The Penguin The Penguin on HBO - General Discussion

[solidsnake86]

I do think he'd be there at whatever earthquake type event that is just to try and save who he can

Obviously having batman not there is a writing choice, but for me I just think of it as logistics. If batman is at one end of the city, how would he even know something like that happens, so by the time he hears about a 911 call, it would take a while to get to the scene.

I'm just curious, they went out of their way to say he's not in the show and I get it because you don't want a situation where he is expected and doesn't show up, but when they send out the screener episodes to reviewers, are those episodes locked in the sense that no further changes are made? From an interview with Reeves' it sounds like the episodes sent to reviewers are not colour graded and that's the only thing remaining. If that's the case I wouldn't expect a surprise appearance.

 

[Babillygunn]

Remember episode 2 car scene, btw:

Crime is up by 42% is just one single week, no power or supplies yet to certain districts. It is, as described, a No Man's Land situation in some areas.

Batman is very busy either way.

There are still thousands missing or to be rescued, needing direct help and whatnot. I doubt he had time to prioritize some criminals going at each other. Honestly, they are probably doing him a favor in his book.

Alfred likely opened a Champagne bottle in that hospital bed with the news of the entire Falcones taking themselves out of the picture.

Reminds me of No Man’s Land when people weren’t sure if Batman was even still around.

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

I think it's also important to remember this is a Batman very early in his career. Him helping at the Gotham Square Garden evacuation was his first public appearance to a majority of the city. He doesn't have the status of being the city's protector yet, even though we as the viewers know he will be. I doubt many residents would be wondering where he is right now.

 

[DCDAVE]

Don’t over think it. The first episode explains where the Batman is. He is helping the the people of Gotham after the flood. After watching episode 3 you can see the damage and death that Riddler caused. A gang war is the last thing on Bats mind right now.

 

[emielaen]

The show isn't about Batman so he's not in it. It doesn’t feel that deep imo.

 

[Kane52630]

Batman rn reading all the comments on why he's not on the show:

 

[Iceman]

Batman doesn't even want to appear in case he gets upstaged by Sofia!

 

[TheGDBatman]

Batman doesn't even want to appear in case he gets upstaged by Sofia!

My dream scene is Francis gets kidnapped by Sofia and Batman shows up to save her.

*Batman punches a goon. Goon shrugs it off. Batman doesn't pull his punch this time and knocks him out cold.*

Francis: "It took you two punches? Do you know how weak you look? Like a little p*ssy boy"

 

[Rod]

HBO released stills from Episode 5:




That Sofia one hits hard. Great imagery:

Spoiler

My guess for the episode:

I take it Nadia is done for. Oz gonna cook her (literally, apparently)

 

[Sawyer]

Folks are really popping tf off with this fan art…

 

[Rod]

Someone who already saw ep 5 sings heavy praises to Colin.

Direct reaction to it (only summed up broad impressions):

Just how delicious it is to watch this series.

Colin Farrell is to the Penguin, what Heath Ledger was to the Joker. Deirdre O'Connell (Actress who plays Francis Cobb) also deserves a lot of praise.

They opened a great path to the final confrontation.

 

[squeekness]

Watching now, holy crap! Oz was f'n brutal setting them on fire like that. That's why he didn't want Victor there.

 

[Luke995]

Incredible episode. House of the dragon's showrunners should take notes: this is how you relaunch a series after the midseason episode.

 

[Karelia]

I heard someone saying the Nelson ratings indicated this show may not be as big of a hit as everyone is claiming? Any truth to that, or more youtuber bologna?

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

I heard someone saying the Nelson ratings indicated this show may not be as big of a hit as everyone is claiming? Any truth to that, or more youtuber bologna?

Sounds like a lot of hoopla or sour grapes. Ratings or not, the show's been a darling among critics and viewers alike.

 

[solidsnake86]

I heard someone saying the Nelson ratings indicated this show may not be as big of a hit as everyone is claiming? Any truth to that, or more youtuber bologna?

I always thought success for HBO was measured differently because the ratings were always lower compared to regular cable. Just look at Succession.

Disney and Netflix's streaming platform will always have broader reach. The main thing is how it compares to other HBO shows and if it is successful internally. It then allows HBO the opportunity to license this show out for a higher price to Netflix, for example.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

I always thought success for HBO was measured differently because the ratings were always lower compared to regular cable. Just look at Succession.

Disney and Netflix's streaming platform will always have broader reach. The main thing is how it compares to other HBO shows and if it is successful internally. It then allows HBO the opportunity to license this show out for a higher price to Netflix, for example.

I know that's the case with FX for sure. Their shows compared to other networks never have the highest numbers, but most of the time it seems to be a measure of the show's quality. Numbers matter, but it's more how the show's received.

