TV Review: ‘The Penguin’ Finale Proves Gotham Is A Breeding Ground For Psychos

There’s a running joke amongst comic book fans as to why anyone would want to live in Gotham. The city is constantly being taken over by supervillains and criminal enterprises that it’s astounding anyone still lives there. Films have had various levels of success depicting the insanity inside the town, but The Penguin truly elevates it to another level. Gotham was already ravaged by the Riddler’s (Paul Dano) attack in The Batman. The Penguin furthers this trend with an explosion in the middle of the already ravaged Crown Point. But after seeing Oz Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) transformation complete and final, it’s clear that something is wrong with the city to create such monsters.

After the explosion went off, Oz was captured by Sofia’s (Cristin Milioti) men. He was then strapped to a chair by Sofia and forced to admit that he killed his brothers, all while Sofia tortured his mother, Francis (Deirdre O’Connell). But Oz holds off long enough for his Francis to reveal that she knew all along before stabbing him in the stomach and having a seizure. He manages to escape and gets her to the hospital, but she winds up in a vegetative state. With Victor’s (Rhenzy Feliz) help, Oz pulls himself together and hands Sofia over to the police, concocting a story that incriminates her and Sal Maroni (Clancy Brown) while leaving him out of it. Unfortunately, Oz wants to cut ties with those close to him and kills Victor to truly be free.

There’s been a back and forth as to what kind of man Oz really is. He has been portrayed as a selfish psychopath and a benevolent gangster looking out for the community. This finale solidifies his narcissism as he strangles Victor regardless of the fact that he is only alive because of him. And this is the true legacy of Gotham. Between the Batman (Robert Pattinson), Riddler, Oz, and Sofia, the city produces unwell individuals that can do unparalleled destruction. Oz truly is an unspeakable monster, and it will be interesting to see how he fits into this version of Gotham in the future as more unhinged individuals are uncovered.

The Penguin is now streaming on Max.