The Penguin's Twist Ending, Explained

HBO's finale The penguin ended unsettlingly as the titular villain revealed his true colors and completed his rise to Gotham's crime throne.

Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti both delivered spectacular performances as Oz Cobb and Sofia Gigante, the two scheming rivals trying to control the dark underbelly of Gotham, ushering in Matt Reeves' upcoming sequel. The Batman Part 2.

What happened in episode 8 of The Penguin?

Once again Oz was tied up and helpless and had to endure Sofia's mind games. After discovering that Oz's mother, Francis (Deirdre O'Connell), knew that Oz had murdered his brothers, Sofia tried to force Oz to confess to Francis.

Remarkably, Oz flatly refused to admit the truth even when Sofia threatened to cut off his mother's pinky, proving that Oz doesn't care about his mother as much as he claims.

For Oz, his own reputation always comes first.

But finally the psychological breakthrough Sofia had been hoping for comes when Francis tells Oz that she knew all along and that she almost had him murdered to avenge the boys.

In a deliciously ironic twist, it was Rex Calabrese who was willing to kill young Oz, Rex being the respected gangster that Oz reminisced about and tried to emulate throughout the series.

Oz's life is a terrible, self-inflicted tragedy. The man craves respect from those who look down on him and rejects the affection of those he truly cares about.

When the truth finally comes to light, Francis stabs Oz in the stomach with a broken bottle before collapsing, motivating Oz to flee by brute force, carrying his mother on his back. Oz survives and manages to get his mother to the hospital, but faces defeat; The gangs he organized against Sofia Gigante turn against him, influenced by Sofia's better offer.

Worse, Oz now understands that his mother doesn't respect him – in fact, she hates him. But his young protégé Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) is there for him with a different narrative, assuring Oz that he is the man of the people, the man who restored power to Crown Point and organized an uprising of the lesser crime families.

Then Oz realizes that there is a way to defeat Sofia and the rival gangs, and that every single gang leader has a deputy who is tired of being pushed around.

Thanks to Zhao's right-hand man, Link, Oz has a way in and a way out of the trouble he got into with Sofia.

Understanding how Link and the rest of his subordinates feel after spending his life playing the same role, Oz convinces them all to take part in a coup, slaughter their bosses and restructure Gotham's criminal landscape.

Oz also has a narration for Councilor Hady, offering him Sofia as a scapegoat for all the gang violence his schemes have spawned.

Just as corrupt as Oz, Hady happily accepts credit for Sofia's capture while the long-suffering Gigante matriarch is back behind bars.

How does “The Penguin” end?

Oz successfully made his way to the top of Gotham's criminal underworld; In one scene we even see him wearing his signature top hat and suit.

As Oz and Vic discuss their victory, Vic makes the mistake of opening up to Oz and admitting that he felt like the two were family.

Oz then commits the most brutal murder of the series by strangling Vic before throwing his body into a river. In a darkly amusing final touch, Oz robs Vic's wallet and takes his ID.

Oz understands that being the crime boss of Gotham is not for the faint of heart, and he sees Vic's affections as a weak point, an emotional connection that could empower his enemies and complicate business down the line.

Oz simply has no interest in sharing power with a surrogate son, just as he refused to share his mother's love with his brothers.

While Oz seemed to genuinely care for Vic throughout the series, he actually viewed Vic as a useful subordinate, an admirer, someone who gave Oz the respect he so desperately craved.

Vic's story is the real tragedy here – the boy saw his family killed by the Riddler's flood, then rejected the opportunity to escape Gotham with his girlfriend, choosing to continue his doomed partnership with Oz .

Vic trusted in Oz's humanity and couldn't see the monster in him.

Sofia seems to get out of prison quicker than one would expect, as in her final scene she opens a letter from Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), her half-sister.

Expect to see Sofia again The Batman Part 2.

Oz ends his story in the fancy apartment he always wanted, where his mother is trapped. Francis has suffered a terrible stroke and can no longer tell Oz how she really feels about him – she has been reduced to his pet, like a caged bird.

For Oz, this could be the highlight of their relationship.

Plus, Oz still has his girlfriend, the sex worker Eve, who deliberately disguises herself as his mother for him and gives him the motherly praise he so desperately craves.

The series ends with the Bat Signal lighting up the skies over Gotham, meaning the Dark Knight is finally ready to take on the Penguin.

The series showed admirable restraint when it came to keeping Batman out of the story of Oz, but now that the man has shown his worst self, viewers are certainly ready to see him come face to face with Batman's mailed fist.

Will there be a second season of “The Penguin”?

It's a possibility, but not the original intention.

Farrell and Milioti's appearance has been confirmed The Batman Part 2but a second season of The penguin would have to take place between the sequel and the third film The Batman Trilogy that could prove to be a bit complicated.

Matt Reeves, director of The Batmanhas expressed interest in exploring more of Gotham's villains in another series, so we may see a character like Scarecrow, Two-Face or even the Joker fleshed out in their own HBO series, and Oz Cobb could well make an appearance.

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