She was great in 'Yellowstone', though, it feels like she's mostly the same character in this show. She really does put in a great performance, though, the only two shows I've seen her in cast her in the same sort of role.
The Penguin is arguably the best show of the year. The showrunner and writer was a woman, and the main co star was a woman, but nobody cared because it was actually done well. Lauren LeFranc and Cristen Milioti have more talent than every Disney Star Wars project put together (excluding Andor). But that doesn’t fit the narrative they wanna push to justify their failure. Hopefully Lauren gets another DC project, she’s earned it
They weren’t kidding when they said everyone would hate Oswald by the end of the show, people are praying Batman preforms a 45 hit Arkham combo on him in the next movie.
@@mrmr4622 thats how you know its great writing, the show makes you sympathize with Oz's struggles and rise to power that you don't really care much cause the story is about a bad guy vs worse guys. In the end, Oz goes from bad to evil and even though you understand him, you really wanna see him get his ass whupped
I dont hate Oz though, and I think that's the beauty of it. Oz suffers in his own psyche. His head is not a pleasant place to be in. Constantly feeling inferior, having to be ten steps ahead, having to be adored by everyone around him. But the misery he inflicts on everyone around him means he has to be stopped. He's definitely a VILLAIN, capital V, but honestly I want him to get psychiatric help, not a pummeling. Or maybe death as a form of relief from his hellish inner life.
Making the villain lead character actually villainous also serves to make the hero more heroic. This show makes Batman truly look like a beacon of hope to an otherwise dark and twisted Gotham.
I also appreciate how they didn't go ham with it. They were constantly giving him redeeming features and only gradually divulged his past - and even that was equal parts villainous and tragic. Made it multilayered, gave it human depth.
I loved how the show would throw in a few sprinkles of likability throughout the season to root for Oswald . . . . just to remind you at the end that this is The Penguin he’s an inhuman monster. There’s a reason Penguin is part of the big 4 of Batman villains. Now for the first time since The Dark Knight, they ain’t looking forward to Joker the most. This is what happens when you build up a villain to be a villain. It makes people love the hero even more. Cause now everyone wants Penguin to be the main villain that Batman beats the crap out of.
I watched it last night. It left me feeling hollow. You see the setup right before it happens, and it made me yell NO. I don't want to spoil, so I'll leave it there
Damn. I’m on episode 6. I’m really hoping Oz doesn’t kill Vic (or vice versa) But I definitely feel like it’s gotta go there. It’s been building up to it
I was waiting for him to stop right at the last moment....but...NOPE. They went there and as sad as it was, I'm impressed that they did that. I'm definitely looking forward to season 2
It’s so refreshing to watch an actual villain on screen! I feel we’ve been watching marvel bad guys so long I fully dropped my guard. Was disgusted by the finale…and I love it! A villain who deserves to face justice
The buildup in the first 8 episodes was impressive. All the way up until you find out what really happened to Oz's brothers. Then it all unravels, but what happened to Vic was still a big surprise.
Ive been watching interviews with the showrunner and producers and holy shit they are adult professionals who place story and writing above everything else, so refreshing
ok but why would you guys care what this guy has to say?? he is not even a real movie crtitc just conservative promoter :D yeah show is good but what the hell are you guys listening to THAT guy? :D I guess Im not american so I dont understand your culture LOL and I dont want to either...you guys do what you want but leave rest of the world out of your.....
Another thing the penguin did so well for the overall Batman story and franchise was remind the audience how powerful the mob was within the context of the story, allowing us to further appreciate how these psychotic villains like the penguin/joker and heroes like Batman were able to control and manipulate them.
After watching the show and without spoiling anything it is very refreshing to have a Villain Protagonist that stays a Villain and not become an Antihero. And massive props to Lauren LeFranc for doing this and Colin Farrell’s performance!
The ultimate is Al Swearengen, in case anyone here hasn't seen Deadwood, which is one of the best TV shows of all time. (And be aware that they did finally make a capper movie to make up for it being cancelled prematurely.)
Couldn’t believe it when The Penguin brought back the same feeling as Breaking Bad: *Oh my god, I’ve been rooting for the bad guy the entire time* I was worried they’d go the typical route of making Oz the anti-hero with redeemable qualities and understandable motives… but then we’re reminded why sometimes an irredeemably evil villain just *works*
You didnt realize at the start, that the guy who decided to make meth and didnt care about the consequences of his actions on other people because he was going to die anyway, was the bad guy? Tell me you are American without telling me youre American.
@@TheSuperappelflap You are saying that like you would know all that when you begin to watch the show. You don't and thats what makes the show work so great. The show is quite literally telling us that Penguin does care about his actions and how he wants to do good to those around him, and sees the drugs only way to do that because the city has basically abandoned everyone around. Only to reveal us bit by bit that its all a lie and worse. You are not giving the show enough credit if you say all this was clear from the start.
@@TheSuperappelflap No numbnuts. They are referring to how Hollywood consistently is trying turn villains in a black/white comic book world, into understandable, anti-heros, in a gray world, who deserve pity, and can be understood why they do the bad things they do.
They are very easy to please actually. Dragon Age got a 9/10. All you need is some DEI, wokeness, and LGBTQRSTUV stuff in it and bam! Instant high rating.
Please do more in-depth conversations with spoilers on this amazing show. This show deserves our energy so they know this level of quality is what we want.
Colin Farrell did an amazing interpretation of The Penguin. I was worried when Sofia Falcone was introduced we’d be getting the old Bait-and-Switch-a-Roo Identity Politics effect where Penguin took a backseat in his own show. But that didn’t happen. The writers made a worthy opponent in Sofia (played equally brilliantly by Cristin Millioti) and the two characters had great, balanced, development arcs separately as well as together. I loved it. More of this dynamic in storytelling, please!
christin milliot, my oh my. can't believe she was that girl next door in how I met your mother. there is that "you incels don't like strong female characters" narrative but damn, i'd eat a mile of her shit just to lick her asshole. if you catch my drift, hehe ;D
No eye-rolling DEI, no mary-sue's, no unconvincing girl-bosses, no braindead irritating 'the girl who is the key to everything'-trope, good performers, good director(s), good story, good production...and highly praised by fans and critics! - Are you watching this, Hollywood?
incapable of just enjoying things without checking for things is a sad existence. Its not good because that was all missing, its good because its good. Just enjoy stuff man.
@@richgriffinalbit's good because of the fact that all that political poison was either not there at all or so unnoticeable that it doesn't affect the story or the protagonists in a negative way and keeps you invested. It's all about the right formula and the perfect balance of all aspects in said formula. But you're right about one thing, watch it to enjoy it. Go into the story with a positive and open minded attitude, come out of it with a smile on your face.
@@kieranfitzgerald2030 I mean you can have a story thats focused on political ideas and pushes a certain point of view. You just have to make it interesting and believable. A mobile game I play(Arknights) has a lot of heavy socialist oriented views, but it doesnt do the stupid immersion breaking Hollywood tropes of "marginalised groups are beacons of morality", hell most of the antagonists are marginalised groups who have grown so bitter with oppression that theyve become consumed with rage and kill indiscriminately against anyone whos not in their group, thereby actively giving the ruling powers justification for further repression in the view of the general populace. The villains range from greedy businessmen, overzealus avengers hell bent on killing anyone that has so much as stood by during their oppression, all the way to heroes trying to make a better world who have conflicting interests with the protagonists. On the other hand the protagonists arent beacons of virtue either, they are a paramilitary group who officially claim they are a medical company, sometimes hiring wanted criminals as long as they are useful as soldiers or have political use due to their background. Point is, politics can contribute to a story in a positive way, but the story must be good on its own, with the politics only further contributing to/enchancing the authors view of the world hes trying to get across to the audience through the story.
Colin Farrell is a character actor with leading man looks. This guy never ceases to amaze me with his performances, and this might be the greatest role of his career.
He was genuinely fantastic, and that new level of make-up tech. is a GAME CHANGER for any/all actors and actresses to demonstrate if they are truly good actors or if they are just getting by on their looks. Charlize was the first, with 'Monster', but this was next-level...looked 100% real and Colin was 100% unrecognizable.
Hes been really good for decades. I think Minority Report is the first movie I saw him in, and that came out in '02! The Recruit, decent movie, would have been a lot worse without him in it and Al Pacino hamming it up. Alexander was a bit of a weird casting choice. In Bruges, great movie. Didnt like him in the Total Recall remake but that was just an unncessary cashgrab of a film in general. Didnt like the 2nd season of True Detective either. He has some misses. I think hes also one of those actors that prefers to do more serious smaller projects a lot instead of just going for blockbuster action movies. Looking at his imdb theres a whole list of dramas that Ive never heard of.
Honestly I just watched the season not really caring about DC or marvel anymore, so not looking up things. I had no idea that was Colin Farrell. Props even more to him I guess.
