Ain’t No Love: The Unlikely Pairing at the Heart of ‘The Penguin’

The series premiere of The Penguin ends with its titular villain stripped naked and strapped to a chair as he’s tortured by Sofia Falcone. By the conclusion of the second episode, Sofia makes him an offer to join forces and seize control of the Falcone crime family—the most powerful mob in Gotham City. Life in Gotham is anything but predictable; one minute someone’s pointing a gun down your throat, and the next they’re asking you to help betray their family and make a play to take over the city’s criminal underworld.

This dramatic turn of events perfectly encapsulates the complicated relationship of Oswald “Oz” Cobb (Colin Farrell) and Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) as they try to set aside their differences to take down Sofia’s uncle Luca (Scott Cohen) and fill the power vacuum created by the death of the infamous Carmine Falcone. Two episodes in, HBO’s The Batman spinoff series is quickly picking up momentum as Oz and Sofia’s tenuous partnership takes root and their respective quests to claim power in Gotham begin in earnest.

Although The Penguin is first and foremost a series about the villainous Oz Cobb, as Farrell reprises his scene-stealing character from Matt Reeves’s The Batman, Milioti’s Sofia Falcone is as much of a driving force in the spinoff as its central protagonist. Sofia has emerged as an unlikely contender to replace her father as Gotham’s crime lord, and the ways in which her character compares and contrasts with Oz have made their dynamic a compelling entry point into The Penguin’s developing story.

The pilot episode welcomes the show’s audience by thrusting them right back into the world of The Batman: A montage of news broadcasts serves as a recap of the 2022 film, reporting the rise in crime in Gotham after the Riddler’s terrorist attacks devastated the city and unearthed its deep-seated corruption. And, crucially, the broadcasts also cover the murder of Carmine Falcone and the ongoing power struggle to replace him. After all the exposition ends, The Penguin repositions Oz as the primary protagonist of this world in place of Robert Pattinson’s Batman. He kills Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen), Sofia’s brother and the new head of the Falcone family, in an impulsive act that sets the events of the series in motion. At first, it seems as if Oz will be able to get away with his crime unscathed, but Sofia—fresh out of Arkham Asylum—arrives to upend his hastily conceived schemes.

In this week’s installment, “Inside Man,” The Penguin begins to uncover Sofia’s past and delve into the life of the notorious woman better known as “the Hangman.” The episode opens with a flashback of Alberto visiting her at Arkham Asylum, which bleeds into a present-day therapy session as her memories mix with her grief over the loss of her brother. The series proceeds to offer glimpses into Sofia’s life, shedding light on how she is perceived by the world. A radio show discusses how Sofia was technically exonerated for the murders of seven women but labels her a “psycho” and a “serial killer.” Outside of Alberto’s funeral, crowds gather with signs condemning the Falcone family and Sofia’s release from Arkham. At Alberto’s memorial service, conversations hush and turn to whispers when Sofia enters a room, highlighting the unease surrounding her. Even Sofia’s family members either fear her or refuse to take her seriously. (By the end of the episode, Luca and his lieutenants give Sofia the Godfather closing door treatment, shutting her out of the family business as Luca tries to send her away to Italy.)

Sofia and Oz are alike in many ways. Both are underestimated and overlooked by higher-ranking members of the crime family who fail to recognize their outsize ambitions and the threat they pose. Their immediate families are everything to them, with Sofia hell-bent on avenging her brother’s death and Oz caring for his mother, Francis (Deirdre O’Connell), who has early-onset dementia. They both face judgment and condescension from those around them, whether it’s due to Sofia’s past or Oz’s appearance, and neither takes such disrespect lightly.

For all their similarities, Sofia and Oz also carry themselves differently. Sofia is discreet and tries to keep a low profile, while Oz drives around in an opulent, purple-and-gold Maserati. Oz is a sweet talker, often wriggling his way out of dire situations, while Sofia is blunt and speaks plainly to cut through all the nonsense. Sofia grew up rich, with a powerful father; Oz grew up poor and has had to earn everything himself. They serve as perfect foils for each other as they reach for the same goal of controlling the city’s criminal empire. And, at least for now, they recognize each other’s potential to further their own agendas—even if they don’t trust each other.

As Sofia and Oz’s unlikely alliance begins, the audience knows there is little chance their partnership will work; one will surely betray the other at some point, particularly if Sofia ever discovers that Oz was the one who killed Alberto. Watching how their dynamic develops over the next six chapters of the eight-episode miniseries will be fascinating, especially as Milioti and Farrell get more space to play off each other. Milioti is as terrifying as she is mesmerizing as the ice-cold Sofia, and Farrell—fully transformed by impressive makeup and prosthetics—continues to put his own spin on an iconic villain between his menacing yet comical performance and an endlessly entertaining accent choice. (There is still nothing better in The Batman than the Penguin giving Batman and Gordon a lesson in Spanish.)

For a spinoff of The Batman that’s set within weeks of the movie’s events, The Penguin has mentioned the Caped Crusader’s name only once so far. (It has, however, referenced the Riddler several times already.) Creator Lauren LeFranc has managed to seamlessly weave this series into the world that Reeves is creating in his Batman films, keeping with their dark and grounded tone while also adding more levity to build on what worked so well with Oz’s character in the movie. By setting Batman aside, The Penguin expands this version of Gotham, showing how crime is proliferating in the city in the aftermath of the Riddler’s attacks through a smaller-stakes story centered on Gotham’s warring mafia families and the two oddballs trying to claw their way to the top. With Farrell and Milioti delivering captivating performances that showcase the many dimensions of their respective villains, The Penguin has already been a pleasant surprise that’s generating even more excitement for where Reeves’s ongoing Batverse and the new era of DC Studios could go from here.