‘Centanni’ the name of episode four of The Penguin and it’s a real game changer in the series because it changes all our perceptions of Sofia Falcone, besides things changing drastically within the family by force. It is in her past that we get to see who the Hangman really is and what makes her so different from any other character we’ve come across, she was made into a real Falcone, probably if her dad was alive would be proud for been just like him. I was completely impressed with this episode specially how ruthless she turn out, it is one of the best one on the show.
The episode starts from where it stopped on episode three, Oz and Sofia are held by the Maroni's, after they realize Oz had a pact with a Falcone even though he promise this new drug to the Maroni family, this time we glimpse the complete discussion that went on and I wonder how the fuck is Oz going to be on good terms with Sofia after such movie. Sofia finds out that Oz has been in bed with the Maroni's the entire time and murdered her brother Alberto, It is a painful scene that eliminates the last ounce of trust that Sofia had in Oz, again after all she was made a real Falcone by force, the look on Sofia’s face as this information processes is phenomenal, you can see the world around her falling apart.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15435876/
- Platform: Amazon
After that scene we get more flashbacks from Sofia's life specially before her dad died, she is a young, idealistic woman who is in charge of a charitable foundation named after her mother. It is quite a different from that rough, revenge seeking girl we have seen so far and just makes her transformation even more tragic. Sofia’s mother, Isabella, was said to have committed suicide because of depression when Sofia was nine years old, but as the episode progresses we see that the reality is even more diabolical.
The flashbacks are connected with scenes from Sofia’s time in Arkham Asylum and I have to admit that most of them are heart breaking and you will not be prepared for what you are going to see. The show goes out of its way to portray the harsh, inhumane environment in Arkham. We watch with anguish as Sofia undergoes electric shock treatment, is physically assaulted by other prisoners and increasingly becomes out of touch with the real world. It is one of the most disturbing portrayals of mental health treatment and it is obvious that it had a lot to do with why Sofia is getting to the edge when it comes to be patient and wait to obtain her place within the family, instead of working and earn it she decides its enough of been patient and realize its time to take it by force.
Perhaps one of the most interesting things to look at in this episode is how it turns everything that has been established about the Falcone family on its head. Indeed, Sofia’s father, Carmine Falcone is revealed to be the true Hangman who strangulate multiple women among which was Sofia’s mother. It is one of the show’s big twists which only lift up Carmine’s character and gives a lot of context to why Sofia is the way she is, its like she finally discover her true nature or her true heritage of her family.
In my opinion the acting in this episode has to be one of the best, specially all the scenes from Sofia while she was on Arkahm. The versatile and talented Cristin Milioti shines in her role as Sofia, from a young and naive girl with big dreams to a cynical woman who had to face countless challenges, abuse and who looks like she is not worth saving anymore. That is why her performance of Sofia going mad in Arkham is especially terrifying, in each scene you can observe the light being gradually extinguished in her character’s eyes. Mark Strong as Carmine Falcone is also brilliant and effectively portrays the cold and ruthless businessman who betrays Sofia, funny how Alberto turn out so different than his father and Sofia actually went over the top on how ruthless and violent she can be, if Alberto was alive he could not believe her.
There are a few scenes of Colin Farrell’s Oz but they are necessary to show how he sold out Sofia and set all of this into motion, Sofia’s role in the flashbacks as Gom’s driver creates a new dimension to their characters. And yes, it is very obvious that they used to like each other very much, almost like friends but she always knew Oz place as a driver only but also got close to him when she needed, which makes Oz’s betrayal so much worse.
This episode might be complicated for the audience that gets confuse with the time jumps, going back and forward on Sofia's life could confuse and bored those watching the episode, however the writers and directors do this brilliantly well, I think it was perfect even though the story was not told on a straight line, helping us to follow Sofia’s progression through events and call backs. The color is especially utilized well in this case, specially on how Sofia dress and looks, giving us that transformation, from the first scene of the episode when she was young and a bit naive to the last meal with the Falcone family when she gave a kind of disturbing speech.
This is where I noticed some similarities with other characters from the Batman series, not at expert by any means but have watch Batman occasionally since 1989 when Keaton's movie came out. The scene when she finds her mother’s corpse resembles Bruce Wayne to find his parents and her change in Arkham relates to the experience of such villains as Two Face or the Joker when they got kind of tired of been the good guys and went mad. It’s a rather smart way to connect Sofia to Batman’s Universe and at the same time make us understand that the movie will be based on her story but with a twist that can only be owned by the Franchise, I wonder if during the series she would ever die or become the eternal rival for Penguin (Oz).
The ending of the episode is a real cliff hanger. At this point Sofia learns how deep her family’s treachery goes and goes back to the Falcone mansion and killing almost all of her relatives. It is a savage scene which is even more powerful because now we know why the hell Sofia is doing this to him. The decision to use ‘So Long My Love’ by Sarah Vaughan while Sofia moves through the house, tiptoeing over the corpses of her family members is perfect, being somewhat poetic and introducing a level of detachment into the scene.
The beauty of this ending is that it fits into the episode’s themes of betrayal and revenge perfectly well, even though I'm still trying to figure out the title connects with the episode, Cent'Anni usually states for "May you live 100 years" but does this mean for Sofia to live 100 years?. Sofia has been let down by everyone she once had a relationship with, her father, her family and Oz; again. This act of violence is her way of taking charge of her life and taking her rightful place as the boss of the Falcone family. It is a cold, but somehow fitting end to her journey in this episode of the series.
The last scene when Sofia stands over Johnny with a gun aims at him gives me the idea that she still knows she just cant take everything by force, she still needs that political power within the family, she and Oz already manipulate Johnny once but back then Luca was alive and Johnny was fucking his wife, that was Sofia's leverage so whats the trick now?. By the end of the show, it is very evident that Sofia’s story does not end there and I am excited to see what will happen next. Will she go all the way in accepting the position of the head of the new Falcone family? These questions bring out the following consequences about the future of her relationship with Oz and the constant hostility with the Maroni’s.
My only doubts on the show story line would be that, because the episode revolves around Sofia, there is not as much of Oz as everyone is expecting, making some believe the show is not about Oz but on the other hand this is great having not only one big figure within the show but more, this is classic Gotham story where it gives us multiple story lines. Although, considering how engaging Sofia’s story is, and how it relates to Oz, I'm ok with having an entire episode dedicated to her story as it seems she will be Oz biggest enemy.
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