Except the leftist shills like IGN would have you believe this a 5/10. I think the biggest difference between the left and everyone else is the following: "Sophia is so much better than Oz" vs "They were both amazing characters". Why they are trying to make out Oz is inferior in anyway is beyond me, though I suspect it has something to do with identity politics. Both actors gave probably the performances of their lives and both deserve recognition along with the writers and honestly the entire crew. I dont think there is a single bad performance from anyone.
I haven't seen one episode yet, but one thing is for sure: a competent writer can make a great tv show, but it takes more than a competent writer to make a great movie. In a serialized format, you have all the time in the world to work on character development, and there's the "attachment" factor; the more you spend time with the characters, the more you grow fond of them, no matter how mediocre they might be. Point being, TV shows based on character backstory and worldbuilding is something of a scam. But it takes real talent to build a great show solely on the character's *personality* (like Star Trek TOS), and it takes an even greater talent to build a great show with no recurring characters whatsoever (like original Twilight Zone).
there was a part where I wanted him to win, but with the ending now I only want Batman to come and break every single bone of his body.... they really wanted us to hate him.... and they succeded
They have to be careful with batman, it really needs to play like breaking bad. Batman needs to lose and a lot, before he gets any partial success. Any victory needs to come at an extreme cost that makes you question if it is a victory, and everything needs to be bitter sweet.
@vxcnzz so basically the ending of The Batman then. Batman lost to Riddler but won in the sense that he had an eye opening experience to change his ways and be more what others need and not what he needs.
The show only gets better once you start reading interviews held with the showrunner. It’s refreshing to hear her talk about her intentions were with the story and not a lick of it had anything to do with reflecting our real world. She only discusses the purpose the show serves to its characters and the version of Gotham Matt Reeves created. It would’ve been interesting to see *that character* continue to grow in Part II, but it was perfectly in Oz’s character to do what he did. As shocking as it was, it didn’t feel out of nowhere and when the showrunner discusses it, it’s clear the intent was to stay in line with this iteration of The Penguin. It was so much better than I ever thought it would be
It really was a breath of fresh air among the numerous hack writers and show runners who were brandishing around the fact that they had no idea about the source material at all.
@@don.keebles No, nor should you want to. Same reason for keeping out meta humans like Poison Ivy or the Flash. This is a far more realistic world. But that's the beautiful thing about the DC environment. You can have multiple parallel story worlds ranging from The Penguin's groundedness to the sort-of-silly stuff like Zatanna and Mr Mxyzptlk.
@@bojackfishman4135Why little faith? I thought the consensus was that the 2022 Batman was pretty solid on all fronts and this is made by almost the same crew.
@Pablo-pr4vg Saw the Batman with my wife and sister and we were all bored to death. The chase scene with penguin and penguin in general were the only things we liked. The riddler was a joke, I thought the movie was making fun of itself. We all thought it was so bad that we watched the dark knight as soon as we got home. I will still try out the Penguin to give my own review
Quick fact/humble brag: I body doubled for Colin Farrell in this for a lot of the car shots. They were filmed mainly in Bergen County NJ (right by the George Washington Bridge) and also in Long Island. Weirdly had neck pain from riding in the Maserati as I had to keep my head turned left a hell of a lot. But I can be real and say that I body doubled for someone considered one of the most beautiful people on the plant. I just leave out that he looked like that. 😁
Is he considered that goodlooking? Looks like a regular guy to me. Someone you could have a beer with. But what the hell do I know, Im not into dudes. No really, I swear. Im not holding back any latent thoughts. Stop looking at me like that.
The Penguin was a great adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard the 3rd, physical deformity and all (without the breaking of the 4th wall). With unsubtle nods to Oedipus Rex and a litany of literary Machiavellian characters, this was a truly enjoyable watch.
Well said. Borrow from the best and put in some of your own. If you do it well, you get a masterpiece. And if you do it poorly you get Rebel Moon. I never found the "he just copy pasted" argument convincing as to why his movies are terrible. He didn't do it well, so his Rebel Mooniverse sucks.
Watching the finale, it was so brilliantly written to twist it like it did. Gut wrenching stuff, truly shocked me watching it, and left me wanting more and appreciating a well written story and show for once in awhile. The way you root for Oz and almost forget he’s a villain to only be reminded of it at the end was genius.
This is hands down one of the best mini series made in the current time. They absolutely nailed the character of Penguin. If WB keeps pumping out content like this with Matt Reeves we are gonna have a blast.
The Penguin was written by Lauren LeFranc. Matt Reeves is a great director but should stay far away from writing. Hopefully Lauren LeFranc writes the Batman Part 2.
I love how Sofias story came full circle with her starting in Arkham asylum and ending in the asylum, as Jorge would say “it’s like poatry, so that it rhymes” plus oz’s obsession with his mother was gripping and brilliant and a fitting ending for a man who’s so broken to finally reach the top at any means necessary even at the cost of his mothers wish to die if she was left in a vegetative state. Best show of the year by far
The cold-hearted way he casually betrays and murders the black kid at the end is what cements him as a truly monstrous villain. IMHO, this was the best scene of Season 1.
What I like about Sofia is how contrasting she is to Penguin. She is pushed by the society, by her family and by her father to become what she became. In better world she could be much better person. Pushed to become a monster because everyone says that she is a monster. On other hand we have Oswald who truly is a monster all the way from childhood. Monster is in him from the start and there is no world where he could be anything better.
If you remember the first two seasons of the Sopranos were Tony grappling with Livia's ability to both control and infuriate him. Her loss of mental capacity. Do we blame her? Can we? Is she faking? In other words, We've seen this all before.
The ending was the chefs kiss on how to end a season. The best part is they show how to show a strong female character without making her OP and the Drinker liked it.
@@MiguelNdiwenihe recommends what he enjoys. Doesn’t mean they are great to everyone. Majority of people enjoyed Agatha All Along while he trashed on it. It’s all subjective.
Sofia Falcone is a template for how to create a strong, compelling, complex female character. She was absolutely riveting in every scene, and didn't once complain about the patriarchy!
@@c3bhm lol, I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if they were forced to sneak something like that in there to appease the leftists trying to control the script.
Wow. That ending. It's been a few minutes since a show subverted my expectations so thoroughly, and made me need to go touch grass. Penguin left a bruise, but that's a good thing. Just...wow. Bravo.
I will always advocate how refreshing this show was. over the last decade or so, I felt so desensitized to anything on screen, with nothing that was eye catching. I can't remember the last show that I literally COUNTED THE SECONDS to watch the next episode. Everything that I was predicting in a show like this was completely flipped on its head, and each ending left me hungry for more, ESPECIALLY the finale. a serios 10/10 from me
I predicted this show down to the last detail, I won’t lie. I don’t know if it’s because writing ruins being a viewer, but I saw it all coming. I loved every second regardless & thinks it’s the best show of the year.
Without being cruel to you I'd say that it's always best to know how to use words properly. Don't take this as a stab at you, it's more a bit of guidance to stop the supporters of the message dunking on you
@@c3bhm I liked Andor and I'm really waiting for second season, but it was not as good as this one. I enjoyed watching Andor. For Penguin I was anxious to see the next episode and was very aware when it was available.
From marketing to writing, we can feel the strong inspiration from The Sopranos throughout the series, but it's a good thing to be inspired by the best shows
Yes and no. Every time I saw the HBO logo before the show, it reminded me of binge-watching 'The Sopranos'. I'm glad they didn't just make this another 'Sopranos' with a Batman twist, but, the "Mommy Issues" and psychology were a little bit tedious to watch.
I don’t mind giving the Penguin an Oedipus complex, but they really should have made it so that Penguin and his mother get a more consequential ending than “she stabs him, and then instantly has a stroke right after.” I actually thought having the Penguin murder her with his own hands as opposed to Vic would have been a far stronger way to show the man he’s become - after a whole season of showing how he’s obsessed with earning his mother’s approval only for her to reveal that she’ll never love him, I feel that would have caused him to snap and strangle her to death like when he shot Alberto in the pilot. And then after, he burns down his mother’s house like how Sofia burns down her father’s estate, maybe even with her body inside.
@daigneauray7087 just before the final episode, I also thought that the plot was going to take this path. But ultimately the stroke, after having put everything on the table, is not a bad idea: the fact that she finds herself locked in a vegetative state is a much worse outcome for her and gives this very dark and ironic ending (she finally got what she wanted, the view from the most expensive penthouse, but at what price... she pays for being seduced by young Oz's words and for giving up on killing him, just as Victor paid the high price for remaining at his side out of ambition, Oz is indeed "the devil", he sees what people are deep down and what they want, and uses it) It also allows Oz to continue to project onto her his delusion that she loves him and is proud of him, and his internal lie that he's not really a monster, that he does all he does for good reasons.
@@reginaphalange9417 Fair point. Maybe it's just that I also saw the Tony Soprano parallel where he loves and loathes his mother in equal measure, and I was just kind of perplexed by how Oz worships his mother even when she puts a broken bottle in his gut. It does make sense that his character is defined by self-delusions of grandeur and noblesse oblige, and that a fitting end to his origin is having him basically taunt his mother with the expensive view from his penthouse after murdering his only friend; I just can't quite square this with the more grounded take on the Penguin that I expected from the beginning of the season. P.S. He also had way too much plot armor. If he's so smart, why does he keep getting one-up'd?
