HBO has finally aired the highly anticipated season finale of The Penguin, leaving viewers with a host of lingering questions. The show’s biggest draw — aside from its stellar cast and the gritty, compelling story — is how it serves as a bridge between 2022’s The Batman and its upcoming sequel, The Batman Part II. Writer-director Matt Reeves stunned both audiences and critics with his unique vision of Gotham and the broader Batman mythos, a vision that has been continued by The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc. Along with various episode directors, LeFranc provides a street-level view of Gotham, all while keeping Batman himself in the shadows. To great surprise, the capped crusader himself never once appears in the series.
Spoilers for The Penguin episode 8 follow!
On paper, a show set in Gotham City without Bruce Wayne or Batman might seem like a hard sell. Yet, The Penguin has proved to be just as engaging as Matt Reeves’ film over its eight episodes, thanks to the great Colin Farrell (Sugar, The Banshees of Inisherin). Farrell made a lasting impression in The Batman, and the novelty of his portrayal hasn’t diminished. His sinister leading performance in The Penguin delves deeper into Oswald Cobb’s psyche, exploring a level of darkness and brutality never seen so extensively in live-action Batman projects. Beyond the impressive prosthetics and amusing New York accent, Farrell reveals a raw, menacing side to Oz that adds an unforeseen layer of complexity.
For what feels like the first time, Gotham City itself is given ample time to develop and evolve alongside the iconic villain. The city has always been integral to the success of Batman stories, and The Penguin is no exception. However, rather than the usual sweeping, birds-eye view of the city, the HBO show shifts its focus to Gotham’s seedy underbelly — highlighting the lives of those who thrive in the dire circumstances set in motion by the events of The Batman. The devastating terrorist attack orchestrated by the Riddler (Paul Dano) in that film reverberates throughout the HBO series, and his actions, particularly the murders that destabilized the power dynamics of Gotham, are explored in depth.
The Grim Tragedy of Victor Aguilar
Beyond its criminal underworld, The Penguin also introduces tragic elements, mainly through the character of Victor “Vic” Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz). Vic, displaced by the Riddler’s flood attack, makes the ill-fated decision to steal rims in the series premiere, a move that ultimately leads him to become Oz’s right-hand man — not by choice, but by circumstance. This is how showrunner Lauren LeFranc explores the multifaceted nature of criminality in Gotham. The Penguin skillfully examines both the willful evil of Oz and the necessary evil embodied by Victor.
When it’s all said and done, Vic, who’s acted as a loyal, key component in both saving Oz’s life and securing his power, is mercilessly strangled and killed by him. It’s a surprisingly quiet moment in The Penguin finale with little build-up to it, only making the scene more shocking and hard to digest. Akin to something along the lines of The Sopranos, viewers are reminded that although the Penguin is a charismatic villain whose story was found engaging enough to warrant his own spin-off show, he definitely isn’t someone that should be rooted for.
The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time
After Vic Aguilar’s death, Oz celebrates his victory in an unspecified time skip. The Penguin finale ends with the Bat Signal high in the sky — a promise that justice is around the corner for the reprehensible character of Oz Cobb. It’s a bleak ending that has viewers more than ready for the upcoming sequel, The Batman Part II, with filmmaker Matt Reeves planning to commence production on the blockbuster soon.
The Penguin as a whole serves as an impressive thematic bridge with what Reeves started, especially regarding the character of Vic. Humanizing Gotham and making the stakes feel real were essential aspects of The Batman, which is something DiscussingFilm had the opportunity to talk about with Matt Reeves himself during a special roundtable interview. In discussing episode 8 of The Penguin, the executive producer began by highlighting the unique perspectives found in the HBO original series:
Matt Reeves: “You’re always looking for the lens through which to see something, right? You’re trying to give the audience access. It was important, by the way, that was part of Lauren [LeFranc’s] conception. When she came to us and pitched what could happen in this series, the idea of this young kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time stealing those rims from that Maserati.”
