We’re gonna spoil this episode like crazy so if you want to go in cold, read this afterward. Spoilers follow for The Penguin Season 1, Episode 8, “A Great or Little Thing.”
“A Great or Little Thing”
The Penguin is a truly charismatic character. This version of him moreso than perhaps any other. Tim Burton took away his humanity almost entirely in Batman Returns, turning him into a monster (albeit a hilarious one). Bruce Timm made him somewhat of a tragic character, rejected by society for his differences, in Batman: The Animated Series.
Colin Ferrell’s version of the character is both of those. He wants to be accepted by those he admires as being most powerful, and he’s fine with stepping on heads of those he thinks should be below him. He knows what people around him want to hear, and he says it. He does what he says just far enough to make people believe him, to make them think he might be right. But he always turns on them. Hell–even when they know he’s going to turn on them, he does it in a way that makes it worse than you could’ve imagined.
By the end of the series, Francis Cobb is trapped in her own mind after a stroke, Sofia Gigante is once again locked in Arkham, and Vic is lying dead on the banks of the Gotham river.
It’s hard to pick which one is the worst, because they each show off a different part of what makes Oz so deplorable.
Francis
Francis’ story reveals the depths to which Oz is deluded, whether knowingly or not. Oz finds himself tied up, with Francis sat before him, While Sofia’s goons hold a cigar cutter around her finger, Sofia makes a request: say aloud what you did to your brothers, in front of your mother, who already knows. And yet, he won’t admit it. He can’t admit it. And you almost believe him that he doesn’t know it.
We know that Oz killed his brothers intentionally–we watched it happen. And yet, he can’t say it even as Sofia tortures the mother he claims to love. Sofia lets Francis go and she stabs Oz with a broken bottle before dropping to the floor with a stroke that leaves her in a vegetative state. And Oz holds true to the idea that he did everything for this person whose life he destroyed decades ago.
The coda to this comes after Oz is successful; she lies trapped in her mind in a hospital bed overlooking the city, and Oz mistakes the tear in her eye for joy before heading downstairs to dance with a woman–it might be Eve, but I wasn’t sure–dressed up identically to his mother on that night they went dancing. A woman he asks to recite lines of motherly approval to him while they dance. He’s a momma’s boy for a version of his mother that he tried to will into existence–one that could return his love and utter devotion. It never slips into incest but right until this last moment butts up against that boundary.
Vic
Vic’s story reveals the extent to which Oz will use people to reach his goals, and then discard them in the most violent way possible. The relationship between the two started violently, with Oz firing a gun at Vic for attempting to steal his rims. But their relationship blossomed over the course of the series. Vic found a sense of identity and power working with Oz; he accepted his own stutter, he found confidence talking to dangerous people. He even played a major role in securing Oz’ victory. But then Oz choked him out while telling him what a good kid he was, simply because he didn’t need him anymore and couldn’t afford to have any loose ends wriggling around out there in Gotham.
This moment is particularly heartbreaking, because Vic was–compared to everyone else in this show–pretty innocent. He did what he had to to survive, but none of it was reprehensible. And Oz thanks him with a painful betrayal.
Sofia
Even Sofia, who was never more than an obstacle to Oz, does not escape his wrath. Earlier in the series, he nearly convinced her that he might be an ally despite what happened between them. It didn’t work out that way, of course, and she’s maybe the only person that deserves his wrath. Thanks to Vic making alliances with gang captains behind the scenes, Oz takes control of all of the smaller gangs in the city. Instead of killing Sofia, though, he turns her in to the police. For once, she’s jailed for something she actually did, albeit under suspect circumstances.
But this deprives her of the release she craves. In her final moments of freedom, she breathes clearly, ready to find peace. And instead, she twists the knife, putting her back into the nightmare she’s only just escaped.
And in all of this, Oz sees himself as the hero in his own story. He did the right thing at every turn. He knows it, too, as he looks at Gotham from his new tower. It’s scary to know he’s in charge–he’ll say or do anything to retain his power. He’ll abuse any person, any system, and any relationship. He’ll tell someone he loves them as he destroys them. He’s a terrifying person to see in charge. It makes him a compelling person to watch in movies or television shows.
Disclaimer: HBO provided Batman-News with early access to The Penguin episodes for the purposes of review.
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