(Image credit: Macall Polay/HBO)
Full spoilers follow for The Penguin, including its final episode.
After eight weeks of award-worthy performances and an intensely captivating story, The Penguin has ended on Max/HBO (US), Sky/Now TV (UK), and Binge (Australia). And, my oh my, did it end in typically incendiary fashion for a limited series I called an “epic Batman spin-off… that deserves to sit alongside The Sopranos in HBO’s crime drama pantheon“.
As the dust settles on Oz Cobb and Sofia Falcone’s explosive turf war, it’s time to sift through the rubble and determine what actually happened. Who is Gotham City’s new crime kingpin? Did anyone perish during the series’ final episode? And did the Caped Crusader make a last-minute cameo? I’ll answer all of these questions and more below so, if you’ve not seen episode 8, titled ‘Great or Little Thing’, watch it first as major spoilers immediately follow.
The Penguin ending explained: who won, Oz Cobb or Sofia Falcone?
As if it was ever in doubt, Oz triumphed over Sofia in the battle to control Gotham’s criminal underworld. Hey, one of the best Max shows is called The Penguin, so it would’ve been a curious move if it ended with Oz’s defeat at the hands of his rival.
Although it looks like Sofia has beaten Oz – he’s captured and taken to Gotham City’s airport to meet with Sofia for one final time – it’s all a ploy on Oz’s part. Indeed, aside from Yakuza leader Feng Zhao, the goons who take Oz hostage are actually working for him.
Just as they’re about to hand him over, Link, Feng Zhao’s son and second-in-command, betrays his father and shoots him in the head. The rest of Oz’s gang, Vic included, kill Sofia’s henchmen and seize her instead. In other locations spread throughout Gotham, the lieutenants of the city’s other criminal syndicates similarly kill their bosses – Oz and Victor promising they’d be the new heirs to Gotham’s criminal empire if they swear allegiance to him as its new crime kingpin.
What is interesting about the series’ ending, though, is Oz doesn’t kill Sofia, which is something of a rarity for the eponymous sociopath. In a scene reminiscent of his previous role as Sofia’s chaffeur, Oz drives Sofia to an undisclosed location on Gotham’s outskirts. After exiting the car, he holds her at gunpoint as they engage in what seems to be one final, barb-filled tête-à-tête before Oz prepares to gun her down.
However, as Sofia closes her eyes and prepares for the end, her face is suddenly lit up by a bright light. Slowly opening her eyes, she spots a police helicopter, complete with searchlight, circling overhead and, turning round, realizes Oz is gone. Numerous cop cars loom into view and, moments later, she’s arrested by Gotham police chief Mackenzie Bock and his fellow law enforcers.
The Penguin ending explained: wait, so Sofia isn’t dead?
Nope. Instead, she’s re-admitted to Arkham Asylum.
In the show’s flashback-heavy fourth episode, titled ‘Cent’Anni’, Sofia was sent to Gotham’s high-security prison for the criminally insane by her father – and Gotham’s former crime lord – Carmine Falcone. Remember, she learned too much about his murdering of numerous women, including his own wife and Sofia’s mom. In order to cover his tracks, he pinned the deaths on his own daughter who, despite constantly protesting her innocence, subsequently spent 10 years in Arkham Asylum.
Escaping with the help of her brother Alberto and therapist Doctor Julian Rush prior to the events of The Penguin, Sofia thought she’d finally seen the back of Arkham Asylum. Turns out she was wrong, eh?
The Penguin ending explained: alright, so who did die?
Feng Zhao and many of Sofia’s subordinates notwithstanding, the most noteworthy death is –soul-crushingly, might I add – Victor Aguilar.
Oz’s main lackey since The Penguin episode 1, fans were always concerned about Victor’s welfare. Indeed, numerous viewers expressed concern for The Penguin‘s most lovable character just two episodes into its eight chapter run. But, as Victor took on more responsibilities for Oz, coupled with how close the pair became throughout the Batman spin-off series, audience confidence grew that Victor might actually make it out alive.
Devastatingly, that wasn’t the case. As Oz and Victor celebrate a job well done by taking control of Gotham’s criminal underbelly, and mourn what happened to Oz’ mom Francis (more on her shortly), the tone of the scene shifts as Oz tells Victor he can’t leave any loose ends with what’s transpired over the last eight episodes. Grabbing Victor in a headlock, Oz murders Victor by suffocating him to death. To make things even worse from a viewing experience perspective, Oz leaves Victor’s dead body lying on the floor before throwing his I.D. card into Gotham’s river so no one can easily determine his identity.
As for Francis, she doesn’t join Victor on the dead character pile, but she might as well have. After suffering a serious stroke during the first half of ‘Great or Little Thing’, Francis is left in an assisted vegetative state.
Unwilling to let his mom die, Oz breaks the promise he made to Francis in episode 5 – a chapter where he agreed to help her to end her life if her Lewy Body Dementia illness severely diminished her quality of life. Discharging her from hospital, Oz takes a permanently bed-bound Francis to his new penthouse suite in the dilapidated La Couronne hotel he now owns. There, he positions his incapacitated mom in front of a window looking out onto the Gotham City skyline. At least Oz successfully kept one pledge to always look after her and give her a good life…
The Penguin ending explained: does Batman make a cameo?
Nope. Neither Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne or his masked vigilante alter-ego make an appearance in The Penguin‘s finale.
That’s to be expected, really. Ever since The Penguin‘s first episode debuted on some of the world’s best streaming services, showrunner Lauren LeFranc and executive producer Matt Reeves, the latter of whom is the creative overlord of ‘The Batman Epic Crime Saga’, which The Penguin is a part of, have consistently said that the Dark Knight wouldn’t show up. True to form, the duo weren’t pulling our collective leg in a bid to misdirect us.
