The Penguin Recap: Season 1, Episode 2

So, uh…where the hell is Batman?

Look, I’m not naive enough to think that Robert Pattinson would take the time to compete with Kristen Stewart to see who can make the most impressive contribution.dusk Career” lifestyle to appear for a series like The penguin. Series creator Lauren LeFrancAnd The Batmanis his own Matt Reeveshave both made it clear that Bruce Wayne won’t be appearing here, for a variety of good reasons, including simply not wanting to overshadow Colin Farrell’s (generally very good) central performance. But The penguin– a show that is, at least nominally, interested in the life of Gotham City, if not its most famous resident, seems almost allergic to the idea that this is a world in which even Batman lives could Come fight a small crime – or, for example, investigate how the mysterious murder of a major crime boss turned into a drug-fuelled gang war that has now, as of this week’s episode, escalated to car chases and deadly shootouts on the streets . These seem like things Batman would be interested in. I’m just saying it.

This brings me back to the questions I asked last week about what this show is supposed to be: Is this so? Only a Trojan horse that LeFranc, Farrell and this week’s author, Erika L. Johnson, are using to draw genre fans’ attention to a story they wrote Strictly speaking Did I want to tell you about a middle manager gangster who has mother problems and makes do with it? Freed from any heightened cartoon reality and beyond the basic novelty of being able to spend more time under the sodium lamps and grainy skies The BatmanIs Gotham, which means The penguin Does the name really have to be unique, apart from the strong central performances from Farrell and Cristin Milioti?

I’ll start with the latter of these two this week, since that’s where the episode begins: with Sofia Falcone reflecting on her time in Arkham during what appears to be quite a harrowing event EMDR session with hug-loving psychologist Theo Rossi. After letting her walk around the sidelines of the premiere, The penguin puts Sofia in a deuteragonistic position with the second episode, putting us in the shoes of, if not the head of, a woman capable of inciting a crowd of angry protesters at her own brother’s funeral. The public perception of Sofia is that of a deranged serial killer who murdered seven women – and the familial one isn’t much rosier, as we see in the episode’s most interesting scene, when she “reconnects with one of her cousins” at Alberto’s funeral. Milioti, a deft hand at comedy, handles the sudden social awkwardness – and another unexpected hug! – from Cousin Carla confidently, but then becomes wonderfully frosty when the appearance of the woman’s daughter makes it clear how scared everyone in this family is is still from “The Hangman”. As we watch Sofia being treated with disdain, contempt, and fear by everyone around her, it’s hard not to feel compassion. This is an interesting place to be, considering we’ve only been watching her brutally torture our title character for a week. But the episode’s decision to split the focus and move Milioti from the antagonist to the protagonist position is probably the smartest move of the episode. You could Making a TV show that lives entirely inside Oswald Cobb’s head, but the endless suspense would ultimately become kind of claustrophobic. Milioti helps carry some of that weight.

This brings me to another question that’s been bothering me as I reflect on this episode: Is Oz Cobb a good criminal? Not in an ethical sense: “Inside Man” lays out, in case it wasn’t obvious, that Cobb is a Survivorsprimarily; He’s kind enough not to kill you unless it’s necessary, but if it gives him an advantage, just ask poor Ervad down in the Falcone’s basement how to do it. (He also shows a noticeable tendency to put himself down, ending the episode by inflicting a grisly punishment on Rhenzy Feliz’s Victor for abandoning him under the guise of a lesson in tough love.) What we want to ask is: Is that supposed to be Cobb? Good included? “Inside Man” suggests that’s not the case: he’s less a criminal mastermind than a semi-talented improviser who only manages to survive his own own He comes close to hijacking the Falcone’s drug transport operation and then spends the rest of the episode frantically spinning plates to keep the various people who think he’s his from thinking he’s outlived his usefulness. Farrell’s own comedic chops come in handy here: Cobb can be scary and even warm at times, but many of his best moments arise from utter panic, showing just how thin his veneer of “seen it all” criminality actually is.

