We recall and discuss what we saw in the latest episode of 'The Penguin': from Cobb's henchman's backstory to the alliance with the Triad.
Oz Cobb, played by Colin Farrell, continues his intricate rise to power in Gotham's criminal underworld, now in alliance with Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). This week saw the first test of their plan, and events didn't exactly go according to their script.
Previous recaps:
The text contains spoilers for Episode 3 of 'The Penguin' series
Vic's Story
The episode begins with a flashback to the events of that fateful night during the third act of Matt Reeves' 'The Batman'.
Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) agrees to meet his girlfriend Graciela (Anire Kim Amoda), promising to join her on the roof after dropping off things at home. There, he tries to convince his father to take more opportunities at work to earn more money, but unsuccessfully.
Later, Victor meets friends, including Graciela, on the roof of a neighboring building. Just as the couple shares a tender moment, the Riddler's bombs explode across Gotham, causing a massive flood that destroys Victor's family apartment and presumably kills everyone inside.
Until this point, Victor was almost the embodiment of goodness in the series. And there was little reason for him to stick with such a scumbag as Cobb. But, as with Robert Pattinson's character in the film, tragedy forces the hero to abruptly change the course of his life.
In the present, Oz tells Victor about the 'temporary' alliance with Sofia, expecting that Luca Falcone (Scott Cohen) will 'take care of her' once he learns what she's after. Cobb has already accepted that his henchman failed to plant the jewels in Johnny Vitti's (Michael Kelly) car, promising to keep looking out for him.
Sofia appears at Oz's apartment, where she meets the nervous Victor. During the conversation, she tells the boy that Cobb used to be her driver, then puts Oz in his place, telling him to drive 'like the good old days'.
Sofia and Oz arrive at one of the Falcone family's factories, and the Penguin is confused when he sees that the product came from Arkham Asylum. Entering the lab, Cobb is puzzled by the drugs being produced, including mushrooms. He is told that the mushrooms are just a means to collect their spores, which are used to create a completely new type of stimulant. Sofia orders Oz to find a distributor to get the drug called 'Bliss' onto the streets of Gotham.
Meanwhile, Victor calls Graciela for the first time since the night of the explosions and invites her over. Upon her arrival, we learn she is unaware of Victor's life in the criminal world. The girl tells Vic she is leaving Gotham for California and asks him to come with her, but he refuses, saying he's not sure Oz will allow it.
Victor tells Graciela the truth about Oz and admits he fears for his safety if he tries to leave. After she begs him to come with her, he gives her some of the money Oz recently paid him, asks her to buy him a bus ticket, and promises to leave Gotham with her.
Alliance with the Triad
The next day at the Falcone estate, Sofia crosses paths with Vitti, who hands her a plane ticket to Italy and threatens her, admitting he considers her nothing but a mentally unstable spoiled brat.
Later in Chinatown, she meets Oz, who suggests forming an alliance with the Triad crime syndicate by bribing its deputy, Link Tsai (Robert Lee Leng). Upon entering the Chinese mafia's club, Sofia's gun is immediately confiscated, but Oz convinces Link to have his men lower their weapons, then introduces him to the new drug.
Oz and Sofia tell the Chinese man about the plot to take over the Falcone crime family (specifically, 'restructuring'), and when pressed further, they lie and say Vitti supports them. Link doesn't believe them and says that Feng Zhao (François Chau), the head of the Triad, must receive a phone call from Vitti as proof.
Later that day, Oz and Victor have dinner at an upscale restaurant, where Victor tries to find a way to tell Oz about his plans to leave Gotham with Graciela. Victor tells Oz about his father's career as a mechanic and how he never fulfilled his dream of becoming a chef.
After their conversation, Oz notices Vitti's mistress (also Luca Falcone's wife) dining at a nearby table and approaches her, asking for a favor. Soon after, Oz and Sofia enter Johnny's hotel room to catch him in the act with Luca's wife. They blackmail Vitti into calling Zhao.
At the Triad club, Oz, Sofia, and Oz's friend Eve (Carmen Ejogo) instruct Eve's 'girls' and Victor to distribute Bliss. As they leave, Sofia pulls Oz aside, making it clear she will take the lead in negotiations, since Zhao is meeting with them because of her, not him.
Zhao believes the risk of their alliance is too great due to the tense history between the Triad and the Falcones. Milioti's character tries to win him over by talking about their shared hatred of her deceased father, to which Zhao recalls Sofia being in Arkham. She counters this argument: Bliss was given to her and other inmates to calm them down, so its effectiveness is unquestionable. Finally, she says that if he doesn't agree, she and Oz will simply offer the opportunity to another crime family.
On the dance floor distributing Bliss, Victor receives several text messages from Graciela, who expects him to meet her at the station. However, at that moment, he is overcome by a panic attack due to the loud sounds and bright lights in the club, and he recalls the day the Riddler's bombs exploded.
Vic rushes to the bathroom, trying to calm down, and immediately receives another message from Graciela saying the bus is about to leave. Just as he is about to reply, Oz bursts in and announces that the Triads have agreed to the deal, but then notices Victor's phone and the messages from Graciela.
An angry Penguin scolds his henchman, asks if he thinks he's too good for a criminal life, and accuses him of feeling like a hostage. They continue arguing, but eventually Oz allows Victor to leave, and although the boy drives to the station in Cobb's car, he watches with tears in his eyes as Graciela boards the bus without him.
Outside the club, Oz tells Sofia the deal with the Triad is done, but she remains indifferent. Falcone believes Cobb is just using her to gain power and states that he will never be a man. Oz, with tears in his eyes, admits he doesn't regret turning her in to Carmine because it gave him more power in the family, but he sympathizes with what happened to her and says he didn't know her father planned to send Sofia to Arkham. Lighting a cigarette, Sofia tells Oz she no longer knows how she can trust him, but the Penguin promises to keep proving otherwise.
Just as the tension between them begins to ease, the Maroni leader and her men arrive, aiming their guns at Farrell and Milioti's characters to send them to the afterlife. However, Victor returns just in time, sees what's happening, and drives his car into the building, saving Oz and Sofia and distracting the enemies. The episode ends with Oz getting into the passenger seat but ordering Victor to drive away, leaving Sofia behind.
If the first two episodes of 'The Penguin' allowed us to deeply immerse ourselves in Oz's experiences and thoughts, this week the focus shifted to his assistant Victor. While the boy revealed a softer side of Oz, the Penguin conversely reveals a darker side of Vic. And watching the evolution (or degradation, depending on the perspective) of these two is quite intriguing. The tandem of Sofia and Oz will make itself known again and will likely lead to a global clash between two irreconcilable acquaintances.
Teaser for Episode 4:
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