Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Penguin Episode 5.

After a powerhouse episode focusing entirely on Sofia Falcone’s (Cristin Milioti) time in Arkham, The Penguin shifts the narrative back to Oz (Colin Farrell) in this week’s episode, titled “Homecoming.” In case you need a refresher, Episode 4 of The Penguin went back in time a decade prior, where we followed a shockingly not unhinged Sofia Falcone making donations and founding charities that help aid women who are suffering from mental illness. Sofia is still shown to be haunted by discovering her mother’s corpse and is told by her father, Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong), that it was a suicide. Sofia’s morals are tested when confronted by Summer Gleeson (Nadine Malouf), a reporter for the Gotham Gazette, who reveals that other women close to her father have also been found dead, having committed suicide in the same way. Realizing that her father is a serial killer, targeting women, Sofia attempts to corroborate the story but is caught by Oz, who snitches on her to her father.

Carmine accuses Sofia of the crimes, with the rest of the Falcones, except for Alberto (Michael Zegen), testifying against her. Dubbed by the media as “The Hangman,” Sofia tries to plead her innocence but is instead sent to Arkham Asylum for the next 10 years, sculpting her into the ruthless mobster we saw in the first three episodes. The episode concludes with Sofia killing almost the entire Falcone family via carbon monoxide poison but sparing Johnny Viti (Michael Kelly) — that is, at least for now.

Sofia Tortures Viti in ‘The Penguin’ Episode 5
Image via HBO

“Homecoming” opens directly after the events of Episode 3, as Oz and Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) set fire to the former’s beloved purple Maserati. As Oz lights the match, he tells Vic about Rex Calabrese, a mobster who used to roam Oz’s childhood neighborhood in a gold Cadillac, comparing the car to a chariot. As they walk away, Vic apologizes to Oz for wrecking his beloved violet chariot, but the mobster brushes it off, thanking him for saving his life and showing where his true alliances lie. Several of Oz’s men arrive at the scene and are shown a TikTok of Salvatore Maroni’s (Clancy Brown) son, Taj (Aria Shahghasemi), at a tattoo shop. Oz and his men arrive at Taj’s location and shoot his guards, causing the young Maroni to attempt to flee, only to be tackled by Vic. Oz holds Taj at gunpoint before quickly knocking him out.

At Blackgate, Oz shows Salvatore and Nadia (Shohreh Aghdashloo) a Polaroid of a bruised-up Taj. Infuriated, the Maronis accuse Oz of using their son as a pawn, to which Oz replies that the only way to get their son back is to give him back the stolen supply of Bliss. Oz initially requests for Nadia to show up to the exchange alone, but Salvatore refuses the request, with Oz eventually allowing her to bring only one guard. Oz assures them that Taj will be just fine as long as they honor their end of the bargain and give him the Bliss back. As Oz leaves Blackgate, he sees a news report on the TV about a deadly gas leak at the Falcone estate, with Sofia being one of the few survivors.

As Sofia leaves her home, she is approached by GCPD Chief Mackenzie Bock (Con O’Neill), a character we previously saw in The Batman. Bock questions Sofia about what transpired that led her and Viti’s young niece Gia (Kenzie Grey) to spend the night in the greenhouse. She lies and claims that Luca (Scott Cohen) and Viti were fighting over Luca’s wife, Tina (Tess Soltau), and she was told to take the young girl into the greenhouse for the night. Bock asks Sofia about whether she knows of Viti’s whereabouts, which she denies, claiming that he must have left that night. Suspicious of Sofia’s answers, Bock further questions her, to which she responds by taunting him, accusing him of making light of her family’s death.

While it may not be as exciting as seeing Robert Pattinson or Jeffrey Wright reprising their roles from The Batman, the appearance of O’Neill’s Bock still stands out. While many superhero shows will often make a big deal about the return of a character, it’s refreshing to see The Penguin play out Bock’s appearance casually. It just serves as a small reminder that yes, Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon might not be on-screen, but they are clearly still out there.

