Key Takeaways
- Sofia Falcone targets The Penguin’s weak spot- his mother- in a strategic battle.
- The Penguin’s lack of powers is outweighed by his ability to outmaneuver foes.
- Julian Rush might hold the key to The Penguin’s downfall, using Oz’s family secrets against him.
The first (maybe only) season of The Penguin is just about over, and it’s been quite the wild ride. It’s a safe bet that the ride has taken viewers to places they didn’t initially expect, especially when dealing with a series that so wholly focused on what had been a major Batman villain that still mostly took a back seat to the hero in the comics and definitely in The Batman movie.
Rather than featuring The Penguin going toe-to-toe with the Dark Knight, he’s had some other baddies to face off against. However, instead of those baddies being someone like The Joker, Riddler, or any of the other guys, they are well-known villains from the same universe he’s going up against the newest mob boss in town, Sofia Falcone. So far, it feels like the two have mostly traded punches. Oz gets the upper hand and then Sofia counters. There have even been times when he looked like he had the upper hand. That obviously changed throughout Episode 7 and the two are going to be entering one final battle. And it’s now clear there is one way in which Sofia could deliver a knockout blow to Oz.
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Oz Cobb Has One Weakness In The Penguin
One of the things that makes The Penguinsuch a compelling show is that Oz is a powerful person despite not having any real powers. Considering this is a show based on comic books, that’s rather impressive. Granted, if there’s any universe where the baddies aren’t powered up, it’s those who face off against the Dark Knight. Still, Oz has an almost uncanny ability to see which direction the enemy fire is coming from and how it’s being delivered.
|
Creator/Showrunner |
Lauren LeFranc |
|---|---|
|
Stars |
Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, and Rhenzy Feliz |
|
Number of Episodes |
8 |
|
Air Dates |
September 19, 2024–November 10, 2024 |
|
Streaming On |
HBO Max |
He knew well before anyone else that he should take his mother off the board. The audience found out recently that everyone in Gotham thought his mother died long ago. It helped that he’d already lost his brothers. However, while he’s been able to stay one step ahead of his adversaries on that count, the lead diminished greatly in Episode 7 as Sofia found out not only that his mother was alive but where she was.
However, while he’s been able to stay one step ahead of his adversaries on that count, the lead diminished greatly in Episode 7 as Sofia found out not only that his mother was alive but where she was.
The audience already saw how his mother’s existence alone could be used as a cudgel against Cobb. Sofia almost took him out with an okey-doke when he thought his mother was in the back of the car that was driven into his hideout. He realized what was up and managed to escape just in time. And in the aftermath, it became clear that while she wouldn’t have been heartbroken if the bomb in the car got The Penguin, it wasn’t the end game. That in turn, is what makes Sofia such a formidable foe. She thinks as many steps ahead as Oz does. She had a plan in place in case he escaped.
When Oz emerges from the tunnels underneath the city, it becomes clear that two things are true at once. The first is that Sofia still has something up her sleeve, considering everyone is going to the nightclub where he spent time with his mother. It appears that while Sofia knows that Oz’s weakness is with his mom, she’s got an especially interesting way to wleld her against him.
With Batman nowhere to be seen, Gotham is up for grabs and it’s pretty clear that Sofia wants to ensure she takes the city. In order to do that she has to do more than just kill Oz. She’s got to destroy him. And that’s where the next episode of The Penguin might be going, or at least attempting to go.
The Penguin Is His Own Worst Enemy
Julian Rush has at this point, mostly been a background character to the point where there have been plenty of questions about why exactly he’s even around. Obviously, he helps Sofia work through what she went through in Arkham, but it’s more than that, and his purpose could finally be here. The final showdown is on the horizon and Rush could be intrigal to Sofia throwing a big punch.
Rush has been shown using a kind of hypnotic device in order to help Sofia recover but it could also be used on Oz right in front of his mother. In might in fact be used to get Oz to say in front of his mother that he’s the one who killed his brothers. It would break their relationship forever, or at least it seems like that would break them apart. And then it would break Oz, at least for the end of The Penguin.
The big question, should that be the way things play out, is whether the show would be willing to leave Oz broken and beaten. The show shouldn’t be something someone must watch to understand anything other than Season 2 ( should it happen.) But if that is the play, it’s a good one and it could certainly be a knockout blow for Sofia Gigante as she takes over Gotham.
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.
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