When in the end Vic told THOSE words i was screaming inside "NO NO NO WHY DID YOU SAID THAT". This show brought back old feeling of caring about characters. What a great show.
Throughout the show, I supported Oz's decisions wholeheartedly. Never once doubting his intentions or the tragic impact it had on the surrounding characters. But when he did what he did in the final episode, I looked back and was amazed by how most of his victims were mostly innocent and didn't deserve the worse fate coming to them. Really made me regret my decisions. The 2nd watch of this is going to be really insane seeing the Oz in his true light instead of some potential anti-hero that you believe in him to be in the beginning.
I'm at my second watch and let me tell you, scenes like their talk after Al's funeral hits way different now. Also, kinda think that the moments that we took for Francis' illness are actually her sober moments when she finally lets the facade drop and show her true feelings toward Oz.
The best thing about this show is: they didn't make Oz into a "sympathetic antihero" or some BS like Disney did with Cruela Deville. Sure, he's charming & charismatic and you see him care about his mum & become a mentor for Vic, but in the end he's just a cold blooded sociopath, who will turn on everybody in a heartbeat. The ending was really grimdark af. The only criticism I have is: where was Batman when all this gang war escalated in the latest episodes. I know, they kept him out, because Batman would just mob thr floor with Oz & Sofia & the show would be over, but they don't even mention Batman at all, as if he doesn't exist in this universe, up until the ending. Despite this though, The Penguin is an absolute masterclass im acting, writing, cinematography.
Pretty much since it takes place directly after The Batman starting basically the day after. It makes sense that Bruce is a little out of commission from his beatings and Adrenaline cocktail.
Batman tanked a full shotgun blast to the chest and electrocuted himself at the end of Batman, this show is set a week after he’s in bed recovering lmao
Why would Batman intervene in a gang war where the top criminals are killing each other…better to just let it play out. It’s really only certain events towards the end of the story that would warrant Batman jumping into the fray.
The Penguin was like the DC's version of Marvel's Daredevil, and it really made me reevaluate and look forward for the future of Batman under Matt Reeves
@@theateam9547 Nah, I stand by what I said. Daredevil was a milestone in superhero crime dramas, and this one had its influence written all over it. From making you feel mixed feelings about the main villain to the emotional gravitas the show reaches, its respectful management of the source material and amazing storytelling warrant the comparison.
Holy smokes! Did you know Colin Ferrell played Oswald? I found myself saying that after every single episode. He truly disappears into the character. Unbelievable.
That last episode [ incident ] was one of the biggest surprises I've had in a TV show... in like my life. I couldn't believe it, in a good way, that that happened. What a ballsy move, and such a fantastic show. And I've also can't recall a TV show hyping me up for a movie (Batman 2) as much as Penguin. This show didn't reinvent the wheel but was a real triumph of just plain ole classic, good storytelling, with no real weak elements in the production.
I really didn't see it coming but it actually made sense to the Penguin's character and the story. It wasn't shocking just cause they needed to be shocking.
The show well explain what a brutal criminal actually is. And why you can't root for him. The last episode made me hate him so much, that I can only hope for Batman to kick him to orbit.
@@PricefieldPunk a big part of the shock was that in 99% of other TV shows you would not focus on character as much as Victor only to have come to an end like that. It's really rare to have a main character developed then ended like that, and at the hands of primary character, is just unheard. Also, so many shows pretend the protagonist is a villain when they are really just a charming anti-hero, and made to be 'heroically falsely deranged' like Dexter for example, or even the Joker as he stylishly kills, as opposed to an actual more realistic, actual psychologically damaged and morally bad person, like the Penguin.
Honestly, my favorite part of the show is the fact that they show much of a master manipulator Oz is. EVERYBODY knows he's a fork-tongued, two-faced, backstabber and yet he still manages to convince prominent underworld figures to strike deals and forge alliances with him. It's almost unbelievable.
Thats what makes Penguin so great. He even admitted it in episode 1, act very small so they seem bigger and won’t even noticed. No one ever paid Oz anymore attention then needed. All of a sudden Oz slips pasts all of them and rises to the top. Even Batman’s non appearance kinda makes sense. Batman thought Oz was beneath him, insignificant and not worth dealing with. Which allowed Oz to finally become the Penguin of Gotham City and running all crime.
A second watch of this showing knowing what Oz truly is an his true intentions is gonna be interesting to watch. I feel like it will make me hate him so much more
This show was so much better than it had any right to be. They did such an amazing job of actually developing your understanding of these characters. And although you can relate to both Sofia and Oz, they are also ultimately villains. It's crazy how the show gets you to both root for them and also despise them. The Penguin begins as a henchman and ends as a true egomaniacal super villain. A worthy adversary for an overly obsessed super hero.
To be fair, Boba Fett was never a villain, but your point still stands. lol. He was an antagonist who just happened to be hired by other villains all the time. Anyone can go hire Boba for any reason if you have money. I remember in the old EU, before Disney fucked it, someone once asked Boba if he really hated Han so much and Boba said “I don’t care about Han Solo. He means nothing to me.” It’s just everyone else who hates Han, keeps him to kill Han for him.
I gotta be honest, I hear good things about this show but I have absolutely zero interest in ever watching any superhero related content ever again in my life. Well, maybe The Boys but that show fell off pretty hard this season. I skipped through like half of every episode.
@@TheSuperappelflap Penguin is worth a watch honestly. The worst thing to say about it is they give a girl boss a lot of screen time but its a decent enough character and heavily involved with the actual existing plot. Lots of character development and good acting. It honestly isnt the cookie cutter tripe they have been pushing out, closer to the first Joker move.
The biggest breath of fresh air for a villain origin story. Seriously these villains origin stories always have something tragic to empathize and sympathize with them. Not Penguin. He was a villain since childhood. And he never changed. Its easy to hate him. Finally a series about a villain that by the end of it makes you root for the hero to take him down.
Cobra Kai has been an absolute delight. Such a cool blend of nostalgia with a modern acerbic twist that spoofs the nostalgia, but in a loving way. That vibe reminds me of Galaxy Quest, where they are mocking the source material, but with total fondness and respect. Crazy tightrope to walk but Cobra Kai has been wonderfully wholesome and fun.
The Penguin reminded me of Breaking Bad. You feel for Oswald because nobody respects him. The same way you feel for Walter. Both are Crippled or sick; deformed or a pushover; but still very smart and cunning and plan ahead before their enemies even know what happened. You root for them in the beginning but by the end, you hate both of them.
Yessss!!! I saw someone somewhere call the show “Breaking Bird” 😂 the Walt/Jesse relationship is definitely comparable to the Oz/Vic dynamic… and at the end of both shows, you realize you’d been rooting for the bad guy the whole time, and it’s a metaphorical gut punch
It's refreshing to have a villain who is so charismatic you *want* to keep giving him chances and see them win. I have never been so intrigued by someone while also wanting Batman to swoop in and combo-punch Oswald's face in.
Really awesome to see a show like this be so well received by people(except by IGN of course) and have so much talent put into it by everyone involved. Lets hope to see Lauren LeFranc get another project to make amazing!
I didn't think I would like this show, but the Drinker talked about it when it first came out so I decided to watch it from his review and I fell in love with the show and think it's one of the best if not the best spin-off show I've ever seen!
I was tired of superhero crap over a decade ago. I had zero interest in this. Tried it -- AND WAS IMMEDIATELY HOOKED. This is the best show since Game of Thrones. 9.8/10. Amazing.
I was absolutely hooked from episode one. The more you root for him the more you hate him. The final scene with Vic had me shaking my head in more ways than I can count.
Absolutely loved it. Colin was never all that much an actor to me and he killed this role. He should lean into this role and make it his as a legacy for his career
I really liked The Batman movie. I felt it went back to the core of what Batman is, a detective. Few other movies showed him in that light, but more of a tough guy who was lead to the places he needed to be. My only gripe, was that there were 2 endings. The big set piece of a second ending wasn't needed and felt out of place.
