The Penguin episode 4 | Once upon a time in Arkham Asylum

the penguin episode 4 cristin milioti
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Sofia Falcone is the focus of this week’s episode of Lauren LeFranc’s Batman spin-off. Here’s our The Penguin episode 4 review. 


If last week was all about Vic, this week’s episode of The Penguin is all about Sofia Falcone. It’s also a mostly Oz-free episode, which is admittedly a change of pace, but a welcome one. 

The action starts where last week’s episode ended. Nadia Maroni ambushes Oz and Sofia, revealing that Oz killed Sofia’s brother. Vic comes to the rescue, smashing into the Maronis and saving Oz. Sofia hits her head as Oz and Vic drive off, leaving her to die or at least stumble home on her own. Sofia calls a chap named Julian Rush, whose identity comes clearer a little later and tells him Oz killed Al. 

From here, the action jumps over 10 years into the past. Sofia is a bubbly, innocent young woman who is excited to take over her father’s empire. Mark Strong takes over the role of Carmine Falcone from The Batman’s John Turturro here with pretty great results. Carmine is a threatening presence and a man to be feared, something Sofia probably already knows but is still shocked to see how far her father would go to punish those that have gone against him.  

Most of the episode is spent inside Arkham Asylum where Sofia spent over a decade. It’s here that we see the friendly, joyful girl turn into a cold and merciless woman we’ve seen in the previous three episodes. 

the penguin episode 4 sofia
Credit: Sky

The episode is not completely devoid of Colin Farrell’s Oz. Before Sofia is committed to Arkham, we see Oz act as her driver and the pair even seem to share a bond of sorts as Oz compliments Sofia’s speech at a charity event and keeps a reporter away from her. But after Sofia is sent to Arkham, he is nowhere to be seen for the rest of the episode, which might prove a little alienating for viewers tuning in for that character. 

That being said, it’s great to see The Penguin open up the world a little more. Just like Vic’s episode last week, this week’s episode gives us more important background and context to Sofia, who is arguably the second lead here. It’s rare to see not just one but two episodes devoted to secondary characters in a series that only has eight hours to make its case for the audience. 

Cristin Milioti remains a force to be reckoned with in The Penguin. Arkham is a loud, violent and dark place for her to be in and Milioti perfectly captures the changes that Sofia goes through. There’s also a fun, little reference for fans of the comics as a smaller villain shows up as Sofia’s next door neighbour in Arkham. 

Next week, we’ll surely be picking up where the beginning of this week’s episode left off. Sofia now knows Oz is behind Alberto’s murder and the Maronis know he’s been playing both sides. Oz has proved himself to be quite capable of talking his way out of anything, but we’re unsure if even he can manage this one. We’re excited to find out, though. 

Join us again next week as we dissect another episode of The Penguin

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