Editor’s Note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Penguin finale.For the past seven episodes, we’ve seen Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) lie, cheat, kill, and charm his way through his quest to reach the top of Gotham’s criminal food chain. The penultimate episode of The Penguin revealed that, as a child, Oz was at fault for the death of his two brothers, locking them in an overflow tunnel during an intense rainstorm. Whether or not Oz intentionally killed them is left ambiguous, but his seething jealousy seems to be pointing one way.

Meanwhile, Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) visits Oz’s drug lab and dies of a heart attack while in the middle of exchanging fisticuffs with Oz. Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell) is still being held hostage at the hands of Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti), and the two have a conversation about how the queenpin’s tactics aren’t that dissimilar from her dead father’s, whom she still has the utmost hatred for. The episode ends with Sofia setting off a bomb in the drug lab, with Oz narrowly escaping. While walking through the wrecked streets of Crown Point, Oz is approached by the dirty cop Marcus Wise (Craig Walker), who knocks him out, taking him to Sofia. The eighth and final episode of The Penguin, titled “A Great or Little Thing,” wraps up Oz’s story, as we see whether he will truly rise to the top or if Sofia will put an end to everything.

Francis Reflects on Her Fateful Conversation with Rex Calabrese in ‘The Penguin’ Finale
Image via HBO

The episode opens with Francis being interrogated by Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi), reflecting on the aftermath of the death of her sons, Benny and Jack. While the previous episode showed these events through a young Oz’s perspective (Ryder Allen) with a more youthful Francis (Emily Meade), the finale depicts the past in a different light, placing present-day Francis into the scenario. At her home in Crown Point, Francis is visited by revered mobster Rex Calabrese (Louis Cancelmi), who reveals that he offered to pay for the funeral. Francis shows no interest in having the funeral at all, not wanting a pity party. Rex then shifts the conversation to Oz, who has repeatedly been showing up at his store, claiming that Francis refuses to speak with him or make any eye contact.

A devastated Francis solemnly states that she believes that Oz intentionally killed his brothers, showing Rex a flashlight she found in Oz’s jacket pocket. She points out that Oz could’ve told her that Benny and Jack were trapped, but instead said nothing, and locked them inside the overflow tunnel. She ends her story by saying, “I’ve got the devil in my house, Rex. What the hell am I supposed to do?” Rex tells Francis that he sees potential in Oz, and that his loyalty can be controlled to make him a great asset. Rex encourages Francis to embrace Oz’s loyalty and ambition, but she refuses, asking Rex to kill him for her.

Later that night, Francis gets dressed up and takes Oz out to Monroe’s nightclub. Oz giddily looks around the club and points out Rex, who looks over at them, with Francis telling her son that Rex will be driving him home later. Francis looks across the club and spots Sofia and Julian watching her, with the latter telling her to stay in the moment. Oz promises Francis that he’ll take care of her no matter what, wanting to give her all of Gotham. Back in the present day, Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) panics when he spots smoke in the distance, believing that Oz could be in danger — or, worse yet, dead. He goes on to berate the other gang leaders, including the Triad head Feng Zhao (François Chau), for being cowards and only using Oz for access to Bliss, not because of what he’s doing for their communities. In retaliation, Zhao’s lieutenant Link (Robert Lee Leng) punches Vic in the gut, and they leave him.

Oz wakes up gagged at Monroe’s, as Sofia orders Julian to bring out Francis. Sofia begins to tell the story of how, when she was a little girl, she found a nest of baby birds at her family’s estate, and how the runt of the litter ended up killing its siblings to get its mother’s attention, comparing the situation to Oz and Francis’ relationship. Sofia ungags Oz and demands that he admit that he killed his brothers, but Oz ignores her request, spewing out insults. Sofia then proceeds to tell Oz that Francis had initially hired Rex to kill him after the death of his brothers. In response, Francis spits on Sofia.