Yeah the writing could've been tighter but I still think The Batman is my favourite rendition of the character. Not to disparage the other versions but almost paradoxically the reasons why I love the other versions of the character/world are also the reasons why I prefer The Batman I love Adam West's version because he feels like he was pulled directly from the comic books of the 50s filled with campy and cheesy fun, I love the Tim Burton Batman films because they drip with artistic flair and really feel like a world where you would expect to see someone dressed as a bat fighting people dressed as clowns and penguins I love the Christopher Nolan batman films because they are the perfect badass action hero/super hero films where Batman never comes across a problem he couldn't solve with his fists and being a badass But it's because of those reasons I prefer The Batman because it's essentially the quintessential version that looked at the character and say "what if this actually happened in real life?" or what would a genius billionaire who turned vigilante/detective to work through his trauma look like? A perfect example is Gotham itself, if the scale had Christopher Nolan Gotham on one side (everyone knows it was just New York but called 'Gotham') and on the other side was Tim Burton Gotham ( every set piece being so over the top gothic and artistic that it's not a believably lived in city) then Matt Reeves take on Gotham was perfectly in the middle with having just enough grungy aesthetic paired with a focus on gothic architecture that you could tell it was Gotham at a glance while still being realistically laid out and not so over the top that it wasn't believable I cannot wait for The Batman part 2, if we get more of the same with a tighter screenplay then I think people will look back on this version and think of it as the best Batman or at the very least one of the best
@@awesomepwn12Yeah maybe it’s a slight recency bias thing but I truly think with both the 2022 Batman and now this show…If everything continues to have this level of quality from the reeves-verse it’ll be a legendary trilogy and THE definite Batman for me for the same reason you said about it being a mesh of all the previous attempts in one.
Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti should get all of the awards possible for their performances. And would love for Sofia and Selina to share screen time at some point.
The whole cast was terrific, but I'd like to give a bit more attention to the kid who played Victor. He was magnificent in every scene. Finally, a great series without any crap injected into it!
He was just okay, honestly. I don't know what he could have done to make the performance better, but in a lot of ways, it felt like you could have swapped in any guy off of the street and gotten the same results. It felt more like they found a guy who sounded and looked like what they had in mind, and didn't rely on his acting ability to carry the character.
I totally thought that was where the Bliss storyline was leading to. I figured it was Dr. Crane trying to perfect his "fear gas", or maybe, Bliss was the first iteration and didn't produce the results he wanted, but somehow the formula got out, something like that.
Its funny how when good writers approach comic book IP's with a serious adult tone, they craft amazing work. No CGI, no ridiculous gadgets.. Just the human condition with some theatrical flare.
Agreed. I'd love to see each villain get there own season. They could make this stuff forever as long as it stays this good and just introduce new characters every few years in the movies. WB...come on common sense...you can do it
The actress who plays Penguin's mom deserves some praise, too. Excellent show.
GENUINELY GENUINELY an Oscar worthy performance
She was great in 'Yellowstone', though, it feels like she's mostly the same character in this show. She really does put in a great performance, though, the only two shows I've seen her in cast her in the same sort of role.
She genuinely portrayed Louis body syndrome very very well and very realistically which is not an easy thing to do.
Yess
I can’t come up with one character that is bad acted in this show
The Penguin is arguably the best show of the year. The showrunner and writer was a woman, and the main co star was a woman, but nobody cared because it was actually done well. Lauren LeFranc and Cristen Milioti have more talent than every Disney Star Wars project put together (excluding Andor). But that doesn’t fit the narrative they wanna push to justify their failure. Hopefully Lauren gets another DC project, she’s earned it
THIS!!!!!
the fact that Joker Folie Deux is so funny was released around the corner is so funny to me
This. Just this. You hit the nail on the head!
100% Fantastic show
That title belongs to Ripley
Never in a million years did I think I would care more about a property starring the Penguin than I would about the Joker. But here we are.
That's because the showrunners of The Penguin do not DESPISE their fans.
That's close minded
Joker has been done so many times. Penguin only a handful. This should be fun!
I started liking the penguin ever since the Arkam games
Would be cool if they could pulloff a solid miniseries like this about mr.freeze
They weren’t kidding when they said everyone would hate Oswald by the end of the show, people are praying Batman preforms a 45 hit Arkham combo on him in the next movie.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
It is a bit concerning that it took the ending scene to remind people of what Oz is, as if he was totally nice the rest of the show
@@mrmr4622you can root for bad guys in movies.
@@mrmr4622 thats how you know its great writing, the show makes you sympathize with Oz's struggles and rise to power that you don't really care much cause the story is about a bad guy vs worse guys. In the end, Oz goes from bad to evil and even though you understand him, you really wanna see him get his ass whupped
I dont hate Oz though, and I think that's the beauty of it. Oz suffers in his own psyche. His head is not a pleasant place to be in. Constantly feeling inferior, having to be ten steps ahead, having to be adored by everyone around him. But the misery he inflicts on everyone around him means he has to be stopped. He's definitely a VILLAIN, capital V, but honestly I want him to get psychiatric help, not a pummeling. Or maybe death as a form of relief from his hellish inner life.
Making the villain lead character actually villainous also serves to make the hero more heroic. This show makes Batman truly look like a beacon of hope to an otherwise dark and twisted Gotham.
I also appreciate how they didn't go ham with it. They were constantly giving him redeeming features and only gradually divulged his past - and even that was equal parts villainous and tragic. Made it multilayered, gave it human depth.
It's now no wonder why a massive star like Colin F. took the role in the first place.
I loved how the show would throw in a few sprinkles of likability throughout the season to root for Oswald . . . . just to remind you at the end that this is The Penguin he’s an inhuman monster. There’s a reason Penguin is part of the big 4 of Batman villains. Now for the first time since The Dark Knight, they ain’t looking forward to Joker the most. This is what happens when you build up a villain to be a villain. It makes people love the hero even more. Cause now everyone wants Penguin to be the main villain that Batman beats the crap out of.
Exactly. This whole show (especially the ending) reminded me why heroes like Batman are important and why we root for them to take down the villains.
I thought the show had potential but missed the mark by a million miles.
"...and gut-wrenching betrayals."
That betrayal isn't gut-wrenching. It's soul crushing.
I watched it last night. It left me feeling hollow. You see the setup right before it happens, and it made me yell NO. I don't want to spoil, so I'll leave it there
And completely unexpected.
Damn. I’m on episode 6. I’m really hoping Oz doesn’t kill Vic (or vice versa)
But I definitely feel like it’s gotta go there. It’s been building up to it
@@jdub36 Not going to spoiler it... It's damn good. how Colin can deliver through all that makeup is just amazing to me...
I was waiting for him to stop right at the last moment....but...NOPE. They went there and as sad as it was, I'm impressed that they did that. I'm definitely looking forward to season 2
I can’t remember the last time I was so engaged and shocked at the twists of a show like that.
I can, but it was all anime. With a Western show? It’s been years.
Better Call Saul would be the last time i felt blown away by story telling from an American made show
@@PricefieldPunk True. That one was legendary. Even the initial boring seasons.
@@bunnywithakeyboard7628 Did you not watch Arcane yet?
The initial boring seasons? Haha odd way to describe them.
A wholesome show about a man dedicated to helping his family and improve his community.
Nice!
Yep,sure as heck doesn't involve any messed up mother and son relationships
Resisted at every turn by those who inherited their wealth and the power they bought with it.
😂😂😂
Yep. But he was murdered by the penguin at the end😜
It’s so refreshing to watch an actual villain on screen! I feel we’ve been watching marvel bad guys so long I fully dropped my guard. Was disgusted by the finale…and I love it! A villain who deserves to face justice
The buildup in the first 8 episodes was impressive. All the way up until you find out what really happened to Oz's brothers. Then it all unravels, but what happened to Vic was still a big surprise.
Joker 2: *hated and despised for being terrible*
The Penguin: *Signature Look of Superiority for being the best show*
Give it a couple more seasons and it will end up the same way.
Everything goes to shit if given enough time these days.
@@Pers0n97true, hence why I am glad it was a mini-series
@@Pers0n97 Good thing it's a limited series then.
@@zechariusplans for season 2, though I wish they would drop it.
@@zigedelic3909 Let's see if it stay that way.
Ive been watching interviews with the showrunner and producers and holy shit they are adult professionals who place story and writing above everything else, so refreshing
Compared to She-Hulk trolling the trolls and Rings of power wasting its billions, lmao
This is the way it used to be. Built in merits not dei hires
ok but why would you guys care what this guy has to say?? he is not even a real movie crtitc just conservative promoter :D yeah show is good but what the hell are you guys listening to THAT guy? :D I guess Im not american so I dont understand your culture LOL and I dont want to either...you guys do what you want but leave rest of the world out of your.....
@ he’s not conservative or liberal..
@@Hel-o7uI mean, you sound rather American throwing all of those political buzzwords around like it is nothing...
Another thing the penguin did so well for the overall Batman story and franchise was remind the audience how powerful the mob was within the context of the story, allowing us to further appreciate how these psychotic villains like the penguin/joker and heroes like Batman were able to control and manipulate them.
After watching the show and without spoiling anything it is very refreshing to have a Villain Protagonist that stays a Villain and not become an Antihero. And massive props to Lauren LeFranc for doing this and Colin Farrell’s performance!
e
I am sold on villain staying as a villain. 🙌
The ultimate is Al Swearengen, in case anyone here hasn't seen Deadwood, which is one of the best TV shows of all time. (And be aware that they did finally make a capper movie to make up for it being cancelled prematurely.)
Exactly. The dark ending took me by surprise but I am glad they did it that way.
@@Matt10124It's days later and I'm still honestly in shock by the ending. It was great and a TV show had rarely affected me like this. Just wow.
