The Penguin: A Great or Little Thing

"Oswald Cobb, man of the people."

That's really all he ever wanted to be. Or at least, that's how he always wanted to present himself. A man of the people, just like his childhood idol.

The Penguin: Top Hat

"Have fun gettin' out!"

There's a reason why urban explorers are warned to check the weather before exploring underground. Things can become very dangerous very, very quickly.

The Penguin: Gold Summit

"People buy from whoever is selling."

And right now, Oz is selling a lot. Bliss, promises, a vision of a grander and better future... it just remains to be seen if he can follow through on any of them. At least he got the lights back on.

The Penguin: Homecoming

"Freedom always comes at a cost, doesn't it?"

There weren't many good quotes to pull from this week, but this one felt the most applicable. After all, it's time we dealt with some of the debts that had piled up.

The Penguin: Cent'Anni

"Put your pants on, Johnny. We need to talk."

Wow. Just wow.

This might have been the best episode of TV that I've seen all year.

The Penguin: Bliss

"You act like wanting more is a bad thing, but, I mean, don't you want a better life than this?"

If there ever was a thesis statement for The Penguin, this is it. Do you want a better life for yourself, the very foundation of the American Dream, even if pursuing it is punished by society and viewed as wrong?

The Penguin: Inside Man

"I'm not safe. I'm home."

A more uneven, slower episode this time around, but one that greatly benefits from two awesome set pieces and a deeper look at a character that I didn't expect to get.

The Penguin: After Hours

"The world wasn't built for guys like us. That's why we got to take whatever we decide is ours.

I really enjoyed 2022's The Batman, but I was still cautious about the idea of movie stories set in that same world. Especially a television series that focused on the Penguin. He's a cool character, but I didn't see why this needed to exist or what story they could tell.

I didn't realize that this would be an origin story.

The Penguin

Season 1 |
Related Links |
Cast |

Taking place a week after the events of the 2022 movie The Batman, The Penguin (2024) follows Oz Cobb as he tries to carve a place for himself in Gotham's criminal underworld. But don't expect to find any superheroes here. This is far closer to a gangster story than anything involving capes.

All episodes of this limited series were reviewed by An Honest Fangirl.

Season One

1.1 After Hours
1.2 Inside Man
1.3 Bliss
1.4 Cent'Anni
1.5 Homecoming
1.6 Gold Summit
1.7 Top Hat
1.8 A Great or Little Thing

Related Links

Our DC Multiverse index includes links to all of our DC-related reviews

Cast

Colin Farrell (Oz Cobb)
Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone)
Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar)
Deirdre O'Connell (Francis Cobb)
Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush)
Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo)
David H. Holmes (Nick Fuchs)
Myles Humphus (Dom Gigante)