Later, Sofia arrives at her family’s burial site with a bucket of cold water, and it is revealed that she has Viti tied up and gagged. Sofia begins to torture Viti, demanding that he show her where her father kept his money, promising that she’ll let him go. Viti refuses, believing that Sofia will kill him anyway, to which Sofia responds by dousing him with freezing cold water. Meanwhile, Oz and his men are keeping Taj at Eve Karlo’s (Carmen Ejogo) apartment, much to her dismay and concern. Oz promises her that he won’t let anything happen to her, but she remains frustrated, warning him that she needs him to “fix” the situation. Oz talks to his men, telling them that she should not have any concern about what happened to the Falcones, believing that Sofia has done them a favor. Oz instructs Vic to pick up to go pick up his mother, Francis (Deidre O’Connell), while he and his men take Taj to Nadia.

On the other side of things, Sofia continues taunting Viti, where he tells her that her mother, Isabella, was planning on leaving Carmine the night of her demise, and had even attempted to flee before, but decided to stay to protect her children. Angered, Sofia chokes Viti, accusing him of lying, to which he finally relents and offers to give her what she wants, claiming “I couldn’t help your mother, let me help you.” Vic arrives at Francis’ home only to find it in disarray and finds her sitting in her bedroom, looking at family keepsakes. Believing that Vic is one of her sons, she begins showing him an old baseball glove. Vic reminds her of who he is, and she snaps out of her daze. As Vic helps Francis out of bed, he sees a bruise on her arm. Vic tells Francis about the death of the Falcone family, and she asks whether Oz was the one who killed them. Not knowing what to do, he tells her that Oz killed the family, much to her approval.

2:22 Related ‘The Penguin’ Is Already Doing This Better Than Both Joker Movies The HBO series tackles this issue far better than either of the Todd Phillips movies.

Oz Sets the Maronis on Fire (Literally) in ‘The Penguin’ Episode 5
Image via HBO

While in his prison cell, Sal is visited by Mikey (Joshua Bitton), one of Oz’s men disguised as a prison guard, who attempts to kill him on Oz’s behalf. Sal grabs the guard while being stabbed, leaving both of their fates unknown. Meanwhile, Oz arrives at a parking garage to meet up with Nadia and her armed guard, and she immediately demands her son. Oz escorts Taj, who is shown to be drenched in gasoline with duct tape over his mouth, out of his van, then orders his men to check the Bliss and drive away, but Nadia demands that he release Taj first. After mother and son are reunited, Oz and his men are ambushed by the Maronis’ men but are quickly able to take them out. In retaliation, Oz lights a match, setting Taj and Nadia on fire, and they burn to death.

Oz and his men drive away as the fire alarm goes off. After pulling over at their safe point, Oz discovers that almost all the Bliss has gone bad and that only two buckets of the drug are salvageable. Panicked, Oz calls Mikey, only for Salvatore to answer, informing him that his man is dead; what’s more, the head of the Maroni crime family has escaped from Blackgate. Salvatore threatens Oz, to which Oz responds by telling him to call Nadia. Oz then calls Vic, who tells him that Francis is OK. He instructs Vic to take Francis to a safe location, where “nobody would think to look.”

At the Falcone estate, Sofia is visited by Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi), who tells her that he kept quiet after being questioned by the police. As Julian pledges to join Sofia, she examines her mother’s fur coat, which has the name “Isabella Gigante” embroidered on it. Now wearing the coat, Sofia makes her entrance to her men, including Viti. Sofia admits to killing the Falcone family and having no regret over her actions before calling her men expendable — outside of Viti, who is still a made man to the family. Sofia declares that her father’s legacy is dead and that she will now be taking her mother’s maiden name, Gigante. Viti interjects, telling her not to make any rash decisions, but before he can even finish speaking, Sofia casually shoots him in the head. She then opens a duffel bag full of Carmine’s money, telling her men that her father made money off their labor while keeping it all to himself. She promises them that if they pledge their allegiance to her, she will ensure that they will get the money they deserve. Julian watches Sofia in awe as she dumps the money onto the table.

We knew what Sofia was capable of — she just killed the rest of her family, for Christ’s sake — but after seeing the woman that she used to be in last week’s episode, there is something even more unnerving about her at this moment, especially in the fact that she didn’t as much blink before shooting Viti. It’s not that we feel bad about Viti’s death, but paired with Oz’s brutal slaying of Nadia and Taj, the series seems to be relishing in having the two central characters one-upping each other in terms of their viciousness. However, while Oz’s act was out of desperation, Sofia’s was far more cold-hearted.