If the character has a real strength – beyond Farrell’s ability to talk nonsense quickly – it lies in his ability to sense and exploit other people’s weaknesses. We see these instincts at play throughout “Inside Man,” whether it’s Cobb exploiting the Maroni’s desire for influence and respect, or his girlfriend Eve’s dreams of safety, or, in the episode’s slowest arc, Sofia’s paranoia about people around her to slowly form an alliance with her. This is where Farrell’s slightly goofy approach to this character pays off best: We’ll watch him clumsily fiddle with a character’s levers and make manipulations that are downright ridiculous – and then, at the last minute, we’ll see how he does it understand the actual weak point and strike. If one of the main threads of this series is Sofia’s quote from last week about Cobb being a man who kills other people by talking, then these are the moments that sell the concept, the dangerous opportunistic predator that lies beneath all the cheek and jokes lurks. Many people think they know what Oswald Cobb is; Many people have already died because they underestimated what he would do.

If I’m being honest, I’m lucky that “Inside Man” is dominated by these two leads, because otherwise it’s a bit boring. Sure, we have the short fight at the beginning and the exciting little witch hunt at the funeral at the end. But this episode is mostly about positioning our two main characters in relation to each other. (I know the framing shortchanges Feliz’s Victor, but that just means we’re following in the episode’s footsteps; I’m assuming we will ultimately Get a reward for Penguin’s personal Robin, who is more impressive than watching him be too sad to score at a party or lying down with corpses. But for now, Feliz is still largely trapped in viewer-substitute date mode, with Milioti connecting with her scene partner’s genuine emotions while resolutely maintaining Sofia’s protective shields. And it’s fun to watch Cobb run the numbers on the various people he could attribute his mole activities to, ultimately dismissing Michael Kelly’s Johnny Vitti as just too hard to place. But this TV episode is less about what’s happening now and more about what’s happening right now nextand the ultimate effect is to make me less interested in what I just saw than in what’s coming next week.

Crazy observations

• • Sofia’s interactions with Dr. Rush are interesting. His manner is clearly a little too intimate as he calms her down from her panic attack, but she doesn’t seem to mind – until you see her catching herself and slipping back into constant alert. “I’m not sure. I’m at home.”
• • The penguin beak in the series’ opening title matches Farrell’s nose cutely in the following scene.
• • This week, The penguin Adds Shohreh Aghdashloo and Scott Cohen to his roster of experienced, steady hands playing some pretty outlandish mafia roles. We hope she and Clancy Brown had a great time crafting together.
• • This is the first time the show reminds us that anyone in this world Strictly speaking calls Cobb “Penguin.” Given that it comes from the infinitely chubby Vitti, it’s clearly not meant as a sign of respect.
• • Milioti and Cohen have a fight between two actors in their first scene together. Sorry, Luca, but a cigarette beats a small cup of espresso every time.
• • Whatever’s going on with Victor, he’s clearly traumatized by Riddler’s attack on the city – and by someone named Graciela getting text messages asking where he is.
• • “Jesus, Vic, I didn’t say cilantro! It’s damn everywhere! I might as well put a bar of damn soap in my mouth!”
• • Milioti gets the best line of the episode when Sofia bribes the drug detective she hires to find the Falcone’s mole with a few drops: “Do you want to do them now?” You can take care of them now.”
• • Surely in 2024 there has to be a weirder fetish for being a cam girl than “cake,” right? Was eight years have passed You better call Saul Make “Squat Cobbler”.– There must be something better and weirder to pull by now.
• • Last week I was amazed by Cobb’s bedroom door. As I looked into it more closely, I realized that he lives in a converted bank vault, which has a sort of comic book feel to it, but doesn’t seem to fit with the down-to-earth nature of this series.
• • This week’s trip to the Incest Vibes suburbs is mostly a depressing reminder that Oz’s mother is getting worse, but a reminder nonetheless The Batmanis the silliest scene by reminding us that Cobb is fluent in Spanish.
• • “If my son is nothing, then what am I?”
• • One thing that was hinted at in the pilot but becomes clear here: Oz faked his mother’s death and therefore has to constantly change trains and take the subway to get to her apartment.
• • It feels a little silly that the big climax of the episode relies on not a single member of a group of hardened, murderous criminals bringing a knife to a funeral.
• • The markings in the Falcone family grave show that only about a week passes between Carmine Falcone’s death in the end The Batman and Alberto’s at the beginning of this series. Seems quick!
• • The penguin has a penchant for needle drops in the end credits. Last week it was “9am to 5pm”; This week highlights Sofia and Oz’s new alliance with a breathy cover of the Turtles’ “Happy Together.”