Couldn’t believe it when The Penguin brought back the same feeling as Breaking Bad:
*Oh my god, I’ve been rooting for the bad guy the entire time*
I was worried they’d go the typical route of making Oz the anti-hero with redeemable qualities and understandable motives… but then we’re reminded why sometimes an irredeemably evil villain just *works*
You didnt realize at the start, that the guy who decided to make meth and didnt care about the consequences of his actions on other people because he was going to die anyway, was the bad guy?
Tell me you are American without telling me youre American.
Breaking bad was pretty tame in comparison to this, ironically there is less of a cartooney feeling to the Penguin, like a proper gangster drama.
@@TheSuperappelflap You are saying that like you would know all that when you begin to watch the show. You don't and thats what makes the show work so great. The show is quite literally telling us that Penguin does care about his actions and how he wants to do good to those around him, and sees the drugs only way to do that because the city has basically abandoned everyone around. Only to reveal us bit by bit that its all a lie and worse. You are not giving the show enough credit if you say all this was clear from the start.
@@TheSuperappelflap No numbnuts. They are referring to how Hollywood consistently is trying turn villains in a black/white comic book world, into understandable, anti-heros, in a gray world, who deserve pity, and can be understood why they do the bad things they do.
@@tabull8180 I was talking about the op being surprised Walter is the bad guy in Breaking Bad, not about this show.
There is some absolutely brilliant acting in this series. If it doesn’t win a heap of awards, I’ll be amazed.
It's a rare thing to have a show made these day's that's actually competently written and acted. Hope we get more like it going forward.
The show is called the penguin he isn't even the main character.😂
@@till8426he is though
@@till8426 ?
@@till8426You are as delusional as Oz
@@till8426 Uhh yes he is
The fact that IGN only gave this a 5 confirms they’re impossible to please.
They gave Doom 2016: 7.1 and even complained at the fact that a game had too much water in it, also She Hulk got an 8 from them😂
They are very easy to please actually. Dragon Age got a 9/10. All you need is some DEI, wokeness, and LGBTQRSTUV stuff in it and bam! Instant high rating.
They're easily pleased if you pay them off for the review.
When was IGN ever worthy for reviewing? Too much water 💧
Those morons gave Alien Isolation a 5.9!!!
The last scene with the penguin felt so comic book like. and the last shot was straight out of a comic book page! Was perfect
Please do more in-depth conversations with spoilers on this amazing show. This show deserves our energy so they know this level of quality is what we want.
Just watch the show
The recent Open Bar episodes he has had a good chunk of them discussing episodes of "The Penguin", check them out.
Just show support and trust the process. We are already winning.
I hope Mauler does an "Unbridled Praise" on it
Colin Farrell did an amazing interpretation of The Penguin. I was worried when Sofia Falcone was introduced we’d be getting the old Bait-and-Switch-a-Roo Identity Politics effect where Penguin took a backseat in his own show. But that didn’t happen. The writers made a worthy opponent in Sofia (played equally brilliantly by Cristin Millioti) and the two characters had great, balanced, development arcs separately as well as together. I loved it. More of this dynamic in storytelling, please!
Same
christin milliot, my oh my. can't believe she was that girl next door in how I met your mother.
there is that "you incels don't like strong female characters" narrative but damn, i'd eat a mile of her shit just to lick her asshole. if you catch my drift, hehe ;D
No eye-rolling DEI, no mary-sue's, no unconvincing girl-bosses, no braindead irritating 'the girl who is the key to everything'-trope, good performers, good director(s), good story, good production...and highly praised by fans and critics! - Are you watching this, Hollywood?
incapable of just enjoying things without checking for things is a sad existence. Its not good because that was all missing, its good because its good. Just enjoy stuff man.
@@richgriffinalbit's good because of the fact that all that political poison was either not there at all or so unnoticeable that it doesn't affect the story or the protagonists in a negative way and keeps you invested.
It's all about the right formula and the perfect balance of all aspects in said formula.
But you're right about one thing, watch it to enjoy it. Go into the story with a positive and open minded attitude, come out of it with a smile on your face.
@@kieranfitzgerald2030 I mean you can have a story thats focused on political ideas and pushes a certain point of view. You just have to make it interesting and believable. A mobile game I play(Arknights) has a lot of heavy socialist oriented views, but it doesnt do the stupid immersion breaking Hollywood tropes of "marginalised groups are beacons of morality", hell most of the antagonists are marginalised groups who have grown so bitter with oppression that theyve become consumed with rage and kill indiscriminately against anyone whos not in their group, thereby actively giving the ruling powers justification for further repression in the view of the general populace.
The villains range from greedy businessmen, overzealus avengers hell bent on killing anyone that has so much as stood by during their oppression, all the way to heroes trying to make a better world who have conflicting interests with the protagonists.
On the other hand the protagonists arent beacons of virtue either, they are a paramilitary group who officially claim they are a medical company, sometimes hiring wanted criminals as long as they are useful as soldiers or have political use due to their background.
Point is, politics can contribute to a story in a positive way, but the story must be good on its own, with the politics only further contributing to/enchancing the authors view of the world hes trying to get across to the audience through the story.
@@richgriffinalb : Then you surely should watch The Penguin.
I'M GOING SEE SUPERMAN FILM 2025
Colin Farrell is a character actor with leading man looks. This guy never ceases to amaze me with his performances, and this might be the greatest role of his career.
He was genuinely fantastic, and that new level of make-up tech. is a GAME CHANGER for any/all actors and actresses to demonstrate if they are truly good actors or if they are just getting by on their looks. Charlize was the first, with 'Monster', but this was next-level...looked 100% real and Colin was 100% unrecognizable.
Hes been really good for decades. I think Minority Report is the first movie I saw him in, and that came out in '02! The Recruit, decent movie, would have been a lot worse without him in it and Al Pacino hamming it up. Alexander was a bit of a weird casting choice. In Bruges, great movie. Didnt like him in the Total Recall remake but that was just an unncessary cashgrab of a film in general. Didnt like the 2nd season of True Detective either. He has some misses.
I think hes also one of those actors that prefers to do more serious smaller projects a lot instead of just going for blockbuster action movies. Looking at his imdb theres a whole list of dramas that Ive never heard of.
Honestly I just watched the season not really caring about DC or marvel anymore, so not looking up things. I had no idea that was Colin Farrell. Props even more to him I guess.
The lobster was a really good movie with colin too
Seven Psychopaths has got a great cast n is very good
Everyone involved in the Penguin, cast, crew, writers and caterers deserve a MEDAL! Thank you!!!!
Except the leftist shills like IGN would have you believe this a 5/10.
I think the biggest difference between the left and everyone else is the following: "Sophia is so much better than Oz" vs "They were both amazing characters". Why they are trying to make out Oz is inferior in anyway is beyond me, though I suspect it has something to do with identity politics. Both actors gave probably the performances of their lives and both deserve recognition along with the writers and honestly the entire crew. I dont think there is a single bad performance from anyone.
There are no blacks in gotham. Not watching it.
@@TheRealSlimsagey7 So true on all fronts!
I haven't seen one episode yet, but one thing is for sure: a competent writer can make a great tv show, but it takes more than a competent writer to make a great movie. In a serialized format, you have all the time in the world to work on character development, and there's the "attachment" factor; the more you spend time with the characters, the more you grow fond of them, no matter how mediocre they might be.
Point being, TV shows based on character backstory and worldbuilding is something of a scam. But it takes real talent to build a great show solely on the character's *personality* (like Star Trek TOS), and it takes an even greater talent to build a great show with no recurring characters whatsoever (like original Twilight Zone).
This sounds like you live in an alternate reality.
A good story will always make you care when you never thought you’d care to begin with. 😊
there was a part where I wanted him to win, but with the ending now I only want Batman to come and break every single bone of his body.... they really wanted us to hate him.... and they succeded
Womp womp. Cope
@@Vladimir66616lol cope? What is he coping
@@aaronrodgers9202It's rage bait, ignore him.
They have to be careful with batman, it really needs to play like breaking bad. Batman needs to lose and a lot, before he gets any partial success. Any victory needs to come at an extreme cost that makes you question if it is a victory, and everything needs to be bitter sweet.
@vxcnzz so basically the ending of The Batman then. Batman lost to Riddler but won in the sense that he had an eye opening experience to change his ways and be more what others need and not what he needs.
The show only gets better once you start reading interviews held with the showrunner. It’s refreshing to hear her talk about her intentions were with the story and not a lick of it had anything to do with reflecting our real world. She only discusses the purpose the show serves to its characters and the version of Gotham Matt Reeves created. It would’ve been interesting to see *that character* continue to grow in Part II, but it was perfectly in Oz’s character to do what he did. As shocking as it was, it didn’t feel out of nowhere and when the showrunner discusses it, it’s clear the intent was to stay in line with this iteration of The Penguin. It was so much better than I ever thought it would be
i was waiting for victor to start fighting back or pull out a gun and the fact that he didnt was even more brutal.
It really was a breath of fresh air among the numerous hack writers and show runners who were brandishing around the fact that they had no idea about the source material at all.