The Penguin‘s Great and Tragic Access Point, According to Matt Reeves
Matt Reeves was sure to give credit entirely to showrunner and producer Lauren LeFranc when it came to Victor Aguilar’s creation and how he knew instantly upon being introduced to the young man that his fate would be a grisly one. The filmmaker’s role as an executive producer on The Penguin wouldn’t stop him from looking at Vic’s story through the lens of a director, as Reeves would break down the character’s dire narrative arc:
Matt Reeves: “It was like, ‘Oh, that poor kid.’ I got very excited, and it started making me think as a director like, you’re just waiting for the moment when this kid is going to die. He’s going to kill this kid. That’s what you have to do. He’s come in at the wrong time, and [Oz] is using him in this way that you know, ‘Clearly, this guy is going to die.’ So, to have Oz be revealed to another person [Vic] who is questioning, ‘Who is this guy?’ is a great access point for the audience. Having these kinds of roles in stories where you have larger-than-life characters is a great tool, and that was a complete invention of Lauren [LeFranc].”
A Stark Contrast Between The Batman and The Penguin
The seeming inevitability of Vic’s demise is a stark contrast to other chance encounters with everyday Gothamites. The Batman presents the narrative throughline between the son of the recently deceased Mayor and Robert Pattinson’s titular caped crusader, the two having chance encounters at the film’s beginning and end that symbolize hope. This is the complete opposite of Vic’s journey with Oz, which only ends in death.
Dylan Clark: “In that moment, you are connecting a grounded character outside of Batman, Gordon, and all the other key characters. The moment between Batman and the mayor’s son — that’s everything to me. Emotionally, as we go into this story of The Batman, and all the darkness, corruption, and violence that Bruce has to endure, you get how and why he [Bruce Wayne’s alter ego of Batman] is a creation and what he is doing.”
Grounding The Batman Epic Crime Saga in Human Elements
Just as the Mayor’s son reminded Bruce Wayne why he needed to be Batman, the character of Vic and his demise remind the audience who Oz truly is, no matter what facade the mobster puts on. The relationship between Oz and Vic throughout all eight episodes of The Penguin was an incredibly strong emotional throughline that led to some of the best performances in the series via actors Colin Farrell and Rhenzy Feliz.
To producer Dylan Clark, the key starting point for crafting powerful stories like The Batman and The Penguin is the creatives behind it. As Clark would tell DiscussingFilm, the best way to create adaptations that are exciting and as critically acclaimed as these two is to ground the stories in very real sentiments and feelings that everyone can empathize with:
Dylan Clark: “Similarly, Lauren [LeFranc] experienced that here [in the Penguin] with Vic. Finding writers and filmmakers like Matt, Lauren, and Colin and being able to do film and television in similar ways just feels like the best opportunity, right? You’re taking this great IP that’s been known for 85 years, but you’re doing it in a way that is dramatically meant to illicit real feelings and surprise people. So, we feel very fortunate to have gotten this opportunity with Warner Bros. and HBO. But really, we’re fortunate to find and do this thing with Lauren LeFranc because she understood what Matt was doing in the film space, and she found her way through this series in a very similar fashion.”
All 8 episodes of The Penguin are now streaming on Max!
Created by Lauren LeFranc.
Based on characters by Bill Finger & Bob Kane.
Showrunner: Lauren LeFranc.
Executive Producers: Matt Reeves, Dylan Clark, Colin Farrell, Lauren LeFranc, Daniel Pipski, Adam Kassan, Craig Zobel, & Bill Carraro.
Main Cast: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, Clancy Brown, James Madio, Scott Cohen, Michael Zegen, Theo Rossi, Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, David H. Holmes, Craig Walker, Jared Abrahamson, & Mark Strong.
Production Companies: 6th & Idaho, DC Studios, Dylan Clark Productions, & Warner Bros. Television.
Episode Count: 8 (Season One).
