We return to Matt Reeves’ Gotham in a new series focusing on Colin Farrell’s crime mastermind The Penguin. Here’s our episode 1 review.
NB: The following contains spoilers for 2022’s The Batman.
The Penguin, played by Colin Farrell in extensive prosthetics, was one of the highlights of 2022’s The Batman. His role might have been relatively small, but Farrell made such an impact that a series devoted to The Penguin quickly materialised and that series is now streaming.
The Penguin is set only a week after the events of The Batman and the first moments of the first episode recounts, via news reports, the destruction that Paul Dano’s The Riddler caused in Gotham. With crime boss Carmine Falcone now dead, The Penguin senses an opportunity to weasel his way in with the big boys.
The Penguin, real name Oswald “Oz” Cobb (the character’s name was shortened from the more comics-accurate Cobblepot during the series’ development) recruits teenager Vic (Rhenzy Feliz) to help him after he catches him trying to steal his car. Just in the first episode alone, their relationship goes from Oz ordering Vic around with a gun to his head to Oz almost acting like a father-like figure to Vic.
What complicates Oz’s plan is the return of Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), who has served a lengthy sentence in Arkham. Sofia is immediately suspicious of Oz’s motivations, especially as her brother has mysteriously gone missing and Oz has adopted his idea of changing Gotham’s drug business.
The first episode mostly just sets up the rest of the series, introducing us to the characters and gets all the pieces of the plot lined up. The Penguin promises to be exceptionally violent, but I’m getting the sense that there’s more to this than just a straightforward crime narrative.
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As expected, Farrell is phenomenal as Oz. I’m not a fan of fat suits – they’re rarely necessary, just hire an actor with the same body type! – but it’s hard to deny just how magnetic Farrell is. Feliz brings a lot of desperately needed humanity and warmth to the first episode, but it’s Milioti who stands out the most.
Sofia takes Oz for a meal and stuffs her face with her hands, orders a Martini after Martini – with three olives, no more, no less! – showing her prison past. We’re also introduced to Oz’s mother, played by Deirdre O’Connell. This is where the series has the potential to go down a route a little too familiar, but it’s still early days so we’re hoping the series avoids the cliches of the genre.
What surprised me the most was just how darkly amusing the first episode of The Penguin is. There were several points where I found myself giggling, only to be deeply disturbed moments later. It’s a tricky balance to maintain, but hopefully showrunner Lauren LeFranc can keep it up, because it makes The Penguin feel unique.
It feels great to be back in this version of the Gotham. The city feels real and filthy, not like the sleek version of Gotham we saw in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. I can’t wait to explore Gotham and The Penguin more in the coming weeks.
The Penguin is now streaming on Sky and NOW.
