The Penguin is a show that takes place right after the events of “The Batman,” (2022). This miniseries is about a man named Oswald Cobb and his rise to power in Gotham, going from a small-time criminal to a feared crime boss and gangster.
As the season wrapped up on Sunday Nov. 10. 2024, I can now confidently say that this is one of the best adaptations of a comic book ever in my opinion. The acting, writing, and callbacks in this show are phenomenal. Colin Farell delivers an Emmy worthy performance underneath the thick and detailed makeup of “Oswald Cobb,” along with Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone. What this show does so great is that it can hook fans into building love and soft spots for these characters that you wouldn’t typically expect to feel for.
Each and every storyline in this show is so intriguing as they all connect with each other by the end. This show should get even more credit because it didn’t have to bank off of showing or even referencing Batman. Most shows will take advantage of that and mostly get its fame by giving countless cameos and providing fan service, but not The Penguin.
This grounded world, built by directors Craig Zobel and Matt Reeves is such an interesting take on Gotham. Unlike most Batman universes, this one is way more grounded rather than “Fantastical,” where each character and thing is a realistic take compared to the comics. Most fans will prefer the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy but I personally do not. Christopher Nolan’s trilogy might be better cinematically, but the Matt Reeves Batman universe feels much more realistic which makes it easier for the viewers to connect to the projects better as these things can happen in real life.
This shows writing is unsurprisingly great as well. It was able to build new lovable characters such as Sofia Falcone and Victor Aguilar, Oswald’s “sidekick,” with the tragic backstories and story arcs that were built. The Penguins story is the most tragic of them all in my opinion. At a young age, he killed both of his brothers and later lied to his mom about it. Then as each episode passes, Oz becomes more and more psychotic until he eventually embraces the “Villain” role by the final episode.
Not only is Oz’s story great, but Sofias is as well. Her backstory as a key member of the Falcone family is so fascinating since her father, Carmine, was the biggest crime boss in the city of Gotham for many years. Not only was Carmine a feared crime boss, but he was also not such a great father or husband. He ended up framing Sofia for crimes that he committed and sent her to Arkham Asylum, an insane asylum for Gotham criminals. After Sofia was tortured at Arkham Asylum, she then got out 10 years later. Once she got out, she was all up for revenge and power. This would lead to her fighting for control of Gotham against Oz, after he killed her brother, Alberto in the first episode.
I would highly recommend giving this series a watch as not only is it great, but you don’t have to be a Batman or comic book fan to watch it. This show is able to become its own separate storyline that just happens to take place in the Batman universe.
Now that the season has ended with an exciting finale, fans now can’t resist their excitement for the next project in this universe, The Batman Part ll, which is set to release sometime in 2026.