“The Penguin” is a spinoff TV show of the 2022 Movie, “The Batman” which sparked a more comic accurate Batman universe where the Batman is actually a detective in a crime-filled Gotham. “The Penguin” follows Oswald Cobb, played by Colin Farrel, a mobster who, after the events of the first movie where Gotham was flooded and the biggest crime boss in the city “Carmine Falcone”, Played by John Turturro.
He dies and seizes the opportunity to try and have a stranglehold on the crime world in the undercity of Gotham. Oz is joined by Victor Aguilar, Played by Rhenzy Feliz, a 17 year old orphan boy with a stutter who is found by Oz and is forced to join him on any task. Oz and Vic have to go head to head with Carmine Falcone’s Daughter Sofia Falcone, Played by Cristin Milioti, as they fight to claim the power vacuum in Gotham while Oz is also trying to make his mom, Played by Carol Kane, proud.
The show is directed masterfully by Craig Zobel (Director of “Z for Zachariah”), Helen Shaver (Director of multiple “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” episodes), Kevin Bray (Director of multiple “Succession” episodes), and Jennifer Getzinger (Director of multiple “Orange is the new black” episodes). Every aspect of this series is great, of course the acting and directing, but even the writing and pacing. Every episode is around an hour and it’s gripping and mesmerizing throughout every episode.
The prosthetics used on Colin Farrel to make him look like the penguin are so realistic you almost forget the actor is a skinny Irish guy and not a crooked face mobster. Over time, the series slowly makes you realize just how bad of a person Oswald is and at the same time we feel bad for the people who have to deal with him. Even Sofia Falcone, who Oswald sees as a villain, in retrospect, isn’t a horrible person.
Sofia was sent to Arkham Asylum, tortured for nothing, and was kept there because of her family and Oswald’s silence and lies. The series ends with Oswald on top but at the cost of other characters in the show’s livelihoods. This show is a great example of how the Comic book medium should be adapted.
Even though the show is technically based on a Batman villain, the show itself is not reliant at all on fan service or super action packed sequences. In fact, the strongest scenes in the show are usually dialogue driven. If there’s anything credible on how great this show is, look at the IMBD Scores.
Pretty much every episode has a score of 9, which is the best a show can be. This series is really amazing because it wants to be a limited series drama first and a Batman product second.
In my opinion the series is probably one of the best shows this year and it might even be the best live action DC show to come out possibly ever.
When your competition is the Green Arrow and Gotham, though, it is probably easy for the series to be the best in the business. I, and probably many other students at RCHS, am just really happy we’ve gotten some great TV with this show and I’m even more happy…and surprised…that it somehow came from DC Studios.
