The Penguin Episode 3: Bliss (Spoiler Thread)

[chintai80]

each episode is like a mini-movie that stresses me out.
but in a good way.

borderline stresses me out like a safdie bros film.

but whereas the safdie bros crosses the line into near heart attack territory, this show walks that perfect line where it's still exciting and entertaining. lol

Spoiler

so now sofia knows oz has been playing the maroni's. is she going to put 2 and 2 together and figure out he's the one who killed alberto in the next episode? ahhhhhhhhhh!

 

[Iceman]

Critics only got the first 5 episodes.

Good to know, I can imagine the last few really amping things up too. So far it's got better with every episode.

Just looked it up, 8 episodes total rather than the 6 I'd guessed. Still a good way to go then of this top quality awesome ride.

 

[Sawyer]

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Critics only got the first 5 episodes.

I don’t think that’s true, I don’t have a source for it handy but I’m 99% sure multiple critics have said they saw the whole show.

 

[BobJM]

I recall a few folks saying they've seen all 8 episodes and alluding how the show will lead into Pt. II.

 

[Kane52630]

I don’t think that’s true, I don’t have a source for it handy but I’m 99% sure multiple critics have said they saw the whole show.

Yeah looking at it again, I guess I was wrong. I assumed they got only got 5 because I saw DT reviewing the first 5 episodes but it turns out he only got to 5 episodes but he had access to all of them.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[DeadlyWest]

HiTopFilms said he saw the whole show, so it's definitely a thing

Anyway, episode was gold standard as per with this show it seems. I absolutely love that they took the opportunity to give us a much closer and more personal POV of what the flood was actually like. The sorta far away city shots in the movie when the flood happens which almost try to shy away from any fatalities is arguably one of my few nitpicks with it. Meanwhile this makes it abundantly clear that there were A LOT of people killed from it

 

[DeadlyWest]

View attachment 106432

Honestly my first thought was fear toxin given the Arkham context. Maybe bliss has potential "bad trip" side effects which Scarecrow can emphasise with his own batch

 

[Sithborg]

Remember when they toned down the casualty and cost numbers in Civil War? Good times.

 

[DCDAVE]

I thought this was going to be a slowdown episode. Oz, Sophia, and Victor are all in. Emmys all around. Episode 4 looks like it will be off the chain. Oz is just telling the cold honest truth to Victor. Sophia is so vulnerable and just has the Falcone name but is still frightening. We have to wait two more years for the movie? Who is the real “Hangman”? Gotham’s unsolved mystery.

 

[3rdstone]

This actually has been getting better for each episode IMO. The interaction between Oz, Vic and Sofia is amazing. Great characters and great acting.

 

[DCDAVE]

Wow , another really powerful episode .

When Oswald was talking about doing what he does to give himself a better life, made him the most realistic portrayal of a Batman character to date imo.

In other words, it made him human in way I haven't seen in decades worth of interpretations of these characters.

At the same time, seeing a character like Victor suffering from PTSD from a sequence, which , in alot of CBM would be kinda a standard throw away set piece of destruction,
is also a surprise.

I admit , that even I thought the city flooding was a bit much after seeing The Batman in 2022.
But seeing it pay off here , and seeing how that sequence ruined this kid's life, makes the Riddler's plans even more devastating.



It's episodes like tonight's which make me so glad that Reeves gets to tell his story , in the way he wants it , in the universe he's created, without it being bound to a shared DC universe.

Episodes like tonight's make me appreciate that Reeves is getting to tell his own stories with his own vision.

Reeves’s movie is a Gotham story. If Reeves universe is grandfathered into the DCU it won’t have any effect on the new Universe like the comic books have no effect on the Justice League issues. Gunn would never make the DCU the MCU. He even said Superman is a story about Clark/Superman that just happens to have some othersuperheroes in it. Remember he was writing Superman as an else words movie originally.

 

[Boom]

I want so badly for this to mean Hatter, Ivy, Strange, or some combo of the three.

 

[BobJM]

I thought this was going to be a slowdown episode. Oz, Sophia, and Victor are all in. Emmys all around. Episode 4 looks like it will be off the chain. Oz is just telling the cold honest truth to Victor. Sophia is so vulnerable and just has the Falcone name but is still frightening. We have to wait two more years for the movie? Who is the real “Hangman”? Gotham’s unsolved mystery.

I think it’s gotta be Carmine right?

 

[Snow Queen]

Yeah, all money on Carmine. Especially with the promo for next week.

 

[BobJM]

I want so badly for this to mean Hatter, Ivy, Strange, or some combo of the three.

Hatter would be cool; I always thought he could be a good side villain for Catwoman to take down (along with Black Mask).

Honestly, I kept thinking Mr. Bloom from Snyder’s run. I think that’s even the guy’s name that shows Oz the mushrooms.

I doubt these will give you supernatural powers like Bloom’s “seeds” in the comic, but maybe you could stretch the euphoric effects.

