The Penguin The Penguin on HBO - General Discussion

[Iceman]

As great as the premiere was, I thought this second episode completely blew that away. The direction and the pacing in this episode was perfect and man I just can't get enough of Colin Farrel in this role.

I feel like I'm pretty much glued to the screen every time he's onscreen and I love it. His interactions with all the different gangsters is pure gold and the small scale set pieces in this were fantastic.

I also can't wait to see more of Theo Rossi's character.

Same here. The premiere really was great, but this was a lot better still! This show couldn't be going any better to this point.

I wanted them to get Sofia right and she's been the best outside Farrell. Also very much looking forward to seeing more of Theo Rossi, he's only going to improve things further.

 

[Boom]

I've won.

Invest in Batt Reeves.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I hadn't realized Mark Strong will be replacing John Turturro. That's going to be...interesting...

 

[Boom]

I just assumed we were seeing Falcone in flashbacks. Is he a recast of 2022 Falcone?

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

I think it has to be flashbacks, even though Mark Strong (61) and John Turturro (67) aren't that far apart in age. Maybe we'll find out when and why Oz went to Carmine to say what she was up to, thus setting up her being sent to Arkham.

I assume if Turturro was available, he'd probably have reprised his role and maybe they'd just make him look a bit younger.

 

[Gandhi]

Cristin Milioti has been such a standout for me so far. Every time she’s on screen is so captivating. We knew what Farrell was going to bring and he’s been amazing too. Can’t wait for more scenes of them together.

 

[Sawyer]

So Sofia was already the Hangman killer in this universe (all be it her targets were different), so I am wondering... who took her down? Was that one of Batman's early cases in this universe?

Considering what she was accused of, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was in Arkham before Bruce formally started his mission.

Feels like she probably should’ve had a somewhat lengthy stay.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Considering what she was accused of, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was in Arkham before Bruce formally started his mission.

Feels like she probably should’ve had a somewhat lengthy stay.

She only seems to be out because of some strings being pulled, so who knows.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I just assumed we were seeing Falcone in flashbacks. Is he a recast of 2022 Falcone?

I’m guessing flashbacks of what went down with Sofia? Unconfirmed but Strong is clearly styled to look younger than John.

 

[MattyHodge98]

Does anyone think vic could end up being victor zsasz or not

 

[Sawyer]

Does anyone think vic could end up being victor zsasz or not

Ehhhhh…

I think Vic essentially being to Penguin what Johnny Frost was to the Joker in Azzarello/Bermejo’s Joker graphic novel is enough. I don’t think we need any kind of identity twist.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Ehhhhh…

I think Vic essentially being to Penguin what Johnny Frost was to the Joker in Azzarello/Bermejo’s Joker graphic novel is enough. I don’t think we need any kind of identity twist.

Oh, that's a fun comparison. Hadn't thought of that!

 

[blueharvest]

Colin Farrell responds to comparison to 'one of TV’s best performances ever'

Fans have been raving over Oz Cobbs' return in The Penguin.

metro.co.uk

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Colin Farrell responds to comparison to 'one of TV’s best performances ever'

Fans have been raving over Oz Cobbs' return in The Penguin.

metro.co.uk

He's seen only two episodes of The Sopranos and has still seen more episodes than I have (for now)!

 

[TheGDBatman]

Finallllllllly had the chance to watch the first two episodes over the past couple of nights. Wow. The premiere was absolutely fantastic. I thought the second episode slowed down a touch, but it was still brimming with tension. You can feel how dangerous of a game Oz is playing.

The actor playing Vic has such a genuine innocence to him, he's the perfect sidekick to Oz right now. It really helps showcase Oz's transformation from "the joke" to the king.

 

[blue scholar]

I hope they'll end the season with a Roman Sionis introduction/mention. Since this is Penguin's rise to power, might as well give him someone from Batman's rogue gallery to be preoccupied with in The Batman: Part II.

Kinda like how Boardwalk Empire sets up future feuds/storylines with historic crime figures.

 

[The Shape]

Loving the show, but as usual with Batman spinoffs, it does feel a little odd that NO ONE has talked about or mentioned Batman at all...

 

[TheGDBatman]

Loving the show, but as usual with Batman spinoffs, it does feel a little odd that NO ONE has talked about or mentioned Batman at all...

In fairness, it was mentioned on the news broadcast in Episode 1. But aside from that you're right, no real mentions of him.

 

[Kane52630]

It hasn't bothered me at all which is a true testament of how great the show is so far.

 

[Venom 1988]

Instead of Batman, what if Matches Malone shows up in this show?

 

[Sawyer]

It’s definitely something I’ve noticed, but 1) it’s early days (and yeah, we did get a mention in the newscast), and 2) I think they’re forced to strike a balance… don’t mention Batman at all and it’ll seem like you’re ignoring him, but if you mention him too much, at a certain point people will start asking why he isn’t just there.

 

[Kane52630]

Also going back to the first movie and how he uses the batsignal to ward off criminals, he can't be everywhere but also they mention in episode 2 how crime has gone up. To me, it's all integral and done intentionally.

 

[The Shape]

It's not bothering me, but it is something that is kind of funny to think about. I mean, Batman played such a large role in taking down Falcone. Batman had a huge chase and multiple confrontations with Oz. Just funny that none of the actual characters have mentioned him even in passing.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

It's not bothering me, but it is something that is kind of funny to think about. I mean, Batman played such a large role in taking down Falcone. Batman had a huge chase and multiple confrontations with Oz. Just funny that none of the actual characters have mentioned him even in passing.

In the first season of Daredevil, the Battle of New York from The Avengers was mentioned much more directly, but they made the references less direct because referencing an alien invasion clashed with the tone of the show that they were going for.

I assume that is the case here as well? That the more they mention Batman, the expectations that he would show up, etc, would undermine what they are going for with the show. Its a tricky tightrope that these spinoff type shows have to walk.

 

[BatsAndNights]

We're only two episodes in, I feel like this is a bit early to start judging the show's frequency of mentioning Batman. Especially when we only maybe had 30 minutes total spent in the time of day Batman would be prowling around and the predominant focus of the plots have been the in-fighting of the Falcone family rather than anything which is gonna have Batman be a potential factor. I imagine we'll get a mention somewhere of how they try to plan for the potential risk of "Da Bat showin' up"