TL;DR – While this is an episode of big action beats, I was more interested in the small conversations that spoke loudly.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this series.

The Penguin Review –

Goodness, we are already at the penultimate episode of this series, which is astounding. This season has flown by, but it never felt rushed because it was always captivating. However, as main cast members start dropping like flies, can it keep what is unique about the show all the way to the end?

So, to set the scene, at the end of the last episode, things were starting to look precarious as Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti) walks into the house where Oz (Colin Farrell) is trying to keep his mother Francis (Deirdre O’Connell) safe. Vic (Rhenzy Feliz) doesn’t even see it coming, but Sofia does not kill the pair. Only take Francis hostage because she is the best bargaining chip, the only person in all of Gotham City Oz might actually care about. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

There are many things to unpack in this episode: the implication that Oz purposely murdered his two brothers to get closer to his mother, the realisation that Francis might be the source of Oz’s dark side, that Sofia is perfectly happy taking out a city block to get what she wants, or how the opening and closing shots of both Old and Young Oz (Ryder Allen) mirror themselves. All of this is framed with some tight action sequences, including the Sal (Clancy Brown) reversal and the tunnel standoff. These factors alone would have been enough to make this a relatively interesting episode. However, it is how the show takes things to the next level that I find fascinating.

Much of this episode revolves around very deliberate conversations between two characters that let the actors shine. In this review, I want to focus on just two of them. The first is between Francis and Sofia. For all of Francis’ mental health issues, she knows where she is and what sort of trouble she is in. In contrast, Sofia has all the power but is still new to this game. What we get is a conversation filled layers of meaning as the two characters verbally spar. It shows their personalities and where they see themselves in the world. Also, I think it is interesting that Sofia has started dressing in all green, which surely is not a coincidence.  

On the flip side, we have the conversation between Oz and a dying and then very dead Salvatore “Sal” Maroni. Oz brought Sal to his drug lab because he knew the terrain and was prepared for the contingency. But for all his planning, it came down to a fist brawl between the two men before Sal had a heart attack and died in front of Oz. Instead of being happy for their good fortune and timing, Oz is livid that his death was taken away from him. All of his insecurities get hoisted upon the now-dead body, whose death now singles the end of one of the largest and oldest crime families in the city. It is such a tremendous performance as it cuts right to the heart of who Oz is.     

In the end, do we recommend The Penguin: Top Hat? Yes, we do. Each episode has brought something fascinating to the genre as it reveals more about the characters in the show. Also, after Cant’anni, thank you for making a clear cut between the past and the present, so there is not as much jarring of a transition.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen The Penguin yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Penguin
Directed by – Kevin Bray
Written by – Vladimir Cvetko
Created by – Lauren LeFranc
Based On – Characters by Bob Kane & Bill Finger and The Batman by Matt Reeves & Peter Craig
Production/Distribution Companies – Acid and Tender Productions, 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company, Dylan Clark Productions, Chapel Place Productions, Zobot Projects, DC Studios, Warner Bros. Television, HBO & Binge
Starring – Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Deirdre O’Connell, Clancy Brown & Theo Rossi with Ryder Allen, Louis Cancelmi, Daniel J. Watts, David H. Holmes, Craig Walker, Nico Triozzi, Owen Asztalos & Ade Otukoya and  Emily Meade, Robert Lee Leng, Kenzie Grey, Hunter Emery, Mershad Torabi, Kresh Novakovic, Mister Fitzgerald, Syd Skidmore & Myles Humphus