Vic takes Francis to the ruins of Crown Point, which is overrun with looters in the wake of the flood. While fleeing to an abandoned and decaying apartment building, the two are spotted by a local drug dealer. Francis tells Vic that she hates the apartment, as it reminds her of the apartment she used to share with her sons, claiming that the east side of Gotham is cursed because it takes everything from you. Oz arrives at Eve’s apartment, pleading for her to come with him to Crown Point, but she refuses to go with him. Oz is angered, but Eve calms him by saying that while she still believes in him, she will only hold him back. While not as explosive as the aforementioned deaths of Viti, Nadia, and Taj, this moment feels so reminiscent of that of the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems. Thus far, the tension in “Homecoming” makes the series feel as if it’s about to erupt. We shouldn’t care about Oz, yet we don’t want to see him and his loved ones die.

Sofia and Sal End Their Families’ Feud in ‘The Penguin’ Episode 5
Image via HBO

In a remote cabin, a drunken Sal sobs while looking at a picture of Nadia and Taj. Moments later, Sofia barges into the cabin, holding Sal at gunpoint. She tells him that “freedom comes at a cost,” and that her father always found him to be weak because of how much he cared for his family. She begins to praise him for “getting it right,” and tells him that they have both been screwed over by Oz and that she wants to end the war between their families. Sal is hesitant, until Sofia tells him that the name Falcone no longer exists, offering him to form an alliance between the Maronis and the Gigantes, where they work together to kill Oz and take over Gotham.

Oz arrives at the safehouse in Crown Point where Vic and Francis are already fast asleep. Oz wakes his mother up and lies down in bed next to her, apologizing to her and promising that he’s going to try to “fix things.” Francis questions Oz by asking, “Are you trying to kill me?” To which he responds, “I’m trying to protect you.” Then, Vic wakes up and sees Oz rummaging through his mother’s keepsakes in the living room. He commends Vic for making the smart move to relocate. Vic asks Oz about his childhood, after being told that he used to live in Crown Point. Oz mentions that the old baseball glove that Francis showed Vic earlier belonged to his brother Jack. It’s in that moment Vic finally works up the nerve to ask Oz about what happened to his brothers, but Oz gives a vague answer: “The city took them, just like it took your family.” He claims that he was too weak to save them before their demise. While continuing to rummage through the keepsakes, he finds a token from Gotham’s now-abandoned Trolley Station, allowing the two of them to break in. Oz tells Vic that the station has access to all of Gotham. He uses a generator to restore power to the station, declaring it as their new base of operations, as the humidity will make it the perfect place to keep and maintain their supply of Bliss. The episode ends as the power cuts off in the station, leaving Oz and Vic in the dark.

It was always going to be next to impossible for “Homecoming” to top last week’s episode, but it still comes incredibly close. Despite having a runtime of close to an hour, the pacing of the latest episode of The Penguin is chaotic as it is tight. Farrell and Milioti continue to excel in their roles as Oz and Sofia, but Kelly and Brown also truly shine in their roles as Viti and Salvatore. Up until this point, we’ve seen Kelly portray Viti as merely a self-absorbed prick; to see him in a state of desperation just goes to show how much the stakes have been raised. Brown had previously been relegated to a single location as Maroni, but now that he’s escaped, he brings a new level of menace to the role, making him yet another incredibly intimidating character to add to the series’ roster. “Homecoming” never wastes a single second, requiring us to pay close attention to every single frame. However, it doesn’t once feel too convoluted, as director Helen Shaver and writers Breannah Gibson and Shaye Ogbonna succeed at channeling the controlled yet tense atmosphere.

“Homecoming” comes close to reaching the heights of the previous episode, delivering the most tense episode of The Penguin yet.ProsEpisode 5 flies by at an extremely fast pace, perfectly building tension.Episode 5 cleverly compares the acts of violence from both Oz and Sofia.Clancy Brown and Michael Kelly bring their A-game to their supporting roles as Salvatore Maroni and Johnny Viti.

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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