A series called The Penguin would never put its protagonist behind bars or dead, especially not at the hands of Batman, who doesn’t appear in any of the eight episodes. That’s why, for me, who was rooting for Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), it was supposed to be – and it was – a long night.

The MAX series is already easily one of the best of 2024 and if Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, or Deirdre O’Connell aren’t nominated for an Emmy, Hollywood will have gone crazy. The season was supposed to tell the story of Oz Cobb’s rise in the criminal world of Gotham and we said goodbye wanting to stay there forever. And it wasn’t an easy road.

Sofia’s revenge

The tragedy in Sofia Falcone’s life was at the mercy of unscrupulous, violent, and sociopathic men, including her father, her uncle, and, of course, Oz. The only man who was honestly concerned about her was her brother, but Penguin killed both Carmine and Alberto and this made his debt to her even greater.

In the past, Sofia only ended up in Arkham because Oz revealed to Carmine that his daughter was investigating The Hangman and talking to a journalist. The mobster then frames his own daughter and sends her to the asylum. Grateful for no longer having her father, she spent seven episodes wanting to avenge Alberto without being able to stop the always bad character of the Penguin from turning the tables and getting away with it.

Finally, in the end, she manages to discover Oz’s weak point, which is the existence of his mother. Sofia kidnaps Francis and that’s how we meet the two again in the final episode.

Sophie’s Choice

In a tense confrontation where not even the character’s heavy makeup stopped Colin Farrell from putting on a show, we confirm that Francis always knew that Oz was responsible for the death of her brothers. She even organized the death of her son, whom she identified as a sociopath, but was unable to do so.

In Sofia’s aggressive therapy, she manages not only to discover the truth but also to finally hurt Oz by instigating Francis to say everything he never said to Oz in a way that makes the rejection irreversibly declared and cruel to him. Francis has a stroke at the end of it all and although she tried to kill Oz with a bottle, he not only escapes but manages to take her to the hospital. Sofia’s victory will be short-lived.

Helped by Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), Oz once again turns the tables, extending the reach of Sofia’s bomb to cover up the crimes he committed, which makes us hate him, but the series is about the Penguin, so he owns the story.

Sofia has a chance: run away or kill Oz before running away, her choice is predictable. After everything she witnessed, she still underestimated the antagonist.

Sofia’s Hell

Penguin is a disgusting, smart, and very lively thug, his agility in turning situations to his advantage is unbeatable. And in a matter of hours, he was on top, on the ground. His sociopathy is undeniable and his obsession with his mother is superior to a “traditional” Oedipus complex. Penguin “pretends” to feel empathy and what he wants from Francis is beyond what sanity explains. But it wasn’t love.

After regaining control of Gotham’s underworld, he is left to take revenge, and boy, is he evil. First, ostensibly “helping” Francis, he breaks his promise to her, who anticipated that she could become vegetative and begged her son to kill her before that happened. We will return to the two.

Second, he is truly deliberately irresponsible and cruel to Sofia. She thinks, like us, that her defeat is definitive, but Oz warns her that she is “going to hell”. And he keeps his word. If there was one place that scared her, it was Arkham, Sofia’s hell. For the second time, she was committed for crimes she didn’t commit (only one was hers: the bomb in the car). Oz’s revenge was more painful than an execution.

He also repaid Francis for the humiliation and torture of having heard from her how much she never liked him. Sofia goes back to the asylum, but Francis? She will be kept alive, like a vegetable, until Oz turns off the machines. Which may be never!

The only one who really didn’t see Oz through the transparent lens was Victor, but he paid for it with his life. Oz apologizes but says he can’t have a weak point or risk the young man one day wanting his place. That’s why he brutally strangles him to death. Vic didn’t know it, but a man who killed his own brothers would have no problem killing him. We feel sorry for him…

And what about Sofia’s future?

Already dressed in his traditional costume, Penguin is exactly as he wanted: living in a penthouse, ruling the Crime. His girlfriend, dressed as Francis, tells him all the declarations of love he wanted to hear from his mother, in a disconcerting delirium that has only ONE relief: we saw that someone activated the call for help to Batman. It will be difficult for Oz to escape the vigilante.

And Sofia? Catatonic from being back in the nightmare of Arkham, under the treatment of Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi), but there she receives a letter in a black envelope from her half-sister Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz), who we know is Catwoman. I don’t know what she read, but a smile began to appear on her lips. But it could be an alliance, an escape… who knows? Batman 2 will have the answer.

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