Much like the animal the character is based on, the Penguin portrays a story of interweaving drama that leads to difficult decisions and tense moments of conflict. Gotham City is the perfect grounds for the Penguin to slide into trouble, diving for fish in the deep underbelly of the crime ridden series based in the land of the Batman.
The Penguin, better known as Colin Farrell with hours of make-up, waddled his way into the life of Sofia Falcone and her family by acting as her personal driver. The series invests a heavy amount of time providing some detail on Oz’s life, offering some insight into the man behind the fur. While HBO’s The Penguin promises backstabbing drama worthy of Batman’s attention, the series ultimately falls flat in many moments of conflict. The show’s clear attempts at creating suspense falls short with what can only be described as plot armor for Oz. The writers attempt to pull the audience in through these moments, offering monumental stakes of grand scale ranging from losing a loved one to dominating the streets of Gotham all together.
Even with all the conflict and empty threats, the monumental stakes apply to everyone, except Oz. He always finds a way to talk or betray his way out of a situation, yet he’s never caught in the crossfire of any other betrayal. Scene after scene, I was waiting for any sort of stakes to be applied to Oz. Admittedly, I had a hard time staying intrigued by the show due to this flaw.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I was committed to finishing the series based on the feedback I read online and my own enjoyment of the show. The Penguin was decent but it all seemed for nothing. I managed to reach one of the later episodes where Sofia manages to snatch Oz’s mom, his one true weakness. There I was, on my couch thinking that we finally had our moment of stakes for the Penguin.
She had taken down her own family and was finally going to find peace with the person that killed her brother. The moment was emotional, with Oz and his mom finally confronting the horrible act he did in killing his two brothers. A powerful moment that would shatter relationships and finally have an impact on who Oz is as a person. Yet, surrounded by Sofia’s men, the Penguin finds a way to stumble over to his mother, remove her restraints and shoot the guards.
The feeling of Oz’s invulnerability is only amplified by the fact that he is never hit in the face, most likely due to the make-up that was needed to transform Colin into the Penguin. While this restriction is understandable, his opponents inability to do any sort of damage to his face is especially evident in situations where it seems like his adversaries has the jump on him. With Salvatore finally getting his hands on the Penguin after he killed members of his family yet, he doesn’t hit him in the face? That doesn’t seem realistic.
The elements of an intriguing story require consequences. Consequences for actions ultimately drive narrative and character development. Without anything happening to Oz, all intensity and suspense was removed from the equation. Some might argue that his ability to skate away leads him to become the horrible person that he is. Even if that is the case, that doesn’t add value to the overall experience of the show.
Where The Penguin lacks in suspense, it makes up for with actor performances. Colin and Cristin absolutely crush it in their respective roles, bringing their characters to life. Without this aspect of the show, I doubt that I would’ve make it to the end. Especially considering Sofia’s fall from grace. The progression of her character felt forced, as though the writers detailed where she needed to end up at the end of the season, and poorly mangled something together to get her there.
Geoff W - A Space To Myself 