That said, The Penguin doesn’t end without referencing the so-called Big Bad Bat. As Oz and Eve dance the night away in his penthouse, the Bat-Signal can be seen in the distance, with an unknown individual turning it on to catch Batman’s attention. The smart money says Jeffrey Wright’s Commissioner Jim Gordon is responsible for illuminating Gotham’s skyline with the iconic symbol – he’s got previous form for doing so, after all. Does The Penguin‘s final chapter, then, lead directly into The Batman Part II, aka the next project in development for ‘The Batman Epic Crime Saga’? Potentially, but I’ll delve into that in more detail later.
The Penguin ending explained: are there any other Batman-adjacent character appearances?
They do! After Oz’s courtroom chat with crooked senator Sebastien, the show’s titular character heads for the exit. As he does so, he spots Bella Real, Gotham’s newly installed major who played a minor role in The Batman, heading into her office with her secretary and security team.
As mentioned earlier, Mackenzie Bock is also part of proceedings, with Gotham’s police chief making his second appearance in ‘Great and Little Thing’ following his cameo in episode 5, aka ‘Homecoming’.
Lastly, although she doesn’t show up, Zoë Kravitz’s Selina Kyle is referenced in episode 8. Following Sofia’s re-incarceration in Arkham Asylum, Julian Rush brings Sofia a letter, penned by Selina, which reminds us (and informs Sofia) that they’re half-sisters. Remember, Carmine Falcone was revealed to be Selina’s dad in The Batman, so this revelation didn’t come as a shock to me, nor should it have to you, either.
The Penguin ending explained: is there a mid-credits or post-credits scene?
No. Well, there wasn’t one attached to my advanced press screener for episode 8. Unless a mid- or end-credits scene was added to the publicly released version, then, there isn’t one to stick around for once the show’s final credits sequence has rolled.
The Penguin ending explained: will there be a season 2?
Nobody knows but, at the time of writing, it’s highly unlikely. Work will begin on The Batman Part II (I’m getting to it, don’t worry) in early 2025, so that’s the next project that Reeves and company will be focusing on. With rumors that other The Batman spin-offs are also in development (per The Direct and The Wrap), one of which may be a Joker series starring Barry Keoghan (according to industry insider Jeff Sneider, as reported by ScreenTime), there might not be room to squeeze a second season of The Penguin into the schedule.
None of this takes Colin Farrell’s thoughts into the equation, either. The A-lister, who portrayed Oz Cobb in this show and The Batman, told GamesRadar that he doesn’t know whether a sequel season will be greenlit. Even if one is, he admits he needs time to decompress from the role, adding: “Lauren said ‘Look, if I could find a way that makes sense [to put on the prosthetics and suit again], would you talk about it?’ And I said ‘Absolutely.’ And, maybe in a year I would. But when I finished I was like, ‘I never want to put that f*****g suit and that f*****g head on again.'”
Still, with The Penguin‘s premiere pulling in over five million viewers on Max and HBO alone, the critical and commercial acclaim it’s been met with, and calls for Farrell and Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia, to earn multiple nominations ahead of next year’s awards circuit, I’d be amazed if HBO and DC Studios executives aren’t already clamoring for another installment. Keep an eye on TechRadar for more news when I have it.
The Penguin ending explained: how does the HBO show set up The Batman Part II?
The short answer is: I don’t know. Nobody outside of Reeves, his co-writer Mattson Tomlin, or Reeves’ fellow producer Dylan Clark know about The Batman Part II‘s story and how The Penguin‘s events will influence it. Indeed, speaking to Collider, Farrell revealed he had no idea about how the plot may unfold.
There are some storytelling aspects that we can infer about Pattinson’s next big-screen outing, though. Based on events depicted in The Penguin episode 8, Oz might find himself hanging out with Gotham’s political elite and various socialites in the forthcoming DC film. That was the main request he made to Sebastien if Oz helped the corrupt councillor to bring an end to the gang war that was infecting Gotham’s streets. If Sebastien also cleaned up Crown Point and shut down production of Bliss, the new drug that – ironically – Oz helped to flood the streets with, he’d be adored by Gotham’s populace, too, and give himself the best opportunity to ride to the top politically.
Sebastien agrees to help Oz but, with Mayor Real preparing to form an anti-corruption task force, Oz would need to ensure none of this, Sebastien’s newfound relationship with Oz included, can come back to bite them, which Oz concurs with.
If Oz begins to mingle with Gotham’s rich folk, The Batman Part II could see him come face-to-face with Bruce Wayne. Of course, Oz doesn’t know Wayne is Batman – Oz met the Caped Crusader, but not Wayne, in The Batman, so he won’t know they’re one and the same person – but it’ll be fascinating to see Wayne interact with Oz and try not to give away the fact that he’s Gotham’s number one crimefighter.
Elsewhere, it’ll be intriguing to see if Sofia makes an appearance, no matter how brief, in the sequel flick. Pattinson’s Wayne and Zoë Kravitz’s Selina Kyle grew close in The Batman and, while they went their separate ways during its final scene, there’s always the potential for Kravitz to reprise her role. If she does, The Batman Part II could pick up the loose plot thread about Selina and Sofia being half-sisters. That would certainly add some extra spice to proceedings, especially if Sofia uses Selina to get an audience with Batman in a bid to seek some form of retribution against Oz.
There’s been plenty more discussion about The Batman Part II, including who Reeves and Pattinson would like its main villain to be. Until production officially begins, though, your guess is as good as mine about how The Penguin sets up its plot and character roster. Hopefully, we’ll learn more once principal photography gets underway.
