“ The Penguin”, the new HBO show starring the slight enemy from 2022’s” The Batman”, is not a tale that was highly anticipated. Unfortunately, it’s one of the best television set in years.
You’ll be aware that Gotham is a New York City analogy and that the Falcones and Maronis are huge crime people if you have any knowledge of the Batman universe. You don’t really need to recognize anything else about” The Penguin” because it does a good enough job of standing on its own. This is no small virtue in a world where so much entertainment press uses outdated IPs as crutches to support the most recent episode of an unmistakable range of corporate twaddle ( looking at you, Star Wars ).
” The Penguin” has its own story to tell with three main characters at the center: Kansas, Sofia, and Victor. Colin Farrell’s Kansas, total name Oswald Cobb, is a seminar in acting and is the movie’s closest thing in sight to a hero. Hobbled by a team base that gives him a peculiar, penguin-like pace, Oz is a low-level gang and medicine trafficker with aspirations for greatness. Throughout the series, he worms his manner through the town, slithering from empire to ally with the great dogs of Gotham’s underground. Kansas finds himself buried deep in a web of lies that perhaps he seems to struggle to know what to believe about himself as he burns roads and crosses spiritual rubicons.
The first show actually throws you into Oz for a loop. After watching it, I believed I had gotten a good handle on the person. He has some looking figure flaws that kickstart the plot and put him in a bad position, leading to an impulsive decision. However, his quick wits, perceptive eloquence, and the fruits of his own twisted conscience all work together to rescue him from his self-imposed problems. His deficiencies lead to problems that his qualities resolve. At its core, he appeared to want to go back to an older, more conventional style of gangster behavior, where the crowd looked out for the neighborhood and gave those at the lowest levels of society a chance to succeed. Kansas, more than anything it seemed, only wanted to be liked and respected.
That research, nevertheless, just scratches the surface. You are given more information each time you believe you know Oz, which makes your reassurances stronger. As the line drags on, you’ll get your initial ideas transform into something much darker. Nartive character he may be. The indicators were there from the start, but you’ll probably lose it without the benefit of perspective. Rather than be loved, Oz’s main desire is to have another affirm his personal self-conception. Oswald Cobb ultimately gives up everything and everyone for his one true concern, himself. Was it worth the cost? Oswald Cobb undoubtedly believes thus. He’s an terrible man, but such a fantastic character.
Speaking of beautiful figures, there’s even Victor, or Vic, played by Rhenzy Feliz. Victor is first sucked into Oz’s circle and turns out to be a lieutenant of sorts. Kansas gives off the impression that he recognizes the younger man’s inner self, but that’s another story. Victor truly develops into his role in the series even though he starts off as a reluctant, minor criminal who accepts Oz out of fear. Victor later aspires to be like Oz, just as Kansas seems to see himself in Victor. It is up for debate whether Victor eventually became corrupted as a result of his personal character flaws, his closeness to Oz, or some combination of both. Victor eventually discovers, just like the crowd, that he doesn’t hear Oz quite as well as he thought. The horror of it is that Victor and Oz’s relationship ends precisely where it started after all the two of them experiences.
Sofia Falcone is also wonderful. There have been numerous attempts to create a Solid Female CharacterTM in a generally male-dominated environment in modern media. It typically fails because authors are hesitant to give these ladies flaws and organization. So, they come across as uninteresting, annoying, and/or dull. Sofia is several things, but dreary isn’t one of them. Despite serving as the adversary, she emerges as a far more powerful character than Oz, especially after the fourth episode.
Sofia’s transformation from a carefree but well-intentioned woman to a psychopathic mob boss is efficient. Despite this, Sofia exhibits genuine humanity and shock. She comes off as genuinely qualified and frightening, becoming the demon that folks thought she was. She also uses a Glock, which shows great taste in weapon. And, unlike our vice chairman, I absolutely buy that she knows how to use it. For portraying Sofia in the set, Cristina Milioti deserves a lot of funds.
The story of” The Penguin” is fairly easy to follow and makes sense, though, towards the end, it does seem like some figures manage to get out of circumstances they probably don’t. Finally, there’s the ending — to call it melancholy would even be a stretch. ” Soul-crushing” would be a little more accurate. That kind of despair requires a really brilliant show.
This line ‘ outstanding personalities are the key to its success.  , Whether you’re a Batman fan or not, if you enjoy good television — and/or losing your faith in humanity — you should definitely check out” The Penguin” . ,
Stephan Kapustka is a Development Associate at The American Spectator. A local of Glastonbury, Connecticut, he graduated from Quinnipiac University with a degree in political science. He enjoys bringing about traditions and elections. Following him on X at @SteveKapustka.
