THE PENGUIN ends by being more than a “great little thing” and is easily some of the best TV of 2024. I’ve been praising this show weekly, and by now, I can’t add much more to that outside of these three buckets of truth that THE PENGUIN pulls off.
- Empathy – Ozwald Cobblepot is not a good person and is the “devil in the house.” Audiences know this. Yet, just like in BREAKING BAD or BETTER CALL SAUL, the creators wisely make us care about him as a messed-up human. The choice to include several flashbacks with his family all but cements that it successfully copied what made THE LAST OF US so good emotionally.
- Suspense – I knew Ozwald would eventually rise to lead the underbelly of Gotham. However, this series constantly surprised me with how he got there. I did not see his journey evolve with some of the shocking twists in this climax and several episodes that came before it. The writers kept painting themselves into corners, only to expertly get themselves out while developing their lead characters.
- Cristin Milioti and Deirdre O’Connell – The world has complimented Colin Farrell for portraying Ozwald. While he will easily get a award consideration, much of that praise also has to go to Milioti as the fearless Sofia and O’Connell as his mom. THE PENGUIN continually shows in vivid detail how the characters they portray are connected to Oz’s horrible choices with tragic consequences.
Audiences will be debating for a long time whether Oz’s narcissistic traits are a comparison to Trump’s or if that was simply a coincidence. One thing is for sure: I can’t wait for this bird to soar as high as a bat when Matt Reeves’ sequel is released in 2026.
It’s available on Max.
