DC Rewrites Oz’s Origin and Makes It Better for This Batman Universe

HBO The Penguin is one of the most consistent TV shows ever made, not just in quality but also in living up to expectations. You can almost set your clock with some of the more familiar elements, and even after just 6 episodes, the seventh feels like a greatest hits compilation: a sharp blast of tragedy; Oz is confronted for his bad decisions; Sofia and Sal plot his downfall; death; Oz hits all-time low. But familiarity doesn’t breed contempt for DC’s best live-action show.

As we move towards the end of The PenguinOz’s development from low-level mobster to full-fledged crime boss was impressively complex. As The Sopranoswhich has been the constant point of comparison, Oz’s story hasn’t exactly been simple, and his consolidation of power has been made that much more interesting by both its obstacles and its progress.

Episode 7 begins with Sofia breaking into Oz’s apartment in The Penguin end of episode 6, but first goes back in time to shockingly reveal what happened to the Penguin’s brothers in the 1980s. From there, Sofia and Francis Cobb fight, Oz is confronted by Sal Maroni, and Sofia becomes a even greater threat.

Penguin Episode 7 Story Gives Oz His Batman Origin

Trauma is a shared Gotham experience in Matt Reeves’ universe

The Penguin episode 7’s cold open is actually a bit confusing. In terms of story, there’s nothing to complain about: Oz Cobb’s tragic origin is an extraordinarily successful way of bringing together all of Oz’s character quirks. But I have to acknowledge that the accent work is again a little uneven, as much as it seems like a stacked deck of cards to compare young Ryder Allen to Colin Farrell.

The prologue is an important contextualization of Oz’s story, and what Ryder does very well is sell the almost strange affection that the boy feels for his mother. The sequence in which he sees her interact with her older brother sets him up as the information magpie he would later become, but there’s also a thinly veiled Oedipal dynamic..

Obviously, The Penguin It changes a lot of what we know about Penguin as a DC character, which caused some anxiety from the start, but is completely justified. Matt Reeves’ Gotham picture introduced interesting ideas into Batmanand Lauren LeFranc expanded them nicely for the spin-off, reflecting Batman’s own trauma in Oz’s new origin. I would argue that the decision to ignore the more familiar origins of this complex new version actually led to an altogether more interesting backstory.

Penguin performances continue to improve

Even without Gotham’s most famous mask-wearer, everyone has disguises

Almost all of the characters in The Penguin It’s a double whammy: they project one side of themselves while suppressing their more vulnerable side. This episode brings this idea to the surface after previous flirtations: mostly in the holy trinity of Oz, Sofia, and Francis, but it’s true for basically everyone except Victor (by design). Even the most hardened gangsters have sensitive nether parts or are overcoming trauma; Theo Rossi’s psychiatrist is a secret sadist; Oz is constantly conflicted with his own weaknesses, even as he gains power.

Deidre O’Connell remains excellent as the tragic Francis Cobbplaying two different characters at the same time. She is a walking embodiment of one of the The PenguinThe more insistent ideas of: the issue of self-image and watching her deal with her traumatic imprisonment are painfully accurate. As gratifying is his return to reality as the formidable drive behind many of Oz’s intrigues.

Colin Farrell is a revelation, of course, and although the episode focuses on the tragedy of his origins, there’s no doubt that he’s a monster. One of the funniest mistakes The Penguin it was the gaslighting process that represented Oz as a sympathetic character before reminding us all that feeling anything other than complete disdain for him is foolish. Once again, the sympathy stunts come out in full force in episode 7.

Farrell is best when Oz is desperate or angry, and we have both barrels here. Sofia’s kidnapping of Francis puts him in a vulnerable position, of course, and his story explains exactly why. He is then forced to balance this with anger at what Sal and Sofia took from him, and the pain of his parentage crumbling into dust. It’s a complex performance, and seeing him goad Sal about the smell of his burning wife is a moment of precise, brilliant grotesquerie that stands as the episode’s most memorable scene.

Sofia faces her own karma (sort of)

Batman faced his destructive influence as “Revenge” and Sofia fell into the same hole

For several episodes, we’ve been on a journey into Sofia’s dark heart as she tries to recover after decades of institutional abuse from Falcone. The Penguin episode 7 pulls the rug out from under her, forcing her to face the reality of what she has become and ushering in a more dangerous period of her villainy.

The decision to bring back her niece Gia (played by Kenzie Grey) is a very good one, given the opportunity to show Sofia the dark mirror she has created in herself. Considering the show’s hard-boiled exploration of the legacy, throwing this back in Sofia’s face just as she feels more powerful is pretty good storytelling.

Again, anyone who has followed these episodic reviews of The Penguin We’ll see the next part coming, but Cristin Milioti is really great as Sofia. In the last few episodes, she led us to see that Sofia was a cold, numb monster, devoid of emotion and, as a result, scary.. Here we have a stark reminder of your humanity and Milioti’s ability to return to a more sympathetic performance should be studied.

Victor sits next to him and Sal Maroni climbs up

The Penguin uses his supporting cast well, even when he doesn’t use them

After a bigger role last time, Rhenzy Feliz’s Victor is left out of the episode. Sometimes it’s okay to recognize that while a character is good, their presence is distracting. Episode 7 focuses on the relationship between Oz and his mother and how his enemies use that as a weapon. Having Victor come in as some sort of voice of reason wouldn’t allow the story to unfold as it is. Instead, his only involvement is a note of weakness for Oz.

There’s more Sal Maroni by Clancy Brown, which offers the opportunity for a great face-off with Oz and eventually a perversely perfect payoff to his story. Brown is very good as the embodiment of furious rage, as you’d expect, and his final scene in the episode is hauntingly memorable.

How the penguin prepares his end

Everything is coming to a head in Gotham’s dark spin-off

With another episode of The Penguin Ahead, the stage is obviously set for a final showdown between Oz and Sofia. The most interesting development of this in episode 7 comes from Sofia’s interaction with Gia and her decision immediately afterwards: it almost seems like she abandoned her entire plan simply to cause as much destruction as possible. And Oz is in the crosshairs.

If you’re a fan of Farrell’s desperate performances as Oz under the most intense pressure, the final sequence that sees him robbed of virtually everything in his arsenal will have been particularly good news.. And as much of a cliché as it is to say, there’s certainly no possible way that Batman could have seen this climax without feeling the urge to get involved in some way.

The Penguin the finale is longer at 68 minutes, and there are some important things to wrap up, but even without the finale, this is an exceptional TV show that promises a lot for Batman sequence and beyond.

The Penguin the finale will be released on Sunday, November 10th on HBO