Wow. Just wow.
This might have been the best episode of TV that I've seen all year.
When I had heard that this was going to be a Sofia flashback episode, I was a little wary. I didn't want to spend the entire time going through backstory when the last episode ended on such a moment of tension and excitement. But wow. Can we rename this show to The Hangman? Or just Falcone? Because there's no way that she's going to survive the series otherwise and I really, really want her to.
Cristin Milioti was absolutely mesmerizing. She was on screen for every second, and I could not take my eyes off her. If she doesn't win an Emmy for this, I will be shocked.
Sofia was actually a good person ten years ago. While I figured that she wasn't actually a serial killer, I still expected her to kick puppies on the weekend. But no. She seemed... shockingly normal. Even though she was well aware of who the Falcones were and wanted to be her father's successor, she felt like any other wealthy socialite. She was doing charity luncheons!
It's a very stark change from the Sofia of the present day, but the core of the character is still the same. She held the same loyalty to her family, as well as the same tendency to retreat to cutting words whenever she felt cornered.
Oz got the worst of it, of course. It was nice to see him as her driver. Their early interactions were very warm, but it couldn't last. I'm a little surprised that Sofia talking to a reporter is what Oz 'ratted' on. I had expected something... more. Bigger. It really was just a single event. I guess that's all it takes, though, especially when you also imply that you know your father is a serial killer.
Yeah, if there is one thing that I didn't love, it's that Carmine Falcone was the real Hangman. It makes sense, given his actions in The Batman, but I was hoping for a currently living character. I wanted it to be someone that Sofia could interact with in the present.
Oh well.
Arkham was as hellish as you'd expect, although it's Arkham State Hospital as opposed to an Asylum. There's no Dr. Strange either, but Dr. Ventress is a good substitution. I don't know if he actually was on Carmine's payroll, if he genuinely thought Sofia was insane and guilty, or if he was just a psychopath who enjoyed torturing people, but the end result was the same.
I didn't expect to see her snap and kill Magpie, but there was also something cathartic about it. She was pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed and in that moment, Sofia pushed back. It didn't work, but it was a moment where she asserted her own power again. And it set up the end of the episode very well.
Yeah, I really didn't expect that either. I expected the Falcone family to continue to be a thorn in everyone's sides. It was a very elegant solution, though. And Sofia made sure to get the innocent Gia out before everyone else suffocated to death. Well, everyone but Johnny. I was wondering why she deliberately left that window open. He still has a role to play.
One of the best things that this episode did was that it gave us more of the bond between Sofia and Alberto. We saw so little of him before Oz shot him, and it wasn't in a very flattering light. Now we understand why Sofia is so angry and heartbroken over his murder. He was the only one who never abandoned her. He kept trying to get her out. He was by her side when she was arrested. All of it. I'm actually really sad, now, that we won't get more of their bond, and that was something that I really didn't expect.
And that is why I almost wish that the show wasn't called The Penguin. Because now that she knows that Oz killed Al, there is no way that she's going to let any of this go. She will burn him to the ground. The only question now is if Oz will kill her or somehow ensure that she goes back to Arkham. I don't want either outcome. I want her to win.
Random Thoughts
Cent'Anni is an Italian toast meaning "May you live a hundred years."
Magpie is a comic book character. She has appeared a few times in live action before, namely in Gotham and Batwoman.
Gia and the Young Sofia looked very similar to me. I actually had to look them up to make sure that it was a different actress.
Sofia in that yellow dress. Wowza.
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An Honest Fangirl loves video games, horror movies, and superheroes, and occasionally manages to put words together in a coherent and pleasing manner.
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