The Penguin has turn out to be one of my favorite TV series right now, mostly because of its visual effects and the story too, it is starting to feel very Gotham like, so as soon as a new episode comes out I jump into it, this time episode 2 called "Inside Man." With its tough captured look at Gotham's gang culture and Colin Farrell's master class of character development of Oswald Cobblepot the series really stands out. This episode explores the complex relationships and mental health of the characters including Sophia Falcone while keeping alive the intense feeling set in the first episode, on this series there is tension everywhere and it really feels like Penguin is about to die on each of this episodes with fire coming from multiple angles although at the end of the day the guy sort things out to stay alive another day.
The episode starts with Sophia Falcone, for the first time we are affirm that she is not very well and she is very close to loose her mind under the right circumstances, she is taking therapy after she was release from Arkham Asylum, during therapy there is a combination of hypnosis and red light that some how keeps her in this stage where she is going through everything that happen to her in the past, there is that feeling that reveals the concealed darkness waiting beneath Sophia.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15435876/
- Platform: Amazon
As the plot develops we discover Oz skillfully manipulating both gangs, one more than the other but still an impressive and frightening style. On this episode he had to improvise once again as the truck full of drugs he was hijacking with the Maroni's did not go so well, I knew things were going to get complicated but it really turn out into a situation where he was once again corner about to die when one of Savatore's guy was taken by Sophia who is looking for the rat giving out information and Savatore's wife also knew this and call Oz for a meeting where they also almost killed him, but manage to pull through on both scenes.
On this episode Sophia becomes the main character despite Oswald been at the edge of the knife during the entire episode, she is starting to become a primary character on the series while revealing more about her intricate personality. Cristin Milioti gives an impressive act by effortlessly shifting from emotional weakness to strength, in many scenes Sophia deals with her traumatic past and her heritage's challenges, as her connection with the Falcone family becomes impossible as she frequently faces undervalued and been constantly ignored by the big bosses Milo Grapa, Johny Vitti and Luca Falcone.
There is this great interaction between Sophia and Oswald even when they are against each other but eventually both feel like outcast within the organization and might start an alliance as how the episode ends, its incredible and one of the things that I like about the scenes is how Colin Farrell plays and bring to life the character of Penguin, his talent for fluctuating between likeable and sinister really must captivate the audience and lure people into wanting to know more about him and watch him trying to be the puppet master during his evil deeds.
Rhenzy Feliz playing the secondary character of Victor Aguilar is also taking more screen time, this time around getting involve deeper into Oswald operation and even putting him at risk of getting caught, what makes Oswald rethink why he is keeping him but also trying to teach him more about the game, showing him what will happen to him if he doesn't step it up. I wonder when they will start to give us more of his backstory. A character we have not seen much but also has a bigger part on this episode is Luca Falcone, played by Scott Cohen, this time the episode did show he can do what ever he wants at any time, he kills the "inside man" while everyone was in doubt, he just take his gun out and pull the trigger no questions ask in front of everyone and then tells Sophia to go into a vacation to Italy after the man they "caught" was Sophia security.
I can tell people online are enjoying this series very much since there is no backlash online, specially on YouTube, no videos calling the series out for not been "lore" or "woke", two words that I really have come to hate since when ever you hear this two on an opinion video about any type of content is most likely bad news. What I like the most about the series is how intense both episodes have been so far, both been very cruel and savage, Penguin doing what ever is necessary to survive but this version of Penguin I feel is more calm and calculates his steps more than the maniac that was Penguin on the Gotham series, that other version was more impulsive, still very smart but suffers more from been underrated and ignore so felt that need for power while this time around not so much.
I find myself fascinated by clues revealing Sophia's role as the notorious Hangman and the impact it will have on her present conflicts within and outside of her family since its very clear all she wants is to figure out what happen to her brother Alberto Falcone but nobody is helping her or even to the point of not letting her find out, its just not a priority for Luca Falcone and the rest of the guys on top once Alberto is gone.
Even though the pace of this episode was slightly a bit slower than the first one, I enjoyed the attention given to more of the characters and their backgrounds, something that is crucial to details. Scenes featuring Oz and his mother revealed the human aspect of his character and highlighted the fact that corrupted figures share feelings of love, I believe it is through highlighting moments of weakness beside acts of force that these figures become engaging.
Sophia pulls up the diamonds Penguin try to put on Johny Vitti car, trying to make Sophia believe he killed Alberto Falcone, only her knew about this diamonds and now turn into the door that will open to destabilize the underworld authority in Gotham with the phrase "Lets Dance" she takes it from Oswald from his anecdote on how his mome deal with pain when his brothers died.
This ending leaves us with several questions: How much time can they keep their uneasy partnership alive? As things escalate will Victor's devotion to Oz be put to the test? What will the reaction be from the rival crime families as the duo gains strength? This reveals a moment of uncertainty that for sure keeps everyone watching the series wanting to know more about this recent alliance.
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