The Penguin Episode 8

The Penguin Episode 8: Let’s start off with showing y’all the trailers shall we?

Let’s start off with showing y’all the trailer shall we?

That’s right folks this is officially the final episode of this season, yes it has felt like a long time since this season started. I’m glad we got to experience this show together throughout this past month and a half.

Before we go any further I want to share with y’all a note that Matt Reeves posted before this episode came out, it’s of him thanking everyone for making The Penguin Show such a success. I’ll post the image of the note here.

Today’s final episode is 1 hour and 15 min, again perfect length. So now let’s get the rating out of the way so we can dive into spoilers. Overall I absolutely loved this episode, this entire show blew me away. I heard that Matt Reeves confirmed there will be more spinoff shows that will be character-focused just like this show.

Hey, I’m all for it, yes plz give us more of this. In my opinion, this is how u do justice to a Batman franchise. I wish there was more to say but for me to do that we’d have to get into spoilers.

I will say one more thing, in this episode we definitely get to see what sort of a monster Oz is. Matt Reeves was right we should not ever be sympathizing with Oz, especially after the end of this episode. All will be clear very soon.

Also this episode once again gets really dark, so heads up to people who get sensitive very easily.

So I’ll give this episode a solid 10/10.

Warning spoilers ahead y’all have been warned. So this episode opens up with us seeing a back flash to Oz’s mother getting the news from that mob guy named Rex, who appeared in the back flash of last week’s episode. He tells her that her 2 sons drowned and that they were great kids. That he wants to pay for their funeral.

But she will have none of that, Rex tells her u been neglecting Oz, he’s been around the shop of late. She tells him Oz is needy.

She then slips loose that she knows Oz killed his brothers because she found a flashlight in his backpack that his other 2 brothers also had.

He was with them, he locked them in there to drown. She tells him I got the devil in my house Rex, what the hell am I supposed to do?

Which he tells her there are a couple of ways to handle this situation, if she’s correct about Oz then guys like him can serve a big purpose, go out and do big fucking things, especially in my line of work. But u need to know how to control them, look money can buy u greed which is fine but greed can’t buy u loyalty.

Which I need loyalty, I bring in guys who looking for a father, guys like that do anything for me. Now Oz doesn’t need a father, he’s got u. He’s devoted to you, you can use that to ur advantage. Foster what he’s got raise it, maybe he will be great, or maybe not idk.

Which she says what kinda mother would I be to turn a blind eye to what he’s done? I can’t. Which Rex says then u could let him go. When u say letting him go u mean? Then she thinks about it then says u would be willing to help me out with something like that?

Anyway, we cut to that scene from last week’s episode where Oz brings his mom food but she comes out of the room dressed up and says we’re going dancing.

At the club, Oz notices Rex in the distance. She tells him everything will be alright Rex will drive u home later because I know I’ve been absent from u for a while. Oz tells her I promise I’ll take care of u Mom. I have tons of ideas to get a job.

Of course, she doesn’t believe him but he says no ma I got u, I promise I will take care of u. I care about u, no one else believes in u like I do. I will get u out of the situation we are in a better place, u deserve it.

But to not give up on him, dunnnnnn dunnn dunn, I actually liked that we got to see this night from the mom’s perspective. Because in one of the earlier episodes Oz was telling Sofia about this night, and how it made him happy and his mom happy. Clearly, he thought this was the best night ever, but from his mom’s perspective, she was gonna sentence her own son to death that night.

Now granted he did deserve it if she still agreed to that, but still.

So now we cut to the modern day where we see Vic riding in a car with a group of gangs he found.

But they see the explosion happen, and then he tries to tell them to stand up against the Gigantes. They then punch him and tell him to know ur spot or u will be shot. Vic goes up and sees cops and one of Oz’s men and asks did Oz escapes.

Then we see Oz be blindfolded and dragged into a room with his mom. Specially in that club that him and his mom danced at all those decades ago.

Both then tied up, Sofia tells him a story of how she and her brother once saw a mother bird leave her 2 children in a nest.

That one of the baby birds killed its brother, but the mom came back and what did she do? Nothing, she just kept feeding the kid.

Hmm, I wonder what she’s getting at here, he tells Sofia that was a terrible story. Why are u talking about birds? Which Sofia says ur right Oz that story was stupid, but u have the best story.

