The Penguin episode 4 is now streaming on Max, and this time it puts the audience in Sofia Falcone’s shoes as she journeys through the hellscape of Arkham.
Things seem to only get better on HBO’s The Penguin, with four episodes in a row improving with each release. Last week, audiences (including myself) were stunned by an episode concerned with heavily focusing on a secondary character, Rhenzy Feliz’s Victor Aguilar, and its strong depictions of mental health. Now, we have the counterpart for the show’s beloved Sofia Falcone, Cristin Milioti.
The Penguin follows Oz Cobb as he overcomes trials and tribulations to take over the crime scene in Gotham City, replacing the Maroni and Falcone crime syndicates. This places him at odds with Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) and a variety of ranking mob bosses in the Gotham underworld. Last episode saw Oz, Sofia, and Victor, pedalling their new drug, “Bliss” in various hotspots in the Gotham underworld. While talking outside, Oz and Sofia are held at gunpoint by the Maroni’s who are on to Cobb’s double-crossing. Vic rescues Oz and the two escape leaving Sofia behind before the episode cuts to black.
The episode left the biggest cliffhanger in the series thus far, forcing the plot along at a pivotal moment. While this episode briefly addresses the fallout of that event, most of the plot takes place in the past. We learn the backstory of the Hangman, Sofia’s imprisonment and subsequent torture in Arkham State Hospital (or Asylum) as well as some familial beats within the Falcone crime syndicate. Without getting into specifics, the episode is brutal and borderline disturbing.
Episode 4 (“Cent’Anni”) recontextualizes Matt Reeves’ The Batman and turns the show into a far darker direction than I initially envisioned. Showing the putrid extent of Gotham’s corruption and the cold-heartedness of Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong), the episode works on a whole other plane, striking fear into the audience’s heart as well as the mind of the episode’s protagonist Sofia Falcone.
The key performance of this episode, given by Milioti, is nothing short of outstanding and will definitely be her Emmy consideration submission. Her performance before Arkham is kind and reminiscent of her roles in both Palm Springs and Wolf of Wall Street, whereas her torture and resentment endured in Arkham transforms the character into a different person which allows Milioti to give a vicious and delightfully inconsiderate acting masterclass.
While Oz Cobb has maybe three scenes in the episode, it’s interesting to see the character from an outside perspective again, the first time since 2022’s The Batman. Colin Farrell gives a much more modest performance and does not have as much screen presence, which I think perfectly reflects how the character is described by Oz’s enemies.
Helen Shaver directed this episode, and her tenure so far has brought a strong tonal change, focusing more on the horrors seen within Gotham’s grimy city limits. She is great here and Lauren LeFranc and her team of writers work wonders to create a compelling story that enhances the worldbuilding tenfold.
The Penguin Episode 4 stars Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb / The Penguin, Theo Rossi as Julian Rush, Marié Botha as Margaret / Magpie, Michael Zegen as Alberto Falcone, and Mark Strong as a younger Carmine Falcone. The episode was directed by Helen Shaver and written by John McCutcheon. It is now streaming on HBO and Max.
Up Next On ‘The Penguin’
The episode brought us to the halfway point of the series, meaning that the setup is largely complete, relying on the final four episodes to pay off the first half of the series. I’ve had a major spoiler for the finale already spoiled for me and am doing my best to forget it, but outside of that, the series has me completely in the dark and I’m more than excited to see where it goes next.
The Penguin Episode 5 will debut seven days after the release of the third episode, on Sunday, October 20th, 2024, at 9 PM Eastern Time (ET). It will be titled “Homecoming”, and will be written by Breannah Gibson and Shaye Ogbonna, and will have a runtime of 54 minutes. DC Studios‘ The Penguin is now streaming its first three episodes on HBO and Max.
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