The Penguin | Review, 5 things I liked and disliked about it

Cast & Crew:

Developed by Lauren LeFranc
Colin Farrell as Ozwald Cobbelpot / Oz Cobb / Penguin
Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone
Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar
Mark Strong as Carmine Falcone
Michael Kelly as Johnny Viti
Clancy Brown as Sal Maroni
Michael Zegen as Alberto Falcone
Theo Rossi as Dr. Julian Rush
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Nadia Maroni
Carmen Ejogo as Eve Karlo

Review:

WHAT A CINEMA!!!

The magic of Matt Reeves continues in The Penguin as well. The entire build-up from the first episode builds up wonderfully to show a fantastic conclusion to the series at the end.

In The Penguin, Oswald “Oz” Cobb, a low-tier gangster from The Batman, begins his ruthless rise to become Gotham’s Kingpin. The series wastes no time showing his violent approach—within minutes, Oz shoots Alberto Falcone, who mocked his walk. Right from the start, it’s clear that Oz is not someone to underestimate. He doesn’t tolerate insults, and revenge drives him. If someone crosses him, he will strike back and take everything they have.

The story dives deeper into Oz Cobb’s connections with Gotham’s criminal world. He navigates complex relationships with powerful families like the Falcones, the Maronis, and the Zhao family. To strengthen his hold on the city, Oz recruits allies—including Victor Aguilar, his trusted accomplice—and builds his own gang. Together, they aim to create a criminal empire that rivals the most dangerous forces in Gotham.

With the season finale behind us, fans are eager to see how The Penguin ties into The Batman 2, which is currently in pre-production. Director Matt Reeves has confirmed that the next two films in The Batman trilogy will be shot back-to-back, with releases planned within a year of each other.

Rumours suggest even more to come. James Gunn and Matt Reeves are reportedly discussing a new series to expand The Batman universe further, promising fans an even more immersive experience in Gotham’s gritty criminal world.

5 things I liked about The Penguin:

1. The casting in The Penguin is spot-on. Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, and Rhenzy Feliz, the main faces of this mini-series, hold the story and energy without letting anything slip. Not for a single moment do they let the audience feel bored. From the first episode, the plot’s thrill and tension keep the audience fully engaged, with each episode raising the stakes and improving upon the last.
2. The series is exceptionally well-written, picking up just a week after the events in The Batman. We witness the aftermath of the flood through Victor’s perspective, seeing his entire block washed away, leading to the tragic loss of his family. This continuity adds depth to the story and provides a fresh angle on Gotham’s devastation.
   We also get a powerful perspective from Oswald Cobb, who shows us the Falcone empire’s collapse and the city’s struggle to recover after the devastating flood. Meanwhile, Sofia Falcone, recently released from Arkham Asylum after a decade, learns that her brother—who helped her escape—is now dead. She grapples with her father’s betrayal, as it was Carmine Falcone himself who had her sent to Arkham in the first place.
3. The story in The Penguin draws heavy inspiration from the comic book The Long Halloween. It delves into the fallout and struggles between Gotham’s mob and gangster families, all set against the backdrop of Batman’s world. Throughout the series, fans will spot numerous Easter eggs from the comic and its animated adaptations, including references to the Falcone family, the Hangman, the dark secrets of Arkham Asylum, the Maronis, and more.
4. The best part of the series is the ample background given to the main characters. We get a deeper look into Victor’s past, showing how he becomes Oz Cobb’s right-hand man. Sofia Falcone’s history is explored in the fourth episode, Cent’anni, where her past shocks everyone. In the seventh episode, Top Hat, we dive into Oswald Cobb’s childhood, revealing the disturbing murders he did of his older and younger brother.
5. The last episode of The Penguin takes viewers on a wild ride. We see Oz escape the debris after the bomb blast from the seventh episode, followed by intense conversations between Sofia, Dr. Julian Rush, Oz, and his mother, Francis. Zhao steps in to help Oz with Victor and later Oz gives up the control of the Falcone and Maroni empires as he gets them all arrested, while Sofia plots to kill Oz. Francis falls into a coma, and Oz ends up choking Victor to death, ultimately having Eve Karlo impersonate his mother to comfort him. The final two episodes also reveal disturbing aspects of Oz’s past, including the chilling moment when he locks his brothers in a sewer on a rainy day, leading to their deaths as the sewer floods—just because he wanted his mother all to himself. In the last episode, it’s revealed that Francis knew Oz killed his brothers but kept pushing him to become Gotham’s greatest mob boss, taking advice from Rex to do so as she had a belief that it will get Oz killed eventually.
   In the last 20 minutes, the series takes an even darker turn. We witness Oz killing Victor, the young man who loyally did every dirty job for him, no matter the pain he endured. Despite all he suffered, Victor is choked to death by Oz after declaring that he is family. But Oz, now at the top of Gotham’s criminal hierarchy, no longer wants any family. His ambition and power have completely severed the bonds of loyalty, even with those who were closest to him.
   Another heartbreaking moment in the series is seeing Oz keep his mother alive in his new penthouse, despite her earlier plea for him to kill her. She was tired of living a life as a helpless woman, disconnected from the present. Now, in a coma, Francis’ perspective adds a tragic layer to her character. Oz goes further by having Eve imitate his mother’s younger self, with her dancing and comforting him about his latest achievements. This act of manipulation is disturbing, leaving viewers shocked and disgusted at the lengths Oz will go to maintain his control and satisfy his twisted desires.

2 things I disliked about The Penguin:

1. One major issue with The Penguin is the absence of Batman throughout the series. Despite the chaos unfolding across Gotham—car crashes, gun violence, explosions in underground train tunnels—Batman is nowhere to be found. It’s not until the final moments of the series that we see the Bat-Signal lighting up the dark, cloudy Gotham sky. While the reason for Batman’s absence may be addressed in The Batman 2, Matt Reeves will need to provide a convincing explanation for why the Dark Knight was missing during the events of The Penguin.
2. One of the most disappointing aspects of The Penguin is the poor visual and audio quality provided by Jio Cinema. Despite being one of the wealthiest families in India with significant investments in the market, Ambani’s company delivers subpar quality for this highly anticipated series. The video quality is so poor that 4K looks like 1080p, and 1080p appears as if it’s 720p. On top of that, the audio quality drops dramatically from 320 kbps to 128kbps right from the start. Instead of focusing solely on acquiring streaming rights from big production companies, Jio should prioritize delivering better quality for the content they already own.
   It will be interesting to see how the new app formation of Jio Star plays out, especially as Jio Cinema and Disney+ Hotstar move to a unified platform. With Jio adopting Disney+ Hotstar’s technology, fans are hoping for a more seamless streaming experience. How this transition affects content quality, user interface, and overall performance remains to be seen, but it could be a game-changer for Jio’s streaming services.