Then she demands Oz to tell his mom the truth. He refuses to, he says u done something to her! Which then Sofia takes a cigar cutter and puts it around the mom’s finger and threatens to cut off the same finger Oz cut off of her brother.

She then tells Oz I bet ur mom that night regrets not allowing Rex to drive u home to kill u.

Oz still refusing to say a thing, he says she’s telling u lies! Which the mom says it’s my finger Oz ur gonna let her cut it off! Sofia says all u have to do is tell her the truth. She deserves to know the truth.

Heck even Sofia starts being repulsed by Oz because he’s just sitting there gonna allow her to cut off his own mom’s finger. Again he really doesn’t feel anything, he’s a psychopath.

The mother breaks down and says I know u killed my 2 other sons! I always hated u. She then walks up and smashes a glass bottle and says ur right I wished Rex killed u that night. Then she stabs him. She says ur the devil. Oh, also she tells him ur a waste of space, I hate what u did.

She was right I should have let Rex kill u when I had the chance, oooooff that’s tough to hear from a mom saying that to her own kid.

U know what I do have to agree, why would Oz allow her finger to get cut off when he cares about her?

Heck, the hell would he not admit Sofia is correct when he knows she is, he just lying to his mom’s face even if she knows already. Btw I find it funny Oz’s reaction while Sofia was trying to get his mom to tell him that she planned on having Rex kill him that night, Oz is just sitting there saying “Ma, ma” as if he’s a man-child.

The thing about Oz is he can’t fathom the damage that happened to his mom was caused by him, all that mental damage wasn’t caused by her illness but instead was caused by her holding in that memory in her head and hatred for her son.

Yep, Oz is a monster, a true manipulative monster.

Btw Oz now learns that the mobster he looked up to was gonna kill him, it’s probably gonna be hard to ever trust again.

Anyways Oz’s mother ends up having a stroke and falls onto the floor. Right after she hallucinates her 2 dead sons, and hallucinates Oz as a kid. She tries to say to her 2 dead kids I’m sorry, but all that comes out is “I’m So-” Then she falls to the ground from a stroke.

All of a sudden then Oz breaks loose from the tape holding him down to the chair, which does actually bring me up to a very small issue I have with this show it’s that it feels like Oz makes it out of every situation just by cheer dumb luck.

I mean by the umpteenth time of Sofia capturing Oz she should have shot some bullets into him, yet she doesn’t. And he always escapes. Also when there are situations where there’s a gun shoot out he doesn’t get shot, even though he doesn’t run. He waddles away slowly.

Oh then there’s that fight between him and Salvatore, what a cop out that Oz made it out of that because Salvatore just randomly gets a heart attack, I get it he’s old and was bound to happen. But it’s like really? Are u serious? Is that what we’re doing here folks? Alright I guess.

I guess Oz has the power of plot armor to compel him.

So then Oz shoots some of Sofia’s men and runs off with his mom. Outside he shoots that detective dude who brought him in through the eyeball with his gun, then he drives off.

He takes her to a hospital and calls Vic to meet him in a closet at the hospital where Oz is stapling his wound.

Oh get this Oz still lies to Vic, he tells Vic that Sofia did this to him. Ohhhhh ohh I see even with people Oz trusts, doesn’t mean he will not lie to them to manipulate them.

Vic gives Oz some pep talk. He explains that it isn’t just the drug enterprise Oz was trying to create, it’s the fact that Oz gave people a job. He gave them dignity, he gave them a chance.

Oz compliments Vic for sticking up, after knowing what happens at the end of this episode, I just ughhhh. Trust me ur not mentally prepared for what’s gonna happen at the end of this episode, all I’ll say is Vic should have gone on that bus with his girlfriend when he had the chance

Anyways Sofia invites the other mob gang to hunt down Oz, and in return, she will give one of them everything. She is planning on leaving because nothing is here for her.

Because she doesn’t want to run a crime organization anymore, she’s realized that being involved with anything relating to her dad’s legacy will always bring harm to people she loves. Or to people who don’t deserve it.

All she really wanted was justice for the way she was tossed away from her family, and to get revenge on the people that hurt her. That person being Oz and her family.

Anyways that one guy who punched Vic calls him up and says tell me where you are, that u were correct. We need to do something, uh oh something is suspicious about this.

