This review contains spoilers for “The Penguin.”
Colin Farrell was an absolute show stealer in the 2022 film “The Batman” as the Penguin, and he knocked it out of the park again as the headliner of the hit TV show “The Penguin.” With “Batman” director Matt Reeves as an executive producer, “The Penguin” is the next chapter in the “Batman Epic Crime Saga,” a series of movies and shows that will branch off from the 2022 film.
“The Penguin” started off as a ratings hit for Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO from the get-go. Variety reported that the show started with 5.3 million viewers across all platforms in the first four days, and the finale alone reached a series-high viewership of 2.1 million on the first day. By all metrics, the show is a success and a much-needed win for the new DC Studios spearheaded by James Gunn and Peter Safran.
“The Penguin” picks up in the days following the events of “The Batman” as Gotham is currently recovering from The Riddler’s bombing attack, and certain sections of Gotham are completely destroyed. There is a power vacuum in the criminal underworld following the death of Carmine Falcone, and Oswald “Oz” Cobb, portrayed by Farrell, is looking to seize control.
Other cast members in the show include Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, the daughter of Carmine Falcone, Rhenzy Feliz as Victor “Vic” Aguilar, a teenager who gets pulled into the life of crime by Oz, Deirdre O’Connell as Oz’s ill mother, and Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, the patriarch of the rival Maroni crime family.
I was immediately invested in the show. I could slip right back into this version of Gotham that Matt Reeves helped build in his Batman movie. Farrell is just as great as he was in the movie, and this time the showrunners expand more on his character, his relationship with his mother — who suffers from Parkinson’s and Lewy Body dementia — and his relationships with Gotham’s crime bosses.
The main heart of the story is Oz’s relationship with Vic. The two meet after Vic tries to steal the tires off Oz’s car, and Oz decides to bring him under his wing. At first, Vic feels he is being held hostage to do the Penguin’s dirty work, but slowly, a surrogate father-son relationship develops between the two. The chemistry between Farrell and Feliz is what really sells the characters’ relationship, as they work exceptionally well together.
Through flashbacks, the show reveals that Vic’s parents died in The Riddler’s bombing in the events of “The Batman” and has been rendered homeless. Oz never had a father figure in his life, so the gangster sees potential in the orphan, taking him in as an errand boy and then personal enforcer.
One thing I have to note is that Vic is portrayed as having a stutter, and as someone who has had a stutter for 20 years of his life, Feliz did an excellent job with his portrayal. There is one scene that sticks out to me that really demonstrates how much Oz cares about Vic.
The two are ordering food at a restaurant, and while Oz orders his food with no problem, Vic stutters on his words, prompting the waiter to attempt to finish his sentence. Oz immediately scolds the waiter and tells him to respect the fact that Vic is talking and to let him finish his order. Afterward, Oz tells Vic that he needs to let people wait for him to finish speaking — a heartfelt gesture from an otherwise heartless mob boss.
As the story goes on, Oz teaches Vic how life works when you’re involved in the criminal underworld. At one point, Vic has the opportunity to leave this life behind and join his girlfriend in moving to California. He ultimately decides against it and instead chooses to stay involved with Oz. What makes this storyline gut-wrenchingly tragic is near the end of the series, when Vic tells his boss that he’s become like family. Oz, having acquired all the power he wants, and knowing Vic has seen him at his most vulnerable, kills him.
Another aspect of the show I really enjoyed was Milioti and her portrayal of Sofia Falcone. Milioti completely commanded the screen and was the right person to have second billing in this series. At one point, it even feels like she is the co-lead with Colin Farrell, being given a great amount of screen time for her character’s story to flesh out and truly understand what world she has been living in. Episode four is a particular standout, presenting flashbacks of Sofia’s life; her false imprisonment in Arkham Asylum after her father frames her for murders that she never committed. It gave the writers a chance to show viewers how much of a wicked place Arkham Asylum truly is. It also gave Milioti a standout performance of her struggling to survive, culminating in a euphoric triumphant moment toward the end of the episode.
Cal State LA student and massive DC fan Christopher Ruiz felt the show exceeded his expectations, and praised the show’s self-contained storytelling format.
“You can enjoy it just like a standalone show. That’s kind of how I view it. It could be viewed as a comic book fan or as a normal TV fan,” said Ruiz. He also praised Farrell’s performance as the eponymous character. “In multiple ways, his acting was really great and also his transformation into the penguin was also kind of jarring … how he could still express himself as an actor even through all that makeup.”
“The Penguin” was a very enthralling journey and it’s already being compared to its influences such as The Sopranos. I really enjoyed every minute of it and I would absolutely tune into a second season. All episodes are available to stream on Max.