Sofia then orders Julian to chop off Francis’ pinky, much like what Oz did to Alberto, unless the truth is told. Francis screams at Oz, ordering him to do what Sofia wants, as he’ll be saving her once more, but Oz continues to deny everything. She finally breaks, telling Oz that she has always known the truth. Oz claims that she’s confused and that her disease is making her remember things that never actually happened. Francis screams at Oz, telling him that she hates him for what he did and that she’ll never forgive him. Satisfied, Sofia states that Oz truly doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and lets Francis approach Oz. Francis tells her son that he’s a disappointment and that she should have killed him when she had the chance, before breaking a glass bottle and stabbing him in the stomach, all while envisioning a drenched Jack and Benny watching her. Francis collapses, causing Oz to finally break free of his restraints, grabbing a pistol and his mother’s unconscious body before running out of Monroe’s and stealing a car to get away, shooting Detective Marcus Wise in the process.

Oz Makes a Deal in ‘The Penguin’ Finale
Image via HBO

Oz arrives at the hospital and gets his mom on a stretcher before stealing a phone to call Vic. Oz hides in a storage room and begins stapling his stab wound shut, just as Vic walks in. Oz fibs to Vic and claims that Sofia stabbed him, not Francis; meanwhile, Vic apologizes for letting the other gangs get away, but Oz assures him that he has nothing left to offer them. Vic tells him that isn’t true, telling him about how many people he’s helped, and how gang members, such as Link, look up to him, as they give people like him a greater purpose. Impressed with Vic’s speech, Oz orders him to help him get up and get out of the hospital. Gotham’s gang leaders arrive at the Gigante estate, where Sofia reveals that she plans on leaving Gotham, and whoever finds Oz and brings him to her gets her criminal empire. The room goes into a state of disbelief before Link breaks the silence, claiming that Sofia is lying to them.

Oz and Vic arrive at the Gotham courthouse, and as Oz prepares to meet with Councilman Hady (Rhys Coiro), Vic receives a phone call from Link, telling him that he wants to help. Oz waddles his way into the empty courthouse and is found by Hady, who he proceeds to thank for restoring power to Crown Point but claims that the neighborhood’s residents will want more concrete answers after the deadly explosion. Oz tells Hady to inform the public that the now-destroyed drug lab was entirely Salvatore Maroni’s operation and that he was the one behind Bliss. Oz proceeds to claim that Maroni was the one who killed Alberto, and in response, Sofia killed Nadia and Taj before blowing up the drug lab. Hady warns Oz that Mayor-Elect Bella Reál (Jayme Lawson) will soon be going after the city’s ne’er-do-wells, and in order for him to get away with his crimes, he’ll need to look clean in the public eye. As Oz leaves, he spots Reál in a cast, talking with her associates. Instead of finding Vic waiting for him on the street, Oz is shocked to see Link and several Triad members, who order him to get in their van.

Related Colin Farrell Reveals How Much He Knows About ‘The Batman: Part II’ [Exclusive] The actor’s standalone series ‘The Penguin’ comes to a climactic ending on November 10.

Sofia Gets Caught in ‘The Penguin’ Finale
Image via HBO

As Sofia packs her bags and prepares to leave the estate, she lights three cigarettes and sticks them into her mouth, ultimately using them to burn down her family’s mansion. Sofia arrives at her family’s hangar and is greeted by the Triad, who are holding Oz at gunpoint. Sofia becomes nervous as she sees Oz begin to smirk, and before she can even say anything, Link pulls out his pistol and shoots Zhao dead, with Oz and Vic killing the other gang members. Vic holds Sofia at gunpoint, demanding her gun before ordering her to go for a drive with him, “like old times.” As they drive, Sofia asks Oz how he got Link to turn, and he responds by saying he gave him a shot, something nobody else ever would give to him, including her. Oz reveals that Link wasn’t alone, and a montage shows the deaths of all of Gotham’s crime bosses at the hands of their underlings.