Anyways Oz enters a courtroom where he gets into the judge’s seat and a D.A. comes in who he knows, he tells him a lie about what’s going on. He tells him to pin all this on Sofia because that was an underground drug place that was owned by Salvatore. She killed him because blah blah war.

He says is any of this true? Which Oz says yeah it is, and he asks Oz what do I get in return and he says we can get u into this position up here. So the D.A. agrees to tell everyone that Sofia caused the explosion.

On the way out of the courtroom, Oz notices the new mayor on the upper balcony. Huh, I wonder if he plans to become major down the line. U something in line with when The Penguin ran for mayor in the Adam West Batman series, and in Batman Returns.

Also if he runs for major and becomes major of Gotham, he could easily avoid Batman. It would make it more tough for Batman to get to him.

Anyways Oz goes outside to see those men surround Oz and tell him to get into the car, so then Zhou calls Sofia up and says we got Oz.

She tells him to meet her at the hangar where she’s gonna take a plane to fly away, she says she packing up her remaining things then she’s leaving. Anwyas she takes 3 cigarettes and places them in her mouth then lights them up.

She tosses gasoline on her bed then a cigarette onto the bed lighting it a blaze then she goes around and lights the whole house on fire, she then meets Zhou at the hanger where Zhou says so do we end it here or u gonna take him overseas and see If the Penguin can fly?

Oh hahahah, just then Vic and his friends shoot Sofia’s men and Zhou and his men. Oz says u and I are gonna take a drive. He then drives her to a dock where he aims a gun at her head.

Oh also we get a montage of goons killing their mob bosses because they are underappreciated, now this shows the lower men rising to power.

Anyways Oz says u will never get a piece, ur gonna go to hell. She says I’ll save a seat for her, just then the cops show up and arrest her. Oh snap he planned this, to get her arrested, she’s been framed once again.

She’s back where she started, womp womp. This time Oz planned out the long game, he framed Sofia for every murder and crime Oz has done this season. So he can make his way up in the system, and maybe get political help somewhat.

Still can’t believe Oz was able to pull this card 2wice on Sofia, wow what a manipulator. Oh also both of them hate each other so much they both understand how to hurt one another.

She knew how to break Oz by having breaking the trust between him and the last person he thought who loved him, as for Oz he knows how to break Sofia by framing her for mixer all over again and send her back to prison.

So then Vic and Oz head back to the hospital where they try to get his mom’s attention but she’s not moving, they call in a nurse and she explains to them the mother had a seizure and now is a vegetable.

Oz yells at the nurse saying get a doctor! Do something! She’s moving her eyes! Fuck! He then kneels near his mom and starts crying, Vic then comforts Oz.

They both go outside and take a drink from a whiskey flask. He then tells Vic that he couldn’t do any of this without him, Vic says thanks for giving me a chance, to me u r family. Awwwwww, I want y’all to consider the parallels between Oz and Vic. Oz’s brothers died from drowning (something he did cause though), and Vic’s family died in a flood.

Anyway, he also asks Vic do u think she’ll forgive me? Which Vic says for what? He says everything. At this moment if y’all think this is a wholesome moment, unfortunately, this show reminds us how much of a horrible person Oz Cobb really is.

So, Oz hugs Vic and says the 2 of us are left. He then starts choking him in a chokehold and says sorry I can’t bring u along this time. We hear Vic gasp the words out plz.

Ughhhhh, I didn’t see this one coming, and I’m being serious. He kills Vic because I guess he doesn’t like to be seen as vulnerable? That or he has no loyalty to anyone. Wow yep fuck Oz, ain’t nothing likable about him. That’s how it should be btw.

Also, I said it once but I will say it again, Vic should have gotten on that bus in episode 3. This is just awful. After this episode, I feel disgusted ever rooting for Oz.

Ur not supposed to root for Oz, he’s a monster. Sofia was right he doesn’t care about anybody but himself. He basically ruined Vic’s life then ended up killing him.

What a vile despicable bastard, also too anyone who said of give Oz a chance he just wants friends, yeah nah nah try telling me that after this episode.

Oh on another note I’ve never got so pissed and angry at a show or film like this before, not even Homelander brought out this much hatred for a fictional character than Oz Cobb did.

Oh also btw I think Oz Cobb really is delusional, the whole time while he’s chocking Vic. He’s just apologizing to him saying I’m sorry for doing this. Right because apologizing while chocking someone out just makes it better.

