Bliss
Oz Cobb works with Sofia Falcone to set up a new party drug for the streets of Gotham. Victor must make a decision between his old life before the Crowne Point part of Gotham was flooded and his new life with Oz. And a new gang joins the wars between the Falcones and the Maronis.
The Batman Flashback
While it’s clear this series is connected to The Batman film, it has done a good job of standing on its own through the first two episodes. Much like the Netflix Marvel series, The Penguin has done a good job of connecting itself to The Batman universe while being its own thing. But the opening scene of episode three gave a new view of what people saw when the Riddler flooded the poorer section of Gotham in that film.
Victor is from that area and was watching fireworks on the roof of a nearby building with friends when the flood happened. We see how he had a wonderful family life before that night and how he lost everything, putting him where he could be swayed by the Penguin into a life of crime. It demonstrates the true impact of the Riddler while giving viewers a new glimpse at what happened. Plus, it helps build empathy from the viewer toward Vic.
Oz and Sofia
The majority of the episode follows Oz and Sofia’s mission to launch a new party drug for the streets. Oz is a member of the Falcone family but has been the rat also working for the Maronis. It’s clear Oz has aspirations to being the mob boss and needs both families out of the way. Sofia is on the outs with the Falcones following Alberto’s death as Luca and his crew want Sofia to leave. Enter Oz as the only person with which she can align as she no longer has her family on her side.
Christin Miliotti delivers a masterful performance as Sofia Falcone in this episode. She knows it was Oz who betrayed her to her family when she was sent to Arkham as the Hangman. It’s unclear how he betrayed her, but she knows it was him and she’s keeping him at arm’s length. The only reason they are this close is because of the actions of her uncle Luca.
Still, Sofia works with Oz enough to get the new drug, Bliss, on the streets as he brings in the Triad to help her. The pair blackmail Luca’s lieutenant, Viti, to ensure they can get a meeting and they work with Vic and some other associates of Oz to ensure they get the drug going. But this is what leads to a decision for both Vic and Oz.
Not Trapped
After meeting with his former girlfriend, Vic has to decide whether to stay in Gotham and work for Oz or leave with his former flame for California. Oz catches Vic ready to leave and understands, at first, it’s about a girl and begs Vic to stay. It’s when Vic implies that Oz has him hostage that Oz loses it. Oz lets him know, very violently, that he could always leave and sends Vic on his way. It appears they have parted ways until the Maronis get the drop on Oz and Sofia.
Oz appears to be making it clear that he will work with Sofia as she takes on her uncle until the Maronis capture them both. They are both held captive until Vic returns and seeing the situation, rams Oz’s car into one of the Maronis’ men. Oz climbs in the car and flees with Vic leaving Sofia stuck with the Maronis. What will happen to Sofia? Is Oz on the outs of three different groups? It’s masterful storytelling.
Rating
With each week, this show keeps getting better. It started as a The Sopranos inspired show set in The Batman universe. But with each episode, we are seeing a true bond form between Oz and Vic that is reminiscent of the bond between Walter and Jesse in Breaking Bad. Oz can betray the Falcones and Maronis and the Triad all he wants, but if he betrays Vic, it will be like when Walter started mistreating Jesse and the viewers turned on Walter. Given he’s the Penguin, Oz has to turn on Vic at some point. It’s building like a volcano, and I can’t wait to see the explosion.
Check out The Penguin on HBO and Max.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2024
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