You can now watch my review of The Penguin TV series (HBO) with Richard Hanania. The finale aired this past Sunday with a shocking ending.
Obviously plenty of spoilers in this conversation.
Some of the topics covered:
Nature vs. Nurture: Sofia questions Oz’s mother about how she raised such a monster, but it’s clear Oz was psychopathically-inclined from the start. We see this with the flashbacks to his childhood
Ethnic Gang Dynamics: The ethnic tensions between the Irish, Chinese, Black, Latin, and Italian gangs. Gotham's underworld hierarchy which doesn’t actually reflect modern American cities. Somehow the Irish mobsters have Irish accents but the Italian mobsters sound like fully assimilated Americans. The show depicts a kind of mishmash of various parts of American history
Is the series pro-populist or anti-populist?: The show appears to critique populist themes, with Oz as a Lenin-like figure who appeals to the resentment of low-powered Gotham gangs to overthrow high-powered organized crime families.
Oz's Motives and Ruthlessness: Why did Oz kill Victor? He killed his own brothers out of jealousy, eliminating potential vulnerabilities from his inner circle. Yet, he allows his mother and girlfriend to live, which is inconsistent with his character
Would Oz have tolerated Sofia cutting off his mother's finger, or does he have limits on her actions?
Allies vs. Enemies: Oz kills an ally (Victor) but lets his enemy, Sofia, survive. This raises questions about his logic and strategy
Oz’s Rise to Power: It’s hard to believe someone as ruthless and untrustworthy as Oz could rise so high—gaining power requires allies, not just brute force
Oz’s Persuasive Abilities: Is it plausible that Oz can easily persuade others to join his cause? His success with Sofia and other gang leaders stretches believability.
Inner and Outer Ugliness: By killing his own brothers, Oz’s actions reveal him to be as twisted internally as he appears outwardly
Absence of Batman: Accepting the likelihood that Batman won’t appear this season, shouldn’t the explosion in Crown Point at least catch his attention? Richard and I wonder if Batman is on vacation. Or perhaps this will be explained in The Batman sequel which is supposed to come out in 2026
Product placement in the series. You see Sophia conspicuously sipping Hendriks gin (as it happens, Hendriks is my favorite gin) in the finale
Sopranos Homage: An overweight ruthless gangster who is sentimental about his domineering mother, feels like an homage to The Sopranos. Oz’s killing of Victor echoes the relationship between Tony and Chris
Breaking Bad. The Oz-Victor dynamic also calls to mind the Walter-Jesse one. Relatedly, while Walter benefited from some luck in Breaking Bad, Walt was also shown to be highly intelligent and crafty. Oz, in contrast, is meant to come across as shrewd and street smart, but mostly benefits from extraordinary luck