I didn't know a woman show-ran this; big ups
@@jdogsful Victor did try to fight back, but Oz is literally so much of an actual beast that Victor had no chance
@@samwallaceart288 It was Lauren LeFranc
DC could reboot their whole cinematic universe around this
I like the idea of keeping this universe separate but build it out. A self contained Matt Reeves Gotham universe.
Nah, it's too grounded. I can't see Superman flying around and shooting laser beams from his eyes in this universe.
A realistic Batman? No, thank you.
@@Nameless0061 You prefer he has nipples on his Batsuit, ice skates in his Bat-boots, and a Batman credit card (Don't leave the cave without it!)?
@@don.keebles No, nor should you want to. Same reason for keeping out meta humans like Poison Ivy or the Flash. This is a far more realistic world. But that's the beautiful thing about the DC environment. You can have multiple parallel story worlds ranging from The Penguin's groundedness to the sort-of-silly stuff like Zatanna and Mr Mxyzptlk.
We’ve been so spoiled this year with both The Penguin and Shogun.
Shogun was amazing, I will try out the Penguin but have little faith, gonna try because people are saying it's so good
@@bojackfishman4135Why little faith? I thought the consensus was that the 2022 Batman was pretty solid on all fronts and this is made by almost the same crew.
Arcane season 2 is great so far also
@Pablo-pr4vg Saw the Batman with my wife and sister and we were all bored to death. The chase scene with penguin and penguin in general were the only things we liked. The riddler was a joke, I thought the movie was making fun of itself. We all thought it was so bad that we watched the dark knight as soon as we got home. I will still try out the Penguin to give my own review
I think Fallout was good too
Quick fact/humble brag: I body doubled for Colin Farrell in this for a lot of the car shots. They were filmed mainly in Bergen County NJ (right by the George Washington Bridge) and also in Long Island. Weirdly had neck pain from riding in the Maserati as I had to keep my head turned left a hell of a lot.
But I can be real and say that I body doubled for someone considered one of the most beautiful people on the plant. I just leave out that he looked like that. 😁
Did you also wear a fat suit?
You mean Fort Lee NJ? I live near by
Nice one mate. Great bit of work to have been involved with
Cool that you were part of one of the only good shows of recent years. Nice to have work that you can genuinely be proud of.
Is he considered that goodlooking? Looks like a regular guy to me. Someone you could have a beer with. But what the hell do I know, Im not into dudes. No really, I swear. Im not holding back any latent thoughts. Stop looking at me like that.
I still can't believe Sofia is also The Mother from How I Met Your Mother
After this great show was over and The Penguin got everything he wanted in the end, I cannot wait for Batman to kick his tail-feathered ass again.
And again and again and again.
Arkham Game style.😂
It sucks that we have to wait until 2026 though
Understandable.
Apparently The Penguin only has like 6 scenes in the Batman 2 (according to Colin Farrell).
The Penguin was a great adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard the 3rd, physical deformity and all (without the breaking of the 4th wall). With unsubtle nods to Oedipus Rex and a litany of literary Machiavellian characters, this was a truly enjoyable watch.
I'd bet you watch Frasier :p
@@keNNed1987 Only the original series 😜
Especially when he taught tyrone how to be a criminal
Yeah, hit me by the end. Oz just following the Michiavellian playbook to near perfection.
Well said. Borrow from the best and put in some of your own. If you do it well, you get a masterpiece. And if you do it poorly you get Rebel Moon. I never found the "he just copy pasted" argument convincing as to why his movies are terrible. He didn't do it well, so his Rebel Mooniverse sucks.
This show is a beacon of hope in the cesspool of the modern film industry.
Watching the finale, it was so brilliantly written to twist it like it did. Gut wrenching stuff, truly shocked me watching it, and left me wanting more and appreciating a well written story and show for once in awhile. The way you root for Oz and almost forget he’s a villain to only be reminded of it at the end was genius.
5:43 The actual saying is "when someone *shows* you who they are, believe them." It's an important distinction.
Maya Angelou
I take people at their word, until they prove otherwise.
If someone says it and it's true, you know. A lot of people have shitty instincts, period.
Oz didn't have a 'traumatic past' he caused the trauma to others
This is hands down one of the best mini series made in the current time. They absolutely nailed the character of Penguin. If WB keeps pumping out content like this with Matt Reeves we are gonna have a blast.
The Penguin was written by Lauren LeFranc. Matt Reeves is a great director but should stay far away from writing. Hopefully Lauren LeFranc writes the Batman Part 2.
Don't miss Andor. Also excellent. Pretty much nothing else stands out, in recent years...just woke garbage.
I love how Sofias story came full circle with her starting in Arkham asylum and ending in the asylum, as Jorge would say “it’s like poatry, so that it rhymes” plus oz’s obsession with his mother was gripping and brilliant and a fitting ending for a man who’s so broken to finally reach the top at any means necessary even at the cost of his mothers wish to die if she was left in a vegetative state. Best show of the year by far
The cold-hearted way he casually betrays and murders the black kid at the end is what cements him as a truly monstrous villain. IMHO, this was the best scene of Season 1.
What I like about Sofia is how contrasting she is to Penguin. She is pushed by the society, by her family and by her father to become what she became. In better world she could be much better person. Pushed to become a monster because everyone says that she is a monster. On other hand we have Oswald who truly is a monster all the way from childhood. Monster is in him from the start and there is no world where he could be anything better.
@@schmiggidyhow did you forget Vics name he was the third lead
*poetry*
If you remember the first two seasons of the Sopranos were Tony grappling with Livia's ability to both control and infuriate him. Her loss of mental capacity. Do we blame her? Can we? Is she faking? In other words, We've seen this all before.
The ending was the chefs kiss on how to end a season. The best part is they show how to show a strong female character without making her OP and the Drinker liked it.
The drinker actually recommends things so rarely that I feel obligated to watch this.
yeah, its one of those shows that everyone must see
He recommends great films and tv shows
@@MiguelNdiwenihe recommends what he enjoys. Doesn’t mean they are great to everyone. Majority of people enjoyed Agatha All Along while he trashed on it. It’s all subjective.
It was fucking fantastic
Please do , i tink it's one of my favorite shows now , it deserves FAR more attention
Sofia Falcone is a template for how to create a strong, compelling, complex female character. She was absolutely riveting in every scene, and didn't once complain about the patriarchy!
She did, but because she didn't say it so directly and literally, it probably went over your head.
I didn't see the show (yet) but I understand that Sofia Falcone is the opposite of the insufferable Rey Palpatine.
If you turn the volume way up, you'll hear that right before she kills Johnny Vitti she whispers "Your body, MY choice." to him.
@@c3bhm lol, I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if they were forced to sneak something like that in there to appease the leftists trying to control the script.
It also helps that they never showed her doing BS king fu takedowns on men who are 3 times bigger and stronger than her
Wow. That ending. It's been a few minutes since a show subverted my expectations so thoroughly, and made me need to go touch grass. Penguin left a bruise, but that's a good thing. Just...wow. Bravo.
I will always advocate how refreshing this show was. over the last decade or so, I felt so desensitized to anything on screen, with nothing that was eye catching. I can't remember the last show that I literally COUNTED THE SECONDS to watch the next episode. Everything that I was predicting in a show like this was completely flipped on its head, and each ending left me hungry for more, ESPECIALLY the finale. a serios 10/10 from me
I predicted this show down to the last detail, I won’t lie. I don’t know if it’s because writing ruins being a viewer, but I saw it all coming. I loved every second regardless & thinks it’s the best show of the year.
Without being cruel to you I'd say that it's always best to know how to use words properly.
Don't take this as a stab at you, it's more a bit of guidance to stop the supporters of the message dunking on you
Try Andor too!
@@c3bhm I liked Andor and I'm really waiting for second season, but it was not as good as this one. I enjoyed watching Andor. For Penguin I was anxious to see the next episode and was very aware when it was available.
From marketing to writing, we can feel the strong inspiration from The Sopranos throughout the series, but it's a good thing to be inspired by the best shows
Yes and no. Every time I saw the HBO logo before the show, it reminded me of binge-watching 'The Sopranos'. I'm glad they didn't just make this another 'Sopranos' with a Batman twist, but, the "Mommy Issues" and psychology were a little bit tedious to watch.
HBO comparing The Penguin to the Sopranos in their ads only show how out of touch they are... jfc
I don’t mind giving the Penguin an Oedipus complex, but they really should have made it so that Penguin and his mother get a more consequential ending than “she stabs him, and then instantly has a stroke right after.” I actually thought having the Penguin murder her with his own hands as opposed to Vic would have been a far stronger way to show the man he’s become - after a whole season of showing how he’s obsessed with earning his mother’s approval only for her to reveal that she’ll never love him, I feel that would have caused him to snap and strangle her to death like when he shot Alberto in the pilot. And then after, he burns down his mother’s house like how Sofia burns down her father’s estate, maybe even with her body inside.