The two arrive at a secluded area, where Oz leads Sofia to a spot underneath a bridge. Sofia mocks Oz, asking about his mother and whether Francis has ever told him that she loves him. Oz tells her to turn around, but before she does, she makes another snide remark: “You were right. I didn’t see you. But she did. She knew from the very beginning. You have always been a monster.” Sofia faces the water as Oz readies his gun, having come to terms with her imminent demise. Shockingly, Oz doesn’t shoot her; instead, Sofia is greeted by the GCPD, who detain her.

Oz and Vic arrive back at the hospital as the former giddily greets his mother, by turning on the news and showing her that he succeeded in what he had promised her. Francis doesn’t respond or even make any sort of movement, alarming Oz. A nurse tells them the devastating news: Francis has suffered a severe stroke that has left her in a vegetative state and has little chance of recovery. Oz becomes hysterical, refusing to believe the news, and asks his unresponsive mother to tell him she’s proud of him, as Vic consoles him.

Oz Becomes King in ‘The Penguin’ Finale

Later that night, Oz and Vic share a drink while sitting on a bench in a public park, reminiscing about losing their families. Vic thanks Oz for taking a chance on him after he lost his family and was at his lowest point. He then says that Oz has become family to him. Oz goes on to thank Vic for sticking with him even when he was at his lowest point and being at his side for every step of his journey — but then adds, “I can’t bring you with me this time.” Oz proceeds to choke Vic to death. Before leaving, Oz takes Vic’s wallet and cash before chucking his ID into the water. Sometime later, Sofia is back at Arkham and is visited in her cell by Dr. Julian Rush, who hands her a letter from a woman named Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), who claims to be her half-sister. What is said in the letter is never revealed, and we only see Sofia beginning to smile as she reads it.

Oz arrives at the La Couronne Hotel, where he sets aside his jacket and top hat before walking into a room overlooking Gotham, with Francis still unresponsive in her hospital bed. As Oz talks to his mother, she blinks, and a single tear runs down her face. Oz then waltzes into the adjoining ballroom as Eve Karlo (Carmen Ejogo) greets him, dressed in a way reminiscent of his mother. The two begin to dance with one another as Oz tells Eve to tell him that she’s proud of him and that she loves him. The episode ends as the camera pans outside the ballroom, as the Bat Signal flickers on above the Gotham skyline.

In the past few episodes, we’ve been contemplating if there was any sense of redemption for Oz. After this finale, it seems safe to say that any sense of goodness that Oz had left inside of him was killed alongside Vic. In some ways, the finale of The Penguin feels predictable. Obviously, we always knew that the series would ultimately end with Oz coming up on top. After all, this series is built to set up The Batman: Part II. Yet the series found a way to throw any expectation out the window. Vic was going to die from the moment Oz took him under his wing — but for Oz himself to kill him, especially after sparing Sofia? It’s shocking, to say the least.

The Penguin has done a phenomenal job of fleshing out its ensemble, particularly Sofia, Vic, and Francis. But this finale takes things back to the titular character, reminding us that this was Oz’s story all along, and he may be even more depraved than we initially thought. When Farrell first appeared as the character in The Batman, he was certainly a bad guy, but he was also used as comic relief. After the finale, we now see him for who he really is. Sofia was right: Oz Cobb is a monster.

All episodes of The Penguin are now available to stream on Max.

The Penguin comes to a devastating and shocking end, putting its central character into his rightful place in Gotham.ProsThe bait-and-switch between Oz sparing Sofia and killing Vic is a brutal but effective choice.The series ends with Oz Cobb seeming more depraved than when we first met him.The callbacks to The Batman feel natural and not forced.

It follows the transformation of Oswald Cobblepot from a disfigured nobody to a noted Gotham gangster.Release Date September 19, 2024 Cast Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O’Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi Seasons 1 Prequel The Batman (2022) Story By Bill Finger, Bob Kane Writers Lauren LeFranc Franchise(s) Batman , DC Elseworlds Showrunner Lauren LeFranc Avg Episode Length 60 Mins Expand

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