead, she wants to finally be free of her father’s game.
What Is Sofia’s Gift to Oz?
After killing Sal, Oz phones Sofia to offer her a trade: she can have his entire operation in return for his mother’s safety. Sofia agrees, only to turn the tables on Oz. She sends a van into the heart of Oz’s drug operation, claiming she’s left him a gift. Oz opens the van to find it loaded with explosives, which go off and destroy his entire operation and collapse the tunnels in that area. Oz manages to survive by dropping into the sewers, the same place his brothers died all those years ago. When Oz emerges ontothe rubble-filled streets of Gotham, he is captured by one of Sofia’s men. Meanwhile, Sofia still holds Francis, setting things up for a climactic finale between the two.
The PenguinEpisode 8 will be released on November 10.
The Penguin
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.
