The Penguin is now over, and many fans of DC’s The Batman Universe are still buzzing about how great the show was – right up to its top-rated Finale episode. The Penguin stuck the landing by making some late-game reveals that reframed who the character of Ozwald Cobb (Colin Farrell) really is, and how he sees the world. However, for the viewer, the real experience of getting to know this version of The Penguin only begins when you go back and watch the series again.
As stated, it’s only in the finale of The Penguin that the show fully “reveals” to the audience just how much of a soulless sociopath Oz Cobb really is. However, that’s arguably the biggest “hustle” that The Penguin was playing on viewers all along: making us ever believe that Oz had a “good side” or a “heart,” somewhere inside of him. When you watch the show a second time, only then do you really get insight into the show that Lauren LeFranc was really making.
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The Shark That Swims Crooked
The opening scene of The Penguin shocked viewers, as Oz impulsively murders new mob boss Alberto Falcone in cold blood, just minutes into the show. However, the conversation between Oz and Alberto – about Oz’s memory of gangster Rex Calabrese’s fame – takes on a whole new dimension after finding out that not only was Rex nothing like the mythic figure that Oz describes (more a two-bit thug and psychopath), he actually conspired to kill Oz when he was just a young boy.
Oz plunges himself and all of Gotham into an all-out mob war all because Alberto pushes back against his narcissistic delusions of being as great as the false idol he worships. LeFranc makes it clear from the outset that The Penguin is going to be the story of a crooked-swimming shark, trying to eat everything in his way – and that focus never changes.
The Actors Are Working Levels on Levels
Colin Farrell has not been shorted on praise for his performance as Oz Cobb – he’s already a clear frontrunner for the 2025 Emmys. However, while Farrell deserves all the praise for disappearing into Oz Cobb so seamlessly, it’s not until repeat viewing that you begin to understand how many levels Farrell is really working on.
We now know Oz Cobb’s history with his family – killing his brothers Jack and Benny, the toxic mother-son relationship based on a lie. Rewatching the show, it’s even more impressive to notice and realize that Farrell is conveying all that twisted history in his performance, the entire time. Oz’s mannerisms and micro-reactions to mentions of family, or the stories he tells about his mother and brothers, Rex, and his neighborhood – they’re all weapons of manipulation, and watching Oz spin those fabrications becomes the real fascination: the portrait of a total sociopath, masterfully executed by the writers, directors, and Farrell.
The same goes for Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone. While a second viewing of The Penguin doesn’t necessarily change your perception of Sofia’s arc, what does change is the context of how we see her. Sofia was surrounded by sociopath men (Oz, her father), who had no problem using her up and throwing her away. In short: she never really had a chance to escape her life unscathed – making it even more of a feat that she is able to rise and take power like she does.
The other supporting characters in The Penguin – like Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) or Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell) – look like tragic figures from the start upon rewatch, now that you know they are all chum for Oz to feed off.
A True Villain Origin
Most of all, rewatching The Penguin is a whole new experience of watching one of Batman’s most nefarious foes rise to power – and knowing that he’s the sort of utterly depraved lunatic that it will take a hero like Batman to finally bring to justice.
The Penguin is now streaming on Max.