Get the Fuck out of here, hey Vic u been supportive of me this whole time. Now what I need from u for support is u to die.

Anyway, he takes Vic’s ID and tosses it into the lake. So Vic’s body can be found but not be identified, kinda like his first encounter with Vic where he takes his ID so no one will identify him. Oh and he took some of Vic’s money, SMH.

BTW this show did an amazing job at portraying Oz, for the majority of the series they made us feel for Oz. Up until this last episode, now he can go fuck himself. But that’s the thing really he’s one of Batman’s Rogue gallery, he was never meant to be likable. Heck, I really like the way Matt Reeves portrayed these 2 villains so far in his universe.

The Riddler is a radical terrorist while Oz is this narcissistic egomaniac who kills people when his emotions get in the way.

On a side note alright fine Oz u go back to ur new luxurious home and dance away, I don’t care about u anymore. U deserve every ass whooping u will get from Batman down the line.

Anyways we see Sofia locked back up in Arkham and guess who’s her doctor again? That same doctor who said he quit working there. I guess he’s either there to have power over her or to watch over her. Anyways he tries to hand her mail but she’s zoning everything out.

That’s until he tells her there’s a note from her half-sister named Selina Kyle, ohhhhhhh I do wonder what the note says. Also, I’m glad they kept Sofia alive so we might down the line get her and Selina Kyle meeting each other in person one day.

I will say this after this show I think between Oz and Sofia, how do I say this uh Sofia seems to be more sympathetic, seems to be a bit more of the protagonist.

Even though yes she basically lied to a small kid in her family, telling her she promises u won’t ever get locked up. Even though she blew up a bomb in the street which caused tons of deaths, innocent deaths.

She still comes off sympathetic, even though u can’t excuse for her blowing up the street, but by the end of the day she just wants revenge on Oz Cobb because he’s the last remaining link to her misery.

Anyways show ends with Oz coming out of his new plumb car, he’s wearing the classic Penguin attire. He’s holding in his hand a tophat as well, he goes up to his new upper sweet place he owns which is all fancy. He goes to the upstairs to visit his mom who he has laying there on a hospital bed while staring out of the window.

He says I finally did it, u got everything u deserved. She sheds a tear, which he mistakens as a happy tear. But let’s face it that’s not a happy tear, that’s a tear of sadness and horror. She’s now trapped in a vegetative state until she dies.

At the mercy of her monster son which she will have to spend with till she dies, jeepers this is an extremely dark ending. She told him to kill her if she gets to this state in life, and does he? Oh Hell no he doesn’t. This really is a fate worth than death.

Oh then he goes downstairs where his girlfriend Eve is waiting for him, all dressed up like his mom at that club. With the same hairstyle, I forgot to mention 2 episodes ago that Eve always wears wigs. It’s to please her clients or something like that, which also means probably Oz has never seen her with her authentic hair because she was wearing blond hair.

But now she’s dressed 100% too look near identical to Oz’s mother just so he can have that sick fantasy of having a mother figure who loves him. The fuck kinda sick twisted ending is this? Anyways they both dance, he also has her say things to him like say ur proud of me and that this all belongs to me (barf).

Bta this in a way is such a pathetic outcome for Oz, I mean the last remaining person he’s dancing with who he’s dancing with. Is the same person who rated him out to Sofia 2 episodes ago, hence why she was able to locate Oz’s mom.

This isn’t nearly enough for me to say good u got some Comeuppance, but I will take this. This is fine enough for now.

Then we pan out of the building while they are dancing, to see the bat single appear in the sky. Ohhhhhhh Batman is going out there to fight crime. Watch ur back Oz he will come for u. Now that too me will be some true Comeuppance, watching Batman beat the living hell out of Oz Cobb.

BTW I like this perspective, in the beginning of the series we see him from the perspective of the lower slumps of Gotham, but now he’s risen in Gotham. Now he’s at the height level where the bat single is, Anyways the end.

The unfortunate reality is that we are gonna be waiting a while for The Batman 2, from what I heard it’s been pushed to October 2026, which is nearly 2 years away. By then there would been a 4 year gap between the first film and the second film, at this rate it will be a slow process to adopt more films and shows in this Batman universe. Also here’s the behind-the-scenes video at the end of the episode.