Sofia Falcone steals Farrell’s thunder in DC’s slow-burner

After an excellent opening episode, The penguin Episode 2 settles into its groove. It’s a slower burn, consciously removed from the usual pulp of DC comic book adaptations, but which continues to hit its premium TV marks. It still feels like Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb is positioning chess pieces around the board, though The penguin The end of episode 2 sets an explosive new direction for the show.

Picking up right after the grim discovery of Alberto Falcone’s body at the end of The penguin Episode 1, the newest episode of The BatmanThe first spin-off takes a small step back to get more under the skin of the characters. We immediately get more of a sense of that The penguin is drawing so many parallels to The SopranosRather than retelling familiar stories set in Gotham City.

The Penguin Episode 2 delves deeper into Oz Cobb

Colin Farrell continues to be excellent as the Penguin

The changes in the opposition of Oz Kob are more visible here: not only in the proposal about the death of his brothers, but also in The confirmation of how he came to work for the Falcons. Oz being an accidental opportunist is a fairly radical change from his perceived DC Comics origin, but it fits how Colin Farrell plays the character. It also reinforces the idea that Oz is a man of the people, and in his own opinion, their definitive representative.

Crashing into this idea hard is the image of what Oz Cobb really is. We see more of his backstory and the vulnerability of his mother’s condition, but at the same time, the third act of the episode shows exactly what he is capable of.. These reminders are important, as humanizing Oz would be The penguins failure when he had to pull villain duties against Robert Pattinson’s Batman again in the future. He can’t be too likable, no matter how confusing the show makes him likeable.

Once again, Farrell is excellent in Episode 2. He may have started out as a great strategist, but it’s now obvious that his real superpower is resilience. He is adaptable in the most dangerous situations and his choices repair so impressively that he is forced to draw the power in almost every turn. critical, Oz is no infallible genius: he’s not so much playing 3D chess with the other power brokers of Gotham, but rather react to the series of unfortunate events that he has unleashed. Farrell sells the idea strongly.

It is clear that the penguin will take his time

Don’t expect major revelations and twists at every turn

Beware of those who claim The penguin Is Boring: Yes, it’s slow, but only if you associate the value of comic book adaptations with how much you can clip for social media point-scoring. This is measured, rewarding storytelling that burns slowly, But no less brilliant. There are, by design, a lot of scenes of characters talking – which was the real sign of premium TV shows – and there is already important work to make the most important figures feel substantial.

The urgency of the second half of the episode succeeds in its claustrophobic agenda, as Oz tries to keep his betrayal of the Falcons under wraps. That said, the one pacing issue I can’t ignore is the decision to cut the drops heist to a few minutes: it was the kind of action set-piece that could have gone much further, and the end result is comparative dissatisfaction.

The penguin Episode 2 also introduces a secret weapon to Gotham: knowledge. In the dark world of corruption and backstabbing, knowledge is power, and although he doesn’t necessarily have brains or physical strength, Oz is a master manipulator of knowledge. His emerging backstory explains how he exists on the sidelines, absorbing information, and now seeks to use what he knows. Just like The Batman It was all about secrets, The penguin is also about weaponizing the secrets.

Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone continues to shine

Sofia has plans, and we’re in!

Christine Milioti’s performance as Sofia Falcone continues to be impressive, and it’s hard not to see her as the most interesting element of the minute. She balances vulnerability and rage, hinting – often quite blatantly – at The penguins subversive message of upstarts took place. Despite the episode opening with Sofia spending very little time in Arkham, We have a very real and very ominous sense of the place.

Most intriguing is the way the episode plays with the biggest question hanging over Sofia: Is she really the unhinged villain her reputation suggests? Did she really kill 7 women? It’s not something we’ll find out yet, but Milioti’s performance slyly teases both sides. It is more than enough to suggest that she is capable of terrible things, but she balances it with fierce intelligence, and a deep melancholy I can watch endlessly.

The Episode also introduces the Joker/Harley Quinn-like dynamic of Sofia and Theo Rossi’s Dr Julian Rush. He’s an interesting case, a seemingly gentle soul despite his Arkham employment, thanks to Rossi’s subtle performance. His anxious affection for Sophia is also obvious. Like Sofia’s apparent conflict over him: This is like an interesting new take on Joker and Harley, where the abusive element is institutional rather than personal.

Notes about the Penguin Episode 2’s supporting characters

Not everyone at the Penguin is as big as Farrell & Milioti

The penguin Episode 2 also introduces Luca Falcone, Carmine Falcone’s brother who takes over the family in his wake. He is played by Scott Cohen and is good. The The problem for this character is that he has to be weak and unlikable while simultaneously selling the power of his position.. As a result, he’s not really that interesting, and feels like a narrative device over a performance.

Michael Kelly’s underboss Johnny Viti is much more interesting, perhaps because he is the target of Oz’s plan and organically shows more extreme emotion. You want to see more of him and he is interesting enough to know that there is more story to be revealed around him. Luca is there, but he feels more like the story will move around him.

Into the mix again comes Sal Maroni (Clancy Brown), who is sidelined by design at Blackwater, but who is thoroughly believable as a power broker. Part of this comes down to Brown’s casting: he’s a hugely imposing presence, even sitting at a prison table, and The penguin Artfully avoids painting him as a victim of Oz’s machinations. I want more of the grander characters, and The penguin is a little poorer for its lack of more outrageous Rogues Gallery figures.

We also receive More of Victor’s backstory and the confirmation that he is the stand-in for all of Gotham’s residentsDrawn, like Oz, from the sidelines in the strange world of the criminal elite. Naturally, this is Gotham, so a tragic origin is mandatory, and Rhenzy Feliz is disarmingly charismatic in his wide-eyed, occasionally scared demeanor. He is a great mirror for Oz, and see how The penguin Corrupting him is already very rewarding.

New episodes of The penguin Release every Sunday on HBO and Max at 9pm ET.