@daigneauray7087 just before the final episode, I also thought that the plot was going to take this path. But ultimately the stroke, after having put everything on the table, is not a bad idea: the fact that she finds herself locked in a vegetative state is a much worse outcome for her and gives this very dark and ironic ending (she finally got what she wanted, the view from the most expensive penthouse, but at what price... she pays for being seduced by young Oz's words and for giving up on killing him, just as Victor paid the high price for remaining at his side out of ambition, Oz is indeed "the devil", he sees what people are deep down and what they want, and uses it) It also allows Oz to continue to project onto her his delusion that she loves him and is proud of him, and his internal lie that he's not really a monster, that he does all he does for good reasons.
@@reginaphalange9417 Fair point. Maybe it's just that I also saw the Tony Soprano parallel where he loves and loathes his mother in equal measure, and I was just kind of perplexed by how Oz worships his mother even when she puts a broken bottle in his gut. It does make sense that his character is defined by self-delusions of grandeur and noblesse oblige, and that a fitting end to his origin is having him basically taunt his mother with the expensive view from his penthouse after murdering his only friend; I just can't quite square this with the more grounded take on the Penguin that I expected from the beginning of the season.
P.S. He also had way too much plot armor. If he's so smart, why does he keep getting one-up'd?
Watching the show while it's ON AIR is the best experience.
When in the end Vic told THOSE words i was screaming inside "NO NO NO WHY DID YOU SAID THAT". This show brought back old feeling of caring about characters. What a great show.
which words?
@neskec90 "you like family to me"
For me this is the best TV show in recent times! They deserve all the praise and awards!
That ending really made Oswald a bigger character than the Batman, with how well rounded he was
The actors really sold it, all of the main and even a good chunk of the secondary guys were very well done.
Throughout the show, I supported Oz's decisions wholeheartedly. Never once doubting his intentions or the tragic impact it had on the surrounding characters.
But when he did what he did in the final episode, I looked back and was amazed by how most of his victims were mostly innocent and didn't deserve the worse fate coming to them. Really made me regret my decisions. The 2nd watch of this is going to be really insane seeing the Oz in his true light instead of some potential anti-hero that you believe in him to be in the beginning.
Try Deadwood, with Al Swearengen. Very similar. Excellent show.
I'm at my second watch and let me tell you, scenes like their talk after Al's funeral hits way different now. Also, kinda think that the moments that we took for Francis' illness are actually her sober moments when she finally lets the facade drop and show her true feelings toward Oz.
I binged watched the whole season a few days ago and I literally can't stop thinking about rewatching it since. It is so good. 10/10
The best thing about this show is: they didn't make Oz into a "sympathetic antihero" or some BS like Disney did with Cruela Deville.
Sure, he's charming & charismatic and you see him care about his mum & become a mentor for Vic, but in the end he's just a cold blooded sociopath, who will turn on everybody in a heartbeat.
The ending was really grimdark af.
The only criticism I have is: where was Batman when all this gang war escalated in the latest episodes.
I know, they kept him out, because Batman would just mob thr floor with Oz & Sofia & the show would be over, but they don't even mention Batman at all, as if he doesn't exist in this universe, up until the ending.
Despite this though, The Penguin is an absolute masterclass im acting, writing, cinematography.
Bruce would have been in a hospital bed, after all the damage in the movie
Pretty much since it takes place directly after The Batman starting basically the day after. It makes sense that Bruce is a little out of commission from his beatings and Adrenaline cocktail.
Batman tanked a full shotgun blast to the chest and electrocuted himself at the end of Batman, this show is set a week after he’s in bed recovering lmao
Why would Batman intervene in a gang war where the top criminals are killing each other…better to just let it play out. It’s really only certain events towards the end of the story that would warrant Batman jumping into the fray.
@@brendansheehy8124 to save innocent lives in the crossfire
The Penguin was like the DC's version of Marvel's Daredevil, and it really made me reevaluate and look forward for the future of Batman under Matt Reeves
It's like if before the first season of daredevil there was a season told from Fisk's perspective
Hell nah. Daredevil was wayyy better than this shit show. Don't disrespect daredevil like that.
@@theateam9547 Nah, I stand by what I said. Daredevil was a milestone in superhero crime dramas, and this one had its influence written all over it. From making you feel mixed feelings about the main villain to the emotional gravitas the show reaches, its respectful management of the source material and amazing storytelling warrant the comparison.
@@theateam9547 2/10 ragebait, Middevil doesn't compare to this masterpiece.
@@vn9574 nah, Daredevil is a 10/10. Both shows are masterpieces in their own right.
Holy smokes! Did you know Colin Ferrell played Oswald?
I found myself saying that after every single episode. He truly disappears into the character. Unbelievable.
That last episode [ incident ] was one of the biggest surprises I've had in a TV show... in like my life. I couldn't believe it, in a good way, that that happened. What a ballsy move, and such a fantastic show. And I've also can't recall a TV show hyping me up for a movie (Batman 2) as much as Penguin. This show didn't reinvent the wheel but was a real triumph of just plain ole classic, good storytelling, with no real weak elements in the production.
Dude the last ten minutes of that last episode were insane.
That scene by the water with Victor was absolutely shocking
I really didn't see it coming but it actually made sense to the Penguin's character and the story. It wasn't shocking just cause they needed to be shocking.
The show well explain what a brutal criminal actually is. And why you can't root for him. The last episode made me hate him so much, that I can only hope for Batman to kick him to orbit.
@@PricefieldPunk a big part of the shock was that in 99% of other TV shows you would not focus on character as much as Victor only to have come to an end like that. It's really rare to have a main character developed then ended like that, and at the hands of primary character, is just unheard. Also, so many shows pretend the protagonist is a villain when they are really just a charming anti-hero, and made to be 'heroically falsely deranged' like Dexter for example, or even the Joker as he stylishly kills, as opposed to an actual more realistic, actual psychologically damaged and morally bad person, like the Penguin.
@@harbosonius
I knew it was coming eventually, but I was shocked when it did regardless
Honestly, my favorite part of the show is the fact that they show much of a master manipulator Oz is. EVERYBODY knows he's a fork-tongued, two-faced, backstabber and yet he still manages to convince prominent underworld figures to strike deals and forge alliances with him. It's almost unbelievable.
Thats what makes Penguin so great. He even admitted it in episode 1, act very small so they seem bigger and won’t even noticed. No one ever paid Oz anymore attention then needed. All of a sudden Oz slips pasts all of them and rises to the top. Even Batman’s non appearance kinda makes sense. Batman thought Oz was beneath him, insignificant and not worth dealing with. Which allowed Oz to finally become the Penguin of Gotham City and running all crime.
A second watch of this showing knowing what Oz truly is an his true intentions is gonna be interesting to watch. I feel like it will make me hate him so much more
This show was so much better than it had any right to be. They did such an amazing job of actually developing your understanding of these characters. And although you can relate to both Sofia and Oz, they are also ultimately villains. It's crazy how the show gets you to both root for them and also despise them. The Penguin begins as a henchman and ends as a true egomaniacal super villain. A worthy adversary for an overly obsessed super hero.
It’s so refreshing to see one of these villain centric shows, actually have the main character act like a villain (looking at you Boba Fett)
Dude yes!!! I'm sick of villains being good guys with a grey morality. I wanna see evil in my villains 🤘
To be fair, Boba Fett was never a villain, but your point still stands. lol. He was an antagonist who just happened to be hired by other villains all the time. Anyone can go hire Boba for any reason if you have money. I remember in the old EU, before Disney fucked it, someone once asked Boba if he really hated Han so much and Boba said “I don’t care about Han Solo. He means nothing to me.” It’s just everyone else who hates Han, keeps him to kill Han for him.
@ great point. I wanted to see THAT Boba Fett then I guess lmao. Instead we got one of the worst things I’ve ever seen
@@Linklex7 but he did care for Grogu.
I’m glad a show that takes place in a superhero universe is something people actually find enjoyable for once.
no multi verse pretardation is a nice change.
It's a minor detail I'd say, this plays much more like a straight up mob drama.
I gotta be honest, I hear good things about this show but I have absolutely zero interest in ever watching any superhero related content ever again in my life. Well, maybe The Boys but that show fell off pretty hard this season. I skipped through like half of every episode.
Tbf a lot of people like peacemaker also
@@TheSuperappelflap Penguin is worth a watch honestly.
The worst thing to say about it is they give a girl boss a lot of screen time but its a decent enough character and heavily involved with the actual existing plot.
Lots of character development and good acting.
It honestly isnt the cookie cutter tripe they have been pushing out, closer to the first Joker move.
The Penguin getting more development ever since Gotham (2014) is truly fascinating to see
The biggest breath of fresh air for a villain origin story. Seriously these villains origin stories always have something tragic to empathize and sympathize with them. Not Penguin. He was a villain since childhood. And he never changed. Its easy to hate him. Finally a series about a villain that by the end of it makes you root for the hero to take him down.
Biggest surprise since Cobra Kai. I don't think anybody expected it to be this good.