 

[Sawyer]

I think it’s gotta be Carmine right?

After what he did to Selina’s mom and Annika, that’s my guess.

 

[Frodo]

Reeves’s movie is a Gotham story. If Reeves universe is grandfathered into the DCU it won’t have any effect on the new Universe like the comic books have no effect on the Justice League issues. Gunn would never make the DCU the MCU. He even said Superman is a story about Clark/Superman that just happens to have some othersuperheroes in it. Remember he was writing Superman as an else words movie originally.

It's not gonna happen.

The Reeves verse will remain the Reevesverse .

No Superman, No Lanterns, No Aliens, Gods , or Darkseid.

I could still see a spin off of GCPD set in the Reevesverse, but , a shared Universe with fantastical DCU characters inhabiting the same world as Oz and Victor , is off the table.

 

[Sithborg]

After what he did to Selina’s mom and Annika, that’s my guess.

Spoiler

There is definitely a reason why the camera focused on her mom's crypt

I do love how they are making Bliss. Its a kind of realistic strange weirdness that I think is what Reeves is going for in his Batverse. Not likely going to go full comic book, but some wonderful unique weirdness.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Yeah, all money on Carmine. Especially with the promo for next week.

Spoiler

The way she looks in the promo. Her papa was drugging her. Was it to convince her to take the fall, or did to get her to do the deed itself?

 

[Art Vandelay]

I loved the threat behind "Two days. Or I tell people that's where you went".

 

[J.Drangal]

Yeah, another great episode!

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing: the characters continue to be developed, the plot moves forward, the lore expands... No filler here, it's tight!
The atmosphere is absolutely perfect. I love the feeling of stress the series gives me, it's been a long time since I've felt that, and especially not from what is only a first handful of episodes!

It's been said 100 times, but Collin Farrel is really fantastic. He keeps giving more and more dimension to his characters, extending his range of emotions, gestures, intonations, tones of voice, etc.
The scene in the bathroom with Victor and the one outside the club with Sofia... Just superb.
Of course, the rest of the cast continues to deliver, and this episode gives Rhenzy Feliz in particular the opportunity to expand his range as Victor.

I also enjoyed this glimpse of the flood as seen through the eyes of Gotham's citizens.
I think it's something that was missing from the film, where, I have to say, the flood struck me as more of a logistical problem than a great human tragedy.
Also, continuing to see the repercussions of the Riddler's actions really gives this universe a real existence: this Gotham isn't just a backdrop.

I do love how they are making Bliss. Its a kind of realistic strange weirdness that I think is what Reeves is going for in his Batverse. Not likely going to go full comic book, but some wonderful unique weirdness.

Yeah, it's the subject of much debate, but personally, I've always seen The Batman universe as definitely a world of fiction.
Does it try to ground things? More or less. But we're definitely in a highly-stylized world with a nightmarish city in constant rain, gangsters in pinstripe suits, secret clubs, a masked vigilante, a masked terrorist, a freakish Joker, and so on. It's not flamboyant, but it's definitely comic-booky, like an old pulp and I LOVE that!

I was so sure that show would try to distance from these roots, I'm just super happy to see that world continue to evolve in something as singular as Gotham-City should be.
Like you, I find that the Bliss drug's introduction sums up this approach. And I think it would only be fitting for it to be, as speculate, the gateway to another iconic character... We'll see !

------

... This show's my Bliss now... I need more!

 

[J.Drangal]

Who is the real “Hangman”? Gotham’s unsolved mystery.

I think it’s gotta be Carmine right?

Yeah, all money on Carmine. Especially with the promo for next week.

After what he did to Selina’s mom and Annika, that’s my guess.

I’m still putting my money on Alberto.

From a writing standpoint he’s the one making the most sense to me.
I feel like Carmine as the Hangman would seem a bit of a non-event - we've already had a “ It was all Carmine Falcone” moment in the first film.
But the idea that the only family member Sofia cared about had secretly betrayed her, that could be the perfect “push” for her to fully fall into the madness she's trying so hard to hide.

I just feel like it's the revelation that would bring the most to the story.
And with Reeves apparently putting some focus on the parents/childrens angle of this universe, I think it would be pretty neat to explore how, in a twisted way, Falcone preferred one of his children. How he thought that his son, as crazy he might have been, had ultimately shown a better grip (what an unintentional pun...) to be his heir than her innoncent daughter...
I can even imagine Alberto having killed his own mother and Carmine still protecting him. There's perhaps also some mob machismo here: it's the son who has to take over the reigns later, no matter what.

Lastly, on a more minor note, it would give this version of Alberto the serial killer role he had in the comics.

In any case, it's great to see how well this series plays its cards.
The sense of mystery and tension... It feels like a season finale all the way.

 

[antsman41]

This show slaps… great characters, Gotham looks gorgeous, the writing is aces.

****.

I believe in Matt Reeves.

The way Victor feels real, love being on the streets of Gotham with him.