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I love (and hate) the way The Penguin season 1 played with my emotions in the penultimate episode

Umito November 8, 2024

Warning: SPOILERS for The Penguin the episode “Top Hat” is early!

HBO The Penguin was one of the tribune-shows of the year, and while I hope we get some news on Season 2 as we move into the new year and into the TV schedule 2025I have to give this series its flowers. It’s been a long time since I watched a series that played with my emotions this much, and that was especially the case in the penultimate episode.

I both love and hate “Top Hat,” but I should note that the negative part of that statement is also said with love. The Penguin can be frustrating in the best way, so before what could be the final chapter of its story, I decided to talk about some of the things that are bothering me ahead of the finale.

Colin Farrell in The Penguin — (Image credit: HBO)

I love and hate how the penguin reminded us that Oswald is a bad guy

The Penguin punched me in the gut in “Top Hat” and reminded me of exactly the kind of guy Oswald Cobb is with a deep dive into his past. I’m referring, of course, to watching Oz become jealous that his brothers receive the same attention from his mother and ultimately leaves them to drown in a sewer so he can have a quiet night at home with his mother. At several points, it was clear that he knew what was going to happen to his brothers and he didn’t care.

I hated myself for being led to sympathize with Oswald. In each live action Batman movie and the project he was involved in, he was an untrustworthy snake. Granted, the show didn’t portray him any differently than those shows, but I think because he was exclusively messing with people who were also bad, I was able to see him in a different way.

The Penguin was masterful in its storytelling, in that it made us both understand and sympathize with Oswald, only to tear it all apart and remind the viewer that he is not a good person. I guess that’s something we need to remember before the finale, which is bound to be tough for Oswald, Sofia, or maybe both characters. One thing I can say is that I doubt I’ll feel sympathy for a Batman villain so easily again, and if Sofia manages to get revenge on Oz, I don’t think I’ll feel bad for him .

Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone in The Penguin

(Image credit: HBO/DC)

I love and hate the fact that I have no idea how Sofia will get revenge on Oswald

Sofia Gigante may not be Hangman, but all along The Penguinshe showed that she was more than capable of violence. THE surprise murder of Batman villain Magpie and some of her more erratic actions throughout the series leave me with no idea how she will ultimately get revenge on Oswald for locking her up in Arkham Asylum.

I thought its big move it would be to kill Victorbut with him gathering an army for Oswald before the finale, I don’t think she’ll have a better chance than she had after hitting him with a tire iron. I think he will to go out from the finale unscathed, although given that he’s an original character who isn’t part of DC’s original lore, there’s a chance he could be eliminated before the next Batman movie.

I can’t help but love and hate the fact that we have no idea what Sofia will do in this next episode, but I do have theories. There’s a chance that Sofia ends up killing Oswald’s mother, Francis, but not before revealing that it was her son who killed her other boys. Oz will see the disappointment on his mother’s face just before she dies, leaving behind a haunting memory that he will be forced to live with.

While I initially thought Sofia might spare Francis, I don’t think her revenge against Oswald would be as impactful, assuming she finds out his dirty secret. Francis suffers from some form of dementia, so even if she was told at the time, there’s a chance she’ll forget over time. Considering the type of person Oz is, he would probably be okay with his mother forgetting this part and continuing to live in denial that he is the ideal favorite son of the group.

Screenshot of Oz Cobb with a big smile in The Penguin

(Image credit: HBO YouTube)

I like that I don’t know which of these two villains will be more relevant in Batman: Part II

When The Penguin was first announced, I thought it was the perfect way to further establish Oswald Cobblepot as a threat in 2026 The Batman Part II. That’s certainly still the case, and we’ve seen him go from being an associate of the Falcone family to building his own empire by selling Drops and aligning himself with Gotham’s lesser mobs. It looks like he’ll be in a much better position in Gotham’s crime world than in the first movie, and he’s not the only one.

Gotham’s major crime families have collapsed, and Sofia Gigante is now taking up the mantle of traditional mob activity in Gotham. Again, we don’t know for sure how the ending of this series will play out for her, but rumors abound that Cristina Milioti’s character will have a major role to play in Robert Pattinsonthe next Batman movie.

Of course, we still don’t know exactly what The Batman Part II will be approx. CinemaBlend’s Mike Reyes has his own theories about who the sequel’s main villain is, and he think The Penguin in fact, I alluded to it. There are also many Batman’s iconic thieves who fans would love to see this iteration of The Dark Knight fight, so who knows how relevant either of The Penguin’s villains will be by the time this movie comes out?

Catch The Penguinon HBO on Sunday, November 10 at 9:00 p.m. ET. There’s a part of me that’s expecting a big surprise at the end of this episode, although I don’t want to get my hopes up too much. Maybe we’ll find out where Batman has been in this whole series. It would be nice if we didn’t, but it would be a real treat.

Apre-salomemanzo

Apre-salomemanzo

I love (and hate) the way The Penguin season 1 played with my emotions in the penultimate episode

I love and hate how the penguin reminded us that Oswald is a bad guy

Umito

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I love (and hate) the way The Penguin season 1 played with my emotions in the penultimate episode

I love and hate how the penguin reminded us that Oswald is a bad guy

Umito

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