Cobra Kai sucked after season 1. Basically turned it into Power Rangers, and toned down Johhny's rhetoric.
Cobra Kai went on too long imo. I remember they dropped part 1 of the final season and nobody even seemed to care
@@sergeantsnugglez3228Cobrai Kai got much better in later seasons
Cobra Kai has been an absolute delight. Such a cool blend of nostalgia with a modern acerbic twist that spoofs the nostalgia, but in a loving way. That vibe reminds me of Galaxy Quest, where they are mocking the source material, but with total fondness and respect. Crazy tightrope to walk but Cobra Kai has been wonderfully wholesome and fun.
I think Cobra Kai is a bit cringe these days
The Penguin reminded me of Breaking Bad. You feel for Oswald because nobody respects him. The same way you feel for Walter. Both are Crippled or sick; deformed or a pushover; but still very smart and cunning and plan ahead before their enemies even know what happened. You root for them in the beginning but by the end, you hate both of them.
Yessss!!! I saw someone somewhere call the show “Breaking Bird” 😂 the Walt/Jesse relationship is definitely comparable to the Oz/Vic dynamic… and at the end of both shows, you realize you’d been rooting for the bad guy the whole time, and it’s a metaphorical gut punch
I think Colin Farrels performance is up there with Heath Ledger as the Joker....ITS THAT GOOD
He did what Heath Ledger did for the joker but for the Penguin, he set the standard
It’s better
I agree. 99% of the time, I forgot that it was Collin Farrel in a ton of prosthetics. He just WAS The Penguin.
D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk needs a mention
LOVED this show. A comic book property with good writing, great acting, and plot twists you didn't see coming from a mile away. Who knew?
Wouldn't have heard of this if it weren't for you previously mentioning this, Drinker. Definitely gonna check this out.
I loved this show, this is good writing and wonderful acting.
One of the best series of recent times. Refreshing.
Ahhhhhhhhh…
It's refreshing to have a villain who is so charismatic you *want* to keep giving him chances and see them win. I have never been so intrigued by someone while also wanting Batman to swoop in and combo-punch Oswald's face in.
Exactly ❤
The Critical Drinker’s hearty endorsement is like the Lock Picking Lawyer saying a lock wasn’t that bad. 🏅
Really awesome to see a show like this be so well received by people(except by IGN of course) and have so much talent put into it by everyone involved.
Lets hope to see Lauren LeFranc get another project to make amazing!
Yep, they completely nailed it. Kudos to everyone involved in this. Outstanding.
Watched it with my Dad and we both loved it.
I’m in college and after every episode I’d call my mom and brother and talk about the latest episode
Thank for shouting out Sofia (Millioti) she was spectacular (a rarity today)
Her 'sexy baby' episode in 30 Rock was great.
Her verbal sparring scenes were also top-notch. In episode 1 w Oz, episode 6 w Eve and Episode 7 w Francis.
Excellent storytelling and performances. BRAVO!
Wonderful editing. For those who haven’t seen the show they will never know just how much you actually spoiled. You have my respect.
In case you forget the Penguin is a bad guy, the last 10 minutes remind you
The last few episodes reminded you he was a bad guy. He left his men to get blown up when he had plenty of time to warn them to run.
Farrell and Milioti deserve awards for this, truly breathtaking.
I didn't think I would like this show, but the Drinker talked about it when it first came out so I decided to watch it from his review and I fell in love with the show and think it's one of the best if not the best spin-off show I've ever seen!
Andor too!
This show kicks ass. I just finished watching the last three episodes and it was crazy and shocking. I can't wait for season 2
I don’t think there’s going to be a season 2.
I think it’ll lead into the Batman 2.
Its only one season, to be continued in the new Batman movie
The more I reflect on this show the more I realise it's a masterpiece.
The scene where he said "noot noot!" and then pingu'd all over the place was true television.
Tf
Now I'm definitely watching this 😅
No.
The reason i think it works so well is because Hollywood understands villains much better than heroes.
Shōgun and The Penguin takes the cake for the best TV series of 2024.
0:10 wait what???
Brick top 😂
In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary... Come Again?
I think that’s viable. But you didn’t hear it from me
@@marlom7882 😂😂😂
Brick Top: Do you know these tits, Errol?
Errol: I know a lot of tits, Guv'nor. But I don't know quite any as f***ing stupid as these two.
I was tired of superhero crap over a decade ago. I had zero interest in this. Tried it -- AND WAS IMMEDIATELY HOOKED. This is the best show since Game of Thrones. 9.8/10. Amazing.
If you're a Star Wars fan (not the recent 'baby yoda' shows, though) be sure to not miss Andor - it's mature/smart/excellent.
It's the best show since Breaking Bad, not Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones was a total disaster.
One of the best if not the best. Others that come to mind are Succession, Atlanta, Barry, and Shogun.
@@Brian_Boru When we speak about game of thrones, we mean seasons 1-5. We don't speak about the bad stuff.
I was absolutely hooked from episode one. The more you root for him the more you hate him. The final scene with Vic had me shaking my head in more ways than I can count.
Just for my own edification, how many ways *can* you shake your head?
RIP Vic, you were a real one ✊
Absolutely loved it.
Colin was never all that much an actor to me and he killed this role.
He should lean into this role and make it his as a legacy for his career
We lost Joaquin's Joker for Farrell's Penguin.
I really liked The Batman movie. I felt it went back to the core of what Batman is, a detective. Few other movies showed him in that light, but more of a tough guy who was lead to the places he needed to be. My only gripe, was that there were 2 endings. The big set piece of a second ending wasn't needed and felt out of place.
Yeah the writing could've been tighter but I still think The Batman is my favourite rendition of the character. Not to disparage the other versions but almost paradoxically the reasons why I love the other versions of the character/world are also the reasons why I prefer The Batman
I love Adam West's version because he feels like he was pulled directly from the comic books of the 50s filled with campy and cheesy fun,
I love the Tim Burton Batman films because they drip with artistic flair and really feel like a world where you would expect to see someone dressed as a bat fighting people dressed as clowns and penguins
I love the Christopher Nolan batman films because they are the perfect badass action hero/super hero films where Batman never comes across a problem he couldn't solve with his fists and being a badass
But it's because of those reasons I prefer The Batman because it's essentially the quintessential version that looked at the character and say "what if this actually happened in real life?" or what would a genius billionaire who turned vigilante/detective to work through his trauma look like? A perfect example is Gotham itself, if the scale had Christopher Nolan Gotham on one side (everyone knows it was just New York but called 'Gotham') and on the other side was Tim Burton Gotham ( every set piece being so over the top gothic and artistic that it's not a believably lived in city) then Matt Reeves take on Gotham was perfectly in the middle with having just enough grungy aesthetic paired with a focus on gothic architecture that you could tell it was Gotham at a glance while still being realistically laid out and not so over the top that it wasn't believable
I cannot wait for The Batman part 2, if we get more of the same with a tighter screenplay then I think people will look back on this version and think of it as the best Batman or at the very least one of the best
@@awesomepwn12Yeah maybe it’s a slight recency bias thing but I truly think with both the 2022 Batman and now this show…If everything continues to have this level of quality from the reeves-verse it’ll be a legendary trilogy and THE definite Batman for me for the same reason you said about it being a mesh of all the previous attempts in one.
Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti should get all of the awards possible for their performances. And would love for Sofia and Selina to share screen time at some point.
The kid that played Vic did a great job too, he made the character very endearing.
This Penguin character is the true image of who a psychopath is. Absolute perfection.
The whole cast was terrific, but I'd like to give a bit more attention to the kid who played Victor. He was magnificent in every scene. Finally, a great series without any crap injected into it!
IDK he was passable i guess. The weakest in series in mine opinion.
He was just okay, honestly. I don't know what he could have done to make the performance better, but in a lot of ways, it felt like you could have swapped in any guy off of the street and gotten the same results. It felt more like they found a guy who sounded and looked like what they had in mind, and didn't rely on his acting ability to carry the character.
@@alesksander I agree, he was just okay, and definitely the weakest actor in the series, though I think the Triad underboss was also "just okay".
I want to see scarecrow in this universe so bad, can't wait for Batman II.
I totally thought that was where the Bliss storyline was leading to. I figured it was Dr. Crane trying to perfect his "fear gas", or maybe, Bliss was the first iteration and didn't produce the results he wanted, but somehow the formula got out, something like that.
There's a theory that Julian Rush could be an alias used by Dr Crane
Its funny how when good writers approach comic book IP's with a serious adult tone, they craft amazing work. No CGI, no ridiculous gadgets.. Just the human condition with some theatrical flare.
Amazing show we need more shows in this universe.
Agreed. I'd love to see each villain get there own season. They could make this stuff forever as long as it stays this good and just introduce new characters every few years in the movies. WB...come on common sense...you can do it
Every single character has a meaningful past, a challenging present & a fair shot at the future.
That's how you write drama. 10/10.
That ending was brutal. Great show.
Man I really didnt expect to like it this much, the trailer seemed so boring but im so happy i was wrong