Legion, for example, had good but not great ratings in its second season and there was some speculation- myself included- about whether FX would axe the series due to the ratings. Luckily, that didn't happen.

 

[squeekness]

Sounds like a lot of hoopla or sour grapes. Ratings or not, the show's been a darling among critics and viewers alike.

It's fantastic! I can't see how anyone would says it's awful.

 

[solidsnake86]

Just on the ratings point, this was always conceived as a limited series, so the good thing is it never had to have amazing ratings to get the greenlight for a second season.

The data with ratings is so skewed nowadays you can make anything a success by making the numbers fit your narrative.

What I think will be most important is if they actually greenlight another series in Matt's universe and, if so, you know they would deem it to be a success. The other important part about this experiment is that it is getting great reviews. This will only help the batman sequel and doesn't damage anything related to it.

 

[TheGDBatman]

Truthfully, I hope they don't make a 2nd season.

This probably sounds contradictory to the above statement, but this series has been excellent so far. I've enjoyed every minute of the show & the promotional material (podcast, behind the scenes featurettes, etc). BUT, to me this show needs to exist as a one-off season. These shows excel when there is a story to tell, and it's not just handwaved into existence for the sake of content. In this case, the journey of Oz from joke/mid-level thug to crime lord is exceptionally interesting, and it lets us watch Oz as he strays further and further from his dream of being Rex Calabrese-like. I have to imagine by the end of the series he's "fully formed", with the "I'm-going-to-watch-a-mother-and-son-burn-and-be-deeply-satisfied" feeling representing the bulk of who he ends up being as a person. I'm not sure it would be that interesting to watch him be dark and depraved for a second season once that sense morality is gone.... and he also doesn't strike me as a character who will ultimately seek out a path for redemption.

My hope is that they can continue batting a thousand as a lead-up to The Batman II. After that, my preference would be to see other corners of this universe, whether that's through a Catwoman show, a Harvey Dent show, etc.

 

[chintai80]

Truthfully, I hope they don't make a 2nd season.

This probably sounds contradictory to the above statement, but this series has been excellent so far. I've enjoyed every minute of the show & the promotional material (podcast, behind the scenes featurettes, etc). BUT, to me this show needs to exist as a one-off season. These shows excel when there is a story to tell, and it's not just handwaved into existence for the sake of content. In this case, the journey of Oz from joke/mid-level thug to crime lord is exceptionally interesting, and it lets us watch Oz as he strays further and further from his dream of being Rex Calabrese-like. I have to imagine by the end of the series he's "fully formed", with the "I'm-going-to-watch-a-mother-and-son-burn-and-be-deeply-satisfied" feeling representing the bulk of who he ends up being as a person. I'm not sure it would be that interesting to watch him be dark and depraved for a second season once that sense morality is gone.... and he also doesn't strike me as a character who will ultimately seek out a path for redemption.

My hope is that they can continue batting a thousand as a lead-up to The Batman II. After that, my preference would be to see other corners of this universe, whether that's through a Catwoman show, a Harvey Dent show, etc.

agreed.

i just want this to be one really good single mini-series, leads into the batman part 2, and maybe have other single season spin-offs.

which lead into the final chapter of the batman. and that's it.

an epic crime saga.

 

[solidsnake86]

Unless they find a great story to tell, I agree and think you keep it as a limited series and leave it on a high note.

I thought the riddler year one comic was also excellent because there was a story to tell that was better in a book then it would have been in a tv show.

The great thing about Batman's villains is that they have great stories to pull from for a limited series. I think there are only so many options for a limited series for villains with name recognition. Riddler already had the movie and comic so I think he's out. To me that leaves you with joker, Catwoman and maybe two-face. But I'd love to see more.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

I still would love if that planned Arkham series happened instead of it ending up in the DCU instead. Especially after seeing more of this universe's take on Arkham.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I would love a prequel series about the origin of the asylum, showing the descent into madness of Amadeus Arkham.

 

[DKDetective]

I would be fine with him not showing up, but I do think he should be name dropped. I think it would be too glaring an omission for him to not at least be mentioned while all this violence is happening in the city.

Not an earthquake, but a bomb.

But its clear that the mob isn't very concerned about Batman. Just look at how Oz interacted with him in the movie, not much has changed since then.

I think based on the lessons that Bruce learned in The Batman, this mob isn't of a ton of concern to him at the moment because he is more occupied with protecting regular Gothamites from street crime, lawlessness, and chaos following the flood. Right now, the mob war is just bad guys killing other bad guys. Now the bomb devastation from the mid-season trailer with its potential to hurt innocent bystanders is definitely something more likely to get his attention.