This review contains major spoilers for “The Batman” (2022) and minor spoilers for the previous episodes of “The Penguin” (2024).
For the past 40 years, the penguin has waved around his weaponized umbrella in bird-themed duels with Batman, wearing a top hat and monocle. Max’s 2024 miniseries “The Penguin” omits these parts of the character and shows a more disgustingly evil version than usual.
The show, a TV spinoff/sequel to Matt Reeves’ Oscar-nominated 2022 superhero film “The Batman,” recently wrapped its eight episodes.
“The Penguin” quickly reintroduces its title character, a gangster named Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) who waddles like a penguin due to an untreated foot deformity. The ableist nickname continually disrupts Oz’s pride, one of the main driving forces and an often breaking point for his character.
“The Penguin” is yet another show starring an organized crime egomaniac. But its confrontation with the superhero genre gives it an excuse to be weirder and more eccentric than shows like “The Sopranos” or “Breaking Bad.” But that doesn’t mean the Penguin is any less treacherous than his crime drama contemporaries.
In “The Penguin,” Oz feels far removed from his 1941 comic strip. Small changes, such as shortening the last name “Cobblepot” to just “Cobb,” add to the reality captured in “The Batman.” Ultimately, this version of the Penguin gives depth to the character that feels fair to Oswald Cobblepot, while still taking the creative liberties necessary to create an incredible protagonist.
Oz works for the Falcome crime family, but after the death of patriarch Carmine Falcome (played by John Turturro in ‘The Batman’, but Mark Strong during flashbacks in ‘The Penguin’) he is encouraged to try to fight his way to the top jobs. .
Oz’s goals conflict with those of Falcone’s new leadership: Carmine’s son Alberto (Michael Zegen) and Carmine’s daughter Sofia (Cristin Milioti), recently released from Arkham Asylum after serving ten years for a series of murders. This conflict comes to the fore when Oz snaps and kills one of his fellow Falcone Mafia members.
To help hide the body from the Falcones and the police, Oz recruits a young man who he finds trying to steal one of his tires. From then on, Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) becomes Oz’s sidekick as he pits the Falcone and Maroni crime families against each other.
As the show progresses, Victor, Sofia, and Oz are all carefully characterized, each with their own special arc. The slow and deliberate drip of new details keeps the audience in suspense as to the true motivations and origins of the three main characters, blending the past with the present to create an intense and focused drama.
Aside from the stars, another performance that would be remiss not to mention is Clancy Brown’s chilling portrayal of Salvatore “Sal” Maroni, the patriarch of the Maroni family and one of the main antagonists. Sal is uncannily resilient and uniquely spiteful, creating the feeling that his defeat would be impossible.
Throughout “The Penguin,” Oz is constantly driven by a desire for the approval of others. This greatly influences one of the show’s most fascinating and complex relationships, that between Oz and his mother Francis (Deirdre O’Connell).
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Francis is old and sick and constantly tells Oz how much more he could do for her. A warning sign of her more toxic qualities comes when she calls him a “pussy” for avoiding his mafia enemies instead of killing them head-on. Ultimately, Francis and Oz’s mother-son relationship is irreversibly transformed through flashbacks in the show’s final episodes.
Throughout the show, Oz gets many heartfelt and loving moments with the people around him. He’s an inspiration to kids like him from shitty neighborhoods who could barely dream of making it as high as Oz – or at least that’s what he tells himself. Despite these moments, as the credits of “The Penguin” roll, it’s hard to think about anything other than how evil he is.
Ultimately, the only thing that really tells you how bad the Penguin is is the feeling deep in your gut as you watch the final scenes play out.
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