We’re making our way through the dark, gritty Gotham underworld and I’m back with a couple more episodes. I have a massive appreciation for the casting and talent in this show! Colin Farrell as the Penguin is absolutely crushing it. Granted, I’d follow that man to whatever project he does, ever since Phone Booth. But hearing him hit that accent, and then to hear him in his native Irish tongue during the post-credit scenes, just brilliant acting ability. Cristin Milioti is certainly having her moment as Sofia too, but more on that soon as we dive in.
Episode # 3 – “Bliss”
Episode 3 starts with a flashback. We see Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) in his element. He’s got the girl (Anire Kim 
Amoda), he’s got the parts his dad (Jose Guns Alves) needs for work. He’s even got a typical family squabble! His stutter is less pronounced, but still there even where he’s most comfortable. But this is him and his life with his family, mom (Shirley Roeca) and dad and sister (Rocky Vega). And for a moment, just a moment, everything feels ok. But this is Gotham and nothing is ever actually ok. What comes next is the events of the Batman (2022) and Riddler destroying the seawall and flooding Gotham. I feel like I need to see the film again to refresh all the context. But we watch in agony as the water slams into his apartment building, as he’s witnessing it all from a nearby roof. I have watched this episode twice now and both times this scene left me in a sobbing heap. Just phenomenal acting from Rhenzy Feliz but also my god, I can’t imagine watching your family get swept away. I feel like I can’t breathe just writing about it. The event still has a grip on Vic too.
Back to the present, a tenuous partnership with Sofia could reap rewards. Vic is so awkward around her, but this episode is where Milioti starts to shine. Sofia is smart and calculating. Watching her watch him was fantastic. But it’s the later scenes where she thrives. Sofia’s growing shrooms, manipulating the drug given to keep them compliant at Arkham. But she needs distribution and who better than Oz (Farrell)? He was her driver after all, so they have a history…what could go wrong? They need to get in with other syndicates to move the drug and that means working with old enemies. Dangerous even in the best case. But she gets the meeting they want through some casual blackmail of the family. I can’t imagine how exhausting it would be growing up in a crime syndicate and not being able to trust any of your family because they could all secretly want to at best blackmail you and at worst kill you and take over. Sheesh, I need a nap just thinking about it.
But a test run in the club means showing off the goods. Need a little enticement. Sofia is quick to remind Penguin they are here to see her and not him. Even during the meeting, there’s a moment he misreads and nearly steps in it. He’s talking too much. And here is where Milioti commands the screen. She delivers the goods on the screen and the dance floor. What keeps drugs moving? Escape. People need to escape the shit heap of lower Gotham. Run away from all your problems and run to Bliss. Like I said, she’s smart.
What’s not smart is dropping the product all over the dance floor. Ok, cheap shot. It’s not his fault he ends up having a PTSD attack when the band has pyrotechnics. But this is the turning point for Victor. His girl wants to leave. She’s got a ticket and wants to get him one too. They could leave and start over together. And I hoped even after fighting with Penguin he’d go. But he’s too obsessed with making something of himself. Instead of being the person needed by those he loves. In the end, he watches her go and arrives just in time to save Penguin from the Maronis who have come to call him out on his double-crossing bull sh*t. Congrats, Vic. You have a body count now. Hope it was worth it.
Episode #4 – Cennt’anni
Cut back to before Vic’s arrival, Maroni’s wife Nadia (Shohreh Aghdashloo) confirms to Sofia that Oz killed her brother Alberto (Michael Zegen). Ruh-roh. Think the honeymoon partnership of a day is over now? Regardless, Oz makes his great escape and Sofia is left bleeding. Bringing this episode to a stunning flashback, that would take the majority of the episode but give amazing understanding to Sofia and getting to witness the brilliance of Milioti.
In the flashback, we learn Sofia’s mother died when she was 9 and in fact, she was the one who found the hanging body. And once she’s grown, her father tells her that he wants her to lead after him. He sees how smart she is, but he tells her to stop digging into sh*t. Well, it’s not entirely her fault she was jumped on by a reporter with evidence that Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong) is a serial killer named the Hangman. Wait, now why does that sound familiar? She’s smart, but not smart enough to not confront her father with it. Oh Sofia, what did I say earlier about being exhausted being in a mob family because you would feel everyone was against you? My dad and I had problems, but I can’t imagine him having me sent to prison for his own crimes. That’s some sick sh*t, y’all. The rest of the family backs him, obviously. Can’t bite the hand that feeds you. Except her brother. He was the only person who ever stood by her…and Oz took him from her.
Once Sofia is finally in Arkham, we get a sense of the madness. There are delightful nods to other Batman villains like Joker and Magpie (Marié Botha). We get the sense quickly that Arkham both houses the mad and is built to make mad people. Sofia details things the guards did in other episodes, but here we see it in real-time as they set her up to fight another inmate. She doesn’t want to but you know, kill or be killed. Ultimately, the girl takes actions into her own hands and you have to wonder what kind of environment is it that someone would willingly stab themselves in the neck with a fork to die so they can leave. How mad were they before they got here? And how mad did this place make them? Instead of months, Sofia ends up spending years and she finally gives them what they want. Poor Magpie.
Here in the present, she’s got an axe to grind. Her father may be gone, but the people who wrote letters in support of her being locked up aren’t. She’s angry and I am curious to see how that righteous fury plays out. Julian (Theo Rossi, pictured), one of her doctors at Arkham, is standing by her side. I don’t know, his whole devotion to her just seems weird. It certainly doesn’t seem like love, and it definitely feels sexual which gives a level of ick given the way they know each other. Even if she is out, it’s all uneven dynamics. Just like Sofia within her own family. She knows what they all did and given what she went through in Arkham for YEARS, I do not blame her in the slightest for being angry. She spares the little girl (Kenzie Grey) and Johnny (Michael Kelly). And you just have to wonder if this is the little girl’s villain origin story herself…
Back with more. Find THE PENGUIN in the HBO Hub on Max.
