Who could be surprised by Penguin‘s success? Colin Farrell, even if unrecognizable, is already one of Batman‘s legendary villains, bringing nuances and complexity to one of the franchise’s most famous antagonists. An ambitious, vain, and tragic man, with frightening touches of evil. And we’ve barely begun.

In the first intense episode and sequel to the 2022 film, we follow the first steps of Oz Cobb (Farrell) to take over the Falcone Empire and, in addition, control Crime in Gotham. The strategy is dangerous, using both sides, pitting opposing factions against each other, always narrowly escaping being caught, whether by the police, the Falcones, or the Maronis.

At the moment, Batman (Robert Pattinson) doesn’t worry him at all, but the same cannot be said for Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). The psychopath, recently released from Arkham, is still recovering from the death of her brother, determined to take revenge. Unlike the rest, she is always on the right track and only the Penguin’s malice – and luck – saves him.

Sofia is suffering from the deaths of her father and brother, from having to sublimate her naturally violent personality that is controlled by the highly suspicious hypnosis therapy administered by the overly intimate Julian Rush, her Arkham doctor. Sofia suffers the pressure of her reputation as a murderer – she killed seven women – and the fear she inspires in people, except for her uncle and his cronies who look down on her for being a woman.

Oz’s game of pretending to ally himself with the Maronis works, and, in Salvatore’s absence, it is Nadia (Shohreh Aghdashloo) who is in charge. Unwillingly, they agree to take responsibility for Alberto’s death, but it gives them the aura of regaining ground. In the double game to help the Maronis rob the Falconis, some things get in the way, such as Johnny Viti demanding that the Penguin (as he calls Oz to irritate him) go on a delivery truck. During the shootout, everything seems to be going well, but Sofia soon deduces that someone helped the Maronis.

Luca Falcone (Scott Cohen), now the Big Boss, ignores Oz and gets irritated with his niece trying to act like a leader. The Penguin tries to get closer to her again and now finds her more receptive. He shares a family story, like when he lost his brothers and his mother wouldn’t let him cry, so he wouldn’t “deal with the grief.” A month later, she took him to a jazz club on the East Side where they danced together. She is touched by the story.

The rest of the episode is tense because Sofia manages to find a witness to the Maronis robbery and is ready to torture him and find out who the traitor is. Through several tricks, Penguin manages to get away with it, killing the witness and incriminating someone else. But the biggest victory here is that Sofia says she’s ready to dance, and asks Oz for help in taking control of the family. Nothing could be better for him!

The credits roll to the sound of Happy Together, to make the irony of the dangerous alliance between the antagonists even clearer. Something they’ll never be, right?

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